Medicare Pay: 2004 Forecast Looks Gloomy
Physicians escaping the proverbial frying pan of a 4.4% cut in Medicare payments in 2003 have found themselves right back in the […]
Mitral Annular Calcification Linked With Severe Obstructive Coronary Artery Disease
Mitral annular calcification is associated with an increased prevalence of severe obstruction coronary artery disease, according to a report in the February […]
Improved Heart Function with Myogenesis and Angiogenesis After Stromal Cell Transplantation
Objective: The study evaluated the utility of transplanting bone marrow stromal cells in a porcine myocardial infarction model. Methods: A myocardial infarction […]
Mitral Valve Repair without Cardiopulmonary Bypass or Atriotomy Using the Coapsys Device
Background: Myocor developed a unique system, the Coapsys annuloplasty system, to treat functional mitral regurgitation (MR) without cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). This study […]
Awake Off-pump Coronary Bypass Allows Speedy Recovery, Less Pain
Patients undergoing off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery while awake recover faster and report less postoperative pain than patients undergoing the same procedure […]
Current Status and Outcomes of Coronary Revascularization 1999 to 2002: 148,396 Surgical and Percutaneous Procedures
BACKGROUND: Current practice, trends, and early outcomes in patients undergoing surgical and percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) are changing and subject to speculation. […]
Platelet Concentrate Injection Improves Achilles Tendon Repair in Rats
BACKGROUND: Blood platelets release a cocktail of growth factors when activated, some of which are thought to initiate and stimulate repair. EXPERIMENT […]
Medicare Update from the CMS: Autologous Blood-Derived Products for Chronic Non-Healing Wounds
Decision: CMS has determined that the evidence is adequate to conclude that autologous platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) in a platelet poor plasma […]
Poly-ADP-ribose Polymerase Inhibition Protects Against Myocardial and Endothelial Reperfusion Injury After CPB
Objective: Free radical production and related cytotoxicity during ischemia and reperfusion might lead to DNA strand breakage, which activates the nuclear enzyme […]
Age, Sex Representation Still Low In Cardiovascular Research
Elderly people and women remain under-represented relative to their disease prevalence in randomized, controlled cardiovascular trials. Their exclusion continues despite efforts to […]
Boston Scientific to Reveal Key Heart Stent Data
After months of playing it close to the vest, Boston Scientific Corp. will show its cards next week when it unveils results […]
Surgeon Caseload Largely Explains Hospital Volume Link to Mortality
Numerous reports have shown that operative mortality is lower at hospitals with high procedural volumes. Now, new research suggests that this association […]