Month: August 2013

A new kind of device shocks the heart back into normal rhythm without the need for implanted wires that actually touch the heart, a study finds. The device is called a subcutaneous implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). A standard ICD is implanted under the skin and is attached to wires that touch the heart. The wire on the new device is implanted under the skin. The study included 314 people using the new device. In a 6-month period, 21 people had episodes of a fast heart rhythm that can lead to cardiac arrest. This occurred 38 times in all. Each time, the device shocked the heart back to a normal rhythm. The device detected and fixed 100% of the life-threatening rhythms. However, 41 patients received shocks at times when there was no dangerous rhythm. Cameron Health Inc. makes the device. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved it last year.

A screening program using 2 tests appears to catch ovarian cancer at early stages, new research shows. About 3 out of 4 cases of ovarian cancer now are diagnosed after they have spread. Survival rates are low. The new research uses 2 tests that have been tried before. But in earlier studies the tests had abnormal results for many women who did not have ovarian cancer. The new study included more than 4,000 women, ages 50 and older. All were given a blood test each year for a protein called CA-125. Researchers compared their test results and ages with a database to assess their risk of ovarian cancer. They looked at not only the CA-125 level but how it changed over time. In 11 years of follow-up, only 3% of the women were found to be at high risk. They received a second test called a transvaginal ultrasound. Ten women had suspicious results.

A new study found that giving clot-busting drugs within 90 minutes of a mild to moderate stroke prevents or greatly reduces the chances of disability. Current guidelines recommend giving a clot-busting drug within 4.5 hours of symptoms. A large European study looked at the outcomes of 6,856 people diagnosed with ischemic stroke. Ischemic strokes are the most common type of stroke. They occur when a clot blocks blood flow to the brain. All of the patients received an intravenous (IV) clot-busting drug, called tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), within 4.5 hours. Doctors call this procedure thrombolysis. But patients who got the drug within 90 minutes of symptoms had little or no disability 3 months later, compared with patients who got thrombolysis after 90 minutes. The journal Stroke published the study online. HealthDay News wrote about it August 22.