CardioExchange Archive

March 30th, 2011

Many Elderly Patients Excluded from Heart Failure Trials

Larry Husten, PHD

Despite the large and growing burden of heart failure in the elderly population, older people are often excluded from heart failure clinical trials. In a paper in the Archives of Internal Medicine, Antonio Cherubini and colleagues  examined 251 heart failure trials and found that a quarter of the trials excluded patients by an arbitrary upper […]

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March 29th, 2011

Conflicts of Interest in Cardiovascular Guidelines

Larry Husten, PHD

More than half of authors and reviewers of cardiovascular clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) have at least one conflict of interest (COI), according to a study in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Todd Mendelson and colleagues analyzed the 17 most recent ACC/AHA CPGs through 2008 and found that 56% of the participants reported a COI. The […]

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March 28th, 2011

Updated Unstable Angina/Non-STEMI Guidelines Released by ACC & AHA

Larry Husten, PHD

The AHA and ACC have released a focused update of the 2007 guidelines for the management of unstable angina and non-STEMI. The guidelines incorporate new information from recent clinical trials, and deal with controversial topics such as the choice of antiplatelet agents, the use of platelet-function and genetic tests with antiplatelet agents, and the timing […]

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March 25th, 2011

FDA Approves 2 New Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy-Pacemaker Systems From Medtronic

Larry Husten, PHD

The FDA has approved two new cardiac resynchronization therapy-pacemaker (CRT-P) systems manufactured by Medtronic, the company announced. Both the Consulta® and Syncra™ CRT-P systems include an ECG reporting system, which works with the company’s network data monitoring system to offer remote follow-up of heart-failure patients. In addition, the Consulta includes Medtronic’s fluid monitoring system and […]

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March 24th, 2011

Study Finds Pioglitazone Prevents Progression To Diabetes

Larry Husten, PHD

Pioglitazone significantly reduces the development of type 2 diabetes in people with impaired glucose tolerance, according to the results of the ACT NOW study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Ralph DeFronzo and colleagues randomized 602 patients with impaired glucose tolerance to pioglitazone or placebo. During a median followup of  2.4 years, diabetes developed […]

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March 23rd, 2011

Fibrate Prescriptions: A Tale Of Two Countries

Larry Husten, PHD

During the past decade, fibrate use more than doubled in the U.S. but remained relatively stable in Canada, according to a study just published in JAMA. In January 2002, fibrate use was similar in the two countries: 336 prescriptions per 100,000 population in the U.S. versus 402 per 100,000 in Canada. By December 2009, the number […]

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March 23rd, 2011

New Protocol Identifies Low-Risk Chest-Pain Patients

Larry Husten, PHD

Investigators in the Asia-Pacific region are proposing a “reliable, reproducible, and fast” 2-hour protocol to identify chest-pain patients in the emergency department who have a low short-term risk of having a major adverse cardiac event and who may therefore be suitable for early discharge. The accelerated diagnosis protocol (ADP) consists of the TIMI score, ECG, and […]

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March 22nd, 2011

Good News And Bad News About Physical And Sexual Activity and Cardiac Events

Larry Husten, PHD

The bad news is that physical and sexual activity can trigger acute cardiac events. The good news is that the immediate increase in risk becomes much smaller with more frequent activity, and the long-term overall benefits of activity remain unchallenged. These are the key findings of a meta-analysis by Issa Dahabreh and Jessica Paulus published […]

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March 22nd, 2011

Study Explores Lowering the Troponin Diagnostic Threshold

Larry Husten, PHD

Lowering the troponin diagnostic threshold can significantly improve outcomes after MI, claim Scottish investigators in a report published in JAMA. More than 2,000 patients with suspected ACS were studied. Sixty-four percent of patients had troponin concentrations below 0.05 ng/mL, 8% had concentrations from 0.05 to 0.19 ng/mL, and 28% had concentrations 0.20 ng/mL or higher. […]

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March 22nd, 2011

AHA Releases New Recommendations for Management of Acute VTE

Larry Husten, PHD

The AHA is offering new guidance for the management of patients with pulmonary embolism, iliofemoral deep vein thrombosis, and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. The scientific statement is published online in Circulation. In addition to advice about anticoagulant therapy, the statement offers extensive recommendations about the appropriate use of fibrinolytic agents, catheter-based and surgical interventions, and […]

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