SCAI publishes updated guidelines for cath lab best practices
(Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions) Today, the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) published an update to its first-of-its-kind 2012 paper outlining best practices in the cardiac catheterization laboratory (CCL), or cath lab. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - May 2, 2016 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news
Mercy Northwest Arkansas Plans $247M Expansion Over 5 Years
Mercy Northwest Arkansas on Wednesday announced a five-year, $247 million expansion project it said will create 1,000 new jobs.
The expansion comes has the system's hospitals and clinics are at "very high capacity," according to Eric Pianalto, Mercy Hospital's president.
The new jobs will come as a result of the expansion of the Rogers hospital and the addition of new clinics in Benton and Washington counties. The jobs include physicians, advanced practitioners and nurses, according to the hospital.
Elements of the expansion include:
A new 190,000-SF patient tower on its Rogers campus that will add more than 100 beds...
Source: Arkansas Business - Health Care - April 27, 2016 Category: American Health Source Type: news
Make the Diagnosis: Dizziness Dilemma
(MedPage Today) -- Case Findings: The patient is a 42-year-old African American man who presents with a complaint of dizziness lightheadedness which occurred when he was standing up to go to the rest room 3 days ago. He denies any previous syncopal episodes. He has medically managed hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, cardiomyopathy with last ejection fraction of 35% with defibrillator placement 4 months previous. His ICD did not fire during the episode. His last cardiac catheterization prior to ICD implantation revealed normal coronaries. Patient has been compliant with metoprolol 25 mg twice daily, lisinopril 10 mg daily...
Source: MedPage Today Endocrinology - April 26, 2016 Category: Endocrinology Source Type: news
Cardiac cath radiation exacts toll on health personnel
Radiation from cardiac catheterization procedures is taking a heavy toll on...Read more on AuntMinnie.comRelated Reading:
Interventional technologists have higher cancer risk
Interventional radiology needs accurate dose tracking
Cardiac CTA study links medical radiation to DNA damage
Interventional radiologists need to follow shielding protocols
Cardiac cath delivers high radiation doses to operators (Source: AuntMinnie.com Headlines)
Source: AuntMinnie.com Headlines - April 13, 2016 Category: Radiology Source Type: news
Stentys wins CE Mark for Xposition S self-apposing coronary stent
Stentys SA (EPA:STNT) said today it won CE Mark approval in the European Union for its self-apposing coronary Xposition S sirolimus-eluting stent, claiming it to be the “world’s 1st and only self-apposing coronary stent.”
The approval came based upon results from a study of the device published last year in the journal Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions.
“This CE Marking confirms the adequacy of our technology in this complex setting and now allows us to quickly start the multicentric study that will evaluate the efficacy of Xposition S in 200 patients in this indication,” CEO Go...
Source: Mass Device - March 28, 2016 Category: Medical Equipment Authors: Fink Densford Tags: Cardiac Implants Cardiovascular Drug-Eluting Stents Regulatory/Clearance Stentys Source Type: news
Structural heart: Nobles Medical, HeartStitch tout cardiac suture procedures
Structural heart focused HeartStitch and Nobles Medical today touted separate procedures utilizing cardiac sutures with the company’s Hearstitch ST and Noblestitch EL devices.
Nobles Medical Tech said that the NobleStitch EL device was used in the 1st percutaneous ASD closure and ASA repair and remodeling without the use of an implantable device.
The NobleStitch EL device closes the hole through a minimally invasive cardiovascular suturing procedure, the company said, with a routine cardiac catheterization procedure to secure the closure.
“This was the 1st time we used the NobleStitch cardiovascular suturing d...
Source: Mass Device - March 10, 2016 Category: Medical Equipment Authors: Fink Densford Tags: Cardiac Implants Cardiovascular Clinical Trials HeartStitch Nobles Medical Technology Source Type: news
Central EMS, Northside Hospital Collaboration Reduces Response Time, Save Lives in STEMI Patients
With emergency medicine, time is critical in diagnosing and treating every patient. One of the most time-dependent diagnoses is a STEMI, or ST elevation myocardial infarction.
Central EMS and the Northside Hospital-Forsyth Emergency Department are focused on coordinating efforts for a seamless STEMI response in Forsyth County, Georgia. Central EMS began providing emergency medical response to Forsyth County in January and since that time, the ambulance provider has conducted additional training with EMTs and paramedics on immediately recognizing the signs of STEMI and has integrated communication processes with the emergen...
Source: JEMS Patient Care - March 2, 2016 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Cardiac & Resuscitation Industry News Source Type: news
Here's a less-invasive, lower-risk option for heart patients
For heart patients, “less invasive” are great words to hear.
Imagine a less-invasive, lower-risk option to traditional cardiac catheterization, a medical procedure in which a catheter is typically put into a blood vessel in your groin and threaded to your heart.
“For many patients, cardiac catheterization can be performed through the radial artery in the wrist, instead of using an artery in the groin,” says Dr. John Wang , chief of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at MedStar Union… (Source: bizjournals.com Health Care:Pharmaceuticals headlines)
Source: bizjournals.com Health Care:Pharmaceuticals headlines - February 24, 2016 Category: Pharmaceuticals Authors: Sponsored content provided by Medstar Source Type: news
UPMC 'personalizes' medications for heart patients through innovative gene testing
(University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences) Patients who go to UPMC Presbyterian for heart catheterization and who receive a stent to treat clogged arteries are now being screened with a simple blood test to determine if they have a gene variant that makes them less likely to respond to a blood-thinning medication commonly prescribed after the procedure. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - February 10, 2016 Category: Biology Source Type: news
St. Jude Medical launches Optis Mobile in Europe, Japan
St. Jude Medical (NYSE:STJ) said today that it’s launching its Optis Mobile OCT-FFR lab in Europe and Japan.
Little Canada, Minn.-based St. Jude said the portable Optis Mobile is designed for hospitals with multiple cardiac catheterization labs and combines optical coherence tomography and angiography co-registration with fractional flow reserve.
“The Optis Mobile system represents the ongoing commitment of St. Jude Medical to develop products that provide physicians with more options for improved OCT and angiography co-registration guidance in their daily practice,” group president Dr. Eric Fain sa...
Source: Mass Device - February 8, 2016 Category: Medical Equipment Authors: Brad Perriello Tags: Cardiovascular Imaging Stents St. Jude Medical Source Type: news
Coronary artery vasospasm induced by cocaine (maybe)
2.5 out of 5 stars
Cocaine-Induced Coronary Artery Vasospasm. Almaddah N, Ajayi TO. N Engl J Med 2016 Feb 4;374:e5
Full Text with video
In a series of amazing studies that are now about three decades old, Richard Lange and his colleagues at Parkland Hospital in Dallas investigated the cardiovascular effects of administering intranasal cocaine to patients to patients during cardiac catheterization for routine workup of chest pain. In an initial study, the group demonstrated that cocaine produced coronary artery vasoconstriction that was relieved by nitroglycerin and exacerbated by smoking a cigarette and also by ad...
Source: The Poison Review - February 4, 2016 Category: Toxicology Authors: Leon Tags: Medical cardiovascular effects cocaine coronary artery vasospasm Source Type: news
What Are Risk Factors for Latex Allergy?
Discussion
Latex comes from the Hevea brasiliensis plants. There are multiple potentially allergenic polypeptides within the plant’s fluid called Heb b 1-13. True sensitizers are Heb b 1, 5 and 6. Heb b 8 and 12 are cross-reacting proteins.
The type of the latex product and how it is prepared makes a difference in exposure to the latex allergens. Certain extruded latex products such as catheters and rubber stoppers have higher concentrations of true sensitizer allergens. Products made from molds such as gloves have higher concentrations of potential allergens than latex made in sheets such as such as dental dams. Use...
Source: PediatricEducation.org - February 1, 2016 Category: Pediatrics Authors: pediatriceducationmin Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news
No, You Are Not an Hysterical Female, and This Is Not Just Anxiety
"He's working with a med student shadowing him today. Do you mind being seen by her first?" In the spirit of education, I said, "No, of course not." She had long strawberry blond hair and big glasses. We talked. "What brought you here today?" she asked. "Well, I was seen in the ER three weeks ago for a blood clot in my leg and they told me I needed to follow up." I watched her write down "Deep Vein Thrombosis." "It wasn't a deep vein thrombosis, but they did find a blood clot, and told me to follow up with you." She marked out "Deep Vein Thrombosis" and led me through my recent history since the Bad Fall Onto My Head o...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - January 29, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Arkansas Heart Hospital's Dr. Bruce Murphy on the High Cost of American Medicine
Dr. Bruce Murphy is a co-founder of Arkansas Heart Hospital and became president and CEO of the hospital in August 2011.
Murphy, 63, graduated from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences with a doctorate in pharmacology in 1980 and completed his cardiology training in 1986. He was in the private practice of interventional cardiology and peripheral vascular intervention for 28 years. Murphy’s career focused on developing new techniques in both fields and teaching. He has trained physicians from more than 30 countries at Arkansas Heart Hospital and initiated the cardiology fellowship training program with the ...
Source: Arkansas Business - Health Care - January 25, 2016 Category: American Health Source Type: news
Cryothermic Systems Introduces Flagship Cooling Product
CLEVELAND, OH (Jan 12, 2016) - Today, at the National Association of EMS Physicians® Conference in San Diego, CA, Cryothermic Systems announced the release of its flagship product, the Cryothermic Cooling Pack. The Cryothermic Cooling Pack has been shown in studies to cool patients noninvasively and quickly by 1 to 3 degrees Celsius in less than 30 minutes.
For EMS systems and emergency departments, the Cryothermic Cooling Pack is a cost-effective substitute for chilled saline that can consistently cool the patient and provide a bridge to targeted temperature management systems in the hospital. Targeted Temperature Man...
Source: JEMS Patient Care - January 12, 2016 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Patient Care Source Type: news
