CardioExchange Archive

February 21st, 2012

More Rigorous Assessment of Family History Improves CV Risk Determination

Larry Husten, PHD

Although family history has long been recognized as an important cardiovascular risk factor, usual methods to assess risk have not incorporated family history in a rigorous manner. A new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine finds that systematically collecting family history in a primary practice setting significantly increases the identification of high-risk people. Nadeem Qureshi and […]

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February 16th, 2012

Japanese Researcher with Harvard Connections Retracts 3 Articles in AHA Journals

Larry Husten, PHD

Akio Kawakami, a well-published lipid researcher at Tokyo Medical and Dental University, has retracted three papers from AHA journals, including one article in the AHA’s flagship journal Circulation. The two other retractions were for articles in Circulation Research and Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. News of the retractions was first reported on Retraction Watch. Two of Kawakami’s co-authors are well known researchers affiliated with […]

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February 15th, 2012

AHA Scientific Statement Spotlights Peripheral Artery Disease in Women

Larry Husten, PHD

Although peripheral artery disease (PAD) raises the risk for heart disease and stroke, it often goes undiagnosed and untreated, especially in women, according to a scientific statement issued by the American Heart Association and published in Circulation. Here are a few highlights of the statement: Although women develop PAD later than men, the total number of women with PAD […]

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February 14th, 2012

Meta-Analysis: Air Pollutants Raise Short-Term Risk for MI

Larry Husten, PHD

Air pollution significantly raises the short-term, 7-day risk for MI, according to a new meta-analysis published in JAMA. Hazrije Mustafic and colleagues analyzed data from 34 studies and found a significant increase in the relative risk (RR) for MI with all the main air pollutants except ozone: carbon monoxide: RR 1.048, CI 1.026-1.070 nitrogen dioxide: 1.011, 1.006-1.016 […]

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February 13th, 2012

Meta-Analysis Raises More Questions About Routine Use of Aspirin for Primary Prevention

Larry Husten, PHD

Although aspirin can reduce the risk for cardiovascular (CV) events, the associated increase in bleeding suggests that it should not be used routinely in  people without prior CV disease, say the authors of a meta-analysis published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Sreenivasa Rao Kondapally Seshasai and colleagues combined data from nine clinical studies including more […]

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February 9th, 2012

The Y Chromosome May Explain Why Men Have Earlier Coronary Disease

Larry Husten, PHD

The earlier onset of coronary artery disease in men has long provoked speculation and research. Now a new study in the Lancet suggests that common variations in the Y chromosome (which is transmitted directly from father to son and does not undergo recombination) may play an important role in the increased risk seen in men. Using genetic […]

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February 8th, 2012

Prominent Interventionalists Attack Appropriate Use Criteria for PCI

Larry Husten, PHD

A group of leading interventional cardiologists has launched an attack on the growing role of appropriate use criteria (AUC) for PCI in the U.S. They argue that severe flaws in current guidelines render unreliable attempts to assess the rate of appropriate procedures. In a paper published in JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions, Steven Marso and colleagues (Paul Teirstein, Dean […]

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February 7th, 2012

Bleeding Problems Continue to Bedevil Merck’s Novel Antiplatelet Agent Vorapaxar

Larry Husten, PHD

In the large TRA-2P study of more than 26,000 patients with  MI, ischemic stroke, or documented peripheral vascular disease, the novel antiplatelet agent vorapaxar significantly reduced the primary endpoint of CV death, MI, stroke, or urgent coronary revascularization. But treatment resulted in a significant increase in bleeding, including intracranial hemorrhage. The fate of vorapaxar now appears to be […]

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February 6th, 2012

Women and ICDs: More Complications, Fewer Benefits

Larry Husten, PHD

After consulting an electrophysiologist, women are just as likely as men to receive an ICD but they suffer more complications and are less likely to benefit from the device, according to a new study from Canada published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Derek MacFadden and colleagues analyzed data from 6021 patients treated at 18 ICD […]

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February 3rd, 2012

CMS Releases Details of Proposed National Coverage for TAVR

Larry Husten, PHD

On Thursday the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a memo containing details of its proposed Medicare coverage for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). The memo is a response to a formal request for national coverage determination (NCD) from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) and the American College of Cardiology (ACC). The memo will be open […]

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