Atrial Fibrillation: New Agents for Stroke Prevention

Dr. R. Jeffrey Westcott, Medical Director at the Cardiac Cath Lab at the Swedish Heart and Vascular Institute, discusses the pharmacology of the new oral direct thrombin and Xa inhibitors, evaluates what patients are more likely to experience bleeding complications and discusses the advantages of these agents versus warfarin in treating patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation.

TCT/AHA Highlights: Platelets and Stem Cells

Dr. Timothy Henry, Director of Research at the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation, and Dr. Jay Traverse, Senior Consulting Cardiologist at the Minneapolis Heart Institute at Abbott Northwestern Hospital, review the results of the LateTIME, SCIPIO and CADUCEUS trials.

Update in Preventive Cardiology 2011

Dr. Thomas Knickelbine, Director of Preventive Cardiology at the Minneapolis Heart Institute at Abbott Northwestern Hospital discusses US population risk factors, explains how to approach patients with statin intolerance, describes the current approaches to treatment of non-HDL cholesterol and Metabolic Syndrome and outlines MHI prevention goals and future vision.

AHA Abstract Presentations

Acute Aortic Intramural Hematoma: an analysis from the International Registry of Acute Aortic Dissection - Presented by Dr. Kevin M. Harris

Circadian Dependence of Infarct Size and Left-Ventricular Function Following ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction - Presented by Dr. Ronald Reiter

Cardiogenic Shock in Cardiac Arrest No Longer a Contraindication for Therapeutic Hypothermia - Presented by Fourth-Year Medical Student, Kalie Y. Kebed

Prevalence of Premature Coronary Heart Disease and Female Gender in Patients Presenting with ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction - Presented by Dr. Michael D. Miedema

Critical Limb Ischemia: Is there a role for drug eluting stents in the periphery?

Dr. Steve Levin, Vascular Fellow at the University of Minnesota, defines critical limb ischemia, identifies the evolving role of drug eluting stents in the treatment of peripheral arterial disease and compares how drug eluting stents have performed relative to balloon angioplasty and bare metal stenting in patients suffering from critical limb ischemia.

Repairing Valves: Why and Why Not?

Dr. Benjamin Sun, Chair of Cardiac, Thoracic and Transplant Surgery at the Minneapolis Heart Institute at Abbott Northwestern Hospital, identifies which valves can be repaired, explains why we don't repair valves more frequently and describes when valve replacement is still preferred.

Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy: Developing a Center of Excellence

Dr. Alan J. Bank, Medical Director of Research at United Heart and Vascular Clinic, and

Associate Professor of Cardiology at the University of Minnesota, describes the components of a CRT Center of Excellence, explains the mechanisms of action of CRT, discusses the importance of mechanical dyssynchrony in heart failure, and describes the effects of CRT in patients with NYHA Class II heart failure.

A Serious Complication of a Common Vascular Practice

Dr. Nedaa Skeik, Vascular Medicine Consultant at the Minneapolis Heart Institute® at

Abbott Northwestern Hospital, explains different treatment modalities for deep vein thrombosis (DVT), describes the history of inferior vena cava (IVC) filters, lists indications and complications (common and rare) of IVC filters, and explains identification and management of arterial pseudoaneurysm as a rare complication of IVC filters.

Sudden Death, Risk Stratification and Prevention in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

Dr. Barry J. Maron, Director of the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center at the Minneapolis Heart Institute at Abbott-Northwestern Hospital looks explains how to risk stratify hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) patients and describes the role of the implantable cardioverter defibrillator in HCM patients.

Pacing the Heart: What side are you on?

Senior Consulting Cardiologist at the Minneapolis Heart Institute at Abbott-Northwestern Hospital, Dr. Robert Hauser, summarizes pacing hemodynamics, describes the value of cardiac synchronization, and explains ICD reliability and patient longevity.