Technological Advancements in the Cath Lab – By Sarah Ertley

Posted on by Aviva Clayman

Member Article

Is your hospital keeping pace with the rapid evolution of medical technology? In high-acuity environments such as the cardiac catheterization laboratory, advancements in equipment and communication systems are not merely conveniences—they are critical drivers of efficiency, precision, and patient outcomes. From my experience working across eight different hospitals during clinical and professional rotations, the impact of up-to-date technology on workflow and case management is both immediate and measurable.

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AACC scientists identify new cardiac biomarker

Posted on by Kurt Jensen

Plus, get ready for high sensitivity cardiac Troponin assays in practice.

Laboratory medicine experts discovered a new lipid biomarker panel to detect heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) even before symptoms present, with "much greater certainty than standard tests for this condition," according to a January 5 press release from the American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC).

The January issue of the AACC's journal, Clinical Chemistry focuses on cardiovascular disease and features research reflecting a "growing understanding of the molecular signatures of heart disease," according to the press release, and a trend towards developing "more precise tests for the early diagnosis, monitoring, and targeted treatment."

The study in question identified three new cardiac lipid biomarkers, a cardiac lipid panel (CLP), which "significantly improved diagnostic performance" when combined with the current standard biomarker approach for diagnosing heart failure, NT-proBNP.

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Broader CMR or SPECT imaging reduces unnecessary angiography

Posted on by Kurt Jensen

Results from the CE-MARC 2 trial, announced today at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress, suggest that unnecessary angiography could be significantly reduced by favoring noninvasive cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging or single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) to initially investigate patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD).

These findings could have an "important impact on referral rates for invasive coronary angiography," says the ESC press release.

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Mitral Valve Repair: “An Opportunity for Quality Improvement”

Posted on by Kurt Jensen

Even in low-volume VA centers, mitral valve repair outcomes best replacement.

A large multi-center study presented at the 96th American Association for Thoracic Surgery Annual Meeting followed trends in mitral valve (MV) surgeries in the Veterans Administration Health System from 2001-2013 and provided further evidence to support the use of mitral valve repair over mitral valve replacement in patients with degenerative MV disease.

"MVRepair has a greater short-term protective effect against mortality than MVReplace has in patients with primary degenerative MR," write the authors. "Despite this survival advantage, the rate of MVRepair is low at some centers; therefore, there is clearly an opportunity for quality improvement."

Beyond a survival advantage, mitral valve repair was also found to result in fewer complications and shorter hospital stays.

Is that success dependent on volume? Not necessarily.

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