Navigation Links
Invasive heart test being dramatically overused, Stanford study shows
Date:4/6/2012

STANFORD, Calif. An invasive heart test used routinely to measure heart function is being dramatically overused, especially among patients who recently underwent similar, more effective tests, according to a new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine.

"This adds both risk to the patient and significant extra cost," said first author of the study Ronald Witteles, MD, assistant professor of cardiovascular medicine and program director of Stanford's internal medicine residency training program, who called the rates of unnecessary use "shockingly high."

The procedure, called left ventriculography or left ventriculogram, was developed 50 years ago to assess how well the heart functions by using a measurement method called "ejection fraction" the percentage of blood that gets squeezed out with each heartbeat. The investigators found that it is routinely performed as an add-on procedure during a coronary angiogram, a separate heart-imaging test, at an extra cost of $300.

Over the years, several less-invasive and often superior methods of measuring ejection fraction have emerged, such as echocardiograms and nuclear cardiac imaging, making the use of left ventriculography questionable at times, the study states.

The study appears online this month in the American Heart Journal.

Several years ago when Witteles was a cardiac fellow, he and his colleagues noticed a great deal of variation in whether cardiologists would order the procedure, often in similar patient cases, he said. This seemingly arbitrary use of left ventriculography led to the idea for this study.

Researchers first set out to determine exactly how often the procedure was conducted. They examined a national database of about 96,000 patients enrolled in Aetna health benefits plans in 2007 who underwent a coronary angiogram during that year. The data showed left ventriculography was performed 81.8 percent of the time whenever an angi
'/>"/>

Contact: Tracie White
traciew@stanford.edu
650-723-7628
Stanford University Medical Center
Source:Eurekalert

0

GOOD

Page: 1 2 3

Related medicine news :

1. MRI: Non-invasive diagnostic tool for diagnosing testicular cancer
2. New research shows innovative respiratory stress test can quickly detect significant coronary artery disease in a noninvasive setting
3. PINC trial launched to test new treatment for pre-invasive breast cancer
4. Minimally invasive sports hernia repair may get athletes back in the game faster, study says
5. Study: Mechanomyography to be accurate in detecting nerves during minimally invasive spine surgery
6. Researchers quantify benefits of minimally invasive removal of hard-to-reach tumors
7. Cedars-Sinai study examines regional use of minimally invasive repair of aneurysms
8. In Coeur d'Alene Idaho, Top Of The Line Aesthetic Treatments And Non-Invasive Laser Technology Can Be Found Only At Advanced Aesthetics
9. Gene expression test reduces need for invasive heart muscle biopsy
10. Breakthrough method predicts risk of invasive breast cancer
11. Breakthrough in Predicting Invasive Breast Cancer
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
(Date:5/22/2013)... (PRWEB) May 22, 2013 Synthetic ... for its Better Play & Recreation Contest, who ... of thousands of youth, people with disabilities, active ... of rescue. The general public is encouraged to ... help their favorite non-profit organization win the $50,000 ...
(Date:5/22/2013)... Hypervibe, a leader in the field ... that the company’s US division will hold a Memorial ... personnel ordering the Hypervibe Performance during the sale will ... valid military ID. Non-military customers receive 10% off. ... and integrity. These are values that have made our ...
(Date:5/22/2013)... Toronto, ON (PRWEB) May 22, 2013 ... voice, video, data and IT security solutions in ... with the launch of its newest BroadConnect hosted ... or as a hybrid combination, BroadConnect’s new Security ... more effectively leverage the Internet connection of their ...
(Date:5/22/2013)... Many people across the United States struggle with ... lose weight safely and rapidly. Unfortunately, crossing initial weight ... to continue their journey toward healthy eating and healthy ... Medical News Today offers credence to the testimony ... losing those initial pounds can prove extremely difficult. , ...
(Date:5/22/2013)... 2013 Patients with type 1 diabetes ... better glycemic control as measured by significantly lower HbA1C ... with insulin injections, according to new findings from the ... by Kantar Health . The research was presented ... Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research) in New Orleans. ...
Breaking Medicine News(10 mins):Health News:Public Voting Opens for Finalists in Synthetic Turf International’s Better Play & Recreation Contest 2Health News:Hypervibe Whole Body Vibration Offers First-Ever Sale This Memorial Day Weekend 2Health News:BroadConnect Telecom to Launch Enterprise-Grade Hosted Security Solutions Engineered to Meet the Demands of Real World Business 2Health News:hCGTreatments / Diet Doc hCG Diets & Weight Loss Plans Break the Cycle of Obesity and Weight Gain With New Education For Patients on How to Lose Weight the Healthy Way 2Health News:hCGTreatments / Diet Doc hCG Diets & Weight Loss Plans Break the Cycle of Obesity and Weight Gain With New Education For Patients on How to Lose Weight the Healthy Way 3Health News:Insulin Pump Therapy Provides Better Glycemic Control Among Type 1 Diabetics, According to Kantar Health Research 2Health News:Insulin Pump Therapy Provides Better Glycemic Control Among Type 1 Diabetics, According to Kantar Health Research 3
... ... Than 20 Years of Experience to IT GRC Solutions Provider , ... Farmington Hills, Mich. (PRWEB) March 31, ... (GRC) solutions, today announced the appointment of Eric Rosenberg as chief financial officer. ...
... setting, study finds , TUESDAY, March 30 (HealthDay News) ... among children in hospital intensive care units, so patients ... a new study suggests. , Researchers found that 6 ... ICU unit at the Johns Hopkins Children,s Center between ...
... , ... announced May 24th in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month , ... San Francisco (PRWEB) March 31, 2010 -- SharpBrains, ... and commercial applications, today announced the launch of the inaugural Brain Fitness Innovation Awards. The ...
... ... (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Blount Memorial Hospital (Knoxville, Tenn.) are the first hospitals in ... enables nurses and doctors to better coordinate care. , ... Knoxville, TN (PRWEB) March 31, ...
... ... – May 30, people age 65 and older can call to determine if they qualify for ... ... but don’t worry if you don’t have the change to spare for an eye exam. ...
... ... , ... March 31, 2010 -- The Medpedia Project today announced the addition of health and medical ... hundreds of medical and health videos from sources including the CDC, the FDA, other institutes ...
Cached Medicine News:Health News:Children in Intensive Care Should Be Screened for MRSA 2Health News:SharpBrains Launches First Brain Fitness Innovation Awards to Recognize Neuroplasticity Pioneers 2Health News:SharpBrains Launches First Brain Fitness Innovation Awards to Recognize Neuroplasticity Pioneers 3Health News:New PerfectServe Clinician-to-Clinician Communications System Gives Physicians Control and Helps Hospitals Coordinate Care 2Health News:New PerfectServe Clinician-to-Clinician Communications System Gives Physicians Control and Helps Hospitals Coordinate Care 3Health News:New PerfectServe Clinician-to-Clinician Communications System Gives Physicians Control and Helps Hospitals Coordinate Care 4Health News:EyeCare America Ushers in the New Season and Springs for Eye Exams for Qualified Seniors 2Health News:EyeCare America Ushers in the New Season and Springs for Eye Exams for Qualified Seniors 3Health News:MEDPEDIA Adds Health and Medical Videos To Platform 2Health News:MEDPEDIA Adds Health and Medical Videos To Platform 3Health News:MEDPEDIA Adds Health and Medical Videos To Platform 4
(Date:5/22/2013)... TORONTO , May 22, 2013  Medifocus, Inc. (OTCQX: ... Mon , Chief Operating Officer, will present at the ... 2013 in New York City at ... is scheduled to begin at 4:00 p.m. EDT and will ... go to:   http://wsw.com/webcast/marcum/mfs.v/   For more information ...
(Date:5/22/2013)... 22, 2013  BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) (NYSE: ... company, announced today the publication of its 2012 ... and it continues to focus on the Company,s shared ... the principles of shared value — creating value for ... societies — are fundamental to our strategy," said ...
(Date:5/22/2013)... Cellular Biomedicine Group (OTCQB: CBMG) today announced that ... projected enrollment required for its Phase I trial to evaluate ... Specific Dendritic Cell) therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most ... had no Severe Adverse Effect (SAE) reported. The ... with NIH under number NCT01828762 (click here to view) ...
Breaking Medicine Technology:Medifocus, Inc. to Present At The Second Annual Marcum LLP MicroCap Conference 2Medifocus, Inc. to Present At The Second Annual Marcum LLP MicroCap Conference 3BD Issues 2012 Sustainability Report 2BD Issues 2012 Sustainability Report 3Cellular Biomedicine Group Announces Enrollment Milestone for Phase I Clinical Trial for Liver Cancer 2Cellular Biomedicine Group Announces Enrollment Milestone for Phase I Clinical Trial for Liver Cancer 3
... 7, 2011 Stereotaxis, Inc. (NASDAQ: STXS ) ... 30, 2011.   Third Quarter 2011 ... down 38% from the year ago period.  The decrease was ... from market demand for a more efficient solution for complex ...
... CARLSBAD, Calif., Nov. 7, 2011 Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ... the quarter ended September 30, 2011.  The Company finished the ... loss (NOL) of $20.0 million and $44.9 million for the ... to a pro forma NOL of $6.0 million and $23.1 ...
Cached Medicine Technology:Stereotaxis Reports Third Quarter Financial Results 2Stereotaxis Reports Third Quarter Financial Results 3Stereotaxis Reports Third Quarter Financial Results 4Stereotaxis Reports Third Quarter Financial Results 5Stereotaxis Reports Third Quarter Financial Results 6Stereotaxis Reports Third Quarter Financial Results 7Stereotaxis Reports Third Quarter Financial Results 8Isis Reports Financial Results and Highlights for Third Quarter 2011 2Isis Reports Financial Results and Highlights for Third Quarter 2011 3Isis Reports Financial Results and Highlights for Third Quarter 2011 4Isis Reports Financial Results and Highlights for Third Quarter 2011 5Isis Reports Financial Results and Highlights for Third Quarter 2011 6Isis Reports Financial Results and Highlights for Third Quarter 2011 7Isis Reports Financial Results and Highlights for Third Quarter 2011 8Isis Reports Financial Results and Highlights for Third Quarter 2011 9
... The K-ASSAY Liquid Lipid Control is intended ... a consistent test sample of known concentration ... determinations. Include K-ASSAY Liquid Lipid Control with ... of the listed constituents. The user can ...
The K-ASSAY Lp(a) Control Set is intended for use as an assayed quality control material for monitoring the performance of Lp(a) immunoturbidimetric assays....
The K-ASSAY Anti-Streptolysin O Control Set is intended to be used as a consistent test sample of known concentration for monitoring the performance of K-ASSAY immunoturbidimetric assay for quantifyi...
... The Directigen EZ Flu A+B test is ... and qualitative detection of influenza A and ... throat swabs of symptomatic patients. The Directigen ... test, such that influenza A viral antigens ...
Medicine Products: