CV News Digest
Today's News for the American College of Cardiology from Newspapers, TV, Radio and the Journals

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Program seeks to make cardiology more accessible to young women.

The Chicago Tribune (6/24, Jasinski) reports that "although the number of women in cardiology has nearly doubled in the last decade, women still make up less than 20 percent of all cardiologists, the American College of Cardiology's Women in Cardiology Council said." According to Dr. Athena Poppas, chair of the council, "the way to encourage young women to enter the field is through mentoring by strong female role models." The Tribune adds that the Cardiology Summer Academy at Northwestern Memorial's Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute "is one of four science academies held by the Women's Health Science Program at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine." Dr. Martha Gulati, associate director of the center for women's cardiovascular health at Northwestern Memorial, said that "the goal of the...academy is to make cardiology, a specialty dominated by men, more accessible to young women."

Research suggests increased PR interval may be associated with greater risk of atrial fibrillation, pacemaker implantation.

The Los Angeles Times (6/24, Maugh) reports that an increased PR interval, "a common heart abnormality often seen on electrocardiograms that has long been thought to be inconsequential," may be "associated with a substantially increased risk of erratic heartbeats or a need for a pacemaker -- and with a modestly increased risk of death," according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Investigators "studied 7,575 individuals enrolled in the...Framingham Heart Study." Patients "had a mean age of 47 when they underwent an electrocardiogram examination in 1968 through 1974, and they were followed through 2007." During "the years, 481 developed erratic heartbeats, 124 required a pacemaker, and 1,739 died."

        MedPage Today (6/23, Neale) reported that "a PR interval longer than 200 milliseconds" was, according to the researchers, "associated with a greater risk of atrial fibrillation and pacemaker implantation, as well as all-cause mortality." HealthDay (6/23, Edelson) also covered the story. For more on this topic, see Cardiosource.

Study indicates biomarkers of inflammation may warn of increased risk of fatal CVD events.

MedPage Today (6/23, Bankhead) reported that, "in older patients at risk of vascular disease, biomarkers of inflammation can warn of an increased risk of fatal versus nonfatal clinical events, according to a" study published online in PLoS Medicine. Researchers "analyzed data from the Prospective Study of Pravastatin in the Elderly at Risk (PROSPER)," which "involved 5,800 men and women, ages 70 to 82, who were considered at risk for CVD events." The analysis found that "elevated IL-6 emerged as the strongest predictor of the risk of fatal CVD." Furthermore, "a similar risk pattern emerged for CRP, as higher levels of that marker also predicted an increased risk of fatal events."

Boston Scientific says CRT-D may reduce mortality by nearly one-third in patients with mild heart failure.

The Los Angeles Times (6/24, Maugh) reports, "A combination defibrillator and cardiac resynchronization device reduced deaths by nearly one-third in patients with mild heart failure," according to findings announced Tuesday by Boston Scientific Corp., the device's manufacturer. The device, "called a CRT-D, had previously been shown effective in patients with severe heart failure, but this is the first study to investigate its use in those with milder forms of disease."

        The findings "could lead to broadened Food and Drug Administration approval for the devices and could expand the $6.2 billion market for implanted defibrillators," the Wall Street Journal (6/24, Winstein, subscription required) reports. The CRT-D works by being "implanted under the skin near the shoulder and connects with wires that screw in to the heart. It sends electrical signals to tune up the heart and make it beat correctly."

        Bloomberg News (6/24, Randall) reports that "full results of the...study probably will be presented at a conference in September and published in a scientific journal later this year," Arthur Moss, the study's lead investigator and a professor of cardiology at University of Rochester Medical Center, said. The findings follow "a Medtronic study in March" that found "its CRT device slowed heart failure deaths and hospitalizations by about two-thirds, compared with patients taking beta blockers and other heart drugs."

        According to Boston Scientific, its recent findings "show that early implantation of a cardiac resynchronization device can slow the progression of heart failure," the AP (6/24) points out. For the study, researchers enrolled "more than 1,800 patients with class I or II heart failure." MedPage Today (6/23, Peck) also covered the story.

Research suggests new mitral valve repair system may be safe.

HealthDay (6/23, Preidt) reported that, according to a study published online June 23 in Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions, "A new method of repairing leaking mitral heart valves appears safe." The current method of repairing a mitral valve "requires opening the chest and putting the patient on a heart-lung machine," which "increases the risk of heart attack and stroke during surgery, as well as post-surgery risks." But, the "Percutaneous Transvenous Mitral Annuloplasty (PTMA) system...is installed via a catheter," and "changes the shape of the mitral annulus," preventing "blood leakage by allowing the valve's two leaflets to close more tightly." In the study of "27 patients, nine of whom received PTMA implants," four "had to be removed because of complications." The researchers stated "that the PTMA system will not be recommended for all patients due to various anatomic and disease-specific causes."

Obama takes on insurance lobby over public option.

Media coverage of President Obama's statement of support for a public option at a press conference Tuesday generally cast his remarks as the opening round of a clash with the insurance industry.

        The AP (6/24, Alonso-Zaldivar, Werner) reports that President Barack Obama "on Tuesday squared off with the insurance lobby over industry charges that a government health plan he backs would dismantle the employer coverage Americans have relied on for a half-century and overtake the system." The "harsh exchange came after months of polite White House photo-ops at which the administration and insurers emphasized their search for common ground." At his White House press conference, Obama said, "If private insurers say that the marketplace provides the best quality healthcare...then why is it that the government, which they say can't run anything, suddenly is going to drive them out of business?"

        ABC World News (6/23, story 2, 0:55, Sawyer) interviewed President Obama. When asked if he expected a bill by the year's end, Obama said, "Yes." When asked what he would not accept, Obama said "any reform that...is not driving down costs in a serious way," adding, "If people say, we're just going to add more people onto a hugely inefficient system, then I will say no, because we can't afford it."

        The New York Times (6/24, A19, Zeleny, Pear) reports that Obama "argued that a government-run plan competing with private insurers would be an 'important tool to discipline insurance companies' and scoffed at complaints that it could drive some out of business." The Wall Street Journal (6/24, A3, Meckler, Hitt, subscription required), USA Today (6/24, Wolf, Jackson), and the Los Angeles Times (6/24, Levey, Nicholas) also cover the story.

        Public option seen as crux of healthcare debate. According to the Washington Post (6/24, Murray), "the 'public option' has emerged as the crux of the unfolding debate over healthcare reform on Capitol Hill, an ideological flash point that has become perhaps the greatest challenge for the Senate negotiators attempting to reach a compromise that could actually become law." The debate has "created the kind of wedge that President Obama and Democratic leaders had sought to avoid in the debate." Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) "has pledged unified Republican opposition if Democrats proceed" with the plan, but "in a news conference yesterday, Obama [stressed] that a federal presence in the marketplace is the only way to ensure that all Americans will have access to affordable coverage and that spiraling healthcare costs will be contained."

Poll finds "broad public anxiety" about health reform.

The Washington Post (6/24, Connolly, Cohen) reports that, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll, "a majority of Americans see government action as critical to controlling runaway healthcare costs, but there is broad public anxiety about the potential impact of reform legislation and conflicting views about the types of fixes being proposed on Capitol Hill." Underscoring the "challenges for lawmakers as they attempt" healthcare reform, "most respondents are 'very concerned' that healthcare reform would lead to higher costs, lower quality, fewer choices, a bigger deficit, diminished insurance coverage, and more government bureaucracy." Respondents also "fear they may lose what they currently have. More than eight in 10 said they are satisfied with the quality of care they now receive and relatively content with their own current expenses, and worry about future rising costs cuts across party lines and is amplified in the weak economy."

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