CardioExchange Archive

July 25th, 2011

Panel: Will You Prescribe Ticagrelor (Brilinta)?

CardioExchange Editors, Staff

Three experts discuss whether — and with which patients — they will use ticagrelor in clinical practice.

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July 21st, 2011

FDA and EMA Issue Updates on Dronedarone, Varenicline, and Pioglitazone

Larry Husten, PHD

The FDA has issued an update on dronedarone (Multaq, Sanofi Aventis), and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has updated its reviews of dronedarone and 2 other drugs that also have been the subject of recent controversies: pioglitazone (Actos and other names, Takeda) and varenicline (Champix, Pfizer). The FDA and dronedarone: The FDA issued a safety communication […]

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July 18th, 2011

Study Suggests Possibility That CETP Inhibitors May Improve Glycemic Control

Larry Husten, PHD

A new analysis of the ILLUMINATE trial raises the possibility that CETP inhibitors like torcetrapib might have the unexpected beneficial effect of improving glycemic control in addition to their intended effect of raising HDL cholesterol. Development of torcetrapib was halted several years ago following the early termination of the large ILLUMINATE trial due to an […]

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July 18th, 2011

FDA Releases Briefing Documents for Advisory Panel on the Edwards SAPIEN Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implant

Larry Husten, PHD

The FDA has posted the briefing documents for the much anticipated meeting on Wednesday (July 20) of the Circulatory System Devices Panel for the Edwards SAPIEN transcatheter heart valve (THV) system in patients with severe aortic stenosis who are not eligible for surgical valve replacement, as studied in the PARTNER B trial. Overall, the FDA […]

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July 13th, 2011

Therapeutic Hypothermia Network Provides Benefit to Cardiac Arrest Patients

Larry Husten, PHD

Previous studies have shown that therapeutic hypothermia (TH) improves outcomes in patients who have an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). In a new paper published in Circulation, Michael Mooney and colleagues report on their experience with 140 OHCA patients in Minnesota who received treatment within a regional network of care that transfers OHCA patients to a […]

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July 12th, 2011

Pass (Up) the Guidelines, Please

Richard A. Lange, MD, MBA and L. David Hillis, MD

The Occluded Artery Trial (OAT) demonstrated no benefit of routine PCI in persistently occluded infarct-related arteries identified more than 24 hours after MI. These results were incorporated into the revised guidelines for STEMI, NSTEMI, and PCI (published in 2007 and 2008) as a class III recommendation (i.e., not indicated and inappropriate). The senior investigator for […]

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July 9th, 2011

Will You Still Use Multaq (Dronedarone)? A CardioExchange Panel

CardioExchange Editors, Staff

Our panel responds to the what the cessation of the PALLAS trial means for dronedarone. Will you still use this drug?

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July 7th, 2011

Multaq’s Off Again, On Again, Then Off Again Ride

Westby G Fisher, MD

CardioExchange welcomes this guest post, reprinted with permission, from Dr. Westby Fisher, an electrophysiologist practicing at NorthShore University HealthSystem in Evanston, Illinois, and a Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine. This piece originally appeared on his blog, Dr. Wes. Today was another tough day for Sanofi’s dronedarone antiarrhythmic medication (marketed as Multaq®) […]

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July 7th, 2011

NCDR Report on PCI Appropriateness: A Slap on the Back…or a Slap in the Face?

Richard A. Lange, MD, MBA and L. David Hillis, MD

According to an analysis of data from the National Cardiovascular Data Registry (NCDR), nearly all (98.6%) acute PCIs (i.e., those done for STEMI, NSTEMI, and unstable angina) were classified as appropriate. For nonacute indications, however, only 50% were classified as appropriate; 38% were of uncertain appropriateness, and 12% were deemed inappropriate. Dig under the hood and […]

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July 1st, 2011

Rivaroxaban (Xarelto) Gains First FDA Approval for DVT Prevention

Larry Husten, PHD

Rivaroxaban (Xarelto, Janssen) received FDA approval today for the prevention of deep-vein thrombosis in patients undergoing knee or hip replacement surgery. This oral anticoagulant has been approved for use at a 10-mg dose, once daily, for 35 days following hip replacement and for 12 days following knee replacement surgery. The company has also submitted an […]

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