October 19th, 2013
Was Dick Cheney’s ICD Vulnerable to Hacking?
Larry Husten, PHD
It happened in Homeland. Could it happen in real life? In a 60 Minutes segment, Dick Cheney says that his doctors turned off the wireless function of his implanted cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) “in case a terrorist tried to send his heart a fatal shock,” according to the Associated Press. Years later, Cheney watched an episode of the Showtime series Homeland, […]
October 18th, 2013
FDA Approves New Pulmonary Hypertension Drug from Actelion
Larry Husten, PHD
The FDA today approved macitentan (Opsumit, Actelion), a new oral endothelin-receptor antagonist that is an enhanced version of the company’s bosentan (Tracleer). The drug is indicated to delay disease progression in patients who have pulmonary arterial hypertension (WHO Group I). Last August the results of the pivotal phase 3 trial, SERAPHIN (Study with an Endothelin Receptor Antagonist in […]
October 17th, 2013
New Insights Into Surgery vs. Stents for Diabetics with Multivessel Disease
Larry Husten, PHD
Last year the large NHLBI FREEDOM trial demonstrated that coronary-artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery was superior to PCI when treating diabetic patients who have multivessel coronary disease. CABG resulted in significant reductions in death and MI, but this was offset slightly by a higher rate of stroke in the CABG group. Now, a new report from FREEDOM […]
October 16th, 2013
FDA Advisory Panel: No Expanded Indication for Vascepa Without Outcomes Trial
Larry Husten, PHD
An FDA advisory panel today failed to recommend an expanded indication for Vascepa, the purified EPA fish-oil product from Amarin. Vascepa is currently indicated only for the relatively small number of people with severe hypertriglyceridemia (>500 mg/dL). The proposed new indication would have greatly expanded the patient population eligible to receive Vascepa to the 20% of […]
October 15th, 2013
Former ACC CEO Takes Reins of Cardiovascular Research Foundation
Larry Husten, PHD
The Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF) announced today that it has appointed Jack Lewin as its next President and Chief Executive Officer. Lewin is the former CEO of the American College of Cardiology. In April 2012, the ACC announced his abrupt departure from the college. No explanation was ever given for the sudden change. The CRF said that Lewin will […]
October 15th, 2013
Questions Remain About George W Bush’s Stent
L. David Hillis, MD
The National Journal reported yesterday that “George W. Bush’s recent heart problems were far more dangerous than generally believed — potentially life-threatening, in fact.” The Journal cited “an authoritative source”: “He was more than 95% occluded. With a blockage like that in a main artery you’re supposed to die. He was pretty lucky they caught it.” On the […]
October 14th, 2013
Selections from Richard Lehman’s Literature Review: October 14th
Richard Lehman, BM, BCh, MRCGP
This week’s topics include CRT in HF with a narrow QRS complex, a trial of edoxaban vs. warfarin for symptomatic VTE, and more.
October 14th, 2013
The Benefits of Switching From Hydrochlorothiazide to Chlorthalidone: What’s Stopping Us?
Nicholas Bergfeld, BS, BA
Nicholas Bergfeld wonders what it will take to convince the medical community and the government that switching from hydrochlorothiazide to chlorthalidone is effective, economical, and life-saving for patients.
October 10th, 2013
Prevalence of Cardiovascular Disease Likely to Increase Despite Gains in Treatment
Larry Husten, PHD
It is the best of times and the worst of times in the battle against cardiovascular disease. On the one hand, mortality rates from cardiovascular disease in the U.S. have dropped by more than half in the last 30 years, likely due in large part to improvements in treatment for elevated blood pressure and cholesterol […]
October 9th, 2013
New Drug for Pulmonary Hypertension Approved by FDA
Larry Husten, PHD
The FDA approved on Tuesday a new drug for pulmonary hypertension. Bayer HealthCare’s riociguat (brand name Adempas) was approved for two indications: the treatment of adults with persistent/recurrent chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) after surgical treatment or inoperable CTEPH to improve exercise capacity and WHO functional class the treatment of adults with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) to […]
