CardioExchange Archive

January 9th, 2012

Statins Elevate Diabetes Risk in Postmenopausal Women

Larry Husten, PHD

Statins increase the risk for developing diabetes in postmenopausal women, according to a new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. The study provides more evidence and details about the previously reported link between statins and diabetes development. Using data from more than 153,000 postmenopausal women who were participating in the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) and did […]

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January 9th, 2012

Excess Risk for Cardiac Events Associated with Dabigatran

Larry Husten, PHD

A new meta-analysis finds that dabigatran is associated with a higher risk of myocardial infarction and acute coronary syndromes. An editorial raises questions about the enthusiasm to embrace new drugs.

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January 5th, 2012

Diets Differ in Effect on Weight Gain and Fat and Lean Mass

Larry Husten, PHD

A new study published in JAMA demonstrates the various effects of overeating of three diets that differed mainly in protein composition. George Bray and colleagues randomized 25 healthy volunteers to participate in an inpatient study to consume low-, normal-, or high-protein diets that provided 40% more calories than required to maintain one’s normal weight. After 8 weeks, […]

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January 4th, 2012

High STEMI Readmission Rate in U.S. Linked to Shorter Hospital Stays

Larry Husten, PHD

STEMI (ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction) patients in the U.S. are more likely to be readmitted to the hospital within 30 days compared with patients outside the U.S., but this difference loses significance when length of stay (LOS) is taken into account, according to a new study published in JAMA.  Robb Kociol and colleagues, analyzing data from 5745 STEMI patients […]

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January 3rd, 2012

Measuring In-Hospital Mortality Favors Hospitals with Short Stays

Larry Husten, PHD

As a measure of performance and quality, in-hospital mortality systematically favors hospitals with shorter overall length of stay (LOS) times, according to a new study published in Annals of Internal Medicine. This finding may have important implications for quality improvement initiatives that use mortality as a performance measure. Elizabeth Drye and colleagues (including senior author Harlan Krumholz, editor-in-chief […]

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January 3rd, 2012

Bariatric Surgery Cuts Cardiovascular Deaths and Events

Larry Husten, PHD

Bariatric surgery results in significant reductions in cardiovascular deaths and events, according to a new study from Sweden published in JAMA. But one expert cautions that the results do not mean that obese patients without other weight-related complications should undergo surgery. Analyzing data from more than 4000 obese patients enrolled in the ongoing Swedish Obese Subjects (SOS) […]

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December 29th, 2011

J&J Applies for ACS Indication for Rivaroxaban (Xarelto)

Larry Husten, PHD

Based on the promising results of the recently published ATLAS ACS 2 TIMI 51 trial, Johnson & Johnson has submitted a supplemental new drug application to the FDA for the approval of rivaroxaban (Xarelto) to reduce the risk of thrombotic cardiovascular events in ACS patients. Following a succession of failed trials, ATLAS was the first trial to […]

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December 28th, 2011

No Mortality Benefit of Low-Molecular-Weight Heparin in Acutely Ill Patients

Larry Husten, PHD

Although venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a serious problem for acutely ill patients in the hospital, a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine failed to find any improvement in mortality associated with thromboprophylaxis. Ajay Kakkar and the LIFENOX investigators randomized 8307 acutely ill patients to receive enoxaparin or placebo for 10 days. All patients wore elastic […]

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December 27th, 2011

Possible Role for New Troponin Test to Diagnose MI

Larry Husten, PHD

A new study from Germany provides evidence that a new high-sensitive troponin I (hsTnI) assay may improve and speed the early diagnosis of acute MI. In an article published in JAMA, Till Keller and colleagues report on 1818 patients with acute chest pain in whom numerous biomarker tests were conducted at admission and at 3 and […]

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December 27th, 2011

Clopidogrel Testing Comes Under Fire

Larry Husten, PHD

The phenomenon of clopidogrel resistance has been much discussed, but no consensus has emerged about the best, or any, response to the problem. Now a review published in JAMA finds no clinically relevant relationship between the CYP2C19 genotype  and cardiovascular events. Michael Holmes and colleagues performed a meta-analysis of 32 studies involving CYP 2C19 genotyping and more than […]

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