CardioExchange Archive

August 28th, 2011

A “Straight A” Trial: Answers About Apixaban from ARISTOTLE

Samuel Goldhaber, MD

Several important questions about the relative safety and efficacy of apixaban versus warfarin in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation have been answered.

---

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 […]

---

August 24th, 2011

ARISTOTLE at ESC: What to Look for When the Data Are Unveiled

Samuel Goldhaber, MD

At 11:54 a.m. on August 28 in Paris (5:54 a.m. U.S. east coast time), I can almost imagine a huge drop in cell phone call volume as the ARISTOTLE presentation begins at ESC. The ESC exposition site is right next to Charles de Gaulle airport. Will a temporary “no fly zone” be declared? We know […]

---

August 10th, 2011

Rivaroxaban Compared with Warfarin in 14,000 AF Patients

Larry Husten, PHD

In ROCKET AF (Rivaroxaban Once Daily Oral Direct Factor Xa Inhibition Compared with Vitamin K Antagonism for Prevention of Stroke and Embolism Trial in Atrial Fibrillation), researchers tested rivaroxaban (20 mg/day) against warfarin in 14,264 patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (AF). The results of the trial, which were first presented last November at the American […]

---

July 24th, 2011

APPRAISE-2 Dashes Hope of Adding Anticoagulant to Antiplatelet Therapy in ACS

Larry Husten, PHD

A large phase 3 trial of an investigational factor Xa inhibitor, when added to antiplatelet therapy in ACS patients, was stopped early because of bleeding complications.

---

July 14th, 2011

Rivaroxaban: The Next Non-Warfarin Oral Blood Thinner

John Mandrola, MD, FACC

An electrophysiologist and blogger places the recent approval of rivaroxaban in the context of the seismic changes that have taken place and that are still expected in the anticoagulant marketplace.

---

July 14th, 2011

Recurrent Arterial Thrombosis plus GI Bleeding in an Elderly Woman

Faiza Hashmi, MD and James Fang, MD

An 85-year-old woman with a history of hypertension and Crohn’s disease presented with severe pain in the left hand and was admitted to the hospital. Examination revealed a diminished left-radial pulse; arterial Doppler imaging showed a thrombus in the radial artery. The patient underwent surgical thrombectomy. The workup, including a hypercoagulability profile, was negative. Transthoracic […]

---

June 22nd, 2011

Apixaban (Eliquis) Meets Primary Endpoint in ARISTOTLE

Larry Husten, PHD

Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb said that their new oral direct Factor Xa drug apixaban, which will be marketed under the brand name of Eliquis, had met the primary endpoint of the ARISTOTLE study. The Apixaban for the Prevention of Stroke in Subjects With Atrial Fibrillation (ARISTOTLE) study was designed to compare the factor Xa inhibitor apixaban with […]

---

May 13th, 2011

Simultaneous TIA and ACS After Aspirin Cessation for Palpebral Surgery

Jean-Pierre Usdin, MD and James Fang, MD

A 77-year-old man with metformin-treated type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, moderate renal insufficiency, stable angina, and a history of phlebitis stopped taking aspirin in preparation for palpebral surgery. A day after the surgery, he presented to the ER with two transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) affecting the left arm. The patient complained to the examining neurologist of […]

---

April 14th, 2011

FDA Officials Offer Explanation for Absence of Low-Dose Dabigatran

Larry Husten, PHD

Following the approval last October of dabigatran, some observers criticized the FDA’s decision not to approve the lower 110 mg dose of the drug in addition to the higher 150 mg dose. Now, in a perspective in the New England Journal of Medicine, 3 FDA officials — B. Nhi Beasley, Ellis Unger, and Robert Temple — explain […]

---