CardioExchange Archive

January 9th, 2013

Observation Units for Heart Failure Could Reduce Unnecessary Hospitalizations

Larry Husten, PHD

Two new papers published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology propose that most heart failure (HF) patients who present to the emergency department (ED) don’t need to be hospitalized and can be safely managed in an observation unit. Currently, the vast majority of HF patients  who show up in the ED are hospitalized. In the first […]

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December 7th, 2012

Should Body Weight Influence Choice of Antihypertensive Therapy?

Larry Husten, PHD

The hypertension field has been troubled by repeated observations that normal weight patients have more cardiovascular (CV) events than obese patients. Now a new analysis of a large hypertension trial confirms this finding but also suggests that it may be explained by either an adverse effect of diuretics or a protective effect of calcium-channel blockers in non-obese hypertensives. […]

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November 21st, 2012

HeartWare LVAD Approved By FDA For Transplant Patients

Larry Husten, PHD

The FDA said today that it had granted approval to the HeartWare Ventricular Assist System for use in heart failure patients waiting for a transplant. Approval of the device had been expected after the FDA’s Circulatory System Devices panel recommended approval of the device earlier this year. HeartWare was approved based on data from the pivotal ADVANCE trial, in which 140 […]

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November 7th, 2012

Science, with a Little Bit of Flash

Tariq Ahmad, MD, MPH

At a stirring Late-Breaking Clinical Trials session when researchers present possibly ground-breaking research, a fellow wonders what happens behind the scenes.

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November 6th, 2012

Ultrafiltration Fails to Show Benefit in Acute Heart Failure

Larry Husten, PHD

Although ultrafiltration (UF) in recent years has become increasingly popular as an alternative to intravenous diuretics for patients with acute decompensated heart failure with acute cardiorenal syndrome (type 1), the first clinical trial to test its value shows that it is inferior to standard drug therapy. The results of CARRESS-HF (Cardiorenal Rescue Study in Acute Decompensated Heart […]

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November 6th, 2012

Breadth vs. Depth at AHA

Tariq Ahmad, MD, MPH

A tight focus works well for this fellow with a special interest in heart failure, but if you don’t have a subspecialty, does going for breadth work better?

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November 4th, 2012

Management of Aortic Stenosis: Up Close and in Person

Megan Coylewright, MD MPH

An AHA.12 session on management of aortic stenosis includes an impressive line-up of experts and underscores the value of attending the meeting.

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November 3rd, 2012

ALTITUDE Autopsy Shows What Went Wrong With Aliskiren

Larry Husten, PHD

In its short lifespan the direct renin inhibitor aliskiren (a.k.a., Rasilez or Tekturna) rapidly declined from being a highly promising, first-of-its kind drug to a major failure. The death blow was struck last December with the early termination of the ALTITUDE trial, after the data and safety monitoring committee found an increased risk in patients taking aliskiren. Now the final results […]

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September 25th, 2012

Novartis Announces Top Line Results for Phase 3 Trial of New Acute Heart Failure Drug

Larry Husten, PHD

Novartis has announced preliminary results from the RELAX-AHF trial, a phase 3 study of a novel drug, RLX030 (serelaxin), for patients hospitalized with acute heart failure. The company said the trial met one of its two primary endpoints in reducing dyspnea. Novartis also reported a reduction in all-cause mortality at 6 months. However, it should be noted that the […]

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September 20th, 2012

FDA Warns of Possible Heart Failure Risk with Pramipexole

The FDA is investigating the possibility that pramipexole (Mirapex) increases the risk for heart failure. In a pooled analysis of randomized trials, the drug — used to treat Parkinson disease and restless legs syndrome — showed an increased incidence of heart failure relative to placebo, but the results weren’t statistically significant. Further review of two epidemiologic […]

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