CardioExchange Archive

August 30th, 2011

New Results from EMPHASIS-HF Show Big Benefits For High-Risk Subgroups Taking Eplerenone

Larry Husten, PHD

Last November the main results of the EMPHASIS-HF trial demonstrated that eplerenone was significantly better than placebo in reducing the risk for death and hospitalization in patients with systolic heart failure and mild symptoms. Now a new analysis of the trial, presented by Bertram Pitt at the European Society of Cardiology meeting in Paris, reinforces the earlier findings […]

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August 29th, 2011

Not Shocking: French Studies Evaluate Remote Monitoring of ICDs

Larry Husten, PHD

Remote monitoring of ICDs can reduce inappropriate shocks, but the overall clinical benefit and cost-effectiveness of the technology has not yet been demonstrated, according to two new studies presented at the ESC meeting in Paris. Salem Kacet presented the ECOST (Effectiveness and Cost of ICD Follow-Up Schedule with Telecardiology) study in which 433 ICD patients were […]

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August 17th, 2011

Details of Updated U.K. Heart Failure Guidelines Raise Some Eyebrows

Larry Husten, PHD

Although the updated heart failure guidelines from the U.K.’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) are broadly consistent with similar guidelines from Europe and the U.S., outside experts are questioning several key details of the update. A summary of the new guidelines has been published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, along with […]

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August 16th, 2011

Meta-analysis: Beta-Blockers May Be Less Effective in U.S. Than Elsewhere

Larry Husten, PHD

Beta-blockers may not be as effective in the U.S. as in the rest of the world, according to a meta-analysis published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Christopher O’Connor and colleagues analyzed data on patients enrolled in the MERIT-HF, COPERNICUS, CIBIS-II (which did not enroll U.S. patients) and BEST trials. Some 4,200 […]

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August 5th, 2011

USA Today Finds Disparity Between Hospital Performance and Public Perception

Larry Husten, PHD

Patients may think they’re going to a high-quality hospital when in fact they’re not, according to an analysis of Medicare data appearing in USA Today, by reporters Steve Sternberg and Christopher Schnaars. The USA Today website also contains an interactive graphic with a user-friendly interface, to help readers compare hospital death rates and readmission rates […]

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July 29th, 2011

Controversial IOM Report Highly Critical of 510(k) Process

Larry Husten, PHD

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has released a report highly critical of the FDA’s 510(k) medical device clearance process and called on the FDA to develop “a new framework that used both premarket clearance and improved postmarket surveillance of device performance to provide reasonable assurance of the safety and effectiveness of Class II devices.” The […]

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July 7th, 2011

ASCEND-HF: No Harm or Benefit with Nesiritide

Larry Husten, PHD

With the publication of the final results of the ASCEND-HF (Acute Study of Clinical Effectiveness of Nesiritide in Decompensated Heart Failure) trial in the New England Journal of Medicine, the once intense controversy over the use — or misuse — of the drug nesiritide in patients with acute decompensated heart failure has finally been resolved. […]

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June 28th, 2011

Diastolic Dysfunction Linked to Mortality

Larry Husten, PHD

A new study sheds light on the prognostic value of diastolic dysfunction (DD) in patients with normal systolic function. In a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, Carmel Halley and colleagues reviewed echocardiograms from 36,261 consecutive patients who were found to have normal systolic function. Nearly two thirds (65.2%) had some degree of DD. […]

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June 16th, 2011

Case Study: Advanced Heart Failure in a Prison Inmate

Tariq Ahmad, MD, MPH and James Fang, MD

A 37-year-old prisoner with end-stage nonischemic cardiomyopathy was transferred from a local county hospital to a tertiary care center for heart failure therapy. Soon after his arrival, he developed ventricular tachycardia and cardiogenic shock. He was sent urgently to the cardiac catheterization laboratory, where he underwent placement of an intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP). Right-heart catheterization, on dobutamine […]

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June 14th, 2011

CRT for HF Patients with Moderately Prolonged QRS Interval: Unethical?

Larry Husten, PHD

Approximately 40% of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) devices are implanted in patients with QRS intervals below 150 msecs, but a meta-analysis published in Archives in Internal Medicine finds that these patients may not benefit from the device. Ilke Sipahi and colleagues performed a meta-analysis that included five CRT clinical trials (COMPANION, CARE-HF, REVERSE, MADIT-CRT, RAFT) with […]

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