Aspirin’s Cardiac Benefits Differ by Gender

Aspirin can help prevent cardiovascular events, but its effects differ between men and women, according to a new report.

The meta-analysis of data from over 51,000 women and 44,0000 men was published in the January 18 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association and reported by MedPage Today on January 17, 2006.

In men, the analysis showed that aspirin helps to protect against heart attack, whereas in women it helps to protect against ischemic stroke. Also, aspirin protects men – but not women – against myocardial infarction (MI), and it does not protect either gender against cardiovascular mortality.

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Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained arrhythmia, that substantially increases morbidity and mortality. AF is gaining in clinical and economic importance, with stroke and thromboembolism being major complications. In this article in Heart, the evidence for AF treatment trial of antithrombotic therapy is reviewed. Stroke risk stratification of patients with AF is discussed, and practical recommendations for thromboprophylaxis are presented.

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On-Pump and Off-Pump Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting

Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG or bypass surgery) is a form of surgery to revascularize or bypass the 'blocks' in patients with severe coronary artery disease. It can be performed with or without stopping the heart and resorting to cardiopulmonary bypass- On-Pump or Off-Pump. Of the two, on-pump CABG is the oldest and time-honored method. Advances in technology allow on-pump CABG to be performed with very low mortality and morbidity and with excellent results. It is still the most widely used technique. Off-pump CABG is a newer technique with the proposed benefit of lower complication rates. It is a highly specialized technique that has good results in the hands of surgeons who perform this surgery regularly. The choice of procedure should depend on the comfort level of the surgeon performing the procedure on a particular patient because the 2 procedures seem equally effective.

This article from the leading Cardiology journal circulation reviews both forms of CABG from the patient's perspective.

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Coronary stents - A review

Drug eluting stents is the hottest topic in interventional cardiology today. Although they did not quite live up to the initial hype of preventing restenosis, drug eluting stents have significantly brought down the rates of instent restenosis. Cypher still reigns in supreme according to current data. Many new stents are being introduced and new drugs are being tested. You can get a bird's eye view of the scene and developments in the field of coronary stents in this review published in the New England Journal of Medicine.