CardioExchange Archive

May 24th, 2011

New-Onset AF Linked to Increase in Death and CV Events in Women

Larry Husten, PHD

In the Women’s Health Study, which followed nearly 35,000 women for more than 15 years, mortality was significantly higher in the 1011 women who developed AF than in the women who did not, according to a report by David Conen and colleagues published in JAMA. Here are the incidence rates (per 1000 person-years of follow-up) for […]

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May 23rd, 2011

Eplerenone Found to Also Reduce AF in Heart Failure Patients

Larry Husten, PHD

Results from EMPHASIS-HF (Eplerenone and Atrial Fibrillation in Patients with Systolic Heart Failure and Mild Symptoms) previously showed that adding the aldosterone antagonist eplerenone to standard therapy in patients with NYHA class II heart failure resulted in the reduction of the composite endpoint of death from cardiovascular causes or hospitalization for heart failure. Now, a […]

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May 9th, 2011

Words, ICDs, and Patient-Centered Medicine…

John Mandrola, MD, FACC

John Mandrola is a cardiac electrophysiologist and blogger on matters medical and general. Here is a recent post from his blog, Dr John M. Guess what made the heart rhythm newswire yesterday? It wasn’t a new medicine, or a new stent, not even a new ablation catheter, and it surely wasn’t a revolution in motivating people to exercise. It was words. […]

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May 6th, 2011

News Reports Scrutinize Heart Rhythm Society’s Ties To Industry

Larry Husten, PHD

A series of investigative reports published on ProPublica analyzes the financial relationships between medical societies and drug and device companies. The Heart Rhythm Society, whose annual meeting is now taking place in San Francisco, comes in for especially close scrutiny. The series begins: “From the time they arrived to the moment they laid their heads on […]

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May 4th, 2011

Study Estimates That Atrial Fibrillation Adds $26 Billion to Yearly U.S. Healthcare Costs

Larry Husten, PHD

Atrial fibrillation may add $26 billion to the nation’s healthcare bill, according to a study published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. Michael Kim and colleagues compared insurance claims for 1 year from 89,066 AF patients with claims from controls matched for gender, age, and other medical conditions and found that AF results in a […]

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April 19th, 2011

Non-Evidence-Based ICD Implants: The Debate Continues

Larry Husten, PHD

A controversial study published earlier this year in JAMA that found that nearly a quarter of all ICD implantations did not meet evidence-based criteria is the subject of further debate this week in the letters section of JAMA. In the first letter, Jeanne Poole and George Crossley take issue with the designation by the authors of […]

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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 […]

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March 30th, 2011

FDA Warns Against Repackaging Dabigatran

Larry Husten, PHD

The FDA has issued a safety communication regarding dabigatran (Pradaxa). Because the drug is subject to product breakdown and loss of potency due to moisture, the FDA recommends that it should be dispensed and stored in its original packaging and that consumers avoid using pill boxes or pill organizers with it. Pradaxa is supplied as either […]

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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 25th, 2011

The Best Tool for Treating Atrial Fibrillation

John Mandrola, MD, FACC

John Mandrola is a cardiac electrophysiologist and blogger on matters medical and general. Here is a recent post from his blog, Dr John M. Today, I would like to tell you about the most effective way to treat the most common heart ailment — atrial fibrillation (AF). It’s not the novel new blood-thinner, dabigatran (Pradaxa). Though it’s […]

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