Using propensity score matching techniques, outcomes and costs for robotic cardiac surgery were compared to open cardiac surgery using data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample. Robotic surgery was more expensive ($39,030 vs $36,340) but was associated with a shorter length of stay (5 vs 6 days), lower mortality (1.0% vs 1.9%), and lower overall com
ALERT!
This site is not optimized for Internet Explorer 8 (or older).
Please upgrade to a newer version of Internet Explorer or use an alternate browser such as Chrome or Firefox.
Coronary disease
June 16, 2015
The good news continues regarding chocolate consumption! A study involving nearly 21,000 individuals with a median follow-up of nearly 12 years correlated cardiovascular disease with quintiles of chocolate consumption. The lowest quintile was associated with a 50% higher risk of coronary heart disease and a similar increase in stroke incidence.
June 14, 2015
This Swedish study was a retrospective review over a 20-year time period that compared survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest between those receiving bystander CPR prior to EMS arrival and those not receiving such. CPR before the arrival of EMS was associated with an increased 30-d survival rate (odds ratio 2.15; 95% CI 1.88-2.45).
May 29, 2015
240 high risk patients undergoing cardiac surgery were randomized to remote ischemic preconditioning (3 5-min cycles of single upper extremity ischemia after anesthetic induction) or sham. Preconditioning reduced the incidence of acute kidney injury by one-third and the need for renal replacement therapy by two-thirds. These results were associated
May 10, 2015
In this manuscript, the authors describe their findings of an extensive literature review of 12 mostly observational, retrospective studies evaluating the use of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) in patients after CABG. They conclude that there is no clear consensus regarding the use DAPT in patients undergoing CABG.
April 30, 2015
Patients with LV dysfunction who underwent complete surgical revascularization were evaluated with angiograms, echo, and MR (evaluating late vascular enhancement with contrast). About 70% of dysfunctional segments segments demonstrated improved wall motion after revascularization, and this was unrelated to the degree of late vascular enhancement evi
April 29, 2015
This video demonstrates total arterial complete revascularization with bilateral internal mammary artery and mitral valve replacement in a 62-year-old male patient.
April 12, 2015
In this manuscript the authors describe their findings in a meta-analysis of 12 randomized placebo-controlled clinical trials involving 2,980 patients undergoing isolated CABG. They found that statin therapy, particularly atorvastatin, initiated before CABG, was associated with a 58% reduction in the risk of postoperative AF.
April 7, 2015
The authors prospectively performed coronary angiograms in their patients undergoing isolated CABG who demonstrated a rising cardiac troponin I profile in the first 12 hours following heart surgery - despite being asymptomatic. Among a total of 1693 patients from 2005-2011, 29 (1.7%) of patients had a rising CTnI.
April 2, 2015
Repair of this congenital defect in 34 pts was associated with no early mortality and substantial improvement in LV function (EF, shortening fraction, LVEDD). No postoperative circulatory support was required.