Disability Law Blog

Social Security Administration Issues Revised Cardiac Listings

The Social Security Administration has issued a 29-page revised listing for cardiovascular impairments:

We are revising the criteria in the Listing of Impairments (the listings) that we use to evaluate claims involving cardiovascular impairments. We apply these criteria when you claim benefits based on disability under title II and title XVI of the Social Security Act (the Act). The revisions reflect advances in medical knowledge, treatment, and methods of evaluating cardiovascular mpairments.

The new listing is effective April 13, 2006.

Available in text and PDF.

71 Fed.Reg. 2311-2340 (January 13, 2006)

SSA Proposes New Rules for Evaluating Cardiovascular Impairment

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has issued proposed rules revising the medical criteria for evaluating cardiosvascular impairments:

We last published final rules revising the listings for the cardiovascular body system in the Federal Register on February 10, 1994 (59 FR 6468). In that notice, we said that those rules would be effective for 4 years unless we extended them, or revised and issued them again. The current listings for the cardiovascular system will no longer be effective on July 1, 2005, unless we extend them, or revise and issue them again. We are proposing these revisions because we decided to update the medical criteria and provide more information about how we evaluate cardiovascular impairments.

The comment period ends November 15, 2004

Available in text and PDF.

69 FR 55873-55894 (September 16, 2004)

Boston Scientific Recalls Heart Stents

Via the Boston Globe:

"Boston Scientific Corp. said yesterday it is recalling a large number of its drug-coated cardiac stents, which have been among the fastest-selling medical devices in history, after reports of a death and serious injuries related to the devices. . . ."

The recall is a serious stumble for Boston Scientific. The medical device firm grew into the state's biggest life sciences company over the past year, as its stock rose based on the potential of Taxus. The company says it has dethroned rival Johnson & Johnson as the leader in the $3 billion drug-coated stent market. So far, the two companies are the only ones with drug-coated stents on the market."

See a prior post about the stent wars here.

Plaque Build-up May Occur Faster in People with Rheumatoid Arthritis

From Reuters:  New findings reported in the medical journal Arthritis & Rheumatism suggest that:

Thickening of blood vessel walls -- a sign of "plaque" build-up -- seems to occur faster in people with rheumatoid arthritis, Japanese researchers report. This may explain why the disease has been linked with an increased risk of death from heart disease.

The results also indicate that blood tests that measure inflammation and bone changes can predict how fast such thickening will occur.

Rheumatoid arthritis is an "autoimmune" disease in which the body attacks its own tissues. The disease show not be confused with osteoarthritis, which is more common, less serious and results from wear and tear on the joints with age.

Heart Valves Made with Patient's Own Cells

From Reuters:   German scientists, in an impressive display of bio-engineering, have made heart valves with a patient's own cells. An excerpt from this article describes the process:

The scientists started with valves from human cadavers and pigs, and then removed the living cells until only a scaffold of collagen and elastin remained. The scaffold retained the valve's original shape. They then took endothelial cells, the cells that make up the lining of blood vessels, from a patient's vein in a leg or forearm and grew them on the scaffolding in the laboratory. The valves have been implanted in 23 patients with an average age of 44, according to data presented at an annual meeting of the American Heart Association. Dohmen said the patient's own cells form a completely new scaffold after about a year. His patients have been studied for up to three years since receiving the tissue-engineered valves. "The patients are in very good shape," he said.

Boston Scientific's New Stent Just Keeps Going and Going and Going . . .

More interesting news from the American Heart Association's annual meeting: a new drug-coated stent, called Taxus, made by Boston Scientific, appears to reduce the incidence of heart attack and restenosis as compared to a group of patients with traditional bare-metal stents:

No patients with Taxus had a heart attack between the nine-month and 12-month intervals. Seven patients with traditional bare-metal stents had heart attacks. Overall, about 7.9 percent of patients receiving Taxus had restenosis, or significant reclogging of their artery, a year after the device was implanted, compared with 26.6 percent implanted with bare metal stents.

Boston Scientific is looking for marketing advantages for Taxus when it reaches the U.S. market, expected late in the first quarter of 2004. Taxus is already taking market share from Cypher [a similar device made by Johnson & Johnson] in Europe, where both devices are available, Boston Scientific has said. The drug-coated stents, which offer a significant advantage over bare metal stents because they emit clot-busting drugs while in the patient's body, are expected to generate billions of dollars in annual sales.

Update (November 18, 2003):  Some problems have been reported with the Cypher stent. See this article in the New York Times for more.

Mediterranean Diet is Good For Your Ticker

Another benefit of being married to an Italian (who also cooks): The findings of a new study presented at the annual meeting of the American Heart Association suggest that a Mediterranean diet (fruits, vegetables, fish and olive oil, and very little meat) is good for your heart.

In the new study, researchers tracked the eating habits of about 3,000 men and women in Greece, aged 18 to 89, who did not have cardiovascular disease. The closer people adhered to the Mediterranean diet, the lower their levels of various measures of inflammation, which recent research shows plays a major role in development of heart disease. . . . findings held true even when differences in body mass index, physical activity, age, sex and education level were accounted for.

Gene therapy improves blood flow in heart

An article from Reuters says gene therapy improves blood flow in coronary arteries.