With 2010 quickly coming to a close, I'd like to end the year by highlighting the range of topics we've covered on the ACC in Touch Blog. Below are the top 10 most popular blog posts of 2010.

10. Reform-O-Rama: In March I outline the chronology of the health reform law by year. 

9. SHOCKING! Use of Medical Services Dropping: I discuss how use of medical services among U.S. residents appears to be dropping during this ongoing recession. 

8. An Opportunity for ACC Leadership: Blog Co-author and ACC President Ralph Brindis, MD, FACC, discusses the ongoing allegations of stent overuse in Maryland and the opportunity for professional associations like the ACC to lead. 

7. Another Setback for Triple Therapy for ACS: CardioSource Science and Quality Editor-in-Chief Chris Cannon, MD, FACC, discusses the discontinuation of the Phase 3 APPRAISE-2 clinical trial in ACS patients treated with apixaban.

6. Is a New Study on ARBs and Cancer Risk Cause for Alarm?: Jeffrey Anderson, chair-elect of the ACC/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines and Vice Chair of the 2010 UA/NSTEMI Focused Update, talks about a July article in Lancet Oncology on the cardiovascular effects of ARBS. 

5. New ACCF/AHA Clinical Alert Addresses Clopidogrel Warning: Brindis discusses the ACCF/AHA clinical alert that was released in June on the clopidogrel black box warning. 

4. The Patient with a Left Ventricular Assist Device: Past ACC President Fred Bove, MD, MACC, discusses former U.S. VP Dick Cheney's decision to have an LVAD implanted. 

3. Does CV Imaging Increase Cancer Risk?: Brindis discusses a study that came out in JACC in July finding that cardiac imaging procedures increased risk of radiation exposure and effective doses for those in the study. 

2. Dabigatran: Good news (and Odd News from FDA): Cannon discusses the approval of dabigatran and hypothesizes why the specific dosages were chosen to be approved. 

And for our most popular blog post of the year ... [drum roll, please] ...

1. Do Interventionalists Need to PARTNER with the FDA on TAVI?: Brindis sums up the findings of the PARTNER trial, presented at TCT 2010, and its implications for the TAVI procedure.

Tomorrow I leave for the holiday break. With the ACC closed until Jan. 3, the blog will be dark during this period. Here's wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday season! We'll see you in 2011!