Previous small studies have failed to find any benefit associated with renal-artery stenting, but the trials have been small and were not powered for clinical outcomes. Now, the CORAL (Cardiovascular Outcomes in Renal Atherosclerotic Lesions) trial, presented at the American Heart Association meeting and published simultaneously in the New England Journal of Medicine, offers strong and persuasive evidence that renal-artery…
Prolonged Dual Antiplatelet Therapy May Not Be Necessary For Second-Generation Drug-Eluting Stents
October 31, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The precise duration of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) following implantation of a drug-eluting stent (DES) has been the subject of considerable controversy. On the one hand, prolonged therapy may help prevent late stent thrombosis, which was particularly evident in first generation DESs. On the other hand, the risk of stent thrombosis may have diminished in…
The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly: Stents In The News
October 24, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Three big stent stories were in the news today. You’d never know that all 3 were about the same topic. The Ugly The ugly side of stents is emphasized in David Armstrong’s Bloomberg News story on Mehmood Patel, the Louisiana interventional cardiologist serving a 10-year prison sentence for Medicare fraud. These days Patel “leads health-conscious inmates on…
Questions About President George W. Bush’s Stent
August 6, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Former President George W. Bush received a stent today at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. Here is the statement from Bush’s office: During President George W. Bush’s annual physical examination at the Cooper Clinic in Dallas yesterday, a blockage was discovered in an artery in his heart. At the recommendation of his doctors, President Bush agreed to have a stent…
A CME Program Begs The Question: Promotion Or Education?
June 2, 2013 by Leave a Comment
In recent years defenders of commercially-supported continuing medical education (CME) have claimed that the industry has cleaned up its act and that CME programs today are largely free of the abuses that were so common not so long ago. Perhaps. But there are still plenty of examples of programs that violate the fundamental principle that…
Early Results: Antiplatelet Drug Cangrelor Appears Effective For PCI
January 8, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The experimental antiplatelet drug cangrelor was superior to traditional clopidogrel in reducing ischemic events at 48 hours in PCI patients, according to the Medicines Company, which is developing the drug. The company today announced positive results from the phase 3 CHAMPION PHOENIX trial, a randomized, double-blind study comparing intravenous cangrelor to oral clopidogrel in PCI patients. The…
Ohio Hospital And Cardiology Group Pay $4.4 Million To Settle Charges Over Unnecessary PCIs
January 4, 2013 by 2 Comments
In 2006, Reed Abelson in the New York Times reported that the PCI rate in Elyria, Ohio was four times the national average. Now, six-and-a-half years later, the local hospital and cardiology group have agreed to pay $4.4 million to settle US allegations “that the hospital and the physicians “performed angioplasty and stent placement procedures on patients who had heart disease…
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