CardioExchange Archive

January 30th, 2012

Selections from Richard Lehman’s Weekly Review: Week of January 30th

Richard Lehman, BM, BCh, MRCGP

This week’s topics include lifetime cardiovascular risks, anticoagulation self-monitoring, opting for thrombolytics over late transfer for PCI, exercise’s antidepressant effect, and the worry that statins can induce diabetes.

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January 23rd, 2012

Rita Redberg and Roger Blumenthal Clash Over Statins for Primary Prevention in the Wall Street Journal

Larry Husten, PHD

The debate over whether statins should be used for primary prevention moved to the Wall Street Journal with opposing perspectives from cardiologists Roger Blumenthal and Rita Redberg. Blumenthal argues that “there is a mountain of high-quality scientific evidence” to support the use of statins in people without known heart disease but “demonstrated to be at high risk for […]

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January 19th, 2012

Are We Ready to Stop Treating Cholesterol Levels and Start Treating Risk?

Harlan M. Krumholz, MD, SM

With the advent of ATPIV, should we stick with determining treatment based on LDL levels or is time for a new paradigm based on a more nuanced understanding of risk?

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January 9th, 2012

Statins Elevate Diabetes Risk in Postmenopausal Women

Larry Husten, PHD

Statins increase the risk for developing diabetes in postmenopausal women, according to a new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. The study provides more evidence and details about the previously reported link between statins and diabetes development. Using data from more than 153,000 postmenopausal women who were participating in the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) and did […]

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December 12th, 2011

More Commentary on Statin Drugs

Heather M Johnson, MD, MS

I was delighted when my friend, Dr. Kevin Pho, accepted my recent post on statin drugs. As a ‘student’ writer, I was also happy to read more than a couple ‘robust’ comments. No worries here, bike racers and heart docs have thick skin. I penned six responses on the KevinMD post. The gist of the comment is […]

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November 30th, 2011

Generic Atorvastatin Hits the Market

Larry Husten, PHD

The first generic version of Lipitor (atorvastatin) became available today as the exclusive patent held by Pfizer finally expired. Lipitor was by far the most successful prescription drug in history. Watson Pharmaceuticals announced an authorized generic version. One other company, Ranbaxy, has been authorized to market atorvastatin, but has struggled to gain FDA approval of its manufacturing plant. The company has […]

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November 22nd, 2011

Long-Term Follow-up of HPS Shows Extended Benefits of Statins

Larry Husten, PHD

Long-term follow-up of patients enrolled in the Heart Protection Study (HPS) demonstrates continued benefits in the group originally randomized to receive simvastatin instead of placebo. The main results of the HPS, published in 2002, showed a significant 23% reduction at 5.3 years in major vascular events associated with simvastatin treatment among the 20,536 patients with coronary […]

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November 16th, 2011

Experts Clash Over AIM-HIGH

Larry Husten, PHD

Sparks flew at the AHA press conference yesterday when the designated discussant for the AIM-HIGH trial, Australia’s Philip Barter, said that “the design was such that in no way could it test the hypothesis” that niacin therapy may be beneficial. “This trial disturbs me greatly,” he said. The trial co-principal investigator, William Boden, defended his […]

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November 15th, 2011

After AIM HIGH, What Future for Niacin? A CardioExchange Panel

CardioExchange Editors, Staff

Steve Nissen, JoAnne Foody, Roger Blumenthal, and AIM HIGH author William Boden weigh in on what patients do and don’t remain good candidates for niacin therapy.

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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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