Primary angioplasty after a myocardial infarction is also better than thrombolysis in a real world setting: though up to two hours after the infarction the two methods are equivalent, according to Swedish findings from a study of 21 000 patients. Ulf Stenestrand of University Hospital in Linköping presented the results.

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The ABT578-eluting ENDEAVOR stent has been compared head-to-head with sirolimus-eluting Cypher. Duke University’s David Kandzari told us more.

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John McMurray

The VALIANT trial compared ACE-inhibitor, ARB and a combination of the two in high-risk post-MI patients, and found there may be an interaction between them and statins. John McMurray from the Western Infirmary in Glasgow.

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Jeffrey Berger

A study of 9 000 women with established cardiovascular disease has found that mortality is reduced by 25 per cent among those taking aspirin, and that the dose of daily aspirin does not affect this result. Jeffrey Berger of Duke University Medical Center told us more about it.

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Registry analysis suggests women often receive too much treatment with glycoprotein 2B3A inhibitors. Duke University’s Karen Alexander told us more.

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David Brown

The effect of aspirin in preventing cerebrovascular disease is different in women as compared with men. A meta-analysis of six studies presented at the AHA meeting by David Brown shows that aspirin has a big role to play among women, though its precise role has yet to be clarified.

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In addition to lipid levels, statins are known to have anti-inflammatory, anti-thrombotic and immunomodulatory effects which could help explain their impact on cardiovascular outcomes. But do these pleiotropic effects matter, or is ta all down to lipid lowering? At the University of Iowa, Jennifer Robinson has been trying to find out.

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Terje Pedersen

More evidence for the benefits of aggressive lipid-lowering with statins has come from the IDEAL study, which randomised nearly 9000 post-MI patients to either 80 mg of atorvastatin or 20/40 mg simvastatin daily. Terje Pedersen from Ulleval University Hospital in Norway presented the findings.

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A 20 000-person study of eicosapentaenoic acid supplements gave solid scientific support for EPA use to prevent cardiovascular events among patients with established coronary artery disease. Mitsuhiro Yokoyama of Kobe University told us more about it.

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For atrial fibrillation, oral anti-coagulation remains the treatment of choice despite the potential of an anti-platelet regimen based on aspirin and clopidogrel, according to the ACTIVE-W trial. Stuart Connolly from McMaster University presented the findings.

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