August 31st, 2010
Apixaban Beats Aspirin for Stroke Prevention in AF
Larry Husten, PHD
The AVERROES (Apixaban Versus Acetylsalicylic Acid (ASA) to Prevent Strokes) trial randomized 5600 AF patients who were unable to take warfarin to receive either aspirin or apixaban, a factor Xa inhibitor. (Another trial still underway, ARISTOTLE, is a direct comparison of warfarin and apixaban in AF.) AVERROES was stopped early after the Data Monitoring Committee […]
August 31st, 2010
Positive Results for Rivaroxaban in EINSTEIN-DVT
Larry Husten, PHD
The EINSTEIN-DVT study tested the effect of the new oral anticoagulant rivaroxaban in the setting of DVT. The open-label, non-inferiority study randomized more than 3,400 patients with acute, symptomatic DVT to either oral rivaroxaban or conventional therapy with enoxaparin followed by warfarin or acenocoumarol for 3, 6, or 12 months, based on the attending physician’s […]
August 31st, 2010
The CURE for Clopidogrel Genotyping?
Guillaume Pare, MD, MSc
CardioExchange welcomes Guillaume Paré to discuss his team’s work on the utility of clopidogrel genotyping. The researchers genotyped for CYP2C19 alleles associated with loss-of-function or gain-of-function of clopidogrel in some 5,000 patients with ACS or A-fib from two large randomized trials. In both studies, clopidogrel had similar efficacy over placebo regardless of whether patients had […]
August 31st, 2010
No Benefits for Low-Dose Heparin Over Standard Heparin in FUTURA/OASIS-8
Larry Husten, PHD
FUTURA (Fondaparinux Trial With Unfractionated Heparin During Revascularization in Acute Coronary Syndromes)/OASIS-8 is the first trial to compare low-dose unfractionated heparin with conventional heparin dosing in PCI patients receiving fondaparinux. Sanjit Jolly and colleagues randomized 2026 non-STEMI high-risk patients undergoing PCI within 72 hours to either low-dose unfractionated heparin or a standard dose of heparin […]
August 31st, 2010
ESC: The Good, the Bad, and the Better
Susan Cheng, MD
As far as conferences go, I’m impressed. It’s only day two for me, but I can already say that I would come back. The workshops and clinical sessions are solid. The original science being presented is plentiful and of good quality. One Austrian colleague mentioned he was particularly pleased with the growth of basic science […]
August 30th, 2010
Study Finds African-Americans at Increased Risk for Stent Thrombosis
Larry Husten, PHD
African-Americans are nearly three times more likely than other races to develop stent thrombosis after receiving a drug-eluting stent, according to a new study appearing in Circulation. Ron Waksman and colleagues analyzed data from a large, single-center registry of 7,236 patients who received a DES and found that African-American race was the single strongest predictor […]
August 30th, 2010
4-Year Findings from the REACH Registry
Larry Husten, PHD
“Not all atherothrombosis is equal.” That’s the message from the latest findings of the international REACH (Reduction of Atherothrombosis for Continued Health) registry of more than 45,000 patients with “various manifestations” of atherothrombosis. According to the REACH investigators, “easily demarcated subgroups of atherothrombotic patients had widely varying risks [for future ischemic events], ranging from 7% […]
August 29th, 2010
ESC First Impressions: Size Matters
Susan Cheng, MD
I’ll admit I was a bit guarded about my first ESC conference, largely due to what seemed to be looming logistical issues. Despite all of Stockholm’s reported charm, it was hard to imagine how a city of this size was going to manage the invasion of over 20,000 — and possibly up to 30,000 — […]
August 29th, 2010
Genetic Substudies of Large Trials Question Value of Clopidogrel Genotyping
Larry Husten, PHD
Genetic substudies across a broad range of large clinical trials that used clopidogrel raise questions about the clinical utility of clopidogrel genotyping. The substudies come from large and important trials like PLATO, TRITON-TIMI 38, CURE, and ACTIVE A. A genetic substudy of PLATO finds that ticagrelor is superior to clopidogrel irrespective of genetic subtype. Therefore, […]
August 29th, 2010
Superiority of Dabigatran More Evident in Places Where INR Is Not Well Controlled
Larry Husten, PHD
At last year’s ESC meeting, the RE-LY trial heightened interest in the prospect of dabigatran as a potential replacement for warfarin. Now the RE-LY investigators have analyzed the trial data in an attempt to see whether the local standard of care has an impact on the beneficial effects of switching to dabigatran. In a presentation […]