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Inexpensive Drug Costing Less Than Three Dollars May Minimize Damage from Heart Attack
Medicine

Inexpensive Drug Costing Less Than Three Dollars May Minimize Damage from Heart Attack

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Collaborative Study by Spain and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Shows Potential Benefits of Administering Beta-Blocker Medication to Heart Attack Patients in Ambulance

Early treatment of heart attack patients with an inexpensive beta-blocker drug called metoprolol, while in transit to the hospital, can significantly reduce damage to the heart during a myocardial infarction, according to clinical trial study results published Oct. 1 in the journal Circulation. The study was a collaboration between Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Carlos III (CNIC) in Spain and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York.

Acid Reflux Drug May Cause Heart Disease
Medicine

Acid Reflux Drug May Cause Heart Disease

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Acid Reflux Drugs that help millions of people cope may also cause cardiovascular disease, report scientists from Houston Methodist Hospital and two other institutions in an upcoming issue of Circulation (now online). It is the first time researchers have shown how proton pump inhibitors, or PPIs, might cause cardiovascular problems.

In human tissue and mouse models, the researchers found PPIs caused the constriction of blood vessels. If taken regularly, PPIs could lead to a variety of cardiovascular problems over time, including hypertension and a weakened heart. In the paper, the scientists call for a broad, large-scale study to determine whether PPIs are dangerous.

Study Tests New Treatment for High-Risk Patients with Aortic Stenosis
Medicine

Study Tests New Treatment for High-Risk Patients with Aortic Stenosis

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Robert Stoler, MD, FACC, FSCAI, director of the Cardiac Catheterization Lab at Baylor Heart and Vascular Hospital (BHVH) and co-medical director, Division of Cardiology, is leading Baylor’s participation in an exciting clinical trial to research a new treatment option for AS patients. BHVH is one of 45 national sites researching the use of the Medtronic CoreValve® transcatheter aortic valve replacement system as a treatment alternative to open-heart surgery. “Every research division in the country would like to have this study – we’re proud that we can offer this opportunity to our patients,” said Dr. Stoler.

Grow Your Practice With Physician Assistants
Business

Grow Your Practice With Physician Assistants

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Your office is busy, and it’s time to add to your professional staff. But how difficult will it be for you to locate qualified physicians to satisfy your staffing needs? The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) estimates that by 2015, the shortage of doctors across all specialties will quadruple from current levels. Previous estimates showed a baseline shortage of 39,600 doctors in 2015, but AAMC’s current estimates are closer to 63,000, with a worsening of shortages through 2025, including 29,000 primary care doctors and 33,100 physicians in specialties such as cardiology, oncology, and emergency medicine.

Antidepressant Reduces Stress-Induced Heart Condition
Medicine

Antidepressant Reduces Stress-Induced Heart Condition

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A drug commonly used to treat depression and anxiety may improve a stress-related heart condition in people with stable coronary heart disease, according to researchers at Duke Medicine.

Compared with those receiving placebo, people who took the antidepressant escitalopram (sold as Lexapro) were more than two-and-a-half times less likely to have mental stress-induced myocardial ischemia (MSIMI), a heart condition brought on by mental stress. The findings, published in the May 22/29, 2013 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, add to the current understanding of how negative emotions affect cardiovascular health.

Thoracic Endografts Used Successfully to Remove Tumors Invading the Aorta
Tech Talk

Thoracic Endografts Used Successfully to Remove Tumors Invading the Aorta

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Tumors have the potential to grow locally and invade neighboring organs. Some chest tumors may invade one of the great vessels of the body, the aorta. Surgical removal of these tumors is very challenging and necessitates the support of a heart-lung machine. Therefore there is an increased risk of complication and death. In a small series of patients, placing a stent within the aorta facilitated the subsequent removal of tumor and eliminated the need for heart-lung bypass. A report of these results is presented by Stéphane Collaud, MD, MSc, at the Emerging Technology and Techniques Forum of the 93rd AATS Annual Meeting in Minneapolis on May 8, 2013.

Gene Found that Regenerates Heart Tissue
Medicine

Gene Found that Regenerates Heart Tissue

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The co-first authors of the study are Dr. Ahmed I. Mahmoud, who is now a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University; Dr. Fatih Kocabas, who is now a postdoctoral fellow at North American College; and Dr. Shalini A. Muralidhar, a postdoctoral research fellow II of internal medicine. Other researchers at UT Southwestern involved in the study are Wataru Kimura, a visiting senior researcher of internal medicine; Ahmed Koura, now a medical student at Ain Shams University in Egypt; Dr. Enzo Porrello, research fellow and faculty member at the University of Queensland in Australia; and Suwannee Thet, a research associate of internal medicine.

Genes provide clues to gender disparity in human hearts
Medicine

Genes Provide Clues to Gender Disparity in Human Hearts

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Healthy men and women show little difference in their hearts, except for small electrocardiographic disparities. But new genetic differences found by Washington University in St. Louis researchers in hearts with disease could ultimately lead to personalized treatment of various heart ailments.

Eggs Are OK Again
The Fit MD

Eggs Are OK Again, We Think

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“The people who told us about sun block were the same people who told us, when I was a kid, that eggs were good. So I ate a lot of eggs. Ten years later they said they were bad. I went, ‘Well, I just ate the eggs!’ So I stopped eating eggs, and ten years later they said they were good again! Well, then I ate twice as many, and then they said they were bad. Well, now I’m really #$%ed! Then they said they’re good, they’re bad, they’re good, the whites are good, th-the yellows—make up your mind! It’s breakfast. I’ve gotta eat!” —Lewis Black

Physician Assistants Can Fill the Gap
Business

Physician Assistants Can Fill the Gap

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If you’re looking to recruit physicians to grow your practice, it may turn out to be a daunting challenge.

That’s because the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) estimates that between now and 2015, the shortage of doctors across all specialties will quadruple. Previous estimates showed a baseline shortage of 39,600 doctors in 2015, but AAMC’s current estimates are closer to 63,000, with a worsening of shortages through 2025.

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