CardioExchange Archive

April 28th, 2015

No Advantage to Adding Inferior Vena Cava Filters to Anticoagulation

Larry Husten, PHD

Despite a lack of supporting evidence  many patients with acute venous thromboembolism (VTE) receive inferior vena cava filters to prevent pulmonary embolism (PE). Now a new study published in JAMA offers no evidence of benefit for the use of these devices in a high-risk population already receiving anticoagulant drugs. A group of French physicians randomized nearly 400 […]

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April 27th, 2015

Through the Fog of Data on Endovascular Therapy for Acute Ischemic Stroke

Rory J Spiegel, MD

Perspective on an array of trials of endovascular therapy for acute ischemic stroke — and on the potential consequences of early trial cessation.

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January 5th, 2015

FDA Approves New Drug-Coated Balloon to Open Blocked Leg Arteries

Larry Husten, PHD

Medtronic said today that it had received approval from the FDA to market its IN.PACT Admiral drug-coated balloon (DCB) to treat peripheral artery disease (PAD) in the superficial femoral and popliteal arteries. The device is the second DCB to gain FDA approval. Last October the FDA approved CR Bard’s Lutonix DCB for a similar indication. The new DCB uses the anti-proliferative drug paclitaxel, […]

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December 24th, 2014

An Examination of MR CLEAN

Rory J Spiegel, MD

Rory Spiegel examines why the MR CLEAN trial of interventional therapy for acute ischemic stroke succeeded where its predecessors failed.

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December 17th, 2014

Dutch Trial Gives Support to Thrombectomy for Ischemic Stroke

Larry Husten, PHD

A large new trial provides the first substantial evidence that thrombectomy may be beneficial in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Previous thromboectomy trials have been disappointing; some experts have speculated this may be due to the use of early-generation devices, long treatment delays, and difficulties in recruiting suitable patients into the trials. The Multicenter Randomized Clinical […]

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November 3rd, 2014

Economic Study Finds VTE Prophylaxis with Low-Molecular-Weight Heparin Cost Effective

Larry Husten, PHD

Critically ill patients in the hospital are at high risk for developing venous thromboembolism (VTE). The 2011 PROTECT trial compared the two most common drug strategies used to prevent VTE — unfractionated heparin (UFH) and dalteparin, a low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) —  and found no difference between the two groups in the primary endpoint of the trial, leg deep-vein thrombosis. But […]

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October 13th, 2014

First Drug-Coated Balloon Approved by FDA for Leg Blockages

Larry Husten, PHD

The FDA today announced that it had approved for use in the U.S. the first drug-coated angioplasty balloon catheter to re-open blocked arteries in the superficial femoral and popliteal arteries. The Lutonix 035 Drug Coated Balloon Percutaneous Transluminal Angioplasty Catheter (Lutonix DCB) is manufactured by CR Bard and has been available in Europe since 2012. “Peripheral artery disease can be quite serious. Preventing […]

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September 9th, 2014

Lower Rate of Microvascular Complications in Statin Users Who Develop Diabetes

Larry Husten, PHD

In recent years, the medical community has become increasingly aware that taking statins can result in slightly higher glucose levels, and this can lead to a diagnosis of diabetes in a small but statistically significant number of people. But it has been unclear whether the diagnosis of diabetes in people taking statins also places them […]

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June 23rd, 2014

FDA: Risk for Venous Thromboembolism with All Testosterone Products

Kristin J. Kelley, CardioExchange Staff

The FDA is requiring an expanded label change to all approved testosterone products to warn of the increased risk for venous thromboembolism. Labels currently address the risk for clots associated with polycythemia caused by testosterone treatment. The action follows reports of blood clots in testosterone users unrelated to polycythemia. The agency says the warning is not […]

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March 6th, 2014

Vena Cava Filters Reduce Pulmonary Emboli But Increase VTE Recurrence Tenfold

Inferior vena cava filters seem to offer protection against death from pulmonary embolism when compared with anticoagulant therapy, but they have no significant effect on all-cause mortality. In addition, the filters are associated with higher rates of recurrent venous thromboembolism, according to an article in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Researchers examined data […]

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