So much great work is being shared at the AHA. I’d like to put a spotlight on two studies that stood out from Day 2 of #AHA21! The CRAVE Trial The Coffee and Real-Time Assessment of Atrial and Ventricular Ectopy (CRAVE) trial attempted to address an urban myth that has been around for decades: coffee … Read more
The most anticipated cardiovascular conference of the year, AHA Scientific Sessions 2021 is upon us! In the days and hours leading upto the event, speakers have been revising their presentations, moderators going over their notes, and organizers working hard to prevent any glitches for this fully virtual experience. For many attendees, including myself, the most … Read more
For this blog dedicated to #AHA20, I decided to put together a list of majority of American Heart Association (AHA) late-breaking study presentations at the 2020 Virtual AHA meeting from Day 1 to Day 3. So far, the late-breaking studies at AHA have covered a wide range of topics from heart failure, cardiovascular prevention focusing … Read more
Initially known as a predominantly respiratory disease, there is currently no doubt that COVID-19 is increasingly emerging as a prothrombotic condition. Observational studies, as well as published and anecdotal case reports have highlighted the thrombotic manifestations of COVID-19, with particular emphasis on the strong association between D-dimer levels and poor prognosis.1,2 While the COVID-19 clotting … Read more
Adequately powered, appropriately designed and prospective randomized clinical trials are considered to be the gold standard for evidence generation for evaluating efficacy and safety of a treatment interventions, especially when compared to non-randomized or under powered trials1. The strength of these clinical trials design rely on selection bias being eliminated by the randomization process. In … Read more
Frequently on rounds, my colleagues argue that we should not do something to a patient since “there is no evidence that it works.” This phenomenon of avoiding practice that has insufficient clinical trial evidence is often more common among young trainees in academic settings. The practice of evidence-based medicine inherently involves integrating doctor’s experience, patient preferences and … Read more
Participants are the most important stakeholders in a clinical trial setting, and they pass through multiple doctors, referrals, and suggestions by loved ones before getting enrolled into a trial for an ailment. I assume in a patient’s perspective, clinical trials provide access to free or new treatment, a close attention to their condition by the … Read more
Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) contributed the most to our knowledge to date in management of stroke patients. Despite the strengths of RCTs, they can be very costly and sometimes not feasible. In this year AHA Scientific Sessions, Jonathan P. Piccini, MD highlighted areas where observational data have been informative to address difficult clinical questions that … Read more
On the surface, it doesn’t really seem that surprising men and women develop heart disease differently or experience different symptoms for the same types of cardiac episodes. However, even though heart disease is the number one killer of both men and women, women have traditionally been omitted from clinical trials and female animals have either … Read more