Internal Medicine News articles from July 2004

Internal Medicine News archives from July 2004

Panel backs novel fibroid treatment.(Food and Drug Administration advisory panel )
July 1, 2004... GAITHERSBURG, MD. -- A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel last month recommended, with conditions, the approval of a system that ablates uterine fibroids using focused ultrasound under the guidance of magnetic resonance. If...

Vital signs.(Illustration)
July 1, 2004... VITAL SIGNS Ten Highest Selling Prescription Drugs in 2003 2003 Sales % Growth ($ Billions) From 2002 Lipitor (atorvastatin) 6.8 11 Zocor (simvastatin) ...

Statin averts CVD events in type 2 diabetic patients: CARDS data show 37% decline in major events, regardless of baseline LDL level.(Collaborative Atorvastatin Diabetes Study, low density lipids)
July 1, 2004... ORLANDO, FLA. -- Data from the Collaborative Atorvastatin Diabetes Study lend strong support to the American College of Physicians recent recommendation to broaden the use of statins in patients with type 2 diabetes, but the findings are not...

Study challenges criteria for coverage of ICDs: QRS duration does not predict mortality.(implantable cardioverter defibrillators)
July 1, 2004... SAN FRANCISCO -- New data from the landmark Sudden Cardiac Death in Heart Failure Trial call into question last year's controversial decision by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to restrict coverage for implantable cardioverter...

NIH reports on conflicts of interest.(ational Institutes of Health)
July 1, 2004... WASHINGTON -- The National Institutes of Health plans to tighten restrictions on outside consulting by its scientists, closely following the recommendations of an agency-convened blue-ribbon panel. NIH came under fire after media reports...

Investigational drug effective in treating fibroid-related bleeding.(News)(Asoprisnil)
July 1, 2004... HOUSTON -- Asoprisnil, an investigational selective progesterone receptor modulator, induced amenorrhea or normal menstrual periods in a clear majority of women with myoma-associated menorrhagia in a multicenter phase II study. "Asoprisnil...

Glucocorticoids may relieve painful fibroids in pregnancy.(News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... PHILADELPHIA -- A short course of a glucocorticoid provides sustained relief of pain from uterine leiomyomas during pregnancy, based on a chart review of six patients presented in a poster at the annual meeting of the American College of...

Gestational diabetes history predicts type 2 diabetes risk.(News)
July 1, 2004... ORLANDO, FLA. -- Women with a history of gestational diabetes are far more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than are women with equally impaired glucose tolerance who have never had gestational diabetes, Dr. Robert E. Ratner reported at the...

Walking toward glycemic control.(Guest Editorial)(Editorial)
July 1, 2004... We are all frustrated at times in our efforts to improve glycemic control in our diabetic patients. We tend to focus on nutrition and medications, overlooking exercise. Sure, we tell patients that they need to lose weight and start exercising,...

Low-card diets: are they safe and effective?(Pro & Con)
July 1, 2004... YES With the low-carbohydrate diet craze sweeping the nation, concerned doctors have worried about emergency rooms filled with patients whose arteries are clogged. As many as 40 million people have tried low-carb diets in the past decade,...

Bush's Bioethics Council lacks balance.(George W. Bush )
July 1, 2004... Soon after taking office, President George W. Bush appointed the Council on Bioethics to help guide him and the nation through the rocky moral terrain that new biomedical technologies require Americans to navigate. Sadly, in recent months, the...

IM a 'silly' choice for grads.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2004... The headline, "Internal Medicine Seen as Unmanageable Career Choice," hit home (April 1, 2004, p. 4). One of the last sentences, however, demonstrated that someone missed the boat: "The initial results suggest that students respond to a...

The cost of apathy.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2004... Dr. Patrick B. Massey's letter deserves particular attention ("Medicine Losing Doctors," April 1, 2004, p. 14). Medicine is in crisis, and the medical profession as a whole seems to be pretending that nothing is amiss. How many physicians...

Are EMRs worthwhile?(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2004... I recently started a solo cardiology practice with several goals, one of which is to provide better care with an electronic medical records system ("Switch to 'Paperless Office' Becomes ACP Policy Goal," May 15, 2004, p. 1). I have all of...

Medical acceptance of core strengthening grows: beginning exercises include gluteal squeezes while prone, and pelvic raises from a supine position.(Rheumatology)
July 1, 2004... VANCOUVER, B.C. -- Core strengthening, a hot trend in physical fitness, is finding acceptance by physicians in light of evidence that core exercises provide an effective way to treat--and perhaps even prevent--back pain and lower-extremity...

Assurance helps get patients with chronic back pain moving.(Rheumatology)
July 1, 2004... VANCOUVER, B.C. -- Exercise is one of the few things that the evidence suggests almost universally helps chronic low back pain. So, how do you get a patient who has been sedentary and hurting to adopt what is going to be a major lifestyle...

Early arthritis clinics aim to speed RA diagnosis: critics take aim at the implication that primary care doctors are not fully capable of diagnosing RA.(Rheumatoid arthritis)
July 1, 2004... A handful of early arthritis clinics is quietly emerging in the United States, but unlike in Europe, where patients transition smoothly from primary care providers to specialists, turf battles and logistics may make for a rocky start on this...

Moderate alcohol intake may benefit women's bones.(Rheumatology)
July 1, 2004... EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND -- Contrary to conventional wisdom, moderate alcohol consumption does not predispose women to osteoporosis and in fact may be protective, Dr. Frances M.K. Williams reported at the annual meeting of the British Society for...

COPD: alph[a.sub.1]-antitrypsin deficiency often overlooked.(chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
July 1, 2004... ORLANDO, FLA. -- One in every 3,000 people in the United States has a genetic alph[a.sub.1]-antitrypsin deficiency, but only 5,222 know they have the condition, leaving 95,000 Americans undiagnosed, Dr. Charlie Strange said at the 100th...

Advair beats combivent for patients with COPD.(Pulmonary Medicine)(chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
July 1, 2004... ORLANDO, FLA -- Treatment with fluticasone/salmeterol combination inhalation powder leads to a greater reduction in symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease than does the use of ipratropium/albuterol, according to data presented in a...

Acetaminophen may boost COPD and asthma risks.(Pulmonary Medicine)(chronic obstructive pulmonary disease )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... ORLANDO, FLA. -- Regular acetaminophen use appears to be associated with an increase in the risk of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Tricia McKeever, Ph.D., said in a poster presentation at the 100th International Conference of...

Fetal sex affects course of asthma in mother.(Pulmonary Medicine)
July 1, 2004... ORLANDO, FLA. -- Fetal gender may affect maternal asthma symptoms during pregnancy, according to results of a prospective study of 153 pregnant women. "We found if you had female baby,... the asthma tended to be worse. We found lung...

Omalizumab helps in combined asthma and allergic rhinitis.(Pulmonary Medicine)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... SAN FRANCISCO -- When added to standard therapies, omalizumab, an anti-IgE antibody, appears effective for patients who have both moderate to severe allergic asthma and persistent allergic rhinitis, according to a poster presented by Dr. R....

Asthma and environmental risks.(The Effective Physician)
July 1, 2004... To assist health care professionals advise patients with asthma about work-related issues and other potential high-risk activities, the American Thoracic Society has released guidelines for managing asthma at work, school, and recreation. ...

New lung allocation system contemplated.(Pulmonary, Medicine)
July 1, 2004... BOSTON -- Desperately ill patients would no longer wait their turn in line for new lungs under a complex and controversial proposal for revamping the United Network for Organ Sharing lung allocation system. If the proposal is approved, each...

Recent-onset asthma responds to budesonide.(Pulmonary, Medicine)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... SAN FRANCISCO -- Inhaled budesonide increased expiratory volume and morning expiratory flow in patients who had had moderate to severe asthma for less than 2 years, Dr. William W. Busse reported in a poster session at the annual meeting of the...

Dampness, mold behind some health problems.(Pulmonary Medicine)
July 1, 2004... WASHINGTON -- Exposure to mold and damp indoor environments is associated with several respiratory problems, but many of the suspected adverse health effects of such exposure are not supported by solid evidence, according to a report from the...

Vitamin E supplements do not improve asthma.(Pulmonary Medicine)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... ORLANDO, FLA. -- Vitamin E supplementation in adult patients with atopic asthma did not lead to reductions in bronchial reactivity, according to a poster presentation at the 100th International Conference of the American Thoracic Society. ...

Discovery may simplify Dx of interstitial cystitis.(Urology)
July 1, 2004... SAN FRANCISCO -- Scientists have characterized a protein found only in the urine of patients with interstitial cystitis, and they hope it will lead to easier diagnosis and treatment of the disease. This bit of basic science research...

Shortcuts to diagnosis of interstitial cystitis may miss cancer in some cases.(Urology)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... SAN FRANCISCO -- Symptoms attributed to intersitial cystitis were caused by transitional cell carcinoma in 1% of 600 patients, a retrospective review found. The data came from 1998-2002, with diagnoses of interstitial cystitis (IC) made by...

Interstitial cystitis can pose major clinical conundrum: about 700,000 people may have interstitial cystitis, but diagnostic criteria remain in dispute.(Urology)
July 1, 2004... NEW ORLEANS -- Interstitial cystitis is a commonly missed diagnosis, Dr. Joslyn Fisher said at the annual meeting of the American College of Physicians. As a cause of chronic pelvic pain in women, interstitial cystitis (IC) presents a...

Soy-based supplement may slow rise in PSA.(Urology)
July 1, 2004... SAN FRANCISCO -- A soy-based nutritional supplement delayed the rise in prostate-specific antigen levels after treatment for prostate cancer in a double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study, Dr. Fritz H. Schroder said at the annual meeting of...

Attachment style may play role in cancer.(Urology)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... ORLANDO, FLA. -- Attachment style appears to be associated with prostate cancer risk, Dr. Michael A. Burke said at the annual meeting of the American Psychosomatic Society. Attachment style and the risk of a positive prostate biopsy were...

Treating sexual dysfunction in diabetic men: in one survey of male diabetics, 34% had erectile dysfunction frequently and 24% had it occasionally.(Urology)
July 1, 2004... SAN FRANCISCO -- Phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors remain the treatment of choice for sexual dysfunction in diabetic men, but it's important for primary care physicians to take a thorough sexual history and to refer patients to urologists...

'Herbal' ED treatment sometimes may contain the real thing.(Urology)(erectile dysfunction )
July 1, 2004... SAN FRANCISCO -- Two of seven herbal products marketed for treatment of erectile dysfunction contained undeclared pharmacologic amounts of drugs that compose Viagra and related medications, an analysis found. Since the advent of popular...

Web sites offer herbal ED agents, little information.(erectile dysfunction )
July 1, 2004... SAN FRANCISCO -- Important gaps in the information provided by Web sites selling herbal treatments for erectile dysfunction could put buyers in danger, Dr. Ramesh Thurairaja said at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association. ...

Local heating, drugs stem stress incontinence.(radiofrequency energy, Ditropan XL, Detrol LA)
July 1, 2004... PHILADELPHIA -- Radiofrequency energy and two drugs were each shown to be effective when used as monotherapy for treating stress urinary incontinence or mixed stress and urge incontinence in three separate reports at the annual meeting of the...

Islet cells, organs vie for transplant priority.(Endocrinology)
July 1, 2004... BOSTON -- Shortage of donor organs is a major barrier not only to pancreas transplants but also to the emergence of islet cell transplantation as a treatment for diabetes, Dr. Gordon C. Weir said at the annual meeting of the American...

Patient monitoring of diabetes improved after group visits.(Endocrinology)
July 1, 2004... CHICAGO -- A group-visit model can improve short-term control of type 2 diabetes mellitus, a study has shown. A pilot group-visit program helped adult patients attain and maintain optimal reductions in blood glucose levels, said Dr. Valerie...

Look for depression in patients who have metabolic syndrome.(Endocrinology)
July 1, 2004... TORONTO -- Patients with metabolic syndrome have a higher rate of depression than does the general population, making screening a worthwhile consideration in this group, according to a new study. "This screening could help direct patients...

Get high-risk thyroid ca patients into clinical trials.(Endocrinology)
July 1, 2004... BOSTON -- High-risk thyroid cancer patients should be referred to clinical trials of promising antiangiogenesis agents and other novel therapies, Dr. Bryan McIver said at the annual meeting of the American Association of Clinical...

New guideline for subclinical hyperthyroidism falls short.(Endocrinology)
July 1, 2004... BOSTON -- Some patients who fit the latest definition of subclinical hyperthyroidism may not have the condition and probably should not be treated, according to Dr. David S. Cooper of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. "How low does...

Oxcarbazepine dulls diabetic neuropathy pain.(Neurology)
July 1, 2004... VANCOUVER, B. C. -- Oxcarbazepine, given at a higher dosage than in previous studies, significantly reduced diabetic neuropathy pain in a 16-week, placebo-controlled trial, Dr. Sunil Dogra reported at the annual meeting of the American Pain...

Bilberry extract for night vision.(Alternative Medicine)
July 1, 2004... History of Use Legend has it that during World War II, British Royal Air Force pilots noticed that the accuracy of their nightly bombing runs over Germany improved markedly if they ate bilberry jam beforehand. The story may be apocryphal,...

Patients with chronic pain often turn to CAM.(Neurology)(complementary and alternative medicine )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... ORLANDO, FLA. -- The use of complementary and alternative medicine is common among patients with chronic pain, Dr. Carmen R. Green of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, reported in a poster at the annual meeting of the American Academy of...

Cannabinoids called equivalent to codeine for killing pain.(Neurology)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... VANCOUVER, B.C. -- Marijuana is an effective analgesic that probably can be equated with codeine in its potency, Dr. David Boyd said at the annual meeting of the American Pain Society. Cannabinoids are difficult to study in a...

Minorities, elderly suffer pain treatment disparity: the roots of the disparities may include culture and income, but much evidence points to physician bias.(Neurology)
July 1, 2004... VANCOUVER, B.C. -- Women, minorities, and the elderly do not get treated for pain as well or as often as white males do, speakers said at a special session of the annual meeting of the American Pain Society. Inadequate treatment of pain can...

Michigan survey shows minorities lack access to opioid medication.(Neurology)
July 1, 2004... Even when a minority patient gets a proper prescription for pain medication, there can be obstacles, Dr. Green said. A survey of Michigan pharmacies showed that pharmacies located in predominantly minority neighborhoods are much less likely...

WashMnl, PDA cases.(Personal digital assistants)
July 1, 2004... Featured App: WashMnl (The Washington Manual of Medical Therapeutics, 30th Edition) As a way to welcome new interns across the country, and in remembrance of our own training experience, we have chosen to feature the Washington Manual...

Moderate drinking may preserve women's cognitive function.(Clinical Rounds)
July 1, 2004... SAN FRANCISCO -- Light to moderate alcohol consumption by elderly women is associated with improved cognitive function, compared with that of nondrinkers, according to new data from the landmark Nurses' Health Study. This relationship...

Integrated care benefits depressed elderly: integrated models of care win 'hands down' in providing for elderly adults with major depression.(Clinical Rounds)
July 1, 2004... SAN FRANCISCO -- A convergence of new data suggests that enhancing mental health services in primary care practices provides benefits for elderly patients. The findings come from two studies soon to be published and three recently...

Depressin casts shadow over three generations.(Clinical Rounds)
July 1, 2004... NEW YORK -- The children of depressed parents are at increased risk of depression themselves, with anxiety symptoms usually the earliest signs of psychopathology, often appearing before puberty, according to a multigenerational study reported...

Long-term efalizumab effective in severe psoriasis.(Clinical Rounds)
July 1, 2004... PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The efficacy and safety of efalizumab do not appear to deteriorate during the long-term treatment of patients with moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis, Dr. Alice B. Gottlieb said at the annual meeting of the Society...

Psoriasis not too rare in African Americans.(Clinical Rounds)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- About 1.3% or 300,000 African Americans report having a diagnosis of psoriasis, according to data obtained from a large telephone survey commissioned by the National Psoriasis Foundation. The figure shows that psoriasis...

FDA device panel backs artificial lumbar disk: success and satisfaction rates with the disk, long used in Europe, surpassed those with a fusion device.(Rx)
July 1, 2004... GAITHERSBURG, MD. -- The first-ever artificial spinal disk cleared a significant hurdle with the unanimous backing of the Food and Drug Administration's Orthopedic and Rehabilitation Devices Panel. The panel voted 8-0 for conditional...

Rituximab, B-cell depletion eyed as SLE treatment.(Rx)(systemic lupus erythematosus)
July 1, 2004... CHICAGO -- New data on rituximab are sparking enthusiasm that the anti-CD20 chimeric monoclonal antibody could provide safe and efficacious treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus, Dr. David Wofsy said at a symposium sponsored by the American...

Search for novel antidepressants is widening: it's up to government-sponsored scientists to uncover new molecular targets for pharmaceutical companies.(Rx)
July 1, 2004... SAN DIEGO -- Federal research into antidepressant mechanisms has moved beyond pathways related to the serotonin system, Dr. Dennis S. Charney said at a psychopharmacology congress sponsored by the Neuroscience Education Institute. "We...

Mifepristone may ease psychotic depression in subset of patients.(Rx)
July 1, 2004... SAN FRANCISCO -- Results from the first large double-blind trials of an antiglucocorticoid agent for the treatment of psychotic depression suggest that subsets of patients may respond to mifepristone therapy, Dr. Charles DeBattista said. ...

Toxin from puffer fish relieved pain in trial.(tetrodotoxin)
July 1, 2004... VANCOUVER, B.C. -- A novel pain drug from puffer fish poison showed an analgesic effect that lasted up to 2 weeks following intramuscular injection in patients with refractory cancer pain, Dr. Neil Hagen said at the annual meeting of the...

Tazarotene also treats basal cell carcinomas.(Rx)
July 1, 2004... A topical retinoid approved for psoriasis and acne also appears to be an effective treatment for basal cell carcinoma, inducing regression in about 77% of lesions and complete healing in 47% of lesions treated for 24 weeks, with no recurrence...

Medtronic recalling ICDs.(Rx)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Medtronic Inc. is voluntarily recalling two older model implantable cardioverter defibrillators because of concerns that the devices may delay delivery of or fail to deliver shock therapy to patients with cardiac arrhythmia, potentially...

Tinea pedis labels inflate expectations, Panel says.(Rx)
July 1, 2004... ROCKVILLE, MD. -- Current labels on over-the-counter medications for tinea pedis, or "athlete's foot," may contain misleading information about their efficacy and should be revised, according to members of the Food and Drug Administration's...

Early Lyme disease.(Drug Update)
July 1, 2004... Management of Lyme disease focuses on treatment rather than prevention. A vaccine for Lyme disease, which was seemingly safe and effective but also carried a high price tag, was pulled from the market in February 2002 because of low sales and...

New cutaneous borreliosis lesions found in Lyme patients.(Infectious Diseases)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... BARCELONA, SPAIN -- Intermediate-stage cutaneous Lyme disease can manifest as a previously undescribed lesion having the clinical appearance of inflammatory morphea, Dr. Luis Requena said at the 12th Congress of the European Academy of...

Daptomycin is as effective as vancomycin, synthetic penicillin against dual infections.(Infectious Diseases)
July 1, 2004... CANCUN, MEXICO -- Daptomycin is as effective as vancomycin or a semisynthetic penicillin in the treatment of patients coinfected with Staphylococcus aureus and [beta]-hemolytic streptococci, according to findings presented at the 11th...

Several risk factors predict persistent pain after shingles.(Infectious Diseases)
July 1, 2004... Older age and female sex are among the significant risk factors for persistent pain following shingles infection, a study has shown. Also predictive of substantial pain for 120 days or more after the onset of herpes zoster infection--a...

Malaria surveillance.(Clinical Capsules)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... A total of 1,337 cases of malaria were reported in the United States and its territories in 2002, representing a 3.3% decrease from 2001, according to a CDC report. Of those cases, 141 were acquired in the Americas, which was a 41.2%...

HIV prevention.(Clinical Capsules)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... In an ongoing effort to improve HIV prevention, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded a total of $49 million to 142 community-based organizations for implementation of prevention programs. The awards, which support the CDC's...

Resistant Salmonella.(Salmonella choleraesuis )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... A resistant strain of Salmonella choleraesuis was recently identified in a patient with sepsis, Dr. C.H. Chiu of Chang Gung Children's Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan, and colleagues reported. The Salmonella enterica serotype, which usually...

Polio risk.(Immunodeficiency may lead to resistance in poliovirus )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Persistent vaccine-derived neurovirulent poliovirus in an immunodeficient man failed to respond to numerous treatments, suggesting that such infections pose a risk to the strategy for eliminating vaccination once global eradication of polio is...

Most flu vaccine takers still go to doctor's office: despite accessibility of vaccine through clinics, stores, and workplaces, patients are still going to their physicians.(Infectious Diseases)
July 1, 2004... NASHVILLE -- The physician's office is still the most common place where adult patients receive the influenza vaccine, despite increasing availability of alternative venues, Jennifer Reuer reported in a poster presentation at the National...

Pertussis booster for adolescents could decrease susceptibility.(Infectious Diseases)
July 1, 2004... ST. LOUIS -- An adolescent pertussis booster could reduce the number of young people susceptible to the disease to as low as 7%, Dr. Lawrence D'Angelo said at the annual meeting of the Society for Adolescent Medicine. "Even if we are...

Subspecialists less vigilant in immunizing high-risk patients for influenza.(Infectious Diseases)
July 1, 2004... NASHVILLE, TENN. -- Approaches to influenza vaccination vary considerably among medical subspecialists who care for nonelderly high-risk patients, Dr. Matthew M. Davis reported at the National Immunization Conference sponsored by the Centers...

HIV-related Kaposi's responds to new angiogenesis blocker.(Infectious Diseases)
July 1, 2004... BETHESDA, MD. -- Col-3, a chemically modified, nonantimicrobial tetracycline that inhibits angiogenesis, proved safe and effective against Kaposi's sarcoma in a phase II clinical trial in 75 HIV-positive patients. Col-3 inhibits matrix...

Abrupt worsening of Kaposi's sarcoma seen at start of HAART.(Infectious Diseases)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... BETHESDA, MD. -- Kaposi's sarcoma can flare dramatically when HIV-positive patients initiate or change highly active antiretroviral therapy, or when they resume HAART after an interruption, Dr. David Aboulafia said at an international...

Anal cancer incidence is still rising in HIV-positive men and women.(Infectious Diseases)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... BETHESDA, MD. -- Invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal continues to increase in HIV-positive men and women despite the widespread use of highly active antiretroviral therapy, Dr. E.Y. Chiao said at an international conference on...

Regressed Kaposi's lesions retain atrophic tumor cells.(Infectious Diseases)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... BETHESDA, MD. -- Kaposi's sarcoma lesions that completely regress with treatment still contain a reservoir of atrophic tumor cells, Dr. Steven R. Tahan said at an international conference on malignancies in AIDS and other immunodeficiencies....

DEFINITE results favor Prophylactic ICD use in Nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy.(Defibrillators in Nonischemic Cardiomyopathy Treatment Evaluation, Implantable cardioverter-defibrillators)
July 1, 2004... SAN FRANCISCO -- Prophylactic defibrillator implantation in patients with nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy and severe left ventricular dysfunction resulted in an 80% reduction in sudden arrhythmic deaths and a 35% reduction in all-cause...

Government grapples with expanded ICD indications.(Implantable cardioverter-defibrillators)
July 1, 2004... SAN FRANCISCO -- What is the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services going to do about coverage for implantable cardioverter defibrillators? That was the dominant question under discussion at this year's meeting of the Heart Rhythm...

Pacemaker cuts risk in ischemic cardiomyopathy: no new stenotic lesions and a reduction in mean stenosis were shown 6 months after implantation.(Cardiovascular Medicine)
July 1, 2004... SAN FRANCISCO -- The extent of coronary artery stenosis and the number of cardiac events declined in 19 patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy who had pacemakers implanted, compared with 19 similar patients who did not receive pacemakers. ...

Hyperglycemia may be mortality risk after MI.(Cardiovascular Medicine)(myocardial infarction )
July 1, 2004... NEW ORLEANS -- An elevated fasting glucose concentration in nondiabetic patients with acute myocardial infarction is a powerful predictor of increased 30-day mortality, Dr. Mahmoud Suleiman reported at the annual meeting of the American College...

Implanted device may identify leaks following stenting for aneurysm.(Cardiovascular Medicine)
July 1, 2004... MIAMI BEACH -- An implanted device was able to detect and transmit information on the pressure inside of an aortic aneurysm repair stent in initial results from 14 patients. If this type of implanted transducer proves to be reliable and...

Percutaneously delivered clip repairs mitral valve.(Cardiovascular Medicine)
July 1, 2004... NEW ORLEANS -- Percutaneous repair of mitral valve regurgitation was successful in 7 of 10 treated patients in the first clinical test of the procedure. "This is an exciting, percutaneous alternative to surgical repair, and if it doesn't...

No clear winner in catheter ablation techniques.(Cardiovascular Medicine)
July 1, 2004... SAN FRANCISCO -- An ongoing debate among electrophysiologists over the best technique for catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation heated up at the annual meeting of the Heart Rhythm Society following presentation of one of the few randomized...