• Cardiologists flagging woeful patient care say they paid with their jobs
• Heart attack deaths plummet in three EU nations
• "Valve-on-a-stick" transaortic TAVI offers alternative to transfemoral route
• Vytorin US label updated with SHARP results
• Heart disease risk begins with middle-age risk factors

And also, in brief:

• Contaminated cardiac drugs kill more than 100 in Pakistan
• Don't routinely replace spent ICDs: Proposal
• Women do better after TAVI, hints small study

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• Cardiologists accused of defrauding Medicare by performing unnecessary cardiac procedures
• Treat risk and not LDL-cholesterol targets, new perspective argues
• PLATO: PPI analysis "raises flag" but should not change practice
• "Recalled" Riata ICD leads: Brainstorming conference aims for guidance
• To prescribe or not to prescribe: That is the statin question, experts debate

And also, in brief:

• Carotid images don't boost quit rates or cut CV risk factors in smokers
• Black tea lowers blood pressure in small trial

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• Resveratrol scientists react to Das fraud scandal: "Research will continue"
• BRIDGE study published: Cangrelor suited for important antiplatelet niche
• US bleeding ADRs higher with dabigatran than warfarin
• Statins cost four times more in US than UK
• Dronedarone gets another chance to prove itself in ranolazine combo trial

And also, in brief:

• Serum potassium targets in acute MI need rethink, analysis suggests
• NHANES: One in three adults, one in six children obese
• Yoga therapy for AF yields insight into brain-heart axis

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• Excess calories, not proportion of dietary protein, key in causing obesity
• Informed consent questioned in Florida patient's death after stem-cell treatment
• Dabigatran: New data on MI and ischemic events
• Serum potassium targets in acute MI need rethink, analysis suggests
• RESPECT PFO/stroke trial completes enrollment

And also, in brief:

• Aspirin in primary prevention: New meta-analysis finds bleeding outweighs benefits for most
• Statin use associated with significantly increased risk of diabetes: WHI analysis
• Pulmonary hypertension in kids differs from adult PAH

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• ARISTOTLE: A major win for apixaban in AF 
• The heart can repair itself, new basic science suggests  
• Dalcetrapib passed test in dal-VESSEL: Raises HDL cholesterol but not blood pressure
• FDA restricts use of simvastatin 80 mg
• NIH pulls plug on AIM-HIGH trial with niacin  
• Sobering long-term outcomes following ablation of atrial fibrillation
• Caution needed with dabigatran in the elderly 
• FDA alert: Dronedarone and severe liver injury
• Cochrane review stirs controversy over statins in primary prevention
• Cardiologists face above-average risk of malpractice claims; CV surgeons much higher

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• Vitamin D fails again to affect CV mortality
• Another Maryland doc charged with overstenting
• First data to show antihypertensive therapy prolongs life
• ALTITUDE halted: Adverse events when aliskiren added to ACE, ARB therapy
• RECOVER II confirms benefit of dabigatran in treatment of VTE

And also, in brief:

• AHA Statistics: New year, same trends
• Hospital admissions predict readmission for heart failure

Join us for a comprehensive review of this week's most important cardiology news.

• FDA advisors: Thumbs down on CardioMEMS implantable PA-pressure monitor for HF
• There's a (cath-lab) app for that! iPad collects and streams real-time data to families, colleagues
• "Everything you want to know about bleeding in AF patients": European consensus
• More concern voiced over Pfizer's Lipitor deals
• Survey says: Most cardiologists support elective PCI sans on-site CABG . . . with caveats

And also, in brief:

• "Striking" variation in PCI/CABG across Ontario hospitals
• Gastric bypass has weight-independent metabolic benefits

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• Stents, ICDs, inappropriate? Then, under new audit program, CMS won't pay
• FDA investigating serious bleeding events with dabigatran
• Generic atorvastatin now available in US
• CV risk negligible with COX-2 inhibitors, but AF a possible concern
• Noncardiac chest pain not always a low-risk diagnosis

And also, in brief:

• Is the right ventricle the Achilles' heel of the athlete's heart?
• Childhood obesity interventions aimed at nutrition, activity pay off

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• CONFIRM CT registry raises more questions about who is at risk for coronary disease
• CHADS₂ predicts problems in AF patients taking dabigatran, warfarin
• Battling Big Tobacco: Physician activism vital on smoking's new frontiers
• One in 10 patients readmitted to the hospital following PCI

And also, in brief:

• Trauma patients on dabigatran prompt call for "pragmatic" trials, trauma surveillance
• Mipomersen shows large LDL reduction, but side effects an issue
• Warfarin tops list for emergency hospitalizations in seniors
• Reducing STEMI transfer time proves difficult  
• Promus Element DES approved as longitudinal-compression issue gains steam

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• Dabigatran: 260 fatal bleeds since approval worldwide
• Vitamin D does not improve endothelial function or arterial stiffness, but it remains the vitamin du jour
• Sodium J-curve? High and low levels of sodium intake track with CV risk
• UPDATE: Erasmus MC fires Poldermans; ESC reviews his work
• Tighter postshock driving restrictions supported in ICD registry

And also, in brief:

• Interplay of hypertension and infection underlies heart disease in Africa
• Statins safe, with no cancer uptick, long-term: HPS
• Fewer INR checks safe in patients on stable-dose warfarin

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• "Bridging" anticoagulation may not be necessary in vast majority of patients
• AIM-HIGH: Results raise controversy over early stopping
• ATLAS ACS 2: Low-dose rivaroxaban looks good in ACS
• SATURN: Maximum doses of rosuvastatin and atorvastatin equally regress atherosclerosis
• US dabigatran label updated, including renal-function recommendations
• FDA issues "safety communication" on fenofibrate

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• What's going to be hot at AHA 2011
• FDA approves rivaroxaban for stroke prevention in AF patients
• FDA issues "safety communication" on fenofibrate
• Study backs ACE inhibitors, ARBs for aortic regurgitation
• First-of-kind HCM diagnosis, treatment recommendations published

And also, in brief:

• ACC/AHA updates secondary-prevention guidelines without new BP and lipid guidance
• Continuous nitroglycerin may be harmful
• ACS at AHA: Experts speculate on vorapaxar and rivaroxaban

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• Fat, unfit, unmotivated: Cardiologist, heal thyself
• BP meds more effective when taken at night
• FDA advisors recommend Vytorin for CVD prevention in predialysis CKD patients
• Fludrocortisone flops for vasovagal syncope: POST 2
• Sapien transcatheter valve approved for inoperable aortic-valve disease: FDA  

And also, in brief:

• Esomeprazole, but not rosuvastatin, affects clopidogrel post-PCI: SPICE
• Aneurysm stent okayed for patients with small arteries
• Gender does not predict post-PCI mortality

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• Public Citizen urges FDA not to approve rivaroxaban for use in AF
• Two TAVI devices comparable, but different, latest European data show
• Analysis of Endeavor trials suggests no risk in stopping DAPT at six months
• Many low/intermediate-risk patients still get aspirin for primary prevention: PARADIGM
• What's "normal?" Little consensus on CAD extent, severity among Ontario angiographers

And also, in brief:

• Recycled pacemakers save lives in India
• BP meds more effective when taken at night
• FDA: No increased neuropsychiatric events with varenicline

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• HF hospitalizations plunge, mortality not so much: 10-year US
• Conflicts of interest abound in diabetes/hyperlipidemia guidelines committees
• Many clopidogrel patients on "inhibiting" drugs
• Yale docs propose model to aid true, evidence-based medicine
• ZEN results raise early hopes for DES in erectile dysfunction

And also, in brief:

• PROTECT in print: A success for biomarker-guided HF therapy
• Adult congenital heart operations cheaper than children's
• Coronary disease prevalence declines in US

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• Northwestern University denies tenure to Myxo ring whistleblower
• Aspirin should not be used for stroke prevention in AF patients
• Rivaroxaban in nonvalvular AF: The advisory panel's perspective
• Dabigatran: Australia issues bleeding warning
• Clopidogrel-aspirin arm halted in SPS3 stroke trial

And also, in brief:

• SYNTAX at four years: Death rates diverge but no change in advice
• Good collaterals improve survival
• Change in anticoagulation reduces thrombi in HeartWare trials

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• ATLAS-2: Success for rivaroxaban in ACS?
• Same-day discharge after elective PCI as safe as overnight stays
• Clopidogrel hypersensitivity treated successfully with steroids
• More evidence for lowering LDL to below 70
• Choosing brand-name over generic statins can cost billions

And also, in brief:

• CMS opens coverage discussion for TAVI, prompting speculation, concerns
• Obesity epidemic: No slowdown anytime soon
• Dairy can be part of a heart-healthy diet

Join us for a comprehensive review of this week's most important cardiology news.

• EMA recommends restricting use of dronedarone
• Rivaroxaban: CHMP recommends new AF, DVT indications
• More data reignite debate on ARB-lung cancer risk
• "Verbal-suggestion" placebo reduces chest pain, constricts artery in the cath lab
• Coronary disease seen by CT more likely to portend risk in women than men

And also, in brief:

• AHA weighs in on waist circumference and BMI in adiposity
• HeartNet for HF may boost CRT "efficiency," help reverse remodeling
• Red wine polyphenols do not lower BP

Join us for a comprehensive review of this week's most important cardiology news.

• Should you start a statin in a newly diagnosed diabetic?
• Possible rivaroxaban antidote identified
• Pumped about LVADs: Many eligible HF patients would "definitely" consider one
• Twice-daily aspirin yields better platelet inhibition in diabetics
• Acute-HF early-warning system implant surprises by upping HF hospitalizations

And also, in brief:

• Diuretics for acute HF can depend on specialty of treating physician
• Postprandial, but not fasting, glucose predicts CV risk in type 2 diabetes
• Apples, pears linked to reduced stroke risk

Join us for a comprehensive review of this week's most important cardiology news.

• RITA a better option than radial artery for CABG
• Cardiovascular safety of diabetes drugs: The way forward
• New gene studies "huge step forward" in understanding hypertension
• One high-sensitivity troponin test rules out MI
• Stenting pales against meds alone for intracranial stenosis: SAMMPRIS trial

And also, in brief:

• Bicuspid aortic valves increase risk of aortic dissection
• Diabetics now number 366 million
• Healthy living cuts HF risk: Community-based study 

Join us for a comprehensive review of this week's most important cardiology news.