CardioExchange Archive

December 23rd, 2013

Statins: Targeting Risk, but Risking Diabetes?

Emma Morton-Eggleston, MD, MPH and Richard Lehman, BM, BCh, MRCGP

Emma Morton-Eggleston and Richard Lehman share their correspondence with us, in which they debate whether it’s worth using statins to target CV risk if they might increase other risks, such as diabetes.

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December 19th, 2013

More Walking and More Fiber: Good for the Heart

Larry Husten, PHD

It probably won’t come as a surprise, but walking more and eating more fiber are probably good for your heart. That’s the conclusion of two new studies, but because the studies relied on observational data it should be emphasized that they are incapable of demonstrating cause and effect. And it’s by no means clear that most […]

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December 19th, 2013

Early Doses of Warfarin Paradoxically Associated with Higher Stroke Risk

Patients with atrial fibrillation seem to be at increased risk for ischemic stroke when starting warfarin prophylaxis, according to a case-control study in the European Heart Journal. The study was undertaken after trials of both apixaban and rivaroxaban noted increased stroke risks among patients transitioning to open-label warfarin. This study was funded by the makers of apixaban. […]

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December 18th, 2013

New Trial Confirms Role for Dabigatran in Venous Thromboembolism

Larry Husten, PHD

A new study helps support a role for  the new oral anticoagulant dabigatran (Pradaxa, Boehringer Ingelheim) in patients with venous thrombosis (VTE).  The RE-COVER II trial, published online in Circulation, confirms the finding of the earlier and highly similar RE-COVER trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2009, that dabigatran is as safe and effective as warfarin for […]

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December 16th, 2013

Case Closed: Multivitamins Should Not be Used

Larry Husten, PHD

The editorialists are fed up: “Enough is enough.” Writing about three new papers in the Annals of Internal Medicine that find no benefits for the use of multivitamins — only the latest in a long line of negative findings — Eliseo Guallar and colleagues write: …we believe that the case is closed — supplementing the diet of well-nourished adults […]

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December 16th, 2013

Three Cases of Sudden Cardiac Death Linked to Lyme Carditis

CardioExchange Editors, Staff

Three cases of sudden cardiac death associated with Lyme carditis were reported in 2012 and 2013 and are described in MMWR. Only four such deaths have previously been reported. The three patients, aged 26 to 38, lived in states with a high incidence of Lyme disease. None had rash; two had pre-existing heart conditions. Postmortem investigation […]

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December 13th, 2013

Dispatch From the Wild Frontier of the Statin Wars

Larry Husten, PHD

The long simmering controversy over the relative benefits and harms of statins has heated to a high boil with the release of the new AHA/ACC U.S. guidelines. But nowhere is the battle more intense right now than in Australia, where, according to the National Heart Foundation, a TV show may be the cause of 2,000 heart attacks […]

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December 12th, 2013

FDA Panel Gives Support to Left Atrial Appendage Closure Device

Larry Husten, PHD

The FDA’s Circulatory System Devices Panel yesterday gave a vote of confidence to Boston Scientific’s Watchman left atrial appendage closure device for the prevention of stroke in atrial fibrillation patients. By a large majority, the panel agreed that the device was effective, that it was safe, and that the benefits outweighed the risks. In each case the […]

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December 10th, 2013

Co-Chairs of CVD Risk Guidelines Discuss a Difficult Case

Eric Lindley, MD, Donald M Lloyd-Jones, MD, ScM and David C. Goff, Jr., MD, PhD

Fellow Eric Lindley presents a challenging case to David Goff and Donald Lloyd-Jones, co-chairs of the new 2013 ACC/AHA Guideline on the Assessment of Cardiovascular Risk.

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December 9th, 2013

European Air Pollution Standards May Need to be Strengthened

Larry Husten, PHD

A large new analysis published in the Lancet has found a strong association between long-term exposure to air pollution and the risk of dying. The results suggest that European standards for air quality may need to be strengthened. The European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects (ESCAPE) analyzed data from 22 European  studies, including 367,251 participants followed for an […]

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