Cardiac and catheterization news

In recent news:

• WSJ health blog brings up the topic of whether doctors are using angioplasty too aggressively
• according to the EARLY-ACS study, it doesn't matter whether Integrilin is started in the ER or in the cath lab
• coronary angiography improves outcomes for cardiac arrest patients (not sure why, although this seems to imply it can catch more cases of fixable CAD)
• CT angiography radiation can be reduced effectively
  
• allergic reactions to Plavix can be treated with antihistamines and steriods
  
• pre-loading with statin 24 hours before elective PCI reduced peri-procedural MI by 44%, while statin 12 hours before PCI reduced 30-day MI by 48%
• statins also seem to have benefit in preventing venous thromboembolism and reduce inflammation as a separate protective effect from reducing cholesterol
• omega-3's add nothing to post-MI care when meds are optimized, but infusion of bone marrow stem cells post-MI may assist in recovery
• WSJ also reports on some results of the 2009 annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology
• just a little more exercise does the body good for health failure patients
• Catecholaminergic Polymorphic Ventricular Tachycardia (CPVT), which causes 15% of sudden cardiac deaths in those under 30, can be treated with Felcainide, a sodium channel blocker
• men who were big (fat!) in their 20s are at increased risk for a-fib as they age