CardioExchange Archive

May 8th, 2014

Novel Antiplatelet Agent Vorapaxar Gains FDA Approval

Larry Husten, PHD

The FDA today approved vorapaxar (Zontivity), Merck’s once-troubled platelet receptor antagonist, to reduce the risk of myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, cardiovascular death, and revascularization procedures. The drug is approved for use in people with a history of MI or peripheral arterial disease. The approval represents an amazing turnaround for a drug that has experienced nearly as many […]

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May 6th, 2014

FDA Approves New Omega-3 Supplement

Larry Husten, PHD

The FDA has approved a new omega-3 supplement for the treatment of adults with severe hypertriglyceridemia, defined as triglyceride levels 500 mg/dL or higher. The drug, which will be marketed under the brand name of Epanova, is manufactured by AstraZeneca, which acquired the drug when it purchased Omthera Pharmaceuticals in 2013. AstraZeneca said that Epanova is the first omega-3 […]

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May 5th, 2014

Physical Activity Improves Heart Rate Variability In The Elderly

Larry Husten, PHD

A new study in Circulation offers fresh evidence that physical activity is beneficial to the heart in people aged 65 and older. Benefits were observed both in elderly people who reported the highest amount of overall physical activity and in those who increased their physical activity over time. U.S. researchers evaluated heart rate variability (HRV) using […]

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May 5th, 2014

What Role Should Coca-Cola Play in Obesity Research?

Larry Husten, PHD

Larry Husten asks: “What role should Coca-Cola and other food and beverage companies play in funding and communicating research about nutrition and obesity?”

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May 5th, 2014

FDA Comes Out Against Aspirin for Primary Prevention

Larry Husten, PHD

In the latest development in a long-simmering debate, the FDA has announced that aspirin should not be marketed for primary prevention for heart attack or stroke. The announcement follows the FDA’s rejection on Friday of Bayer Healthcare’s decade-old petition requesting approval of a primary prevention indication. [PDF of FDA rejection letter] Aspirin is still widely used for primary prevention. Many physicians, […]

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April 29th, 2014

Dietary Fiber After MI Linked to Improved Survival

Larry Husten, PHD

Consuming more dietary fiber after myocardial infarction is associated with a reduced risk for death. In a report published in BMJ, researchers analyzed long-term data about diet and other risk factors from more than 4000 healthcare professionals who had an MI. Nine years after the MI, people who were in the highest quintile of fiber consumption had a […]

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April 29th, 2014

Cardiac Stem Cell Therapy: A House of Cards About to Fall?

Larry Husten, PHD

For more than a decade, cardiac stem cell therapy has attracted an enormous amount of attention, promise, and research dollars. Now an original and important new study published in BMJ finds that many of the most promising results in the field are illusory and that the potential benefits of stem cells to treat heart disease are probably […]

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April 22nd, 2014

Large French Registry Lends Support To Pharmaco-Invasive Strategy For STEMI

Larry Husten, PHD

It is generally agreed that the best treatment for STEMI patients is immediate reperfusion with PCI. But for many patients primary PCI is not available within the time frame leading to the greatest benefit. Previous studies have found good short-term outcomes in patients who receive a pharmaco-invasive strategy, in which patients first receive fibrinolytic therapy and […]

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April 17th, 2014

FDA Grants Fast Track Status to Ivabradine

Larry Husten, PHD

Amgen announced yesterday that its new chronic heart failure drug ivabradine had been granted fast track status by the FDA. The company said the fast track designation, which is for drugs that treat serious conditions and fill an unmet medical need, will aid the development and speed the review of the drug. The company said it planned to file […]

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April 15th, 2014

CoreValve Availability In U.S. Threatened By Court Decision

Larry Husten, PHD

A legal injunction may severely limit the availability in the United States of Medtronic’s CoreValve device, which only received FDA approval earlier this year. The device received abundant praise recently when a large clinical trial demonstrated substantial advantages for CoreValve over traditional open-heart surgery. The injunction is the latest episode in an ongoing patent war in which Edwards Lifesciences, which pioneered the […]

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