CardioExchange Archive

September 23rd, 2013

Using Registry Data, FDA Expands Indication for Edwards’ Sapien Transcatheter Heart Valves

Larry Husten, PHD

Relying on an important new source of information, the FDA said today that it had expanded the label for the Sapien Transcatheter Heart Valve (Edwards Lifesciences). Previously, the Sapien was approved for insertion via the transfemoral or transapical access points in patients not eligible for traditional aortic valve surgery. The new labeling no longer mentions access points […]

---

September 20th, 2013

Taking a Clear-Eyed View of Statins and Cataracts

Larry Husten, PHD

Past observational studies have turned up conflicting findings about the effects, if any, of statins on developing cataracts. Now a large new observational study finds a small but significant increase in cataracts in statin users, however, experts warn that without further support the new finding should probably not influence clinical practice. In a paper published in JAMA […]

---

September 18th, 2013

Both Overuse and Underuse Explain Disparities in Coronary Revascularization

Larry Husten, PHD

A new study finds that groups who have often been found to receive less medical care — non-whites, women, and people without private insurance or who are from urban and rural areas — are less likely to undergo coronary revascularization. But the same study finds that this disparity may be in no small part due to […]

---

September 18th, 2013

Younger Women with ACS Less Likely to Have Chest Pain

Larry Husten, PHD

Younger women with an acute coronary syndrome are slightly less likely than men to present with the classic symptom of chest pain, according to a new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine. In recent years there has been a growing understanding that women with ACS are less likely to have chest pain and, partly as a result, […]

---

September 16th, 2013

Intense Lifestyle Changes May Lengthen Telomeres

Larry Husten, PHD

A very small pilot study offers early evidence that a program of comprehensive lifestyle changes increases telomere length. Telomeres, which have been compared to the plastic caps that prevent shoelaces from unravelling, help protect chromosomes. Telomere length is closely correlated to cellular aging: as we age the telomeres in our cells grow shorter. The new study, published online […]

---

September 16th, 2013

Realistic Expectations for Renal Denervation

Larry Husten, PHD

Early trials of renal denervation have resulted in extremely impressive drops in systolic blood pressure approximating 30 mm Hg. These results have sparked a great deal of excitement in the hypertension community and stirred the interest of a multitude of medical device companies. Some experts have proclaimed renal denervation a potential “cure” for resistant hypertension, […]

---

September 12th, 2013

Colchicine Found Effective in Acute Pericarditis

Larry Husten, PHD

Although colchicine has been shown to be beneficial in patients with recurrent pericarditis, which is thought to have a large inflammatory component related to an immune response, until now its efficacy in a first episode of acute pericarditis has been uncertain, as these episodes are thought to usually have a viral component that might benefit from […]

---

September 9th, 2013

Clear! CPR in the Hospital Is Not Always Good for the Patient

Larry Husten, PHD

On TV it always seems clear and simple. A patient in the hospital goes into cardiac arrest and the medical team springs into action. After a few tense moments of furious activity, and only after all seems lost, the patient is successfully revived. A few scenes later the smiling and now fully healthy patient thanks […]

---

September 5th, 2013

Lancet Formally Retracts Jikei Heart Study of Valsartan

Larry Husten, PHD

The Lancet has formally retracted the Jikei Heart Study paper, originally published in 2007. The retraction had been widely anticipated for more than a month, after a series of news reports in Japan made it clear that the long-simmering controversy over scientific misconduct involving the Novartis blood pressure lowering drug valsartan (Diovan) had come to a full boil. […]

---

September 4th, 2013

Too Much Emphasis on Door-to-Balloon Time?

Larry Husten, PHD

One of the great medical advances in recent years has been the improved treatment of acute myocardial infarction. As the enormous benefits of earlier reperfusion became evident, medical systems in many parts of the world aimed to treat increasing numbers of patients in a shorter time frame. The door-to-balloon (D2B) time as a performance measure […]

---