Rampant Stent Overuse; Hot Tub Heart Risks Revisited; Cardiologist Runs for Office

The American Heart Association said it is officially joining efforts to create a new American Board of Cardiovascular Medicine specific to cardiovascular physicians, alongside other professional societies.

One Texas hospital has over half of stents placed meeting criteria for overuse, according to the nationwide ranking in a report from the Lown Institute.

Following actor Matthew Perry’s death in a hot tub, cardiovascular risks and other dangers of home spas are thrust into the spotlight. (Today)

An orally administered traditional Chinese medicine, tongxinluo, improved survival for patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction in a randomized trial. (JAMA)

Could a ratio of cardiac troponin I to cardiac troponin T help discriminate between acute and chronic myocardial injury? (Journal of the American College of Cardiology)

In the real world, minimal interruption of direct oral anticoagulation therapy seemed prudent at the time of cardiac implantable electronic device surgery. (JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology)

Impulse Dynamics announced FDA approval for the Optimizer Smart Mini system, a cardiac contractility modulation device, to be used with whole-body MRI imaging.

The degree of viable myocardium had no bearing on whether patients with ischemic left ventricular dysfunction benefit from percutaneous coronary intervention. (JAMA Cardiology)

To identify patients with angina and nonobstructive coronary arteries who may benefit from anti-ischemic therapy, invasive measurement of coronary flow reserve proved helpful in a small trial. (Circulation)

Ten years into ISAR-DESIRE 3, rates of recurrent revascularization events after treatment of in-stent restenosis favored drug-eluting stent or drug-coated balloon treatment over a plain balloon strategy. (JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions)

Adjusted data from the SWEDEHEART registry showed that event rates after angioplasty were no different between instant wave-free ratio and fractional flow reserve for treatment guidance, Philips announced.

The anatomical SYNTAX score was updated to fit parameters of coronary CT angiography. (Journal of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography)

The FDA is investigating Panera’s highly caffeinated Charged Lemonade and the death of a young woman with established long QT syndrome who had allegedly gone into cardiac arrest after drinking it. (NBC News)

Stroke survivors continued to have more atrial fibrillation detected with an insertable cardiac monitor over usual care, 3 years into the STROKE AF trial. (JAMA Neurology)

Avertix Medical announced an 150% increase in antiarrhythmic medication adjustments when patients had their Guardian implantable heart attack alarms activated.

A step-down antibiotic regimen just missed statistical significance for proving a clinical benefit in people with left-sided infective endocarditis. (European Heart Journal)

Guideline-based treatment for obstructive coronary artery disease seemed to narrow racial disparities in long-term cardiovascular outcomes among women. (Canadian Journal of Cardiology)

Interventional cardiologist John Best, MD, declared his candidacy for Missouri state representative in the 128th District.

Hourly exposure to certain air pollutants was associated with increased risk of hospital admissions for stroke in China. (Stroke)

High visit-to-visit variability in blood pressure predicted subsequent dementia in late life. (JAMA Network Open)

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