CardioExchange Archive

May 6th, 2012

Patent Foramen Ovale — Are the Choices Patently Obvious?

Shelby Kutty, MD and John Ryan, MD

Shelby Kutty explains what we know and what we don’t know about how to manage patients with a PFO.

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May 3rd, 2012

WARCEF: No Advantage for Warfarin over Aspirin in Heart Failure

Larry Husten, PHD

A new study offers “no compelling reason” to use warfarin instead of aspirin in heart failure patients who don’t have atrial fibrillation. In a paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Shunichi Homma and members of the Warfarin versus Aspirin in Reduced Cardiac Ejection Fraction (WARCEF) study group report the results of a trial in which […]

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April 11th, 2012

Anticoagulation Conundrum

Tariq Ahmad, MD, MPH and James Fang, MD

A 75-year-old woman presents to a general cardiology clinic for the first time. She has a history of atrial fibrillation, sick-sinus syndrome requiring a permanent pacemaker, hypertension, and dyslipidemia. She has no specific complaints other than shortness of breath on exertion. Her medications include aspirin (81 mg daily), carvedilol (25 mg twice daily), lisinopril (5 […]

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March 26th, 2012

Rivaroxaban Found Safe and Effective for Pulmonary Embolism

Larry Husten, PHD

In recent years rivaroxaban has been found to be effective in the prevention of venous thromboembolism (VTE) after orthopedic surgery, for the prevention of stroke in AF patients, and as additional therapy to conventional antiplatelet therapy in ACS patients. Now, a study presented at the American College of Cardiology meeting in Chicago and published simultaneously in […]

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March 8th, 2012

The Psychological Impact of DVT and PE

Beth Waldron, MA

The evaluation of the care and outcome of patients with venous thromboembolism is often focused on the visible short-term effects of a clot, such as: Has the acute clotting episode resolved? Are chronic pain, swelling, or other post-thrombotic issues well managed? Has there been any bleeding associated with anticoagulation? Has there been a VTE recurrence? […]

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March 1st, 2012

Decision on Apixaban (Eliquis) Pushed Back By 3 Months

Larry Husten, PHD

Confirming earlier speculation by a Wall Street analyst, Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb announced on Wednesday evening that the FDA had extended by 3 months the action date for the new drug application (NDA) for the highly anticipated oral anticoagulant apixaban (Eliquis). The application is for their important indication of stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation. The […]

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February 28th, 2012

FDA Grants Priority Review to Rivaroxaban (Xarelto) for ACS Patients

Larry Husten, PHD

The FDA has granted a priority review for the supplemental new drug application (sNDA) for rivaroxaban (Xarelto) in combination with standard therapy to reduce the risk for cardiovascular events in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients. The news was announced by Bayer and Johnson & Johnson. The FDA will now be required to respond within 6 months, instead of […]

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February 2nd, 2012

Study Explores Role of Periprocedural Dabigatran in AF Ablation

Larry Husten, PHD

As dabigatran becomes more widely used in AF patients, electrophysiologists are trying to figure out how to handle anticoagulation in patients taking the drug and for whom AF ablation is planned. In a new study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Dhanunjaya Lakkireddy and colleagues report on a multicenter, observational study of 290 patients […]

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January 20th, 2012

Subclinical Atrial Fibrillation and the Risk of Stroke: An Interview

Daniela J Lamas, MD and Gervasio Antonio Lamas, MD

A NEJM editorial fellow interviews a NEJM editorialist about subclinical AF and the risk of stroke.

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January 11th, 2012

ASSERT Sheds Light on the Role of Subclinical AF in Stroke

Larry Husten, PHD

A new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine sheds some much-needed light on the precise role of subclinical atrial fibrillation (AF) in the prognosis and development of ischemic stroke. ASSERT (Asymptomatic Atrial Fibrillation and Stroke Evaluation in Pacemaker Patients and the Atrial Fibrillation Reduction Atrial Pacing Trial) followed 2580 patients with a newly implanted pacemaker or ICD […]

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