Topic

Cardiovascular Disease


PLoS: Health IT can improve cardiovascular risk management

Industry News | Thursday, August 26 2010
IT-based programs can improve cardiovascular disease management and patient empowerment, but must be accompanied by supportive social and political environments and active patient and clinician engagement, according to an article published online Aug. 24 in PLoS Medicine.
 

JACC: PET reveals higher glucose uptake in visceral adipose tissue

Clinical Studies | Monday, August 23 2010
Whole-body FDG-PET scans revealed that visceral adipose tissue has increased glucose uptake compared with subcutaneous adipose tissue and the differences in stromal metabolic activity can aid in cardiovascular risk stratification, according to a study published in this month’s Journal of American College of Cardiology: Cardiovascular Imaging.
 

SonoSite appoints Marcus Smith to CFO, Mike Schuh retires

Executive Announcements | Thursday, August 12 2010
Ultrasound developer SonoSite has named Marcus Smith as its new chief financial officer and senior vice president, following the retirement of Mike Schuh.
 

AIM: Childhood cancer survival may lead to later cardiac dysfunction

Clinical Studies | Wednesday, July 28 2010
Along with an increased risk of mortality, pediatric patients who survive childhood cancer may also have have an increased risk of long-term abnormal cardiac function, according to a study published July 26 in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
 

JACC: SPECT IDs diabetics with renal dysfunction at risk of CV death

Clinical Studies | Wednesday, July 21 2010
The estimated glomerular filtration rate, which represents renal function, might play an important role in identifying high-risk diabetic persons who would benefit most from myocardial perfusion imaging by SPECT for suspected ischemia, according to a study published in this month's Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Cardiovascular Imaging.
 

JACC Feature: MPI studies responsible for 74% of cumulative rad dose

Web Exclusives | Monday, July 12 2010
Written by Manjula Puthenedam
Cardiac imaging procedures represent an important source of ionizing radiation in the U.S., and the distribution of cumulative effective doses can lead to sizable radiation exposure for many individuals, according to a study published online July 7 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Better strategies to minimize the radiation exposure from cardiac imaging procedures should be encouraged, said the study's lead author Jersey Chen, MD, in an interview.
 

St. Jude completes $90M LightLab purchase, to combine OCT, FFR

Mergers & Acquisitions | Wednesday, July 07 2010
St. Jude Medical has completed the previously announced acquisition of LightLab Imaging, a former Goodman subsidiary, for approximately $90 million in cash.
 

ASE: Ultrasound predicts heart disease for obese women

Conference News | Friday, June 11 2010
Women presenting with either obesity alone or in the presence of metabolic syndrome have high rates of abnormal ultrasound findings, despite being identified as low risk by traditional risk assessment tools, according to the results of the HAPPY Heart trial presented at the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) 21st Annual Scientific Sessions in San Diego this week.
 

Philips, RXi Pharma to research image-guided cell therapy

Partnerships & Alliances | Thursday, June 03 2010
Royal Philips Electronics and RXi Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company, have entered into a joint research agreement to combine the proprietary technologies from both companies to explore the targeted delivery of experimental therapeutics based on RNA interference (RNAi).
 

GE invests $5M for cardiovascular genomic diagnostics

Partnerships & Alliances | Sunday, May 16 2010
GE Healthcare and CardioDx, a cardiovascular genomic diagnostics company, have entered into a strategic alliance to co-develop diagnostic technologies to improve the care and management of patients with cardiovascular disease.
 

JACC: Radiation exposure worth the risk?

Industry News | Tuesday, May 11 2010
Previously, patient radiation exposure from CT scans were compared to similar doses of radiation received by Hiroshima atomic bomb survivors. Today, with a push for dose reduction technology to hamper these concerns, dose exposure has significantly decreased, but fears still remain.
 

HHS releases $220M in health IT awards

Top Stories | Tuesday, May 04 2010
U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius have selected 15 pilot communities for wide-scale use of health IT through the Beacon Community program, with awards totaling $220 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
 

JAMA: CAC score+risk factors help predict heart disease risk

Clinical Studies | Tuesday, April 27 2010
The use of a coronary artery calcium (CAC) score in addition to traditional risk factors was determined to be associated with improved prediction of heart disease risk, and placed more individuals in the most extreme risk categories, said a study published April 28 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
 

VIA Pharmaceuticals reduces workforce by 63%

Industry News | Thursday, April 01 2010
Cardiovascular and metabolic disease biotechnology company Via Pharmaceuticals has launched a strategic restructuring and financing of its resources related to research and development of its line of drug candidates, beginning with a workforce reduction and a $1.25 million draw from a new $3 million secured Note and Warrant Purchase Agreement with the company's principal stockholder.
 

ACC: PINNACLE Registry aims to improve outpatient cardiac care

Conference News | Tuesday, March 16 2010
Written by Gina Narcisi
QATLANTA - Originally piloted two years ago as the Improving Continuous Cardiac Care IC3 registry, the recently rebranded PINNACLE registry is the first and only ambulatory registry for cardiovascular conditions in this country, noted William Oetgen, MD, clinical associate professor of medicine at Georgetown University, at the 59th annual American College of Cardiology (ACC) annual conference on March 16.
 

SIR: Drug-eluting stents emerge as option for critical limb ischemia

Conference News | Tuesday, March 16 2010
Interventional radiologists have found that a subgroup of patients with critical limb ischemia, the most severe form of peripheral arterial disease (PAD), may avoid amputation through the use of drug-eluting stents on the smaller arteries below the knee, according to a study released at this week’s Society of Interventional Radiology's (SIR) Annual Scientific Meeting in Tampa, Fla.
 

SIR: ABI testing can better predict those at risk for coronary disease

Conference News | Friday, March 12 2010
Testing patients for peripheral arterial disease (PAD) via abnormal ankle brachial index (ABI) exams can identify patients at risk for future cardiac events who were not considered in the high-risk category with Framingham risk assessments, according to results of a clinical trial presented at the 35th annual scientific meeting of the Society of Interventional Radiology's in Tampa, Fla.
 

Molecular Targeting Technologies licenses cell death imaging technology

Industry News | Tuesday, March 02 2010
Pennsylvania-based biotechnology company Molecular Targeting Technologies has obtained a license from the University of Notre Dame for a novel sensing technology developed by Bradley Smith, PhD, Emil T. Hofman professor of chemistry and biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, that images cell death.
 

Philips, Amsterdam provider collaborate on multimodality imaging

Partnerships & Alliances | Thursday, February 18 2010
Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands and the VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands have signed an agreement to jointly research new multimodality imaging solutions aimed at improving the early detection and treatment of cancer and neurological and cardiovascular diseases.
 

PNAS: Nanoparticles could eliminate drug-eluting stents

Clinical Studies | Tuesday, January 19 2010
Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard Medical School have built targeted nanoparticles that can cling to artery walls and slowly release medicine, which could be an alternative to drug-eluting stents in some patients with cardiovascular disease, according to research published in the Jan. 18 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
 
Web Exclusives

Feature: U.S. needs national strategy to curb imaging overutilization

Medical imaging overutilization--a growing concern in the U.S.--exposes patients to unnecessary radiation, while also adding to rising healthcare costs, according to a study published online Aug. 24 in Radiology. In an interview, William R. Hendee, PhD, lead author, reviewed various methods by which medical imaging could be curtailed.

Radiology: Prelim study shows CE breast CT outperforms CT, mammo

Dedicated contrast-enhanced (CE) breast CT delivered significantly improved conspicuity of malignant breast lesions, including ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), compared with unenhanced breast CT and mammography, according to a study published in the September issue of Radiology.

Radiology: Rad role may evolve as image-guided biopsies trend up

CT, ultrasound and MRI have helped shift biopsy techniques away from more invasive approaches toward image-guided percutaneous techniques, according to a study published in the September issue of Radiology. The trend toward less-invasive approaches translates into enhanced safety and efficiency and could lead to more interaction between patients and radiologists.

CMS Webinar: Incentive payments to offset EHR adoption, not reimburse

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) EHR incentive payments are not considered reimbursement for money expended on EHR technology, but are intended to offset the cost associated with adoption and ongoing meaningful use, according to CMS during an Aug. 12 webinar.

CMS webinar: Eligible professionals can expect EHR incentives in 2011

Funding incentives for EHR use is the main goal of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) meaningful use initiative, and there are incentive programs for both hospitals and eligible professionals, according to Elizabeth Holland, health insurance specialist at the Department of Health and Human Services, who spoke during a CMS-sponsored webinar Aug. 8.

Webinar: Stage 1 of meaningful use is for quality reporting acclimation

Stage 1 requirements for meaningful use incentives aim to strike a balance between the overall goal of EHR use and widespread adoption, while avoiding added work, said Jonathan Teich, MD, PhD, chief medical informatics officer at Elsevier Health Services, during a HIMSS webinar titled “Meaningful Use: Safety and Quality of Care.”

PORTALS

Advanced Visualization

Molecular Imaging

Integration Tools & Interoperability

More Portal Topics