Topics
Cardiovascular diseases
Appropriate use of serum troponin testing in general practice: a narrative review
Cardiac troponin testing in general practice should be limited to patients presenting with ischaemic symptoms that occurred more than 24 hours previously
Constantine N Aroney · Louise Cullen
Lost in translation: the gap between what we know and what we do about cardiovascular disease
A million Australians at high risk may not be receiving recommended preventive treatments
Clara K Chow MB BS, FRACP, PhD · Anthony Rodgers MB ChB, PhD
Absolute risk of cardiovascular disease events, and blood pressure- and lipid-lowering therapy in Australia
An estimated 970 000 Australians may not be receiving recommended combination blood pressure- and lipid-lowering therapy
Emily Banks MB BS, PhD, FAFPHM · Simon R Crouch MB BS, PhD, FAFPHM · Rosemary J Korda PhD · Bill Stavreski BEcon, MPPM · Karen Page RN, MNursStud, BEd · Katherine A Thurber MPhil · Robert Grenfell MB BS, MPH, FAFPHM
Improving health outcomes for linguistically diverse patients
Cardiovascular health for all in Australia requires language-sensitive health systems
Christine B Phillips MB BS, MPH, FRACGP
English as a second language and outcomes of patients presenting with acute coronary syndromes: results from the CONCORDANCE registry
Hospitals should offer multilingual opportunities for patients of different backgrounds
Craig P Juergens MB BS, DMedSc, FRACP · Bilyana Dabin PhD · John K French BMedSc, MB ChB, PhD · Leonard Kritharides MB BS, PhD, FRACP · Karice Hyun BSc, MAppStat · Jens Kilian MB BS, PhD, FRACP · Derek PB Chew MB BS, MPH, FRACP · David Brieger MB BS, PhD, FRACP
A warning against heart disease complacency in 2016
Strong government, industry and community leadership are needed to effect lasting change
Garry Jennings
Henry Krum: clinician, researcher and scientist
Australia has lost one of its leading clinical and medical researchers
Christopher M Reid PhD
Uptake of novel oral anticoagulants in Australia
Concerns regarding efficacy and safety in real-world populations
Nicole L Pratt PhD · Emmae N Ramsay BSc, GradDipAppStats, MClinEpi · Gillian E Caughey PhD · Sepehr Shakib MB BS, FRACP, PhD · Elizabeth E Roughead BPharm, MAppSc, PhD
Acute heart failure admissions in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory: the NSW HF Snapshot Study
The snapshot will inform the development of strategies that improve the outcomes for heart failure patients
Phillip J Newton RN, PhD · Patricia M Davidson RN, PhD · Christopher M Reid PhD · Henry Krum* MB BS, PhD, FRACP · Christopher Hayward MD · David W Sibbritt PhD · Emily Banks MB BS, PhD, FAFPHM · Peter S MacDonald MB BS, FRACP, PhD
Can patients presenting with acute coronary syndrome be screened for diabetes using glycosylated haemoglobin?
Assessing acute coronary syndrome patients for diabetes is practicable and useful
John Oldroyd PhD · Adrienne O'Neil PhD · David L Hare MB BS, DPM, FRACP
General practitioners’ prescribing of lipid-lowering medications for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, 2001–2013
Encouraging evidence about expanding access to medications and reducing cardiovascular risk among Indigenous Australians
Amal N Trivedi MD, MPH · Allan J Pollack MB BS(Hons), FRACS(Orth), MPH(PP) · Helena C Britt BA, PhD · Graeme C Miller MB BS, PhD, FRACGP · Christopher Harrison BPsych(Hons), MSocHlth · Margaret A Kelaher PhD, BSc(Psych)
Survival after an acute coronary syndrome: 18-month outcomes from the Australian and New Zealand SNAPSHOT ACS study
The availability of a catheterisation laboratory appears to have a significant impact on long-term mortality in acute coronary syndrome patients
David B Brieger MB BS, PhD, FRACP · Derek PB Chew MB BS, MPH, FRACP · Julie Redfern PhD, BAppSc(Hons), BSc · Chris Ellis BM, FRACP · Tom G Briffa PhD · Tegwen E Howell BEcon, MEcSt · Bernadette Aliprandi-Costa RN, BHSc · Carolyn M Astley RN, BN, DrPH · Greg Gamble MSc · Bridie Carr BA, SRN, OND · Christopher JK Hammett BHB, MB ChB, MD · Neville Board BA, RN, MPH · John K French MB ChB, PhD, FRACP
Cardiac troponin testing for diagnosis of acute coronary syndromes in primary care
Cardiac troponin is a useful biomarker for acute coronary syndromes, but caution in primary care contexts is needed
Helen M Wilcox MB BS (Hons), FRACGP, DCH · Alistair W Vickery MB BS, FRACGP · Jon D Emery MB BCh, FRACGP, DPhil
Catecholamine-induced cardiomyopathy resulting from life-threatening funnel-web spider envenoming
This case report provides evidence that the mechanism of pulmonary oedema resulting from funnel-web spider envenoming is cardiogenic
Geoffrey K Isbister MB BS, FACEM, MD · Kate V Sellors BMed, FACEM, GradCertClinToxicol · Ursula Beckmann MD, FRACP, FJFICM · Angela L Chiew BSc(Med), MB BS · Michael A Downes FACEM · Ingrid Berling BMed, FACEM
How changes to the Medicare Benefits Schedule could improve the practice of cardiology and save taxpayer money
Rising health care costs are placing serious strains on the sustainability of the Australian Medicare system in its current structure
Richard W Harper MB BS, FRACP, FCSANZ · Arthur Nasis MB BS(Hons), MD, PhD · Vijaya Sundararajan BA(Hons), MD, MPH
The Cardiac Genetics Clinic: a model for multidisciplinary genomic medicine
The focused application of genetics assists and informs cardiac patients and their families
Dominica Zentner MB BS(Hons), FRACP, PhD · Tina N Thompson BNurs · Paul A James MB ChB, DPhil, FRACP · Alison Trainer MB ChB, MSc, PhD · Lesley C Adès MB BS, FRACP, MD · Ivan Macciocca BSc, MHSc(GenCouns), FHGSA · Jessica A Taylor BSc, MGenCouns · Kirsty Mann BSc, MGenCouns · Michael Bogwitz BSc(Hons), GradDipGenCouns, PhD · Nigel Lewis MB ChB, MRCP, CCDS · Natalie Morgan BNurs, GradDip(GenCouns) · Jitendra Vohra MD, FRACP, FRCP · Ingrid Winship MD, FRACP, FACD
Transplantation of the heart after circulatory death of the donor: time for a change in law?
A change in the law is needed to allow procurement after circulatory death to maximise organ procurement
James Tibballs MD, MHlth · Neera Bhatia LLB(Hons), LLM, PhD
Rheumatic heart disease in Indigenous children in northern Australia: differences in prevalence and the challenges of screening
The prevalence of rheumatic heart disease in remote Indigenous children is significant, much of it undetected
Kathryn V Roberts MB BS, FRACP MPHTM · Graeme P Maguire MB BS, FRACP, PhD · Alex Brown BMed, MPH, PhD · David N Atkinson MB BS, MPH · Bo Remenyi MB BS, FRACP · Gavin Wheaton MB BS, FRACP, FCSANZ · Marcus Ilton MB BS, FRACP · Jonathan Carapetis MB BS, PhD, FAAHMS
Steroid-induced cardiomyopathy
Anabolic steroid use and misuse is an important issue in the bodybuilding community
Hui-Chen Han MB BS, BMedSci · Omar Farouque MB BS(Hons), PhD, FRACP · David L Hare DPM, FRACP, FCSANZ
Warfarin or excipient allergy: a clinical dilemma resolved
Excipient allergy should be considered in patients with a reaction to warfarin
Mitchell J Gooch MB BS · Ngozichukwuka L Okiwelu MRCSEd, FWACS, FRCSEd(CTh) · Timothy Law MB BS, GradDip(ClinUltrasound) · Andrew P McLean-Tooke FRCP, FRCPath, FRCPA · Pragnesh Joshi MS, MCh, FRACS
Impact of grief delivered via media technology
Advances in media technology have had a significant impact on our daily lives, in terms of how we conduct business and leisure. Recent events have also had significant emotional impact and we wish to highlight the potential health impact. The grief experienced following the death of a loved one can be one of the greatest stressors for those surviving — spouse and/or relatives. It is not only the emotional strain but also physiological changes in the immediate period after bereavement1,2 that affect health. Bereavement may also affect non-relatives, which was only captured by these two patients referred independently for ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) monitoring as part of their clinical management. Both watched the televised broadcast of funeral proceedings for Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes. Although neither was a relative of Phillip Hughes and neither had met him, they both reported an emotional response to the broadcast. Panel A in the Box shows the ABP recording for a woman who was taking an angiotensin II receptor antagonist. The recording shows that she had an increase in systolic blood pressure (25 mmHg) while she was sitting watching the funeral that was comparable with her responses to physical activity. The ABP recording for the second woman is shown in Panel B in the Box; her antihypertensive therapy included β-blockade. There was a 25 mmHg increase in systolic blood pressure while she sat watching the broadcast of the funeral. The increase was comparable with that for people with mild hypertension receiving mental stressor tests3 and may have been greater in the absence of β-blockade. Such increases in blood pressure reflect overall changes in the cardiovascular system at the time of emotional stress and are associated with heightened cardiovascular risk.4,5 We therefore need to be aware of the significant impact that media technology may have on our health and consider preventive treatment strategies. 1 Ambulatory blood pressure recordings for two patients who watched a televised funeral* *Neither patient was related to the deceased.
Anastasia S Mihailidou BSc, PhD · Thomas Buckley BSc(Hons), MN, PhD · Alexandra JC Bune MB BS, FRACP, DSc(Hon) · Geoffrey Tofler MB BS, MB, FRACP
Splenic infarction after reversal of warfarin using Prothrombinex-VF in a patient with a mechanical aortic valve
This case highlights the difficulty of managing patients with a previous valve replacement who sustain acute major bleeding
Varun Sharma MB BS, BMedSci, PGradSurgAnat · Talbir Singh MB BS · Suranga Weerasooriya MB BS, MSc, FRACP · Dharmesh Anand MB BS, MD, DNB(Cardiology), FRACP
Eight challenges faced by general practitioners caring for patients after an acute coronary syndrome
Counselling and pharmacotherapy are more effective than unassisted cessation of smoking
Colin P Mendelsohn MB BS(Hons) · Paul V Camp MN, GradDipHealthPromotion, CertSmokingCessation
Eight challenges faced by general practitioners caring for patients after an acute coronary syndrome
Many smokers quit on their own, and unassisted quitting should be considered before other methods
Peter L Thompson MD, FRACP, FACC · Alistair W Vickery MB BS, FRACGP
