CardioExchange Archive

September 24th, 2012

‘Dramatic’ Increase in Bleeding Accompanies Addition of Oral Anticoagulant Therapy in ACS

Larry Husten, PHD

The newer oral anticoagulants may help reduce ischemic events after an acute coronary syndrome (ACS), but only at the cost of a “dramatic” increase in bleeding complications, according to a new meta-analysis published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Hungarian researchers performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of seven trials in which 31,286 ACS patients were […]

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September 21st, 2012

Apixaban (Eliquis) For Atrial Fibrillation Gets Positive European Recommendation

Larry Husten, PHD

The European Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has recommended approval for apixaban (Eliquis, Pfizer and BristolMyers Squibb) for atrial fibrillation. The drug is already approved in Europe for the prevention of venous thromboembolic events following hip or knee replacement surgery. The drug has not yet been approved in the United States. Here is the CHMP-proposed indication for the […]

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September 21st, 2012

News Flash! Company Issues Incredibly Boring Press Release

Larry Husten, PHD

A dull press release and dull scientific paper may, in this case, signify genuine progress.

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September 19th, 2012

Studies Examine Less Burdensome Dual Antiplatelet Regimens

Larry Husten, PHD

Two new studies published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology offer hope but not, yet, compelling evidence to support less burdensome requirements for dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) after drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation. In the first study, Spanish investigators followed 1622 consecutive patients who received a DES for 1 year. They found that 10.6% of the patients interrupted […]

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September 18th, 2012

Screening for AAA Comes Under Renewed Scrutiny and Criticism

Larry Husten, PHD

A 2007 Medicare initiative to increase AAA (abdominal aortic aneurysm) screening in appropriate patients failed to prevent AAA rupture or reduce all-cause mortality, according to a new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. The larger implications of the study are unclear, but two accompanying papers, an invited commentary and a perspective, emphasize the darker side […]

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September 18th, 2012

International Cardiology Groups Push for Aggressive Public Health Goals

Larry Husten, PHD

Cardiovascular disease is the largest cause of death in the world and accounts for almost half of all deaths from noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Earlier this year, in response to a high-level UN meeting on NCDs in 2011, the World Health Assembly set a global target  to reduce premature NCD mortality by 25% by the year 2025. Now, the Global […]

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September 13th, 2012

Meta-Analysis Links Stress at Work and Heart Disease

Larry Husten, PHD

A new study in the Lancet provides the best evidence yet that work-related stress and, in particular, job strain — “the combination of high job demands and low control at work” — plays a small but important role in causing heart disease. In order to address the limitations of previous studies on this topic, including […]

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September 13th, 2012

A Manhattan Project to End the Obesity Epidemic

Larry Husten, PHD

A newly launched nonprofit organization, the Nutrition Science Initiative, will try to find an answer to the question,  “What should we eat to be healthy?” Called NuSI (pronounced “new see”) for short, the organization is nothing if not ambitious: its goal is to seek “the end of fad diets and high obesity rates.” NuSI’s founders are Gary Taubes and Peter Attia. Taubes is the […]

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September 12th, 2012

Study Predicts Renal Denervation Will Be Cost-Effective in Resistant Hypertension

Larry Husten, PHD

Renal denervation (RDN) for resistant hypertension may be cost-effective and may provide long-term clinical benefits, according to a new analysis published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Benjamin Geisler and colleagues developed a model to predict the impact of the Medtronic Symplicity RDN system in patients with resistant hypertension. Over 10 years, according to […]

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September 11th, 2012

More Evidence That Omega-3 Supplements Don’t Work

Larry Husten, PHD

Once again researchers have failed to find any clinical benefit for omega-3 supplements. In a new meta-analysis and systematic review published in JAMA, Evangelos Rizos and colleagues analyzed 20 randomized controlled trials including  68,680 patients and found no significant effect on any of the endpoints: all-cause mortality: relative risk (RR) 0.96, CI 0.91 – 1.02 cardiac death: RR […]

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