CardioExchange Archive

June 9th, 2014

Selections from Richard Lehman’s Literature Review: June 9th

Richard Lehman, BM, BCh, MRCGP

This week’s topics include the CORONARY trial, the association of azithromycin with mortality and CV events among older patients hospitalized with pneumonia, and more.

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May 18th, 2014

Statins Disappoint In COPD And ARDS

Larry Husten, PHD

Two NHLBI studies have failed to find any benefit for statin therapy in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Previous observational studies had raised the possibility that statins, perhaps due to their anti-inflammatory effects, might improve outcomes in people with these serious diseases. But both trials were stopped early by […]

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February 17th, 2014

Another Satellite of JUPITER: Lipoprotein(a)

Amit Khera, MD

Amit V. Khera discusses his study group’s analysis of lipoprotein(a) concentrations and residual vascular risk among participants in the placebo-controlled JUPITER trial of rosuvastatin.

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November 15th, 2011

SATURN Regression Trial: Gorilla Statin and Statin King Battle to a Draw

Larry Husten, PHD

An epic battle comparing the two most potent statins — the reigning king atorvastatin versus “gorilla statin” rosuvastatin — has ended with a quiet draw. Results of SATURN (Study of Coronary Atheroma by InTravascular Ultrasound: Effect of Rosuvastatin Versus AtorvastatiN) were presented at the AHA on Tuesday and published simultaneously in the New England Journal of Medicine. Stephen Nicholls and colleagues randomized 1039 […]

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September 2nd, 2011

Rosuvastatin Fails to Best Atorvastatin in IVUS Study of Atherosclerosis Progression

Larry Husten, PHD

AstraZeneca announced today that its lipid-lowering agent rosuvastatin (Crestor) was not superior to atorvastatin (Lipitor, Pfizer) in reducing the progression of atherosclerosis, as assessed by IVUS. The company announced the top-line results of SATURN (Study of Coronary Atheroma by InTravascular Ultrasound: Effect of Rosuvastatin Versus AtorvastatiN), which is scheduled to be presented at the American Heart Association meeting in November. The […]

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August 22nd, 2011

Panel: Coronary Calcium vs. CRP for Predicting Cardiovascular Events

CardioExchange Editors, Staff

Drs. Paul Ridker and Sanjay Kaul offer their perspectives on a new coronary artery calcium/C-reactive protein study, published in the Lancet, and three of the study authors respond. The study showed that people with low LDL levels and high CRP levels may benefit from CAC scans to identify the folks who are most likely to […]

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August 19th, 2011

Is Coronary Calcium Better Than CRP for Predicting CV Events?

Larry Husten, PHD

A new study suggests that people with low LDL levels and high CRP levels may benefit from coronary artery calcium (CAC) scans to identify those who are most likely to benefit from statin therapy. In a paper published in the Lancet, Michael Blaha and colleagues analyzed data from 950 people enrolled in the Multi-Ethnic Study […]

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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 […]

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