A request from “someone with influence” to cease discussion of a sensitive topic prompts an editorial encouraging younger colleagues to stand up for what they believe.
The St. Jude Riata ICD lead controversy took center stage at last week’s Heart Rhythm Scientific Sessions in Boston, as previously reported here. Near the end of the meeting a leading figure in the field, Dr. Robert Hauser, of the Minneapolis Heart Institute, summarized the current state of the Riata crisis and discussed its broader implications. Hauser has played key roles in the Riata and several other similar, highly disturbing cases, including those involving the Sprint Fidelis ICD leads and the Prizm 2 DR ICD device malfunction. In a troubling revelation… Continue Reading
This week Richard discusses studies of glucose, insulin, and potassium for MI, elective PCI with and without surgical standby, and varenicline and CV risk.
Thursday morning at Heart Rhythm Scientific Sessions 2012, Suneet Mittal MD of Columbia University gave a detailed account of his group’s experience with a Department of Justice investigation of ICD implantation outside of NCD guidelines. The talk served to amplify and clarify points made in his perspective in JACC written with Jonathan Steinberg MD, in March 2012. Not long after Al-Khatab and colleagues published their account of “non-evidence based” ICD implants in JAMA in January 2011, the US Department of Justice launched an investigation of numerous US hospitals looking for ICD implants outside NCD rules. This action… Continue Reading
Harry Peled wonders whether intermediate-dose aspirin may simply be so effective that it obviates the need for a P2Y12-receptor antagonist.
The Heart Rhythm Society meeting kicked off in Boston this morning. Edward Schloss recounts the important opening session in which FDA-recalled St. Jude ICD leads Riata, Riata ST, and Durata were discussed.
Harlan Krumholz shares his techniques for helping to heal the people whom a deceased patient leaves behind.
This week’s topics include a comparison of abciximab and manual aspiration thrombectomy in STEMI, the quality of U.S. clinical trials, 2-year data on PARTNER, TAVR in inoperable decompensating stenosis, clopidogrel genetic testing, and strategies to reduce MI mortality.
Larry Husten takes to task a conservative activist who is trying to inject politics where it’s neither needed nor wanted.
Brahmajee Nallamothu puts into context the most recent study on the value of measuring the progression of carotid intima-media thickness.
