Cholesterol and Heart Disease
Posted: March 15th, 2010 | Filed under: Cardioventis, Heart Disease Prevention, Heart Health Education Resources | |
What is Cholesterol? – Animated Explanations
HIV Medications and Heart Rhythm Abnormality
Posted: February 26th, 2010 | Filed under: Atrial Fibrillation | Tags: arrhythmias, Atrial Fibrillation, Heart Abnormal Rhythm, Heart Disease, Heart Health, Heart Rhythm Management, Heart Staple Wiki |
The FDA advised patients currently taking Invirase that they should not stop taking the drug, but to discuss any questions or concerns they have about Invirase with their doctors.
As well, the FDA said patients should review their cardiovascular medical history and current medications with their doctors to determine if they should continue using Invirase, and report any side-effects.
FDA’s preliminary analysis of clinical trial data from Invirase’s manufacturer, Roche, suggests the drug combination can lead to irregular heart rhythms that can cause lightheadedness, fainting and in some cases death.
The heart rhythm problem occurred in healthy patients aged 18 to 55 who were taking 1,000 mg of Invirase boosted with 100 mg of Norvir. The side-effects depended on the dose, FDA said.
The FDA is still reviewing the magnitude of the effects and their clinical implications.
What are arrhythmias?
Arrhythmias (or dysrhythmias) are problems that affect the electrical system of the heart muscle, producing abnormal heart rhythms. They can cause the heart to pump less effectively.
The heart has four chambers. The top two are the atria, and the lower two are the ventricles. Normally the heartbeat starts in the right atrium when a special group of cells sends an electrical signal. (These cells are called the sinoatrial or SA node, the sinus node or the heart’s “pacemaker.”) This signal spreads throughout the atria and to the atrioventricular (A-V) node. The A-V node connects to a group of fibers in the ventricles that conduct the electrical signal. The impulse travels down these specialized fibers (the His-Purkinje system) to all parts of the ventricles. The electrical signal must follow this exact route for the heart to pump properly.
Under some conditions almost all heart tissue can start a heartbeat. In other words, another part of the heart can become the pacemaker. An arrhythmia occurs…
- when the heart’s natural pacemaker develops an abnormal rate or rhythm.
- when the normal conduction pathway is interrupted
- when another part of the heart takes over as pacemaker
- When Medications can interrupt heart rhythms.
Diagnostic Tests are Imperfect!!
Posted: February 22nd, 2010 | Filed under: Diagnostic Test | Tags: Diagnositc Tests, Gold Standard, Heart Conditions, Heart Disease, Heart Health, Investigation, Risk Factors |
Did you know that most of the diagnostic tests are often taken for granted by most of physicians and patients?And most of the Diagnostic information is imperfect!!
When any test or an diagnostic evaluation is ordered by the physician,it is most often taken as a true representation of what is really going on with the patient,when in reality it is an error.These tests may not reflect on truly what is going on with the patient.When any test is performed on the patient,two important concerns are safety and efficacy.The other important criteria is cost of the investigation.In the current era of rising costs,combing the two factors is critical for effective patient management.
The efficacy of a diagnostic test should be measured in terms of the test’s safety, its technical quality, its accuracy, its therapeutic impact, and its impact on the health of the patient (Fineberg et al. 1977).
The second stage of an efficacy assessment is to define the test’s diagnostic accuracy. In this regard, three commonly used expressions are true-positive rate, truenegative rate, and accuracy. The true-positive rate, or sensitivity, is a measure of the test’s ability to detect disease correctly when it is present. The true-negative rate, or specificity, measures the test’s ability to exclude disease in those patients who do not have it. Accuracy is the proportion of test results that are correct (true-positive results plus truenegative results divided by the total number of test results) when the test is used in a specified population. Thus, it is a reflection of both the sensitivity and the specificity of the test.To call a test result a true positive or a true negative, one must determine the true state of the patient. This is usually accomplished by doing another test, called the “gold standard,” which is considered sufficiently reliable to reveal the true state of the patient, and either confirm or refute the study test result. For example, coronary angiography has been used to verify the presence of coronary artery disease in patients participating in an efficacy study of the stress electrocardiogram. For an ideal test, there should be little disagreement between its result and the result of the “gold standard”: the test should have both high sensitivity and high specificity.
Although quantitative measures of test performance are important, a study of efficacy should not focus solely on its technical aspects (that is, on the machine). Rather, an assessment should include data on diagnostic impact and on therapeutic impact, including outcomes that are relevant to the patient. These are the third and fourth levels of an efficacy assessment.
The following questions needs to be asked by the patient to their health care provider before any diagnostic tests are performed on them:
1.Does the result of the technique change the diagnosis?
2.Does the technique add clinically significant information?
3.Is the diagnostic impact one that changes my management?
Do you have any experience with diagnostic tests?Share your experience !!
Assessment of diagnostic technology in health care: rationale, methods & Directions-Monograph By Harold C. Sox
