In a large-scale analysis of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI)-related hospitalizations, people admitted to the hospital on a weekend were twice more likely to die than those hospitalized on a weekday. Results from “Weekend Effect for Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Admissions: A 10-Year U.S. Experience” were presented at the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) 2017 Scientific Sessions, May 10-13 in New Orleans.

A study in 65 countries has revealed low adoption of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) recommendations to reduce nuclear cardiology radiation exposure. The research was presented at ICNC 2017, May 7-9 in Vienna Austria, by Edward Hulten, M.D., a cardiologist at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Md.

An analysis of data from the entire development program consisting of three trials assessing the feasibility of using a stem cell therapy (CD34+ cells) to treat patients with refractory angina showed a statistically significant improvement in exercise time as well as a reduction in mortality. Results from “CD34+ Stem Cell Therapy Improves Exercise Time and Mortality in Refractory Angina: A Patient Level Meta-Analysis” were presented as a late-breaking clinical trial at the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) 2017 Scientific Sessions, May 10-13 in New Orleans.

More than one-third of patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) were observed to have atrial fibrillation (AF) either at baseline or new-onset within 30 days after TAVR, according to data from the BRAVO-3 randomized trial. Patients with new-onset AF had a greater than 4-fold greater risk of stroke within 30 days. Results from the trial were presented as a late-breaking clinical trial at the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) 2017 Scientific Sessions, May 10-13 in New Orleans.

A large nuclear cardiology laboratory in Missouri has slashed its average radiation dose by 60 percent in eight years, according to new research presented at ICNC 2017, May 7-9 in Vienna, Austria and published in JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging.1,2 The study in over 18,000 patients showed dose reductions were achieved despite a large number of obese patients.