CardioExchange Archive

January 20th, 2011

Braunwald: Vorapaxar Problem Based on Intracranial Bleeding in Patients with History of Stroke

Larry Husten, PHD

A key detail has now emerged about the problems encountered with vorapaxar, Merck’s thrombin receptor antagonist that suffered a large setback last week. TIMI investigators in the TRA-2P TIMI 50 trial have been informed by Eugene Braunwald that the reason vorapaxar would be discontinued in patients who experienced a stroke prior to entry or during the trial […]

---

January 19th, 2011

What PROSPECT Doesn’t Tell Us

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

The PROSPECT trial provides some interesting insights about the mechanisms of thrombotic coronary artery disease, but how, if at all, should it change practice? Here are what the findings do and do not demonstrate: What the PROSPECT study says: In ACS patients treated with PCI, major adverse cardiovascular events that occurred during a median follow-up of 3.4 years were […]

---

January 18th, 2011

Study Supports a New Enhanced Form of CPR

Larry Husten, PHD

A study published in the Lancet lends support to a new form of CPR that uses a combination of two devices to provide three times more blood flow to the heart and brain than standard CPR. The first device is a small suction cup on the patient’s chest used to actively lift the chest and […]

---

January 13th, 2011

Merck’s Thrombin Receptor Antagonist Suffers Major Setback

Larry Husten, PHD

Merck’s thrombin receptor antagonist, vorapaxar, has suffered a major setback in its clinical trial program. In one trial, TRACER, the study drug is being discontinued and the trial will be closed out. The second trial, TRA-2P TIMI 50, is being curtailed but not stopped. The actions were based on recommendations from the combined Data and […]

---

January 12th, 2011

Maybe TAVI Is Not All It’s Cracked Up To Be

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

The PARTNER trial of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) for severe aortic stenosis was among the hottest cardiology stories of 2010.  Now that the hype is receding, some are questioning whether TAVI is ready for prime time. In three letters to the Editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, our colleagues point out that […]

---

January 12th, 2011

Researchers Shed New Light on HDL Cholesterol

Larry Husten, PHD

Two papers published in the New England Journal of Medicine shed new light on the important but often mysterious role of HDL cholesterol in cardiovascular disease. In the first paper, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania studied 1,000 healthy volunteers and patients with coronary artery disease and observed a strong inverse relationship between cholesterol efflux […]

---

January 12th, 2011

Clyde Yancy Succeeds Robert Bonow as Chief of Cardiology at Northwestern

Larry Husten, PHD

Clyde Yancy, a former president of the AHA, is leaving Baylor University to succeed Robert Bonow as the chief of the division of cardiology at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Yancy will also serve as the associate director of the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, according to a heartwire report.

---

January 12th, 2011

Large Meta-Analysis Explores Cardiovascular Safety of NSAIDs

Larry Husten, PHD

A large network meta-analysis has found “little evidence” to suggest that any of the commonly used NSAIDs or COX 2 inhibitors are safe in terms of cardiovascular risk. In a paper published in BMJ, Sven Trelle and colleagues analyzed data from 31 trials in which patients receiving an NSAID were compared to another NSAID or placebo. Rofecoxib […]

---

January 11th, 2011

Absorbable Stent Approved: Now You See It, Now You Don’t

Richard A. Lange, MD, MBA

Have questions about the new stent that just received CE Mark approval in Europe? Here’s a reality checklist. 1. What’s it called? The bioresorbable vascular scaffold (BVS) from Abbott Laboratories is named ABSORB (clever, huh?). 2. What are its advantages over a drug-eluting stent (DES)? Don’t know yet.  It may eliminate the need for long-term […]

---

January 11th, 2011

How Are We Doing?

Harlan M. Krumholz, MD, SM

Dear Colleagues, We launched CardioExchange in an effort to build a non-partisan venue for the exchange of information and views about the world of cardiology. Our presumption is that there is wisdom in our community and that we can learn from each other. It was a bit of an experiment and we had no idea […]

---