CardioExchange Archive

November 3rd, 2010

My Journey with Heart Failure

Mary Knudson, Health Journalist

Well-known science journalist Mary Knudson is the author of HeartSense, a blog about heart failure, from which the following post is taken. In this post, she describes her journey as a heart failure patient from bewildered dismay to self-empowerment; in an upcoming post, she questions the aptness of the designation “heart failure.” I got to […]

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November 2nd, 2010

Meta-Analysis Provides Little Support for Prophylactic ICD Use in Older Adults

Amy Herman

Prophylactic implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) therapy does not appear to significantly improve survival among older adults with severe left ventricular dysfunction, according to a meta-analysis in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Researchers analyzed data from five randomized trials comparing ICD therapy with medical treatment among some 5800 adults with cardiomyopathy. Older adults (defined as 60 and […]

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November 2nd, 2010

Is Dabigatran More Cost-Effective Than Warfarin in AF?

Amy Herman

Dabigatran, newly approved by the FDA to prevent stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), might turn out to be a cost-effective alternative to warfarin, according to an Annals of Internal Medicine study. Using data from the RE-LY trial, James Freeman and colleagues modeled the quality-adjusted survival and cost-effectiveness of dabigatran compared with high- or low-dose warfarin […]

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November 1st, 2010

ROCKET AF: Is Rivaroxaban Ready for Blast Off?

Harlan M. Krumholz, MD, SM

With the approval of dabigatran and now the preliminary and partial results of ROCKET AF, we’ll  need to be familiar with much more than just warfarin to address the anticoagulation needs of our patients. The early word on ROCKET AF, which will be presented at AHA, is that rivaroxaban is at least as effective as warfarin […]

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November 1st, 2010

Mind the Gap: Real-World ACE Inhibitor Cough Much More Common Than Listed on Labels

Larry Husten, PHD

The real-world incidence of ACE inhibitor-associated cough is much higher than the reported rate on drug labels and printed in the Physicians’ Desk Reference, according to a study published in the American Journal of Medicine. Sripal Bangalore and colleagues analyzed data from 125 published studies with ACE inhibitors including almost 200,000 patients. They found that […]

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November 1st, 2010

AHA Preview: What Is Clyde Yancy Looking Forward to Seeing?

Clyde Yancy, MD

In the first installment of our AHA Preview series, we ask Clyde Yancy, medical director of the Baylor Heart and Vascular Institute and chief of Cardiothoracic Transplantation at Baylor University Medical Center, to list the trials in his field that he is most looking forward to at the AHA Scientific Sessions 2010 meeting.  See what […]

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October 29th, 2010

Is the Time Right for a Preprint Archive for Clinical Trials?

Larry Husten, PHD

Here’s a great idea: a preprint archive for clinical trials. Taking inspiration from the well-established use of preprint archives in physics, math, and other scholarly areas, Martin Fenner, a cancer researcher, proposes the establishment of a preprint archive for clinical trial research papers. Fenner points out that “the results of clinical trials are rarely first reported […]

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October 27th, 2010

Meta-Analysis Examines Risk Associated with CYP2C19 Genotypes

Larry Husten, PHD

There has been widespread debate and disagreement over the clinical significance of people with reduced function CYP2C19 genotypes who take clopidogrel. In an effort to shed light on the topic, Jessica Mega and colleagues analyzed data from 9685 patients enrolled in nine clinical trials. Some 26% of patients had 1 reduced-function allele, and 2% had […]

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October 25th, 2010

CardioExchange Breakfast at AHA, Chicago

CardioExchange Editors, Staff

Monday, November 15, 7:00 – 9:00 am Going to AHA next month? We invite you to join us for breakfast before sessions on Monday, November 15 at McCormick Place. We’re hosting an informal breakfast where you can meet Editor Harlan Krumholz and other CardioExchange contributors and members. A photographer will be on hand to take […]

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October 25th, 2010

The Empty Room

Westby G Fisher, MD

CardioExchange welcomes this guest post reprinted with permission from Dr. Westby Fisher, an electrophysiologist practicing at NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL 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. It stands as a monument to a bygone era; clean, quiet, spacious. Mail cubbies […]

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