Small Trial Raises Big Concerns That PCI In Stable Angina Is Just A Placebo

ORBITA trial may spark a heated debate in the cardiology community. It is only a small trial but it may have an enormous impact as it raises major questions about one of the core beliefs of clinical cardiology as it suggests that PCI for stable coronary disease has no more effect than a sham procedure….

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Novel Device Offers Hope For Heart Patients With No Alternatives

An entirely predictable consequence of medical progress is the growing number of heart patients with persistent and symptomatic angina who have run out of treatment options. A small study published in the New England Journal of Medicine raises the possibility that a new and novel device one day may provide them some relief. The experimental device, called the Neovasc Reducer,…

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Fractional Flow Reserve Gains Support in Stable CAD and NSTEMI

In recent years interventional cardiologists have started to use a new catheter technique, called fractional flow reserve (FFR), in an attempt to assess which blocked vessels might benefit from a stent. Two studies presented at the European Society of Cardiology meeting in Barcelona offered new support for FFR, which has been slowly but surely gaining traction in the…

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SIGNIFY Trial Provokes Sound And Fury Over Controversial Servier and Amgen Drug

The controversial drug ivabradine just got a little more controversial. The drug, which is marketed by Servier under the brand names of Corlentor and Procoralan, is available in Europe and elsewhere and is used for the treatment of heart failure and stable angina. The drug is not available in the US, but it is under development by Amgen for a heart…

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