February 13th, 2015
Can Clopidogrel Get Along with Proton Pump Inhibitors?
CardioExchange Editors, Staff
Are there clinically significant interactions between clopidogrel, proton pump inhibitors, and other drugs?
February 12th, 2015
Discontinuing Aspirin for Primary Prevention: What Do You Say to Your Patient?
Harlan M. Krumholz, MD, SM
In this scenario based on a study that found once-daily, low-dose aspirin did not significantly reduce the risk for CV events among older patients with atherosclerotic risk factors, Harlan Krumholz asks, “What do you say to your patient?”
February 12th, 2015
Three Trials Show Benefits of Thrombectomy in Stroke Patients
Larry Husten, PHD
Three new studies offer important additional evidence that early treatment with current thrombectomy devices that extract clots from blood vessels in the brain can lead to improved outcomes in carefully selected stroke patients. The trials were stopped early based on efficacy following positive findings last year from another trial, MR CLEAN. The three new trials […]
February 11th, 2015
New US Guidelines Will Lift Limits on Dietary Cholesterol
Larry Husten, PHD
The influential Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee has recommended that limitations on dietary cholesterol be removed from the upcoming 2015 edition of Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Recommendations to reduce dietary cholesterol have been a mainstay of the USDA and other guidelines for many years, starting with guidance from the American Heart Association in the 1960s. The proposed […]
February 10th, 2015
Risk for Sudden Death in Spironolactone Users Who Take Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole
Tony Antoniou, PharmD, PhD
Tony Antoniou discusses his case-control study of elderly residents of Ontario who were users of spironolactone and died suddenly within 14 days after receiving an antibiotic prescription.
February 9th, 2015
Selections from Richard Lehman’s Literature Review: February 9th
Richard Lehman, BM, BCh, MRCGP
This week’s topics include the efficacy of a device to narrow the coronary sinus in refractory angina and an open-label trial comparing the Symplicity device with stepped drug treatment for resistant hypertension.
February 5th, 2015
The ABIM’s Maintenance of Certification Program: What’s Next?
John Ryan, MD
John Ryan reacts to the new American Board of Internal Medicine announcement about its MoC program.
February 5th, 2015
New Percutaneous Device Offers Hope in Refractory Angina
Larry Husten, PHD
An entirely predictable consequence of medical progress is the growing number of heart patients with persistent and symptomatic angina who have run out of treatment options. A small new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine raises the possibility that a new device one day may provide them some relief. The experimental device, a coronary sinus reducer […]
February 4th, 2015
Clinical Significance of Non-IRA Disease in STEMI Patients
Beat J. Meyer, M.D.
Beat Meyer wonders whether and how an observed association between the presence of non-IRA lesions and increased mortality in STEMI patients will affect treatment decisions.
February 2nd, 2015
Selections from Richard Lehman’s Literature Review: February 2nd
Richard Lehman, BM, BCh, MRCGP
This week’s topics include less-tight vs. tight hypertension control in pregnancy, icatibant for ACE-inhibitor-induced angioedema, and more.
NEJM Journal Watch — Recent Cardiology Articles- Patients Need Standardized Education for Accurate Home Blood Pressure Monitoring
- Does P2Y12 Inhibitor Pretreatment Improve Outcomes in Non–ST-Segment Elevation Acute Coronary Syndromes?
- Is Anticoagulation Useful for Patients with Subclinical Atrial Fibrillation?
- Is Anticoagulation Alone Sufficient After Caval or Iliofemoral Venous Stenting for PTS?
- Antithrombotic Therapy for Atrial Fibrillation and ACS or PCI: Choosing a Regimen Based on the Totality of Events