CardioExchange Archive

October 4th, 2010

Consensus Statement Highlights Urgency of Treating Hypertension in Blacks

Larry Husten, PHD

Hypertension in blacks should be treated earlier and more aggressively, according to an update of the International Society on Hypertension in Blacks (ISHB) consensus statement published in Hypertension. The update lowers the threshold for treatment and recommends that: Lifestyle changes be initiated in African-Americans when blood pressure is at or above 115/75 mm Hg. Drug therapy […]

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October 1st, 2010

Chronic Kidney Disease and Cardiovascular Risk

Larry Husten, PHD

People with early-stage chronic kidney disease are at elevated risk for cardiovascular disease, according to a new study published in BMJ. Researchers from the U.K. and Iceland followed 17,000 adults in Reykjavik for a median of 24 years and found that people with chronic kidney disease at baseline had significantly elevated risk for cardiovascular events, […]

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September 28th, 2010

ICD Software Upgrade Can Reduce Inappropriate Shocks from Faulty Leads

Larry Husten, PHD

A software upgrade for ICDs can help reduce inappropriate shocks, according to a study published online in Circulation. Following reports of high failure rates of Sprint Fidelis defibrillation leads, a software program known as a lead-integrity alert (LIA) was developed for download into previously implanted ICDs. Charles Swerdlow and colleagues compared 213 ICD patients who received […]

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September 27th, 2010

Carotid Endarterectomy Still Beneficial At 10 Years

Larry Husten, PHD

Carotid endarterectomy (CEA) in asymptomatic patients under 75 years of age reduces the long-term risk of stroke, according to 10-year results from the Asymptomatic Carotid Surgery Trial (ACST), published in the Lancet. The ACST investigators randomized 3120 asymptomatic patients to immediate CEA or to indefinite deferral of CEA. At 5 years, CEA had been performed […]

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September 27th, 2010

Xience V Holds Its Own With Sirolimus-Eluting Stents

Larry Husten, PHD

In the trials presented on Thursday at TCT, the everolimus-eluting Xience V stent (EES) proved superior to the paclitaxel-eluting Taxus stent at 2 years. But, as Gregg Stone  discussed here recently, a more formidable comparator for EES are the sirolimus-eluting stents (SES). Two trials presented on Friday demonstrated that EES are comparable in efficacy to […]

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September 27th, 2010

Promising Results for New DES in Peripheral Disease

Larry Husten, PHD

A new drug-eluting stent designed to treat peripheral disease showed promising results in the largest trial yet of endovascular treatment in this population. The 12-month results of the Zilver PTX randomized trial comparing a novel paclitaxel-eluting stent versus balloon angioplasty and bare-metal stenting in patients with symptomatic above-the-knee femoropopliteal artery disease were presented at TCT2010 by Michael […]

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September 24th, 2010

Xience V Stent Still Strong at 2 Years

Larry Husten, PHD

Two large trials presented at TCT continue to demonstrate the long-term superiority of the everolimus-eluting stent (EES) over the paclitaxel-eluting stent (PES). Gregg Stone presented two-year outcomes from more than 3500 patients randomized in the SPIRIT IV trial to either the Xience V or the Taxus stents. At two years, the rate of target lesion failure — […]

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September 24th, 2010

ACC Will Co-Sponsor TCT Symposium in 2011

Larry Husten, PHD

The American College of Cardiology (ACC) will be a co-sponsor of the TCT Symposium in 2011, the ACC and the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF) announced on Thursday. The arrangement will deepen the existing relationship between the two organizations, which already collaborate on the Innovations in Interventions (i2) Summit at ACC’s Annual Scientific Sessions. In a blog […]

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September 23rd, 2010

FDA and EMA Split on Fate of Avandia

Larry Husten, PHD

The FDA and the European Medicines Agency announced separate and divergent decisions on the fate of rosiglitazone (Avandia) today. On the one hand, the FDA announced that it would allow rosiglitazone to remain on the market, though only with severe restrictions on its use. Additionally, the FDA said it would require the drug’s manufacturer “to […]

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September 23rd, 2010

Fondaparinux Effective in Superficial-Vein Thrombosis

Larry Husten, PHD

In the randomized, double-blind CALISTO (Comparison of Arixtra in Lower Limb Superficial Vein Thrombosis with Placebo) trial, 3002 patients with acute, symptomatic superficial-vein thrombosis in the legs, but without DVT or symptomatic PE, received either fondaparinux (2.5 mg) or placebo for 45 days. The primary efficacy endpoint ─ a composite of all-cause death, symptomatic PE […]

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