December 23rd, 2013
Statins: Targeting Risk, but Risking Diabetes?
Emma Morton-Eggleston, MD, MPH and Richard Lehman, BM, BCh, MRCGP
Emma Morton-Eggleston and Richard Lehman share their correspondence with us, in which they debate whether it’s worth using statins to target CV risk if they might increase other risks, such as diabetes.
December 20th, 2013
Researching the Obvious: It Stinks to Have Cancer
Debra Lynne Sherman, BA
Editor’s note: Debra Sherman is an outstanding, exceptionally perceptive health reporter who asked me recently why it is that so many medical research findings seem so unimportant and obvious. She is facing a critical illness and needs research that is useful. Those of us who do research should be asking ourselves if there is real value in […]
December 19th, 2013
More Walking and More Fiber: Good for the Heart
Larry Husten, PHD
It probably won’t come as a surprise, but walking more and eating more fiber are probably good for your heart. That’s the conclusion of two new studies, but because the studies relied on observational data it should be emphasized that they are incapable of demonstrating cause and effect. And it’s by no means clear that most […]
December 19th, 2013
Early Doses of Warfarin Paradoxically Associated with Higher Stroke Risk
Patients with atrial fibrillation seem to be at increased risk for ischemic stroke when starting warfarin prophylaxis, according to a case-control study in the European Heart Journal. The study was undertaken after trials of both apixaban and rivaroxaban noted increased stroke risks among patients transitioning to open-label warfarin. This study was funded by the makers […]
December 18th, 2013
New Trial Confirms Role for Dabigatran in Venous Thromboembolism
Larry Husten, PHD
A new study helps support a role for the new oral anticoagulant dabigatran (Pradaxa, Boehringer Ingelheim) in patients with venous thrombosis (VTE). The RE-COVER II trial, published online in Circulation, confirms the finding of the earlier and highly similar RE-COVER trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2009, that dabigatran is as safe and effective as warfarin for […]
December 16th, 2013
Case Closed: Multivitamins Should Not be Used
Larry Husten, PHD
The editorialists are fed up: “Enough is enough.” Writing about three new papers in the Annals of Internal Medicine that find no benefits for the use of multivitamins — only the latest in a long line of negative findings — Eliseo Guallar and colleagues write: …we believe that the case is closed — supplementing the diet of well-nourished adults […]
December 16th, 2013
Three Cases of Sudden Cardiac Death Linked to Lyme Carditis
CardioExchange Editors, Staff
Three cases of sudden cardiac death associated with Lyme carditis were reported in 2012 and 2013 and are described in MMWR. Only four such deaths have previously been reported. The three patients, aged 26 to 38, lived in states with a high incidence of Lyme disease. None had rash; two had pre-existing heart conditions. Postmortem […]
December 16th, 2013
Selections from Richard Lehman’s Literature Review: December 16th
Richard Lehman, BM, BCh, MRCGP
This week’s topics include several trials of genotyping to guide starting doses of vitamin K antagonists, statins for primary prevention of CVD, and more.
December 16th, 2013
Possible New Lease on Life for Vorapaxar and Rivaroxaban for ACS
Larry Husten, PHD
Early next year an FDA panel will review a new drug from Merck and a new indication for Xarelto (rivaroxaban), Johnson & Johnson’s highly successful new oral anticoagulant. Both drugs have had a rocky road getting to this stage and their success is by no means assured, but the announcement of the meeting of the FDA’s Cardiovascular and […]
December 16th, 2013
Examining the Value of My Medical Training
Nicholas Bergfeld, BS, BA
Medical student Nicholas Bergfeld reflects on whether the training we give to medical students is changing adequately to meet the new realities of healthcare delivery.
