Graphic shows a procedure that clamps a leaking heart valve
This undated illustration made available by Abbott Laboratories shows the MitraClip extending into the left ventricle. The clip, a fabric-covered clothespin, inserted through a blood vessel in the groin, that clips the two flaps of the mitral valve together and keeps in the heart's main pumping chamber from backing up into the smaller upper chamber. The result is a bow-tie-shaped opening that permits blood flow from the left atrium to the left ventricle during relaxation of the heart, and enables the valve to close more effectively during contraction, rather than allowing leakage of blood backward into the left atrium. (AP Photo/Abbott Laboratories)
This undated photo illustration made available by Abbott Laboratories shows the MitraClip mounted on the end of a catheter. The clip, a fabric-covered clothespin, inserted through a blood vessel in the groin, clips the two flaps of the mitral valve together and keeps in the heart's main pumping chamber from backing up into the smaller upper chamber. (AP Photo/Abbott Laboratories)
ATLANTA — Many Americans with leaky heart valves soon might be able to get them fixed without open-heart surgery. A study showed that a tiny clip implanted through an artery was safer and nearly as effective as surgery, doctors reported Sunday.
The device is already on sale in Europe, and its maker, Abbott Laboratories, hopes to win approval to sell it in the United States next year. Elizabeth Taylor reportedly got one last fall — the 77-year-old actress told fans about it on Twitter.
About 8 million people in the U.S. and Europe have leaky mitral valves — the valve between the heart's left upper and lower chambers. Not all are so bad they need treatment, but the worst cases can lead to heart failure over time.
In the study, six times more people who had surgery suffered complications during the next month than those who got Abbott's MitraClip. Deaths, strokes and blood transfusions were less common with the device. The clip was not dramatically less effective than surgery after one year.
Doctors called the study a watershed — the first big test of repairing or replacing heart valves through arteries rather than drastic surgery.
If it’s good enough for Elizabeth Taylor, who are we to argue with it? Actually, you can argue with it all you want, this clip is new and may not stand up to the test of time, you’ll hear about it more this year when they go for FDA approval in the US.
The FDA said it will conduct a full review of findings from a study which concluded that neither aggressive lipid-lowering therapy nor tight blood pressure control reduced cardiovascular events in persons with diabetes. Both Trilipix and TriCor are marketed by Abbott, and Trilipix is "the active metabolite of TriCor," according to Marshall Elam, MD, PhD, of the Memphis VA Medical Center.
(JB Reed/Bloomberg News/Getty Images)
Results from the highly anticipated Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) trial proved once again that when it comes to traditional measurements of heart disease risk, lower isn't always better.
Using a blood pressure target of 120 mm Hg rather than the general population standard of 140 did not reduce nonfatal heart attacks, nonfatal strokes or death from cardiovascular causes, reported Dr. William Cushman of the VA Medical Center in Memphis, Tenn.
Likewise, adding the cholesterol-busting drug fenofibrate to standard statin therapy did not reduce the chances of major adverse cardiovascular events, according to Dr. Henry Ginsberg of Columbia University in New York City.
As a doctor, will this study change how you prescribe to diabetics? And what about that aspirin every day? Is that out, too? It will be interesting to see what our friends at the FDA say about the study.
Marueen FitzGerald, left, and Meghan FitzGerald stand praying the rosary across from the Hillcrest Women's Medical Center of Harrisburg on Front Street in Harrisburg, Pa., Tuesday, March 9, 2010, as part of the 40 Days For Life Campaign. Both are from Lancaster, Pa. According to the 40 Days For Life website, 40 Days for Life is a focused pro-life campaign with a vision to access God’s power through prayer, fasting, and peaceful vigil to end abortion in America. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
WASHINGTON—A group representing Catholic hospitals Saturday rallied behind President Barack Obama's health care bill ahead of a House vote in which anti-abortion lawmakers could play a decisive role.
The chief executive of the Catholic Health Association, Carol Keehan, wrote on the group's Web site that although the legislation isn't perfect, it represents a "major first step" toward covering all Americans and would make "great improvements" for millions of people. The more than 600 Catholic hospitals across the country do not provide abortions as a matter of conscience.
The association's support widens a split among abortion foes on whether the bill goes far enough to prevent taxpayer funding for the procedure. House Democratic leaders are trying to turn that debate to their advantage as they press for a vote on Obama's bill as early as this coming week. Winning over even a handful of anti-abortion Democrats could help Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., find a clear path to the 216 votes she needs for passage.
I’m not afraid to talk about the abortion issue, but it seems like the fight to keep abortion a legal medical operation—for the poor, the rich can always fly to France for abortions—goes on forever. Do you remember illegal abortions and how they killed women?
About half of adults in the UK are affected by high blood pressure
People with occasionally high blood pressure are more at risk of stroke than those with consistently high readings, research suggests.
Current guidelines focus on measuring average blood pressure levels to spot and prevent the chance of a stroke.
But research suggests doctors should no longer ignore variation in test results and give drugs that produce the most steady blood pressure levels.
The Stroke Association called for national guidelines to be overhauled.
In the first of the series of studies published in The Lancet, UK and Swedish researchers looked at the variability in blood pressure readings at doctors' checks.
My BP readings are always higher at the doctor’s office, and this can lead to a slightly higher dosage of BP meds. Although I can’t feel any symptoms of high blood pressure, low BP is very weird feeling.
The vaccine additive thimerosal is not to blame for autism, a special federal court ruled Friday in a long-running battle by parents convinced there is a connection.
WASHINGTON - The vaccine additive thimerosal is not to blame for autism, a special federal court ruled Friday in a long-running battle by parents convinced there is a connection.
While expressing sympathy for the parents involved in the emotionally charged cases, the court concluded they had failed to show a connection between the mercury-containing preservative and autism.
"Such families must cope every day with tremendous challenges in caring for their autistic children, and all are deserving of sympathy and admiration," special master George Hastings Jr. wrote.
But, he added, Congress designed the victim compensation program only for families whose injuries or deaths can be shown to be linked to a vaccine and that has not been done in this case.
The ruling came in the so-called vaccine court, a special branch of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims established to handle claims of injury from vaccines.
It can be appealed in federal court.
We recently saw a story that reported a high number of parents still believe there is a connection between thimerosal and autism, yet most have their kids vaccinated anyway.
If you have just had a knee replacement surgery and your doctor has advised you not to engage in any sports activity then read more. A recent study has stated that sport participation post knee replacement is not only safe but may lead to better knee function.
Dr Sebastien Parratte, a research collaborator at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and an assistant professor at the Aix-Marseille University Center for Arthritis Surgery at Hospital Sainte-Marguerite in Marseille, France, said, ''Initially, we though high-impact sports were terrible for the prosthesis. Our eight-year results have shown it is not the case."
Interesting article about a study where lots of people did not do as the doctor suggested, they went in for high-impact sports, and not only did the knees work better, they also got the benefit of the exercise. That must be quite a device, that artificial knee.
Posted
Mar 15 2010, 03:17 AM
by
Robert Gleeman