CardioExchange Archive

August 28th, 2013

American Heart Association Announces Late-Breaking Clinical Trials

Larry Husten, PHD

There are still a few days left in August, and the European Society of Cardiology meeting doesn’t start until this weekend in Amsterdam. Nevertheless, the American Heart Association has released the list of late-breaking clinical trials for its annual meeting in November. Late-Breaking Clinical Trials 1: Acute Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Care Sunday, Nov 17, 2013, 4:00 PM – 5:19 PM […]

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August 21st, 2013

Kaiser Program Yields Big Improvements in Hypertension Control

Larry Husten, PHD

A large percentage of the 65 million people with high blood pressure in the United States do not know they have hypertension or have not succeeded in controlling their hypertension. Although many programs have been proposed, there is little evidence that any method can produce long-term improvement in hypertension control. Now, in a paper published in JAMA, researchers […]

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August 14th, 2013

Advanced Lipoprotein Analysis: Time for Widespread Implementation?

Behnood Bikdeli, M.D.

Will advanced lipoprotein analysis add real value to patients’ lives?

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August 9th, 2013

The Guidelines are Dead. Long Live the Guidelines.

Larry Husten, PHD

Following the recent surprising announcement that the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute would no longer issue guidelines, leaders of the American Heart Association (AHA) and the American College of Cardiology (ACC) have now announced that are “officially assuming the joint governance, management and public distribution” of the enormously influential cardiovascular prevention guidelines, including the much-delayed and much-anticipated hypertension […]

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August 5th, 2013

Deja Vu All Over Again: Study Links Calcium-Channel Blockers to Breast Cancer

Larry Husten, PHD

A new observational study raises the possibility that calcium-channel blockers (CCBs) may be associated with a higher risk for breast cancer. Although previous studies examining this relationship have failed to turn up convincing evidence of a link, the authors of a paper published in JAMA Internal Medicine state that their study is the first to look at […]

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July 31st, 2013

European Heart Guidelines Based on Disgraced Research May Have Caused Thousands of Deaths

Larry Husten, PHD

Despite a 2-year-old scandal discrediting key evidence, current guidelines relying on this evidence have not been revised. As a result of physicians following these guidelines, some researchers say, it is possible that thousands of patients may have died each year in the U.K. alone. It is unlikely that a true understanding of the damage will […]

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July 30th, 2013

More Bad News for Valsartan

Larry Husten, PHD

In the last few days, more bad news about valsartan (Diovan, Novartis) has emerged. Another major study conducted in Japan — the Jikei Heart Study — will be retracted, and Japanese health authorities said they were investigating severe skin reactions associated with use of the drug. The new events are only the latest problems for the drug […]

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July 29th, 2013

Possible Cognitive Benefits Found in Dementia Patients Taking Centrally Acting ACE Inhibitors

Larry Husten, PHD

An observational study from Ireland raises the intriguing possibility that centrally acting ACE inhibitors may help slow the cognitive decline that is a hallmark of people with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. The study, published in BMJ Open, followed the rates of cognitive decline in 3 groups of patients: dementia patients being treated with centrally acting ACE inhibitors, […]

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July 23rd, 2013

Funding for Landmark Framingham Heart Study Slashed by $4 Million

Larry Husten, PHD

One of the most important studies in the history of medicine will be sharply curtailed as a result of the federal budget cuts. The landmark Framingham Heart Study (FHS) has been told by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) that it will lose  $4 million of its funding. The cut represents 40% of its NHLBI […]

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July 17th, 2013

Stroke Risk Increases with Nonadherence to Antihypertensive Therapy

Larry Husten, PHD

A large new observational study demonstrates that people who don’t take their antihypertensive medications are much more likely to have a stroke. The new study, published in the European Heart Journal, used nationwide prescription, hospital, and mortality records from 73,527 hypertensive patients in Finland. The investigators compared 26,704 patients who were hospitalized for or died of stroke with […]

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