CardioExchange Archive

February 5th, 2015

New Percutaneous Device Offers Hope in Refractory Angina

Larry Husten, PHD

An entirely predictable consequence of medical progress is the growing number of heart patients with persistent and symptomatic angina who have run out of treatment options. A small new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine raises the possibility that a new device one day may provide them some relief. The experimental device, a coronary sinus reducer […]

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January 29th, 2015

FDA Approves Right Percutaneous Single Access Heart Pump

Larry Husten, PHD

Abiomed has announced that it received FDA approval for its Impella RP System, the first percutaneous single access heart pump that provides support to the right side of the heart. The approval, under a Humanitarian Device Exemption (HDE), is based on results of the single-arm Recover Right study, in which 30 patients were enrolled. The […]

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January 28th, 2015

Tight Control of Hypertension During Pregnancy Tested

Larry Husten, PHD

High blood pressure during pregnancy is increasingly common, largely due to older age and obesity. Although there is widespread agreement that hypertension in these women should be treated when it is high enough to raise the risk of stroke, there is little agreement about whether or how to treat mild hypertension. In a study reported in […]

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January 27th, 2015

Can Precision Medicine Do Better Than Precision Weather?

Larry Husten, PHD

Larry Husten asks the question, “Is the human body simpler than the weather?”

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January 26th, 2015

Califf to Leave Duke to Become FDA Deputy Commissioner

Larry Husten, PHD

The FDA announced today that Duke University cardiologist Robert Califf will be the next FDA Deputy Commissioner for Medical Products and Tobacco. The agency said that Califf will be responsible for the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, the Center for Devices and Radiological Health and the Center for Tobacco Products.” […]

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January 22nd, 2015

New Device to Lower Resistant Hypertension Shows Early Promise

Larry Husten, PHD

A novel implantable device appears to show early promise in the treatment of resistant hypertension. The “Coupler” device from ROX Medical is about the size of a paper clip and is delivered via a catheter to the upper thigh, where it creates an anastomosis between the distal external iliac vein and artery, thereby mechanically lowering […]

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January 19th, 2015

Intense Exercise Doesn’t Eliminate the Hazard of Intense Sitting

Larry Husten, PHD

A large new analysis published in Annals of Internal Medicine supports earlier observations that the health hazards of sedentary behavior aren’t completely neutralized by exercise. Researchers in Toronto scoured the literature to find studies that assessed the health effects of sedentary behavior adjusted for physical activity. They found 47 studies, including 13 that assessed all-cause mortality, 14 that […]

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January 19th, 2015

Optimum Salt Intake in Elderly Remains Elusive

Larry Husten, PHD

A new study offers fresh evidence that current salt recommendations should be taken with, well, a grain of salt. Current guidelines now recommend that everyone should have sodium intake levels below 2300 mg per day. For many people at higher risk, including everyone over 50 years of age, sodium intake should be below 1500 mg/d. […]

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January 14th, 2015

Hidden Clinical Trial Data: A Dam About to Burst

Larry Husten, PHD

Two important new developments may mean that many more researchers will soon be able to access and analyze data from many more clinical trials. In recent years, in response to troubling and far-reaching questions about the availability and reliability of clinical trial data, reformers have called for new policies that would require drug companies and other […]

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January 14th, 2015

Ticagrelor Improves Outcomes After Myocardial Infarction

Larry Husten, PHD

For the first time, a very large trial has shown that dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) improves cardiovascular outcomes when given to patients 1 to 3 years after a myocardial infarction. Because DAPT has been shown previously to reduce the high risk of recurrent events for up to a year following an MI, it is considered to be standard […]

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