CardioExchange Archive

December 5th, 2013

Large Study Finds Favorable Risk-Benefit Profile for the New Anticoagulants

Larry Husten, PHD

A very large new meta-analysis finds a favorable risk-benefit for the new oral anticoagulant drugs in the setting of atrial fibrillation. The findings, published online in the Lancet, were remarkably consistent for all four of the new agents which have been fighting to replace warfarin, which was the only oral anticoagulant available for decades until the arrival of […]

---

November 26th, 2013

Edoxaban and the Changing Landscape of Novel Anticoagulants for Atrial Fibrillation

Christian Thomas Ruff, MD, MPH

Christian Thomas Ruff, a coauthor of the ENGAGE AF-TIMI 48 trial of edoxaban versus warfarin in patients with atrial fibrillation, discusses the future of novel anticoagulants.

---

October 14th, 2013

Selections from Richard Lehman’s Literature Review: October 14th

Richard Lehman, BM, BCh, MRCGP

This week’s topics include CRT in HF with a narrow QRS complex, a trial of edoxaban vs. warfarin for symptomatic VTE, and more.

---

September 30th, 2013

Selections from Richard Lehman’s Literature Review: September 30th

Richard Lehman, BM, BCh, MRCGP

This week’s topics include the RE-ALIGN trial of dabigatran vs. warfarin in patients with mechanical heart valves, general population echo screening and long-term survival, and antihypertensives and breast cancer risk among middle aged women.

---

September 1st, 2013

Positive Results for Edoxaban in VTE/PE

Larry Husten, PHD

Findings from the Hokusai-VTE trial of edoxaban

---

September 1st, 2013

Disappointing Results with Dabigatran for Mechanical Valves

Larry Husten, PHD

For more of our ESC.13 coverage of late-breaking clinical trials, interviews with the authors of the most important research, and blogs from our fellows on the most interesting presentations at the meeting, check out our Coverage Headquarters. Despite being more durable than bioprosthetic valves, mechanical heart valves are often not chosen because of the requirement for lifelong […]

---

May 10th, 2013

Encouraging 4-Year Results for Boston Scientific’s Watchman Device in AF Patients

Larry Husten, PHD

Encouraging long-term results from the PROTECT AF trial comparing the Watchman left atrial appendage closure device to warfarin in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients were presented yesterday at the Heart Rhythm Society meeting in Denver. Previously the main results of the trial, published in the Lancet, demonstrated that the Watchman was noninferior to warfarin, but the total number of events […]

---

May 9th, 2013

Bruise Control: Continued Warfarin Beats Heparin Bridging During Device Implantation

Larry Husten, PHD

Many patients receiving an ICD or a pacemaker are already receiving oral anticoagulants. Current guidelines recommend replacement of the oral anticoagulant with the temporary use of heparin as a bridging strategy. Now a new study, BRUISE CONTROL (Bridge or Continue Coumadin for Device Surgery Randomized Controlled Trial), offers convincing evidence that this strategy is not […]

---

April 4th, 2013

Registry Study Offers Reassurance About Safety and Efficacy of Dabigatran

Larry Husten, PHD

As the first new oral anticoagulant since warfarin, dabigatran (Pradaxa, Boehringer-Ingelheim) has been subject to intense concerns over its safety and efficacy in a real-world population. Last November an FDA investigation found no indication that bleeding rates for dabigatran were any higher than bleeding rates for warfarin. A new study from Scandinavia, published in the Journal of the American […]

---

March 13th, 2013

FDA Officials Calm Concerns Over Excessive Bleeding with Dabigatran

Larry Husten, PHD

Concerns over excessive bleeding complications with dabigatran (Pradaxa, Boehringer Ingelheim) as compared with warfarin are most likely due to the heightened sensitivity and vigilance that can accompany a new drug, according to FDA officials in a perspective published online in the New England Journal of Medicine. “We believe that the large number of reported cases of bleeding associated […]

---