CardioExchange Archive

January 13th, 2015

40-Year Effort in One Rural County to Prevent Cardiovascular Disease Found Successful

Larry Husten, PHD

A 40-year program in one poor rural county to combat cardiovascular disease appears to have been successful, resulting in reduced rates of hospitalization and death compared with other counties in the same state over the same period. The new findings are described in a paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Beginning in 1970, Franklin County, […]

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January 12th, 2015

High Rate of Inappropriate Use of Aspirin for Primary Prevention

Larry Husten, PHD

More than a third of U.S. adults — more than 50 million people — now take aspirin for the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease. Although it was once broadly recommended, aspirin for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease is now only indicated in people who have a moderate-to-high 10-year risk. Now a new report published in […]

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January 9th, 2015

FDA Approves New Oral Anticoagulant from Daiichi Sankyo

Larry Husten, PHD

And then there were four. Late Thursday the FDA announced that it had approved edoxaban, the new oral anticoagulant manufactured by Daiichi Sankyo. The drug will be marketed under the brand name of Savaysa and joins three other new drugs in the large and important new oral anticoagulant marketplace: dabigatran (Pradaxa), rivaroxaban (Xarelto), and apixaban (Eliquis). All four drugs were […]

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January 5th, 2015

FDA Approves New Drug-Coated Balloon to Open Blocked Leg Arteries

Larry Husten, PHD

Medtronic said today that it had received approval from the FDA to market its IN.PACT Admiral drug-coated balloon (DCB) to treat peripheral artery disease (PAD) in the superficial femoral and popliteal arteries. The device is the second DCB to gain FDA approval. Last October the FDA approved CR Bard’s Lutonix DCB for a similar indication. The new DCB uses the anti-proliferative drug paclitaxel, […]

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January 5th, 2015

Healthy Habits of Young Women Lead to Long-Term Health Benefits

Larry Husten, PHD

It may seem obvious, but a new study shows that young women with healthy habits are less likely as they age to get coronary heart disease or go on to develop cardiovascular risk factors like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes. Andrea Chomistek and colleagues analyzed data from more than 88,000 women participating in the […]

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December 17th, 2014

Dutch Trial Gives Support to Thrombectomy for Ischemic Stroke

Larry Husten, PHD

A large new trial provides the first substantial evidence that thrombectomy may be beneficial in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Previous thromboectomy trials have been disappointing; some experts have speculated this may be due to the use of early-generation devices, long treatment delays, and difficulties in recruiting suitable patients into the trials. The Multicenter Randomized Clinical […]

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December 16th, 2014

No Advantage for Low-Glycemic-Index Diet

Larry Husten, PHD

In recent years the glycemic index (GI), a measure of a carbohydrate’s impact on blood sugar, has assumed a major role in discussions about diets and nutrition. Now a study suggests that by itself, within the context of an otherwise healthy diet, GI may not be an important factor in improving cardiovascular risk. In a paper […]

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December 10th, 2014

Focus on Getting Rid of Sugar, Not Salt, Say Authors

Larry Husten, PHD

Too much negative attention has been focused on salt and not enough on sugar, write two authors in Open Heart. Reviewing the extensive literature on salt and sugar, they write that the adverse effects of salt are less than the adverse effects of sugar. The evidence supporting efforts to reduce salt in the diet is […]

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December 4th, 2014

No Evidence to Support Routine Use of Aspirin in Women for Primary Prevention

Larry Husten, PHD

Although once widely recommended, aspirin for primary prevention has lost favor in recent years, as the large number of bleeding complications appeared to offset the reduction in cardiovascular events. But at the same time evidence has emerged demonstrating the long-term effect of aspirin in preventing colorectal cancer, leading some to think that the risk-to-benefit equation […]

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December 4th, 2014

Intent to Tweet and a Failure of Communication

Larry Husten, PHD

Larry Husten discusses the challenges those in traditional medicine have with using social media to promote research.

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