CardioExchange Archive

April 15th, 2014

Case: Assessment of Cardiac Risk and Need for Preventive Medications

Seth Shay Martin, MD and James Fang, MD

A 68-year-old white woman with a history of obesity and depression is seen for cardiac risk assessment. The quality of her diet varies greatly, and she admits to many dietary indiscretions. She has tried several different diets, including low-carbohydrate/high-fat diets. She does not use the treadmill or stationary bicycle in her house or routinely exercise […]

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April 8th, 2014

Study Suggests Link Between Viagra and Melanoma

Larry Husten, PHD

In recent years, researchers have uncovered a potentially important pathway whereby PDE5A inhibitors (which include sildenafil — Viagra — and other drugs used to treat erectile dysfunction and pulmonary hypertension) could potentially increase the risk for developing melanoma. Now a study provides early evidence showing an association between sildenafil and melanoma, though, like all observational […]

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April 3rd, 2014

Cardiovascular Disease Declines in Rich Countries but Grows Elsewhere

Larry Husten, PHD

A new Global Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Atlas portrays a divided world where rich countries are gradually freeing themselves from the yoke of CVD but where many poor and middle-income countries are still struggling. Ischemic heart disease and stroke were the two biggest contributors to the global burden of disease in 2010, accounting for 5.2% and 4.1%, […]

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March 31st, 2014

Aspirin and Clonidine Fail to Help Surgery Patients

Larry Husten, PHD

Myocardial infarction (MI) is among the most common and serious side effects of noncardiac surgery. An effective regimen to minimize this risk has been the subject of considerable debate in recent years. The controversy was recently exacerbated because the recommendation to use beta-blockers in this setting was based on research which has now been discredited. Substantial […]

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March 30th, 2014

High-Sensitivity Troponin Test Could Identify Low-Risk Chest Pain Patients in the ED

Larry Husten, PHD

Approximately 15-20 million people in Europe and the United States go to the emergency department every year with chest pain. Many can be discharged early if they are not having an acute coronary syndrome. A large, new, single-center observational study, presented at the American College of Cardiology meeting in Washington, DC and published simultaneously in the Journal […]

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March 30th, 2014

Stage Set for Phase IV Trials of PCSK9 Inhibition

Seth Shay Martin, MD

Seth Martin, a fellow blogging at ACC.14, discusses some exciting developments taking place at the conference.

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March 29th, 2014

No Benefit Found in First Real Test of Renal Denervation

Larry Husten, PHD

SYMPLICITY HTN-3, the eagerly awaited first rigorous test of renal denervation, shows that the real effect of the novel blood-pressure-lowering technology is dramatically lower than earlier expectations, which had been fueled by data from previous uncontrolled trials. Results of SYMPLICITY HTN-3 were presented at the American College of Cardiology conference in Washington, DC, and published simultaneously […]

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March 25th, 2014

Glucose Measurements Don’t Improve Cardiovascular Risk Assessment

Larry Husten, PHD

Although blood glucose and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) play a central role in diabetes, the value of these measurements to assess cardiovascular risk has been unclear. Now, in a paper published in JAMA, members of the Emerging Risk Factors Collaboration analyze data from nearly 300,000 people without known diabetes or cardiovascular disease who were enrolled in 73 prospective studies. […]

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March 24th, 2014

ACC.14 Preview: Renal Denervation, TAVR Comparisons, and More

Larry Husten, PHD

The ACC begins this Saturday in Washington, DC. Here’s a preview of some of the most highly anticipated late-breaking clinical trials: On Saturday morning at the opening session the world will finally learn more about the failure of Symplicity HTN-3, the Medtronic trial of renal denervation. Until recently, renal denervation was thought to be an extremely […]

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March 19th, 2014

New Statin Guidelines Recommend Therapy for 12.8 Million More Adults Than The Prior Guideline

Larry Husten, PHD

Millions more people are now eligible for statin therapy under the new cholesterol guideline published last year, according to a new estimate published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Under the earlier guideline statins were indicated for primary and secondary prevention based largely on LDL cholesterol levels. The new guideline, announced last year, places much less […]

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