November 3rd, 2010
Paricalcitol Reduces Albuminuria in Diabetic Nephropathy
Larry Husten, PHD
Selective vitamin D receptor activation with paricalcitol may help prevent progression of renal failure in patients with diabetic nephropathy who are already taking renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) inhibitors, according to a new study published online in the Lancet. In the VITAL study, U.S. and European investigators randomized 281 patients with type 2 diabetes and albuminuria who were […]
November 3rd, 2010
Do Your Patients Wait to Fill Their Plavix and Effient Prescriptions After Drug-Eluting Stent Implantation?
Chris Smith, RN
I recently read an article in the journal Circulation that contained an alarming finding about patients who receive drug-eluting stents. Apparently, 1 in 6 did not fill their clopidogrel prescriptions immediately after discharge from a hospital in one of three large integrated health care systems. The median delay was 3 days. Furthermore, during a median […]
November 3rd, 2010
My Journey with Heart Failure
Mary Knudson, Health Journalist
Well-known science journalist Mary Knudson is the author of HeartSense, a blog about heart failure, from which the following post is taken. In this post, she describes her journey as a heart failure patient from bewildered dismay to self-empowerment; in an upcoming post, she questions the aptness of the designation “heart failure.” I got to […]
November 2nd, 2010
Meta-Analysis Provides Little Support for Prophylactic ICD Use in Older Adults
Amy Herman
Prophylactic implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) therapy does not appear to significantly improve survival among older adults with severe left ventricular dysfunction, according to a meta-analysis in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Researchers analyzed data from five randomized trials comparing ICD therapy with medical treatment among some 5800 adults with cardiomyopathy. Older adults (defined as 60 and […]
November 2nd, 2010
Is Dabigatran More Cost-Effective Than Warfarin in AF?
Amy Herman
Dabigatran, newly approved by the FDA to prevent stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), might turn out to be a cost-effective alternative to warfarin, according to an Annals of Internal Medicine study. Using data from the RE-LY trial, James Freeman and colleagues modeled the quality-adjusted survival and cost-effectiveness of dabigatran compared with high- or low-dose warfarin […]
November 1st, 2010
ROCKET AF: Is Rivaroxaban Ready for Blast Off?
Harlan M. Krumholz, MD, SM
With the approval of dabigatran and now the preliminary and partial results of ROCKET AF, we’ll need to be familiar with much more than just warfarin to address the anticoagulation needs of our patients. The early word on ROCKET AF, which will be presented at AHA, is that rivaroxaban is at least as effective as warfarin […]
November 1st, 2010
Mind the Gap: Real-World ACE Inhibitor Cough Much More Common Than Listed on Labels
Larry Husten, PHD
The real-world incidence of ACE inhibitor-associated cough is much higher than the reported rate on drug labels and printed in the Physicians’ Desk Reference, according to a study published in the American Journal of Medicine. Sripal Bangalore and colleagues analyzed data from 125 published studies with ACE inhibitors including almost 200,000 patients. They found that […]
November 1st, 2010
AHA Preview: What Is Clyde Yancy Looking Forward to Seeing?
Clyde Yancy, MD
In the first installment of our AHA Preview series, we ask Clyde Yancy, medical director of the Baylor Heart and Vascular Institute and chief of Cardiothoracic Transplantation at Baylor University Medical Center, to list the trials in his field that he is most looking forward to at the AHA Scientific Sessions 2010 meeting. See what […]
November 1st, 2010
Rivaroxaban Equals Warfarin in ROCKET AF
Larry Husten, PHD
Rivaroxaban (Xarelto) was as effective as warfarin in patients with AF in the ROCKET AF study, according to an announcement released by Bayer on Sunday ahead of the trial’s scheduled presentation at the AHA on November 15. ROCKET AF randomized more than 14,000 patients with nonvalvular AF to either rivaroxaban or warfarin. The goal of […]