September 29th, 2011
Rivaroxaban Meets Primary Endpoint in ATLAS ACS TIMI 51
Larry Husten, PHD
Bayer AG announced today that in the ATLAS ACS TIMI 51 trial, rivaroxaban (Xarelto, Bayer and Johnson & Johnson) had met the primary efficacy endpoint in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). The drug was associated with “a statistically significant reduction in the rate of events for the primary composite endpoint of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction […]
September 29th, 2011
Meta-Analysis Explores Real World CV Risk of NSAIDs
Larry Husten, PHD
A new meta-analysis sheds additional light on the cardiovascular risk of NSAIDs as used in the real world, including low doses of the most popular drugs, over short periods, and in low-risk populations. In a paper published online in PLoS Medicine, Patricia McGettigan and David Henry analyzed data from 30 case-control studies including 184,946 CV events […]
September 28th, 2011
Troponin Elevation in Skeletal Muscle Disease: Vindication for the Consulting Cardiologist?
Beth Waldron, MA
In an elegant study that will resonate with the anecdotal experience of many consulting cardiologists, Jaffe and colleagues provide strongly suggestive evidence that elevations in “cardiac” troponin T may not be quite as specific for cardiac muscle injury as has been claimed (see CardioExchange News blog). Among patients with skeletal myopathies who had elevations in […]
September 28th, 2011
Study Finds Noncardiac Sources of Positive Troponin T Tests
Larry Husten, PHD
Cardiac troponin T (cTnT) is not always cardiac specific and in some cases may lead to a false-positive diagnosis of cardiac injury, according to a study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The study was prompted by a case seen by a senior clinician at the Mayo Clinic in which a patient, who […]
September 23rd, 2011
Former NEJM Editor Questions Decision to Publish ARISTOTLE
Alison Bass, MLA and BA
The following guest post is reprinted with permission from the blog of Alison Bass. At a Harvard event last night honoring Paul Thacker, a former investigator for Senator Chuck Grassley, someone in the audience wanted to know how the topic of Thacker’s talk — Dollars for Doctors: Who owns your physician? — was related to the soaring cost of medical care […]
September 23rd, 2011
Rivaroxaban (Xarelto) Gets Positive Recommendation for AF and DVT in Europe
Larry Husten, PHD
The European Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has recommended that rivaroxaban (Xarelto) be approved for the prevention of stroke and systemic embolism in AF, according to Bayer HealthCare. CHMP has also recommended the drug’s approval for the treatment of DVT and for the prevention of recurrent DVT and PE following acute DVT. […]
September 22nd, 2011
Diet Drugs Get a New Slim Chance at Approval
Larry Husten, PHD
Contrave, the investigational diet pill combination of naltrexone and bupropion, has been granted a possible new lease on life by the FDA. In January of this year, the FDA issued a complete response letter to Orexigen, the drug’s sponsor. Now Orexigen says that it has received guidance from the FDA that could lead to approval of the […]
September 22nd, 2011
Follow the Fellows: The Fellows Get Their Sealegs
Aaron C. Earles, DO, William Kent Cornwell, MD, Erica Sarah Spatz, MD, MHS and Kathryn Jesseca Lindley, MD
For our new series at CardioExchange, “Follow the Fellows,” we have invited physicians from various cardiology fellowship programs to document their course through their training. In their second post, the fellows continue to discuss their initial concerns and experiences soon after entering fellowship. You can read their first post here. Bill Cornwell — Being […]
September 20th, 2011
Significant Declines Observed in Cardiovascular Procedures Performed in Hospitals
Larry Husten, PHD
More evidence is starting to emerge that the overall volume of cardiovascular procedures in U.S. hospitals is in decline. The trend should come as no surprise to those who have been following news about cardiovascular medicine in recent years, as the field has been repeatedly struck by debate, scandal, and controversy related to the potential […]
September 19th, 2011
Decision-Making Shortcuts: The Good and the Bad
John E Brush, MD
How awareness of heuristics can affect your practice
NEJM Journal Watch — Recent Cardiology Articles- Sudden Cardiac Death in the U.S.: 20-Year Trends
- Oral Semaglutide Approved to Lower Cardiovascular Risk in High-Risk Patients with Type 2 Diabetes
- Covid-19 Vaccines Improve Heart Outcomes
- Detecting Atrial Fibrillation After Transient In-Hospital Episodes
- Cardiac Involvement with Mycoplasma pneumonia: More Common Than Previously Thought