News and views

The JUPITER trial of rosuvastatin versus placebo has been stopped early because of “unequivocal evidence” of a reduction in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality with the drug....

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 how cardiologists can stay in shape....

News in brief from the world of cardiology...

Echocardiography: Oxford specialist handbook in cardiology is an invaluable tool in the diagnosis and management of patients with cardiac disease. This new Oxford Handbook is for everyone, cardiologists and cardiac physiologists alike, involved in the direct care of cardiology patients....

This handbook is a comprehensive and practical overview of all aspects of electrophysiology. It covers fundamentals such as the set-up of an electrophysiology laboratory and the diagnostic tools used to investigate the patient with an arrhythmia or syncope....

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 ‘non-expert’ opinion....

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has recommended that drug-eluting stents can continue to be used in patients who have a higher risk of needing further stents if a conventional bare-metal stent were used instead. It has set a limit for the price differential between drug-eluting and bare-metal stents of £300....

The results of two major trials of intensive glucose lowering in patients with type 2 diabetes appear to have reached different conclusions....

In contrast, the ADVANCE study, has not shown any harm in its intensive treatment arm. In this trial, 11,140 high-risk patients with type 2 diabetes, were randomised to intensive (aiming for an HbA1C A1C level below 6.5) versus standard glucose lowering treatment. Patients in the intensive group started treatment with the sulphonylurea drug, gliclazide modified release, and then other drugs could be added....

A new study has highlighted a changing pattern of cardiovascular mortality within Europe, and shows that while cardiovascular mortality rates are decreasing in general, Eastern and Middle European countries have the highest mortality....