CardioExchange Archive

March 4th, 2013

Selections from Richard Lehman’s Literature Review: March 4th

Richard Lehman, BM, BCh, MRCGP

This week’s topic is the ALDO-DHF trial, which studied the effect of spironolactone on diastolic function and exercise capacity in patients with HF with preserved EF.

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February 27th, 2013

HPS2-THRIVE Coming Attraction: What Went Wrong with Niacin?

Larry Husten, PHD

In less than two weeks, on March 9, the main results of the HPS2-THRIVE (Heart Protection Study 2-Treatment of HDL to Reduce the Incidence of Vascular Events) study will be presented in San Francisco at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology. The results have been eagerly awaited since Merck’s brief announcement in December that the trial had not met its primary endpoint and that it […]

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February 25th, 2013

Selections from Richard Lehman’s Literature Review: February 25th

Richard Lehman, BM, BCh, MRCGP

This week’s topics include extended use of apixaban, dabigatran, warfarin, or placebo in VTE, the 5-year follow-up of the SYNTAX study, and more.

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February 25th, 2013

Large Trial Shows Cardiovascular Benefits of Mediterranean Diet

Larry Husten, PHD

A large new trial offers powerful evidence that a Mediterranean diet can reduce the risk for cardiovascular disease. Results of the PREDIMED (Prevención con Dieta Mediterránea) study were published online in the New England Journal of Medicine. Investigators in Spain randomized 7447 people at high risk for cardiovascular disease to one of three diets: a Mediterranean diet […]

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February 22nd, 2013

Persistent Chest Pain After Myopericarditis

John Ryan, MD, James Fang, MD, James De Lemos, MD, Kamalendu Kanu Chatterjee, MBBS,FRCP, Thomas Ryan, MD and Rick Akira Nishimura, MD

Five experts offer their perspectives on a perplexing case involving a young physician patient.

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February 21st, 2013

Study Casts Doubt on Value of Genetic Testing for Familial Hypercholesterolemia

Larry Husten, PHD

The recent introduction of two drugs specifically targeted to treat people with the rare but dangerous condition of homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) has caused increased interest in figuring out the best strategy to identify people with the disorder. Now a new study published online in the Lancet suggests that one of the main screening plans that relies on genetic […]

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February 20th, 2013

New Studies Examine Prolonged Anticoagulation for VTE Recurrence

Larry Husten, PHD

Three studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine provide important new information about the risks and benefits of extended prophylaxis using two of the new oral anticoagulants in patients who have had venous thromboembolism (VTE). In the RE-MEDY and the RE-SONATE trials, the role of dabigatran was examined in patients who had completed at least 3 […]

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February 19th, 2013

‘So, Doctor, How Bad Is It?’

Reva Balakrishnan, MD, MPH

While on my Electrophysiology rotation, I was asked to interrogate an ICD of a patient who had received a shock from her device the night prior to admission. I performed the interrogation, confirmed that it was an appropriate shock for VT, noting that multiple appropriate shocks had occurred in the preceding months. As I was […]

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February 18th, 2013

Selections from Richard Lehman’s Literature Review: February 18th

Richard Lehman, BM, BCh, MRCGP

This week’s topics include the relationship between hospital readmission and mortality rates for those hospitalized with acute MI, HF, or pneumonia, the effects of body size and hypertension treatments on CV event rates, and more.

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February 18th, 2013

St. Jude Raises the Stakes in Renal Denervation with an Outcomes Study

Larry Husten, PHD

The already hot field of renal denervation for resistant hypertension just got a little hotter. With the announcement of a clinical trial powered to detect improvements in cardiovascular outcomes, St. Jude Medical has raised the stakes in the field and demonstrated a new level of commitment to the innovative new technology. For the past few […]

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