Cardiology

Can chest pain patients be evaluated in the ER waiting room?

Physician
June 12, 2010

by John Gever

Emergency department patients with chest pain may safely be evaluated in the waiting room when necessary, researchers said.

Among 303 patients triaged to waiting-room evaluation in a prospective study, no acute coronary syndromes were missed and adverse event rates overall were lower than among 804 patients who were assessed in conventional monitored beds, reported Frank Scheuermeyer, MD, of St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, British Columbia, and colleagues online in …

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High blood pressure treatment that patients need to know

Conditions
April 21, 2010

When her gynecologist told her she had high blood pressure, Marie had a simple solution: switch doctors. After all, she had gone to him for a different problem, and this was the first time he had ever checked her blood pressure.

“He said, ‘Oh my God, you’re like a bomb waiting to explode.’ I said, ‘I didn’t come here for that, I came here for something else,’” she explained.

Two years later, …

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Diet Coke and the AHA red dress endorsement

Education
March 29, 2010

Originally published in MedPage Today

by Peggy Peck, MedPage Today Executive Editor

A red dress jauntily displayed on cans of Diet Coke has become the latest symbol in the ongoing debate about pharmaceutical company support of research or CME.

But whose dress is it? The American Heart Association says it’s “not our red dress,” even as leading pharma critic Steven Nissen, MD, …

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Using CT scans to diagnose chest pain in the ER

Physician
March 6, 2010

During residency, there was always a case of misdiagnosed chest pain to discuss in conference.  Incorrectly sending a patient home and missing the diagnosis of cardiac chest pain was an infrequent, but repetitively observed, phenomenon.

So as to tread carefully with words, it is sufficient to say that even now, chest pain triage remains a vexing problem.

Chest pain diagnosis is like appendicitis; there are always small numbers of unusual cases in …

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Why you should stop taking Vytorin for high cholesterol

Meds
November 16, 2009

At the American Heart Association meeting in Orlando, the results of the ARBITER 6-HALTS study were released. No Vytorin was used in the study, but I am sure that all the headlines will mention Vytorin.

The actual study published ahead of press online in the New England Journal of Medicine. Essentially, they enrolled over 200 patients from Walter Reed and Washington Adventist who had known heart disease or were at …

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Did Demerol cause Michael Jackson’s cardiac arrest and death?

Conditions
June 26, 2009

Michael Jackson’s death continues to consume the news cycle.

There is currently no clear explanation. Some have speculated that it may be related to the narcotic pain drug, Demerol. According to this report from the UK’s The Sun, “An Emergency Room source at UCLA hospital said Jackson aides told medics he had collapsed after an injection of potent Demerol …

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Ways you can die from having sex

Potpourri
February 17, 2009

Cosmo Magazine, that bastion of reliable medical advice, declares, “An orgasm almost killed her.”

Intrigued, gynecologist Amy Tuteur reads further, and finds its about case where a woman developed stroke-like symptoms after intercourse, and was diagnosed with an embolic stroke.

The patient was taking the birth control pill, which can raise the risk of blood clots. In this case, it was also combined with the presence of …

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Jett Travolta’s seizure and death, was Scientology a factor?

Uncategorized
January 3, 2009

Jett Travolta tragically passed away yesterday, after being found unconscious in his hotel room by his caretaker. There is speculation that he had a seizure and hit his head on a bathtub.

Travolta apparently had a long history of medical problems, including Kawasaki disease, which is a vasculitis that primarily affects children. It is one of the most common causes of acquired heart disease in children, and …

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Bernie Mac, pneumonia, and sarcoidosis

Uncategorized
August 9, 2008

Comedian Bernie Mac dies at age 50 from pneumonia. Sad news.

He had been recently hospitalized, and as recently as two days ago, it was reported he was stable and responding well to treatment. What happened?

There is very little medical information to go on. It was known that he had …

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My take: Tim Russert

Uncategorized
June 14, 2008

WSJ Health Blog: “Russert’s doctor Michael Newman said the tough-questioning but congenial host of NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ had been under treatment for asymptomatic coronary disease, but that it was under control with medication. He was carrying excess weight, Newman observed, but he got regular exercise and he performed well on an exercise stress test in April.”

GruntDoc: “I therefore propose a new sign in …

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Tedy Bruschi’s patent foramen ovale (PFO) caused his stroke

Uncategorized
March 15, 2005

It was just reported that Tedy Bruschi is undergoing surgery for a hole in his heart:

New England Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi — who once played for the University of Arizona – is back in the hospital tonight, according to sources in Tucson and Boston.

The team isn’t confirming this news yet, but KOLD News 13 has learned Bruschi is undergoing surgery to repair a hole in his heart. …

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Are testicular biopsies necessary for the diagnosis of testicular cancer?

Uncategorized
February 12, 2005

Man sues over “botched” testicular surgery: Another frivolous lawsuit?
“A man is suing a hospital and one of its surgeons, claiming one of his testicles was wrongly removed during surgery.

Danny Curtis claims the surgeon at Kern Medical Center did not conduct a biopsy before arranging urgent surgery to remove a testicular tumor in July 2004, according to the lawsuit filed in Kern County Superior Court.”

I …

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