Faculty Bibliography

Gender differences are prevalent in cardiology and particularly in patients who have undergone coronary artery bypass surgery and percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty. The purpose of this study was to determine whether similar gender differences are present in electrophysiology. Eight-hundred seventy-three patients were identified from the ÒEP ManagerÓ database over approximately a two-year period at North Shore University Hospital. Overall, the majority of patients referred for invasiveive electrophysiology procedures were men (67 percent). A higher percentage of men had coronary disease despite the type of study/implant. There was a relatively equal distribution of men and women who underwent head-up tilt table testing (47 and 53 percent respectively). We conclude that gender differences are present in electrophysiology studies and that further studies are necessary to determine whether a bias exists in this field.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and tolerance of pindolol as initial therapy for vasovagal syncope. Head-up tilt table testing (HUT) was performed on 192 patients for syncope or near-syncope of unknown cause. Forty-four (23%) patients had a positive HUT for vasovagal syncope, and 28 (64%) received oral pindolol as initial therapy. Three patients were lost to follow-up; of the remaining 25 patients (mean age 60 +/- 22 years), 15 were women, 14 had syncope, and 11 had near-syncope. At 14 +/- 6 months' follow-up, 16 (64%) patients were without recurrence or side effects from pindolol. Of the 9 patients who stopped taking pindolol, 3 were switched to another regimen for recurrent symptoms, 2 stopped because of side effects, and 4 did not comply with the regimen. In conclusion, pindolol appears to be safe and effective as initial treatment for vasovagal syncope