CardioExchange Archive

July 18th, 2013

A Glimpse of the Future of Cardiology, Including Star Wars Holograms

Larry Husten, PHD

Goodbye flat images. Hello holography. Sometime in the not-too-far-distant future cardiologists may work with projected 3D holograms of the heart instead of images on a flat screen. And this is just the beginning of a technology-driven transformation of cardiology. That’s the vision of Mount Sinai’s Partho Sengupta, who delivered a widely praised technology-gone-wild lecture at the annual […]

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July 17th, 2013

Stroke Risk Increases with Nonadherence to Antihypertensive Therapy

Larry Husten, PHD

A large new observational study demonstrates that people who don’t take their antihypertensive medications are much more likely to have a stroke. The new study, published in the European Heart Journal, used nationwide prescription, hospital, and mortality records from 73,527 hypertensive patients in Finland. The investigators compared 26,704 patients who were hospitalized for or died of stroke with […]

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July 15th, 2013

No Mortality Benefit for Surgery in Prosthetic Valve Endocarditis

Larry Husten, PHD

In the first five years after valve replacement approximately 3-6% of patients will develop prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE). These patients are much more likely to die. Now a large observational study — the first of its type — has found that surgery is no better than medical therapy in reducing mortality in these patients. The report from the ICE-PCD […]

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July 12th, 2013

Medtronic Faces Removal of CoreValve Transcatheter Heart Valve from German Market

Larry Husten, PHD

In the wake of a major patent decision, Medtronic will be forced to remove its CoreValve transcatheter heart valve from the German market. Edwards Lifesciences said today that a German Court had found that Medtronic infringed a key patent, known as the Spenser patent, and granted an injunction prohibiting the sale of CoreValve and CoreValve Evolut systems in Germany. Medtronic said it would appeal the […]

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July 11th, 2013

Link to Prostate Cancer Brings More Bad News for Fish-Oil Story

Larry Husten, PHD

Adding more confusion to an already fishy story, a new study has found a significant association between omega-3 fatty acids and the risk of prostate cancer. Although the link had been previously observed, the finding surprised the investigators, who wrote that “these findings contradict the expectation that high consumption of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids and low consumption […]

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July 9th, 2013

Low Rate of Problems with Statins in Study of Quarter Million Patients

Larry Husten, PHD

A very large analysis of previously published studies finds that statins are generally safe and well tolerated, but helps confirm previous links to a small increased risk for diabetes and elevation of liver enzymes. Some statins were better tolerated than others, and lower-dose statins were better tolerated than high doses. In a paper published in Circulation: Cardiovascular […]

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July 4th, 2013

FDA: Olmesartan Can Cause Sprue-Like Enteropathy

Larry Husten, PHD

The FDA is warning that the angiotensin II receptor blocker olmesartan (marketed as Benicar, Benicar HCT, Azor, Tribenzor, and generics) may cause severe diarrhea. According to an FDA safety announcement, olmesartan “can cause intestinal problems known as sprue-like enteropathy. Symptoms of sprue-like enteropathy include severe, chronic diarrhea with substantial weight loss.” The warning is being added […]

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July 2nd, 2013

Hundreds of Questions About the Integrity of Stem-Cell Research Group

Larry Husten, PHD

Serious questions have been raised about the integrity and validity of research conducted by a well-established German stem-cell research group. An article in the International Journal of Cardiology exhaustively details a multitude of discrepancies and contradictions in papers from the group. Further, the revelation of such widespread misconduct may lead to broader, disturbing questions about the reliability of […]

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July 1st, 2013

New Anticoagulant Found Safe and Effective in Acute Venous Thromboembolism

Larry Husten, PHD

In a large clinical trial the new oral anticoagulant apixaban (Eliquis, Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb) was at least as effective as standard therapy and caused fewer bleeding complications in patients with acute venous thromboembolism (VTE). The results of the AMPLIFY (Apixaban for the Initial Management of Pulmonary Embolism and Deep-Vein Thrombosis as First-Line Therapy) trial are being presented today at […]

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June 28th, 2013

More Bad News for HDL Therapies: ASSURE Trial Misses Primary Endpoint

Larry Husten, PHD

The string of bad news for HDL-related therapies continues. Resverlogix yesterday announced that the ASSURE clinical trial had failed to meet its primary endpoint. RVX-208, the drug being studied in the trial, is a novel small molecule that increases production of Apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA-1), which raises HDL levels and is thought to enhance reverse cholesterol transport. ASSURE was a […]

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