CardioExchange Archive

August 16th, 2010

Antagonistic People and Carotid Narrowing

Larry Husten, PHD

Researchers from the NIH’s National Institute on Aging studied 5,614 people in four Italian villages and found that those who scored high on a test of antagonism — particularly those who were manipulative and aggressive — were more likely than their more agreeable counterparts to have carotid thickening, as measured by carotid-artery intima media thickness, […]

---

August 12th, 2010

CRESCENDO: The Fat Lady Sings for Rimonabant

Larry Husten, PHD

The CRESCENDO (Comprehensive Rimonabant Evaluation Study of Cardiovascular Endpoints and Outcomes) trial, which tested the effects of the endocannabinoid receptor blocker rimonabant for the prevention of cardiovascular events, was terminated early at the request of regulatory agencies in several countries following growing concern that people taking rimonabant were more likely to commit suicide. At the […]

---

August 11th, 2010

What Do Cardiologists Need to Know About 9p21?

Jeffrey Lance Anderson, MD

CardioExchange welcomes Jeffrey Anderson to discuss his recent editorial in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology on  the 9p21 locus and CHD. Dr. Anderson and co-author Benjamin Horne carefully evaluated the relationship of 9p21 to CHD  and conclude that 9p21 appears to be an initiator of and may be a promoter of CHD, […]

---

August 10th, 2010

A Family Affair

Juan J. Rivera, MD, MHS

The surplus of specialists and neglect of primary and preventive care in modern American medicine has led to a very sharp focus on individuals, with little regard for families. A perfect example of how this imbalance has detrimental effects at the population level is the childhood obesity epidemic. Many healthcare professionals perceive obesity as an […]

---

August 3rd, 2010

Vitamin B Trial Finds No Clinically Significant Benefit

Larry Husten, PHD

The VITATOPS (The VITAmins TO Prevent Stroke) Trial randomized 8164 patients with recent stroke or TIA to either placebo or B vitamins. After a median followup of 3.4 years, the primary endpoint — the combined incidence of stroke, MI, or vascular death — occurred in 616 patients in the B vitamin group and 678 in the placebo […]

---

July 31st, 2010

Calcium Supplements Linked to Increase in CV Events

Larry Husten, PHD

People who take calcium supplements may be at increased risk for cardiovascular events, according to a meta-analysis published in the British Medical Journal. Mark Bolland and colleagues analyzed data from 15 randomized, placebo-controlled trials and found a significant increase in the risk of MI in subjects who received calcium supplements. The authors concluded that “although […]

---

July 26th, 2010

Questions for Sanjay Kaul about TIDE and Avandia

Sanjay Kaul, MD and Harlan M. Krumholz, MD, SM

CardioExchange’s editor-in-chief Harlan Krumholz discussed the TIDE trial on email with Sanjay Kaul, who was a member of the FDA’s advisory panel last week on Avandia. Here is a lightly edited version of their exchange. Krumholz: What is your response to the FDA announcement that it has placed TIDE on a “partial clinical hold”? Do you […]

---

July 23rd, 2010

FDA Approves Generic Enoxaparin

Larry Husten, PHD

The FDA announced on Friday that it had approved the first generic enoxaparin sodium injection for multiple indications including prevention of deep vein thrombosis (DVT). The action represents the FDA’s first generic approval of a low molecular weight heparin. The original version of enoxaparin, Lovenox, was first approved in 1993. To gain approval as a generic, […]

---

July 22nd, 2010

HDL and Residual Risk: A Surprising Finding in JUPITER

Larry Husten, PHD

CardioExchange welcomes Dr. Paul Ridker to answer questions about his recent paper in the Lancet, which analyzed data from JUPITER and found that HDL may not predict residual risk in patients on high-dose statins who reach very low LDL levels such as those achieved in the treatment group in JUPITER. The findings may surprise some readers, though […]

---

May 14th, 2010

To Treat or Not to Treat: A Poll on Primary Prevention for a Hypothetical Woman

JoAnne M. Foody, MD

Rita Redberg’s recent post, Why I Don’t Recommend Statins for Primary Prevention in Women, has gotten some attention on CardioExchange. In comments on the post, CardioExchange members and contributors support various approaches to preventive interventions for women. Here’s your chance to weigh in: How would you handle a 65-year-old woman who has reasonably controlled hypertension and […]

---