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News in brief from the world of cardiology. ...

To find out how the European Working Time Directive set up to help improve the welfare of junior doctors seems to be failing in one of its primary objectives, why women may benefit more from cardiac resynchronisation therapy defibrillators than men, and why telehealth heart failure patients experience a significant improvement in their care and quality of life, visit our sister website: ...

We continue our series in which Consultant Interventionist Dr Michael Norell takes a sideways look at life in the cath lab…and beyond. In this column, he updates the definitions of terms used in interventional cardiology....

By the very nature of book publishing, a relevant evidence-based textbook is always a hard task to achieve. The editors of Evidence-based cardiology preface this book, now in its 3rd edition, with an admission of this limitation. This textbook is, however, more than just a reference volume. It seeks to educate and equip the reader with the tools to critically appraise information, and then demonstrates how research has evolved to shape current practice....

A new guideline has been published by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and the National Clinical Guidelines Centre for Acute and Chronic Conditions on the early management of unstable angina and non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI)....

It is hoped that a new National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guideline on recent onset chest pain will lead to a reduction in cardiovascular deaths. ...

Dronedarone included in new appraisal consultation document An independent Appraisal Committee has revised NICE’s original recommendation that dronedarone should not be used to treat atrial fibrillation (AF) after considering comments received at public consultation on the previous draft guidance. Recent draft guidance published on 30th March recommends the limited use of the drug as a second-line treatment in people with additional cardiovascular risk factors whose AF has not been controlled by first-line therapy (usually including beta blockers)....

Neither intensive blood pressure reduction, or adding a fibrate to a statin, appear to be justified in patients with diabetes at high risk of cardiovascular disease, according to studies reported at the American College of Cardiology meeting held in Atlanta, US, in March. But more encouraging news came in the form of a new percutaneous procedure that should prevent the need for mitral valve surgery. ...

News in brief from the world of cardiology. ...

We continue our series in which Consultant Interventionist Dr Michael Norell takes a sideways look at life in the cath lab…and beyond. In this column, he considers the pitfalls of passwords....