CardioExchange Archive

September 22nd, 2014

ACC Withdraws ‘Choosing Wisely’ Recommendation Against Revascularization of Nonculprit Lesions

Larry Husten, PHD

The American College of Cardiology said today that it was withdrawing one of its five recommendations in the “Choosing Wisely” campaign.  In 2012 the ACC recommended that heart attack patients should have only their culprit artery unblocked. It said that patients and caregivers should question whether complete revascularization of all nonculprit lesions in heart attack […]

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June 10th, 2014

Major Medical Organizations Establish Ambitious Diabetes Registry

Larry Husten, PHD

Our knowledge of diabetes today is a bit like the way blind men understand an elephant. With a myriad of isolated perspectives it’s nearly impossible to gain a broad overview. Now, a new initiative from a group of major medical organization will seek to provide the tools to better see a full picture of the elephantine […]

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January 31st, 2014

American College of Cardiology Announces Late-Breaking Clinical Trials

Larry Husten, PHD

The American College of Cardiology announced the lineup of late-breaking clinical trials for its upcoming annual meeting in Washington, DC. The opening session will include the most eagerly anticipated trials — the main results of Symplicity HTN-3 and the  comparison of Corevalve and surgery in high-risk patients. Subsequent sessions will include several phase-3 trials of  PCSK9 inhibitors. Here […]

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January 13th, 2014

Minority Report: Five Guideline Authors Reject Change in Systolic Blood Pressure Goal

Larry Husten, PHD

It didn’t seem possible, but the guideline situation just got even more confusing. Last December, after  years of delay and other twists and turns, the Eighth Joint National Committee (JNC 8) hypertension guideline was published in JAMA. The previous guideline recommended that all adults have a target systolic blood pressure below 140 mm Hg. In the new guideline, […]

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November 18th, 2013

Controversy Erupts Over Accuracy of Cardiovascular Risk Calculator for Guidelines

Larry Husten, PHD

In the face of a highly critical story in the New York Times by Gina Kolata about the new cardiovascular guidelines, authors of the guidelines and leaders of the American Heart Association (AHA) and the American College of Cardiology (ACC) defended the value and integrity of the guidelines. The Times story claims that the cardiovascular risk calculator used to assess individual risk in the new guidelines is deeply […]

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November 15th, 2013

Hypertension Treatment Algorithm Fills in for Missing Guideline

Larry Husten, PHD

When the AHA and the ACC released four updated clinical guidelines earlier this week, a fifth document, the hypertension guideline, was conspicuous by its absence. According to the AHA and the ACC, the authors of the hypertension document have chosen to publish it independently. (No word has yet emerged about their reasons for doing so […]

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November 12th, 2013

After Long Wait, Updated U.S. Cardiovascular Guidelines Now Emphasize Risk Instead of Targets

Larry Husten, PHD

Updated cardiovascular health guidelines were released today by  the American Heart Association (AHA) and the American College of Cardiology (ACC). The guidelines are designed to provide primary care physicians with evidence-based expert guidance on cholesterol, obesity, risk assessment, and healthy lifestyle. The new guidelines reinforce many of the same messages from previous guidelines, but also represent […]

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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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June 20th, 2013

Hypertension and Cholesterol Guidelines Delayed Again as NHLBI Gets Out of the Guidelines Business

Larry Husten, PHD

The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) will no longer issue guidelines, including the much-delayed and much-anticipated hypertension (JNC 8) and cholesterol (ATP 4) guidelines. Instead, the NHLBI will perform systematic evidence reviews that other organizations, including the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology, will use as a resource for their own guidelines. The […]

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April 3rd, 2013

International Cardiovascular Device Registries: The Next Big Thing

Larry Husten, PHD

A new initiative involving a wide variety of stakeholders — the FDA, the American College of Cardiology, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, industry, medical journals, and others — could lead to an enormous international cooperative effort to make device registries a standard part of the practice of cardiology. This will be a “huge step,” said David […]

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