Archive

Medical Category: Cardiovascular

Is Amiodarone Dead?

Background: Amiodarone is a class III antidysrhythmic first released for human use in 1962. As with other drugs in this class, amiodarone acts by blocking potassium channels thus prolonging the action potential. This, in turn, leads to a lengthening of depolarization …

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CardiovascularResuscitation

Are we Missing Acute MIs with Clinical Risk Scores?

Background: In 2011, we saw 7 million patients in the emergency department (ED) complaining of chest pain. Most of these patients did NOT have an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) or an acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Missing an AMI is one of …

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Cardiovascular

Triage ECGs: Reducing Interruptions in a Busy ED

Background: Lets face it. All of us have been interrupted by the onslaught of triage ECGs for interpretation.  This constant flow of pink paper with black scribble causes frequent task switching, interrupts train of thought, and ultimately can lead to …

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Cardiovascular

Outcomes After Aggressive Management of Recent-Onset Atrial Fibrillation in the ED

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is one of the most common dysrhythmias encountered in the ED. The management of recent-onset AF and atrial flutter (AFl) in the ED continues to be debated. The discussion centers on whether patients with recent-onset AF …

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Cardiovascular

REBEL Cast Episode 31: Obstructive Left Main Coronary Artery Disease

The standard treatment for patients with obstructive left main coronary artery disease has typically been coronary-artery bypass grafting (CABG), however some newer trials have suggested that maybe drug-eluting stents may be an acceptable alternative to CABG in select patients. In …

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Cardiovascular

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