CardioExchange Archive

June 5th, 2012

Data, Drugs, and Deception – A True Story

D H Newman, MD

A skeptic looks at a recent meta-analysis of trials of statins for primary prevention and concludes that the authors cleverly buried a statistical deception. The study may have answered an interesting question, but it did not answer a much different and bigger question.

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June 1st, 2012

Reality Check: Stop Exercising and Eat Chocolate?

Larry Husten, PHD

Two recent studies may add value to the academic literature, but what’s their public health value?

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May 31st, 2012

Women at Increased Risk for Stroke in Atrial Fibrillation

Larry Husten, PHD

Among patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), women have a higher risk than men of having a stroke, according to a new study published in BMJ. The increased risk was mostly found in women over 65 years of age and in women with multiple risk factors. Leif Friberg and colleagues analyzed data from more than 100,000 Swedish patients with […]

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May 29th, 2012

More Evidence Against Tight Glycemic Control

Steven Coca, DO, MS

Along with tight blood pressure control and RAAS blockade, most nephrologists recommend tight glycemic control (i.e., HbA1C < 7) for patients with type 2 diabetes, with the goals of reducing incident CKD or CKD progression. Data from observational studies has shown that tight glycemic control is associated with less albuminuria. Thus, conventional wisdom has been […]

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May 24th, 2012

Aspirin Found to Prevent Recurrent Venous Thromboembolism

Larry Husten, PHD

Aspirin can help prevent the recurrence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) after discontinuation of anticoagulation therapy, according to results of the WARFASA (the Warfarin and Aspirin) study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Following 6 to 18 months of oral anticoagulation, 403 patients with first-time unprovoked VTE were randomized to aspirin (100 mg daily) or placebo for 2 […]

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May 23rd, 2012

Panel: Azithromycin and Cardiovascular Risk

Paul Sax, MD, Joseph S. Ross, MD, MHS and Jeffrey Lance Anderson, MD

Three experts offer perspective on a large database study showing an association between azitrhromycin use and increased risk for cardiovascular death.

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May 22nd, 2012

Studies Probe Effect of CPAP and Sleep Apnea on Hypertension

Larry Husten, PHD

Two studies published in JAMA provide additional, but not surprising, information about the relationship between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and hypertension — and the role of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). In the first study, Ferran Barbé and colleagues randomized 725 people with OSA but no daytime sleepiness to either CPAP or no active treatment. After a median […]

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May 17th, 2012

Large Meta-Analysis Finds Statins Effective in Low-Risk Patients

Larry Husten, PHD

A very large meta-analysis provides strong evidence that the relative reduction in vascular risk with statins is at least as great in low-risk patients as in high-risk patients. The finding, write the authors, provides evidence that expansion of guidelines to lower-risk populations should be considered. In their paper in the Lancet, the Cholesterol Treatment Trialists’ (CTT) Collaborators […]

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May 17th, 2012

Coffee — Lots of It — Associated with Reduced Mortality

Physician's First Watch, CardioExchange Staff

Coffee drinking is inversely associated with mortality in a dose-dependent manner, according to a New England Journal of Medicine study. Mortality risks were actually higher until the researchers adjusted for smoking — common among coffee drinkers. Over 400,000 people aged 50 to 71 were followed for roughly 14 years after completing an extensive questionnaire on diet […]

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May 17th, 2012

Study Casts Doubt on Protective Effects of Raising HDL Cholesterol

Physician's First Watch, CardioExchange Staff

A genetics-based analysis finds that raising HDL will not necessarily lower risk for myocardial infarction. Reporting in the Lancet, researchers describe a two-pronged approach. First, they searched for the presence of a specific allele (LIPG Asn396Ser, associated with higher HDL levels in carriers) in a large cohort of subjects with and without MI. The allele’s presence […]

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