CardioExchange Archive

January 18th, 2015

“I’m Just Not a Pill Person”: Emotional Underpinnings of Nonadherence

The CardioExchange Editors interview Lisa Rosenbaum about her recent commentary on patients’ emotional responses to taking medications as a factor in nonadherence to therapy for heart disease. The article is published in the New England Journal of Medicine. CardioExchange Editors: In the current model of healthcare delivery, care is fragmented into 15–20 minute clinic visits. Can […]

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March 17th, 2014

Meta-Analysis Finds Few Side Effects Caused by Statins

Larry Husten, PHD

Although clinical trials have consistently demonstrated the benefits of statins, especially in secondary prevention, the perception that the drugs can cause serious side effects has prompted some patients to discontinue or not take the drugs. Now, in a paper published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, a new meta-analysis of existing trials offers some […]

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July 16th, 2013

What You Need To Know About Statins

Huseyin Naci, MHS, PhD Candidate, Jasper Brugts, Md phd msc and Harlan M. Krumholz, MD, SM

The authors of the largest meta-analysis to date on the side effects of statins discuss their findings and weigh the risks and benefits of statins for primary prevention.

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July 9th, 2013

Low Rate of Problems with Statins in Study of Quarter Million Patients

Larry Husten, PHD

A very large analysis of previously published studies finds that statins are generally safe and well tolerated, but helps confirm previous links to a small increased risk for diabetes and elevation of liver enzymes. Some statins were better tolerated than others, and lower-dose statins were better tolerated than high doses. In a paper published in Circulation: Cardiovascular […]

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June 25th, 2012

Are Statins Equally Effective in Women and in Men?

Larry Husten, PHD

Jose Gutierrez and colleagues performed a sex-based meta-analysis, seeking to determine if statins yield a similar protective effect on both men and women in preventing recurrent cardiovascular events. In a paper published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, they report the results of their meta-analysis of 11 secondary prevention, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trials, which included 43, […]

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November 15th, 2011

MI FREE: A Free Lunch for Patients and Insurers Alike?

John Ryan, MD

Removing copays increased adherence, decreased events, and saved the sponsoring insurance company a tidy sum. So are the issues with insurance-sponsored studies different from those with pharmaceutical-sponsored ones?

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November 4th, 2011

AHA and ACC Update Secondary Prevention Guidelines

Larry Husten, PHD

The AHA and ACC have released an update of their guidelines for secondary prevention in patients with heart disease. The guidelines are available in Circulation and the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The updated guidelines place a new emphasis on cardiac rehabilitation for patients who have had an MI or CABG. They also stress the importance of diagnosing and […]

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August 29th, 2011

Shortfalls in Secondary Prevention Particularly Acute in Poor Countries

Larry Husten, PHD

It shouldn’t come as a surprise, but an international epidemiological study shows large shortfalls in the use of established drugs for secondary prevention. The shortfalls are dramatically acute in poor countries, said Salim Yusuf, who presented the results of the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiological (PURE) study at the ESC in Paris on Sunday. The paper […]

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