April 28th, 2015
No Advantage to Adding Inferior Vena Cava Filters to Anticoagulation
Larry Husten, PHD
Despite a lack of supporting evidence many patients with acute venous thromboembolism (VTE) receive inferior vena cava filters to prevent pulmonary embolism (PE). Now a new study published in JAMA offers no evidence of benefit for the use of these devices in a high-risk population already receiving anticoagulant drugs. A group of French physicians randomized nearly 400 […]
March 14th, 2015
FDA Approves Watchman Left Atrial Appendage Closure Device for AF
Larry Husten, PHD
The FDA has approved Boston Scientific’s long-delayed Watchman Left Atrial Appendage Closure Device. According to the company, the Watchman is indicated as an alternative to long-term warfarin therapy for the reduction of thromboembolism from the left atrial appendage in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation at increased risk for stroke and systemic embolism. Although an alternative to warfarin, […]
February 24th, 2015
Increased Risk with NSAIDs Following Myocardial Infarction
Larry Husten, PHD
The cardiovascular safety of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen and diclofenac has been the subject of considerable uncertainty and controversy. Now a new study published in JAMA raises specific concerns about the safety of these drugs in the highly vulnerable population of people who have had a recent myocardial infarction. Using data from several linked national […]
February 13th, 2015
Can Clopidogrel Get Along with Proton Pump Inhibitors?
CardioExchange Editors, Staff
Are there clinically significant interactions between clopidogrel, proton pump inhibitors, and other drugs?
January 14th, 2015
Ticagrelor Improves Outcomes After Myocardial Infarction
Larry Husten, PHD
For the first time, a very large trial has shown that dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) improves cardiovascular outcomes when given to patients 1 to 3 years after a myocardial infarction. Because DAPT has been shown previously to reduce the high risk of recurrent events for up to a year following an MI, it is considered to be standard […]
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 […]
December 8th, 2014
New Anticoagulant Spotlights Major Role for the Intrinsic Pathway
Sanjay Kaul, MD and Ethan J Weiss, M.D.
Sanjay Kaul and Ethan Weiss discuss an entirely new approach to anticoagulation.
November 6th, 2014
Agent Could Potentially Reverse Anticoagulation Associated with Edoxaban
PER977 — a cation that binds to all of the new oral anticoagulants and heparin — may help reverse the anticoagulant effects of edoxaban, according to results of an industry-conducted trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Edoxaban, an oral factor Xa inhibitor, was recently recommended for approval by an FDA advisory panel. Researchers […]
November 3rd, 2014
AF Patients at Increased Risk for Silent Strokes
Larry Husten, PHD
The increased risk of stroke in people with atrial fibrillation (AF) is well known, and this stroke risk is, of course, linked to an increased risk of cognitive impairment and dementia. Less well known is that people with AF have an increased risk for cognitive impairment independent of their stroke risk. Now a new study […]
November 3rd, 2014
Economic Study Finds VTE Prophylaxis with Low-Molecular-Weight Heparin Cost Effective
Larry Husten, PHD
Critically ill patients in the hospital are at high risk for developing venous thromboembolism (VTE). The 2011 PROTECT trial compared the two most common drug strategies used to prevent VTE — unfractionated heparin (UFH) and dalteparin, a low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) — and found no difference between the two groups in the primary endpoint of the trial, leg deep-vein thrombosis. But […]
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