Treatment of Ventricular Tachycardia and Cardiac Arrest
Sudden cardiac death (SCD) represents a major public health problem in the United States and throughout the world, with a frequently cited estimate of more than 300,000 adult sudden deaths…
Advances in Coronary Revascularization
Overview The field of coronary revascularization was revolutionized more than 50 years ago, when the first successful coronary artery bypass surgery was performed, followed shortly thereafter by the first percutaneous…
Implantable Devices for the Management of Heart Failure
After decades focused on pharmacologic management, the year 2001 ushered in a new era of implantable device therapies for the management of heart failure (HF) with the U.S. Food and…
Cardiovascular Disease and Lifestyle Modification
Because of the difficulty many patients have in improving their diet, physicians may be tempted to lose faith in a nonpharmacologic approach to the treatment of cardiovascular disease (CVD). This…
Steps Beyond Diet and Drug Therapy for Severe Hypercholesterolemia
A small subset of patients with hypercholesterolemia have an inadequate lipid-lowering response to maximal diet and drug treatment and should be considered for additional therapy to come as close as…
Pharmacologic Management of Hypertension
Overview The pharmacologic management of hypertension has evolved significantly over the past few decades. In the past, thiazide diuretics and β-blockers were highly recommended as the only first-line therapies due…
Nonpharmacologic Treatment of Tachyarrhythmias
For many arrhythmia syndromes, catheter ablation has replaced pharmacologic therapy. Multicenter studies over the past 3 decades have demonstrated disappointing efficacy, frequent nuisance, and even life-threatening side effects of antiarrhythmic…
Role of Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillators in Primary and Secondary Prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death
Sudden Cardiac Death Sudden cardiac death (SCD) remains a major health care problem despite the progressive decline in the incidence of coronary artery disease (CAD) over the past 50 years….
Drugs for Elevated Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol
Inhibitors of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase, also known as statins, are competitive inhibitors of the rate-limiting step of hepatic cholesterol synthesis. This leads to a reduction in hepatocyte cholesterol…
Therapy to Manage Low High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol and Elevated Triglycerides
As the population becomes more obese and the prevalence of diabetes and metabolic syndrome increases, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) is increasingly losing its value as a predictor for cardiovascular (CV)…
