October 23rd, 2013
FDA Approves First New Atherectomy Device in 20 Years
Larry Husten, PHD
The FDA on Tuesday granted PMA approval to the Diamondback 360 Coronary Orbital Atherectomy System (OAS) for the treatment of severely calcified coronary arteries. Cardiovascular Systems, the manufacturer of the device, said that the OAS was the first new coronary atherectomy system to receive FDA approval in two decades. The company said it would begin a controlled launch of […]
October 23rd, 2013
Open Heart: Will It Open the Way for Data Sharing?
Pascal Meier, MD
Pascal Meier discusses his new endeavor as Editor-in-Chief of Open Heart, an online-only, open-access journal from BMJ and the British Cardiovascular Society that is set to launch in early 2014.
October 22nd, 2013
No Support for Broad Screening of Chronic Kidney Disease
Larry Husten, PHD
Although taught in medical school and widely used in clinical practice, broad screening of otherwise healthy people for chronic kidney disease (CKD) is unwarranted, according to new recommendations from the American College of Physicians published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. People with early kidney disease, who are classified as having stages 1 to 3 CKD, usually […]
October 22nd, 2013
Are Sulfonylureas Dangerous?
Kasia Lipska, MD, MHS
Endocrinologist Kasia Lipska shares her thoughts about a presentation by Craig Currie at this year’s annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes.
October 21st, 2013
Selections from Richard Lehman’s Literature Review: October 21st
Richard Lehman, BM, BCh, MRCGP
This week’s topics include cholecalciferol to reduce BP in older patients with isolated systolic hypertension, the FREEDOM trial, and more.
October 21st, 2013
Refining the Optimal Duration of Dual Antiplatelet Therapy After DES Implantation
Cheol-Whan Lee, MD and Seung-Jung Park, MD.,Ph.D
Cheol Whan Lee and Seung-Jung Park discuss their study group’s randomized trial comparing dual antiplatelet therapy with aspirin alone beyond 12 months after drug-eluting stent implantation.
October 19th, 2013
Was Dick Cheney’s ICD Vulnerable to Hacking?
Larry Husten, PHD
It happened in Homeland. Could it happen in real life? In a 60 Minutes segment, Dick Cheney says that his doctors turned off the wireless function of his implanted cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) “in case a terrorist tried to send his heart a fatal shock,” according to the Associated Press. Years later, Cheney watched an episode of the Showtime series Homeland, […]
October 18th, 2013
FDA Approves New Pulmonary Hypertension Drug from Actelion
Larry Husten, PHD
The FDA today approved macitentan (Opsumit, Actelion), a new oral endothelin-receptor antagonist that is an enhanced version of the company’s bosentan (Tracleer). The drug is indicated to delay disease progression in patients who have pulmonary arterial hypertension (WHO Group I). Last August the results of the pivotal phase 3 trial, SERAPHIN (Study with an Endothelin Receptor Antagonist in […]
October 17th, 2013
New Insights Into Surgery vs. Stents for Diabetics with Multivessel Disease
Larry Husten, PHD
Last year the large NHLBI FREEDOM trial demonstrated that coronary-artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery was superior to PCI when treating diabetic patients who have multivessel coronary disease. CABG resulted in significant reductions in death and MI, but this was offset slightly by a higher rate of stroke in the CABG group. Now, a new report from FREEDOM […]
October 17th, 2013
Questioning Digoxin Use for Patients with Systolic HF
James Freeman, MD, MPH, MS
James Freeman discusses his research group’s evaluation of the contemporary effectiveness and safety of digoxin therapy among adults with newly diagnosed systolic heart failure.