Medscape interviews Charles A. Herzog, MD, Professor of Medicine at Hennepin County Medical Center, during the 2008 NKF meeting on the impact of sudden cardiac death. Medscape Nephrology
In a new case-control study, long-term use of either rosiglitazone or pioglitazone in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus was associated with a 2-fold to 3-fold increased risk for fractures. Medscape Medical News
Isolation of the entire posterior left atrium improves the outcomes of patients who undergo the Cox maze procedure, the gold standard surgical treatment for atrial fibrillation, according to a report in The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery for April. Reuters Health Information
HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) levels correlate with lower extremity performance in older nondisabled individuals, according to a report in the April Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Reuters Health Information
Interleukin (IL)-6, C-reactive protein, and macroalbuminuria are significant predictors of congestive heart failure, independent of obesity and other established risk factors, according to new findings from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). Reuters Health Information
Results on the hypoxia inhalation test (also known as the hypoxia altitude simulation test) predict how patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) will respond during air travel, researchers from New Zealand report in the April issue of Chest. Reuters Health Information
Investigators report that 6.2% of patients prescribed clopidogrel filed at least one insurance claim for ulcer or gastrointestinal bleeding. One expert, however, says the finding is simply hypothesis generating at this point. Heartwire
New data published this week suggest that an early repolarization pattern is not as benign as previously thought, with investigators showing a "higher-than-expected" prevalence of early repolarization in patients with idiopathic ventricular fibrillation that caused syncope and sudden cardiac arrest. Heartwire
Left cardiac sympathetic denervation appears to be an effective alternative treatment for patients with this genetic disorder, a new report suggests. Heartwire
The largest study to date to examine the use of ICDs in children and those with congenital heart disease has found that the devices do shock appropriately and likely save lives, but they also seem to deliver more inappropriate shocks in children than they do in adults. Heartwire
