CardioExchange Archive

July 29th, 2010

CPR Studies: More Emphasis on Chest Compressions

Larry Husten, PHD

Two new studies of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) published in the New England Journal of Medicine provide strong support for recent initiatives that emphasize continuous chest compressions over the current standard of chest compression interrupted by rescue breathing. Rea and colleagues studied 1941 patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest who were randomized to receive one of the two […]

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July 28th, 2010

FDA Cardiorenal Advisory Panel Recommends Ticagrelor Approval

Larry Husten, PHD

The Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee recommended today that ticagrelor (Brilinta, AstraZeneca) be approved for the treatment of STEMI and NSTEMI patients intended to be managed both invasively and medically. The committee spent most of the day trying to sort through the confusing finding in the pivotal PLATO trial that U.S. patients, unlike patients […]

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July 27th, 2010

CABG in the Real World

Larry Husten, PHD

Two studies in Archives of Internal Medicine look at different aspects of CABG in the real world. Auerbach and colleagues analyzed data from more than 80,000 CABG patients and found that quality can be improved and costs reduced by directing patients away from low-volume surgeons and hospitals in favor of higher-volume surgeons and hospitals. However, […]

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July 23rd, 2010

FDA Approves Generic Enoxaparin

Larry Husten, PHD

The FDA announced on Friday that it had approved the first generic enoxaparin sodium injection for multiple indications including prevention of deep vein thrombosis (DVT). The action represents the FDA’s first generic approval of a low molecular weight heparin. The original version of enoxaparin, Lovenox, was first approved in 1993. To gain approval as a generic, […]

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July 22nd, 2010

HDL and Residual Risk: A Surprising Finding in JUPITER

Larry Husten, PHD

CardioExchange welcomes Dr. Paul Ridker to answer questions about his recent paper in the Lancet, which analyzed data from JUPITER and found that HDL may not predict residual risk in patients on high-dose statins who reach very low LDL levels such as those achieved in the treatment group in JUPITER. The findings may surprise some readers, though […]

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July 22nd, 2010

Lessons Learned from 2 Avandia Panels

Larry Husten, PHD

In a perspective published online in the New England Journal of Medicine, Clifford Rosen, who was the chair of the 2007 FDA Advisory Panel that allowed rosiglitazone (Avandia) to remain on the market and also a member of the panel that met last week, writes about “lessons learned” from the extraordinary series of events involving […]

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July 21st, 2010

FDA Halts New Enrollment in TIDE

Larry Husten, PHD

The FDA has halted new enrollment in TIDE (Thiazolidinedione Intervention with Vitamin D Evaluation), the controversial Avandia safety study, by placing the study on “partial clinical hold.” Patients already enrolled in the trial will continue to participate. The FDA said in a statement that it had instructed GlaxoSmithKline to “update investigators, institutional review boards (IRBs) and ethics committees […]

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July 20th, 2010

Avandia Panelist Received Money from GSK

Larry Husten, PHD

One of the voting members of last week’s controversial Avandia panel received speaking fees from GlaxoSmithKline, the manufacturer of Avandia, according to news reports in the Wall Street Journal and Pharmalot. The FDA had previously said that there were no relevant conflicts for any of the 33 voting members of the panel. David Capuzzi, an endocrinologist at […]

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July 20th, 2010

Who Should Treat Advanced HF/Transplant Patients?

Larry Husten, PHD

The ACC, AHA, and several other organizations have released the first Clinical Competence Statement on Management of Patients With Advanced Heart Failure and Cardiac Transplant. “The current statement describes the level of experience, knowledge, and technical skills necessary for competent performance in caring for these complex patients,” write the authors of the report, including the chair […]

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July 20th, 2010

We’ve made some big changes…

Larry Husten, PHD

We’ve redesigned CardioExchange based on your participation and feedback! You’ll see a new look and feel, and functionality to make it easier to join the dialogue. New Ways to Connect with the CardioExchange Community The site includes two important new features to help you get the most out of your time on CardioExchange: The Recent […]

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