CardioExchange Archive

May 13th, 2014

FDA Study Provides Some Reassurance About Boehringer Ingelheim’s Pradaxa

Larry Husten, PHD

In the latest development in its ongoing review of the new oral anticoagulant dabigatran (Pradaxa, Boehringer Ingelheim), the FDA today offered largely reassuring news about the sometimes controversial drug. The FDA study of over 134,000 Medicare patients found that dabigatran was associated with a reduced risk for ischemic stroke, bleeding in the brain, and death, compared with […]

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May 6th, 2014

FDA Approves New Omega-3 Supplement

Larry Husten, PHD

The FDA has approved a new omega-3 supplement for the treatment of adults with severe hypertriglyceridemia, defined as triglyceride levels 500 mg/dL or higher. The drug, which will be marketed under the brand name of Epanova, is manufactured by AstraZeneca, which acquired the drug when it purchased Omthera Pharmaceuticals in 2013. AstraZeneca said that Epanova is the first omega-3 […]

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May 5th, 2014

Physical Activity Improves Heart Rate Variability In The Elderly

Larry Husten, PHD

A new study in Circulation offers fresh evidence that physical activity is beneficial to the heart in people aged 65 and older. Benefits were observed both in elderly people who reported the highest amount of overall physical activity and in those who increased their physical activity over time. U.S. researchers evaluated heart rate variability (HRV) using […]

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May 5th, 2014

Two Experts Look at a Failed HDL Trial

William Edward Boden, MD and Prediman K Shah, MD

William Boden and PK Shah discuss the CHI-SQUARE trial, which failed to show a benefit for an HDL mimetic.

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May 5th, 2014

What Role Should Coca-Cola Play in Obesity Research?

Larry Husten, PHD

Larry Husten asks: “What role should Coca-Cola and other food and beverage companies play in funding and communicating research about nutrition and obesity?”

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May 5th, 2014

FDA Comes Out Against Aspirin for Primary Prevention

Larry Husten, PHD

In the latest development in a long-simmering debate, the FDA has announced that aspirin should not be marketed for primary prevention for heart attack or stroke. The announcement follows the FDA’s rejection on Friday of Bayer Healthcare’s decade-old petition requesting approval of a primary prevention indication. [PDF of FDA rejection letter] Aspirin is still widely used for primary prevention. Many physicians, […]

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May 2nd, 2014

A New Tool to Discuss Primary Prevention with a Statin with Patients: Life Expectancy Gain

Darrel P Francis, MD FRCP

Darrel Francis describes how you can use life expectancy gain as a way to communicate with patients the pros and cons of taking a statin.

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April 30th, 2014

Thinking About Risk

John E Brush, MD

John E. Brush discusses new ways to help patients consider their cardiovascular risk.

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April 29th, 2014

Dietary Fiber After MI Linked to Improved Survival

Larry Husten, PHD

Consuming more dietary fiber after myocardial infarction is associated with a reduced risk for death. In a report published in BMJ, researchers analyzed long-term data about diet and other risk factors from more than 4000 healthcare professionals who had an MI. Nine years after the MI, people who were in the highest quintile of fiber consumption had a […]

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April 28th, 2014

Calorie, Fat Consumption Up Among Statin Users

Nicholas Downing, MD

Calorie and fat consumption increased significantly from 1999 to 2010 among statin users — but not among nonusers — according to a JAMA Internal Medicine study. The researchers conclude that “the importance of dietary composition may need to be reemphasized for statin users.” The researchers evaluated 24-hour dietary recall data from nearly 28,000 adults participating in […]

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