May 9th, 2013
Journal X: Not so Subtle Marketing Messages
Eric Lindley, MD
My 3-year-old daughter helps me see the influence of pharma on research.
May 7th, 2013
Longer Detection Time Helps Prevent Unnecessary ICD Shocks
Larry Husten, PHD
Increasing the detection intervals in ICD programming can reduce the number of unnecessary or inappropriate shocks, according to results of the ADVANCE III study published in JAMA. A group of Italian investigators randomized 1,902 patients receiving an ICD to programming with either long- or standard-detection intervals. After 12 months of followup, patients in the long-detection […]
May 7th, 2013
Burton Sobel, Towering Cardiologist, Dead at 75
Larry Husten, PHD
Burton Sobel, a towering scientist and cardiologist, died at home on May 3 at the age of 75. Sobel had been treated in the past for prostate cancer and had suffered a recurrence, but it is not known if this was the immediate cause of his death. Sobel was among the most powerful and influential […]
May 7th, 2013
Selections from Richard Lehman’s Literature Review: May 7th
Richard Lehman, BM, BCh, MRCGP
This week Richard discusses a study on remeasuring CV risk in untreated people at low and intermediate risk.
May 6th, 2013
Meta-analysis Finds Same-Day Discharge for Low-Risk PCI May Be Feasible
Larry Husten, PHD
Although elective PCI for most low-risk patients is extremely safe, overnight observation is still standard practice in the U.S., largely due to the lack of evidence demonstrating that same-day discharge is safe. Now a new meta-analysis, published online in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, provides support for same-day discharge in carefully selected […]
May 3rd, 2013
FDA Approves Combination of Ezetimibe and Atorvastatin
Larry Husten, PHD
The FDA has approved a new combination drug from Merck for lowering cholesterol. The drug, which will carry the brand name of Liptruzet, is a combination of two previously approved cholesterol-lowering drugs, ezetimibe and atorvastatin. Merck said the new drug (pronounced “LIP-true-zett”) would be commercially available starting next week. Liptruzet will be available as a […]
May 2nd, 2013
Danish Study Finds No Increased CV Risk with Azithromycin in General Population
Larry Husten, PHD
A large observational study found no increased risk for cardiovascular events associated with azithromycin (Zithromax, Pfizer) in a general population of young and middle-age adults. In a paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Danish investigators report the results of a large national observational study comparing people who took azithromycin with matched controls […]
May 1st, 2013
FDA Warns That Tolvaptan Can Lead to Serious Liver Injury
Larry Husten, PHD
The FDA has issued a drug safety communication concerning tolvaptan (Samsca, Otsuka), a selective vasopression V2-receptor antagonist used in heart failure patients to treat clinically significant hypervolemic and euvolemic hyponatremia. The FDA said tolvaptan “should not be used for longer than 30 days and should not be used in patients with underlying liver disease because […]
May 1st, 2013
Which Wedge to Believe?
Tariq Ahmad, MD, MPH and James Fang, MD
Offer your diagnosis of a 39-year-old man with severe pulmonary hypertension and markedly variable pulmonary capillary wedge pressures among lung segments.