CardioExchange Archive

August 18th, 2014

An Expert’s Perspective: Why Salt Is Not Like Tobacco and Why Guidelines Are Tricky

Larry Husten, PHD

At the center of this week’s renewed debate on salt was Salim Yusuf, the longtime influential and occasionally controversial cardiology researcher and clinical trialist based at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. I spoke with Yusuf before the publication of the New England Journal of Medicine papers, which include his own two papers from the PURE study. Yusuf was troubled by […]

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August 18th, 2014

New Analysis of Old Study Fuels Debate Over Blood Pressure Guidelines

Larry Husten, PHD

In the last year new guidelines relating to cardiovascular disease have been the subject of intense criticism and debate. The status of the blood pressure guidelines has been particularly contentious, since several different groups have published contradictory guidelines, while several authors of the most prominent group, the Eighth Joint National Committee, published an impassioned dissent […]

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August 13th, 2014

Two New Studies Fuel the Debate Over Sodium

Larry Husten, PHD

Three papers and an editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine are sure to throw fresh fuel on the ongoing fiery debate over sodium recommendations. Current guidelines recommend that people should limit their intake of sodium to 1.5  to 2.4 grams per day, but these recommendations are based on projections and have never been tested in […]

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August 11th, 2014

Study Offers Little Support for an Old Drug

Larry Husten, PHD

Digoxin is one of the oldest drugs in the cardiovascular arsenal, derived from the foxglove plant and first described in the 18th century by William Withering. It is frequently used in patients with heart failure (HF) and with atrial fibrillation (AF). The few trials supporting its use were performed in HF patients before newer treatments […]

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August 7th, 2014

Neck Manipulation Linked to Cervical Dissection

Larry Husten, PHD

After a neck adjustment — also known as cervical manipulative therapy and typically employed by chiropractors and other healthcare providers — people are at increased risk for cervical dissections, which can lead to stroke, according to a scientific statement released by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. Although a cause-and-effect relationship is far from being proved, the groups say that […]

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August 5th, 2014

Large Analysis Supports Thrombolysis for Stroke

Larry Husten, PHD

Although thrombolysis for ischemic stroke has been widely recognized as beneficial, its use has been limited because of concerns about its effects in patients treated after 3 hours, in older patients, and in patients with mild and with severe strokes. Now a meta-analysis published in the Lancet offers evidence that the use of thrombolysis should be […]

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August 4th, 2014

Review Panel Exonerates The BMJ in Statin Kerfuffle

Larry Husten, PHD

An independent review panel has rejected a demand by a prominent researcher that The BMJ retract two controversial articles. The report largely exonerates the journal’s editors from any wrongdoing. As previously reported, Rory Collins, a prominent researcher and head of the Cholesterol Treatment Trialists’ (CTT) Collaboration, had demanded that The BMJ retract two articles that were highly critical of statins. Although The BMJ issued […]

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August 1st, 2014

Noncardiac Surgery Guidelines Updated

Larry Husten, PHD

The reliability of current guidelines regarding perioperative evaluation and treatment of people undergoing noncardiac surgery has been seriously questioned because of a scandal discrediting Don Poldermans, a Dutch researcher widely published in the field. To address the current uncertainty, U.S. and European medical societies today released updated versions of these guidelines. The European guideline can be […]

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July 28th, 2014

No Reduction in Atherosclerosis Progression With Menopausal Hormone Therapy

Larry Husten, PHD

More than a decade ago the Women’s Health Study produced surprising and important results when it showed that broad use of hormone replacement therapy did not reduce cardiovascular risk in postmenopausal women. However, the study also led to speculation that hormone therapy might be beneficial when delivered closer to the time of menopause. Now a study published […]

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July 28th, 2014

Death by Running: It’s the Heat and Not the Heart

Larry Husten, PHD

The growing popularity of marathons and other extreme sports has sparked worries about the potential dangers of these activities. The press and medical research have both focused on the risk for arrhythmias. But that concern may be misdirected. A new study from Israel published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology finds that a much more […]

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