CardioExchange Archive

February 12th, 2013

ACC and STS Break New Ground to Test TAVR for Unapproved Uses

Larry Husten, PHD

In a startling break with tradition, the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) will manage and run their own clinical trials testing expanded uses for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). The two medical groups have recently been granted an investigational device exemption (IDE) by the FDA for one such […]

---

February 11th, 2013

FDA Wants Cardiovascular Safety Data Before Approving Insulin Degludec

Larry Husten, PHD

The FDA informed Novo Nordisk on Friday that it would not approve the company’s highly anticipated long-acting insulin degludec products (Tresiba and Ryzodeg) until it receives data from a cardiovascular outcomes trial. Approval of the drugs had been widely anticipated for this year, following a positive recommendation from an FDA advisory committee last fall. But the committee […]

---

February 8th, 2013

Xarelto Effective in Medically Ill Patients, But at High Bleeding Cost

Larry Husten, PHD

The recent arrival of novel oral anticoagulants has provided important new options for treating and preventing venous thromboembolism (VTE). New indications for these drugs have been granted for patients with atrial fibrillation and for patients who have undergone orthopedic surgery. But an additional indication, for acutely ill medical patients at risk for VTE, does not […]

---

February 6th, 2013

Genetic Study Identifies Strong Links to Aortic Valve Disease

Larry Husten, PHD

A genetic component is believed to play an important role in valvular heart disease, but the specific genes involved have not been identified. Now an interntional group of researchers has identified genetic variations that increase the risk for valvular calcification. In an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine, members of the Cohorts for Heart and Aging […]

---

February 5th, 2013

Back To The Future: Resurrected Data From 1960s Trial Might Impact Contemporary Dietary Fat Debate

Larry Husten, PHD

In an exceedingly strange turn of events, data from a clinical trial dating from the 1960s, long thought to be lost, has now been resurrected and may contribute important new information to the very contemporary controversy over recommendations about dietary fat composition. The American Heart Association has long urged people to increase their consumption of polyunsaturated […]

---

February 5th, 2013

ACE Inhibitor Improves Walking in People with Peripheral Artery Disease

Larry Husten, PHD

Giving an ACE inhibitor to people with peripheral artery disease (PAD) and intermittent claudication reduces pain and increases walking time, according to a new study published in JAMA. Currently the pharmacologic options for this patient population are few and have limited efficacy. Researchers at three Australian hospitals randomized 212 patients with PAD to receive the ACE inhibitor ramipril or placebo for 24 […]

---

February 2nd, 2013

European Heart Journal Retracts Main Paper of the Kyoto Heart Study

Larry Husten, PHD

The 2009 report of the Kyoto Heart Study on the add-on effect of valsartan in hypertension has been retracted with a terse comment by the editors of the European Heart Journal.

---

January 30th, 2013

Small Study Suggests Yoga May Benefit AF Patients

Larry Husten, PHD

A study published online in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology suggests that yoga may benefit people who have atrial fibrillation. The study, which the authors describe as “a small, proof-of-concept study,” is the first of its kind. The findings raise the possibility that yoga may reduce AF symptoms and arrhythmia burden. Other physiological and […]

---

January 29th, 2013

FDA Approves Mipomersen for Homozygous Familial Hypercholesterolemia

Larry Husten, PHD

The FDA said today that it had granted approval to the novel cholesterol-lowering drug mipomersen sodium for use as an adjunct to diet and drug therapy in patients with homozygous hypercholesterolemia. The drug, which was developed by Isis Pharmaceuticals, will be marketed under the brand name of Kynamro by Genzyme. Kynamro was approved as an orphan drug, which the […]

---

January 29th, 2013

Popular Antidepressants May Prolong QT Interval

Larry Husten, PHD

In August 2011 the FDA issued a safety communication recommending that the extremely popular antidepressant citalopram (Celexa) not be used at doses greater than 40 mg/day because of a potential increased risk for serious cardiac arrhythmias associated with prolongation of the QT interval. Now a study published in BMJ lends support to this warning and suggests that other antidepressants may […]

---