CardioExchange Archive

September 6th, 2011

FDA Reviewers Recommend Complete Response Letter for Rivaroxaban (Xarelto)

Larry Husten, PHD

FDA reviewers have recommended against the approval of rivaroxaban (Xarelto, Johnson & Johnson), which will be the subject of a Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee meeting on Thursday. The recommendation comes as a surprise, as many physicians and analysts had expected an easy approval for the drug. The bottom line from the FDA reviewers is […]

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September 4th, 2011

Montreal Heart Institute Researcher Fired After Investigation of Retracted Papers

Larry Husten, PHD

Zhiguo Wang, a researcher at the Montreal Heart Institute (MHI), has been fired less than a month after wide publicity over the retraction of two papers that he had coauthored, Retraction Watch reports. MHI director Jean-Claude Tardif said at a press conference that a hospital investigation had resulted in a recommendation that three more of Wang’s articles […]

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September 2nd, 2011

Rosuvastatin Fails to Best Atorvastatin in IVUS Study of Atherosclerosis Progression

Larry Husten, PHD

AstraZeneca announced today that its lipid-lowering agent rosuvastatin (Crestor) was not superior to atorvastatin (Lipitor, Pfizer) in reducing the progression of atherosclerosis, as assessed by IVUS. The company announced the top-line results of SATURN (Study of Coronary Atheroma by InTravascular Ultrasound: Effect of Rosuvastatin Versus AtorvastatiN), which is scheduled to be presented at the American Heart Association meeting in November. The […]

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September 1st, 2011

Paris or Orlando? A Tale of Two Cities

Larry Husten, PHD

‘ Paris, where the European Society of Cardiology is currently holding its annual meeting, is one of the world’s great cities. Orlando is the world capitol of medical meetings. Here are just a few of the differences. (Thanks as indicated for the suggestions.) Paris has a bewildering variety of long-distance trains, commuter trains, and subways. In […]

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August 31st, 2011

New Resuscitation Strategies Fail to Improve Outcomes After Cardiac Arrest

Larry Husten, PHD

Two trials from the Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium (ROC) investigators were unable to demonstrate meaningful improvements to resuscitation strategies after cardiac arrest. The two trials, one testing an impedance threshold device and the other examining a strategy of early versus late rhythm analysis, have been published in the New England Journal of Medicine. In the first trial, 8718 patients were randomized to […]

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August 30th, 2011

No Benefit for Routine Counterpulsation Found in CRISP AMI

Larry Husten, PHD

Routine use of intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation (IABC) in STEMI patients who do not have cardiogenic shock does not reduce infarct size, according to a new trial. Results from the CRISP AMI (Counterpulsation to Reduce Infarct Size Pre-PCI Acute Myocardial Infarction) trial were presented at the European Society of Cardiology meeting in Paris by Manesh Patel […]

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August 30th, 2011

New Results from EMPHASIS-HF Show Big Benefits For High-Risk Subgroups Taking Eplerenone

Larry Husten, PHD

Last November the main results of the EMPHASIS-HF trial demonstrated that eplerenone was significantly better than placebo in reducing the risk for death and hospitalization in patients with systolic heart failure and mild symptoms. Now a new analysis of the trial, presented by Bertram Pitt at the European Society of Cardiology meeting in Paris, reinforces the earlier findings […]

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August 29th, 2011

Not Shocking: French Studies Evaluate Remote Monitoring of ICDs

Larry Husten, PHD

Remote monitoring of ICDs can reduce inappropriate shocks, but the overall clinical benefit and cost-effectiveness of the technology has not yet been demonstrated, according to two new studies presented at the ESC meeting in Paris. Salem Kacet presented the ECOST (Effectiveness and Cost of ICD Follow-Up Schedule with Telecardiology) study in which 433 ICD patients were […]

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August 29th, 2011

Shortfalls in Secondary Prevention Particularly Acute in Poor Countries

Larry Husten, PHD

It shouldn’t come as a surprise, but an international epidemiological study shows large shortfalls in the use of established drugs for secondary prevention. The shortfalls are dramatically acute in poor countries, said Salim Yusuf, who presented the results of the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiological (PURE) study at the ESC in Paris on Sunday. The paper […]

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August 28th, 2011

ARISTOTLE Finds the Golden Mean of Anticoagulation

Larry Husten, PHD

In ancient Greece the philosopher Aristotle thought the golden mean was the desirable middle between two extremes, one of excess and the other of deficiency. In cardiology, apixaban may be the golden mean of anticoagulation, achieving the ideal balance of reduced strokes and deaths without causing any additional bleeding complications. The Apixaban for Reduction in Stroke and Other […]

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