April 16th, 2015
FDA Approves New Heart Failure Drug
Larry Husten, PHD
The FDA on Wednesday approved ivabradine (Corlanor), Amgen’s new heart failure drug. The drug has been available for several years in Europe, where it is sold by Servier under the brand names of Corlentor and Procoralan. Ivabradine was approved for the reduction of hospitalization from worsening heart failure. It is indicated for use in stable heart-failure patients who are in sinus rhythm, have a […]
April 15th, 2015
Diabetes Drugs Get Neither Restrictions Nor Endorsements from FDA Committee
Larry Husten, PHD
Two diabetes drugs survived a meeting of the FDA’s Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee on Tuesday. Rejecting recommendations from critics that the drugs should either be withdrawn or get new restrictions on use, the committee voted against any harsh measures, recommending only that information from two neutral clinical trials be added to the drugs’ labels. The two trials […]
April 14th, 2015
Study Adds to Evidence Linking Divorce and MI
Larry Husten, PHD
A new study shows that after a divorce, people have an increased lifetime risk for myocardial infarction. Although previous studies have found that MIs occur more frequently in people who are divorced, this is the first study to prospectively examine the lifetime relationship between divorce and MI. In a paper published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality […]
April 13th, 2015
Selections from Richard Lehman’s Literature Review: April 13th
Richard Lehman, BM, BCh, MRCGP
This week’s topics include the TOTAL trial and surgical ablation of AF during mitral-valve surgery.
April 9th, 2015
Selections from Richard Lehman’s Literature Review: April 9th
Richard Lehman, BM, BCh, MRCGP
This week’s topics include the PROMISE trial, the efficacy of folic acid therapy in primary prevention of stroke among patients with hypertension in China, and more.
April 9th, 2015
Association Between Shorter Height and Heart Disease Largely Explained by Genes
Nicholas Downing, MD
The “well-established” link between shorter adult height and increased risk for coronary artery disease (CAD) is largely explained by height-associated genetic variants, researchers conclude in the New England Journal of Medicine. Using data from genome-wide association studies, the researchers examined the relationship between 180 height-associated genetic variants and CAD among 65,000 cases (adults with histories […]
April 9th, 2015
Digoxin Use in Afib: Revisiting Data from ROCKET AF
Manesh R. Patel, MD
Manesh R. Patel discusses his research group’s retrospective analysis of data on digoxin use among patients with atrial fibrillation in the ROCKET AF trial.
April 6th, 2015
Weight-Loss Programs: Slim Evidence and Thin Results
Larry Husten, PHD
A new study concludes that some weight-loss programs may be slightly better than other programs but that in the long run none of the programs have been able to show a substantial weight loss over a sustained period. For even the best programs, an editorialist writes, “weight loss is modest and likely below patients’ expectations.” […]
April 6th, 2015
Cardiac Arrest During Exercise in Middle-Aged People
Larry Husten, PHD
Dropping dead while exercising is a common fear, especially among middle-aged men. Unfortunately there have been limited data on the precise rate of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) in middle-aged people and little understanding about the medical history of the victims of SCA. Now a new study fills in some important gaps in knowledge and shows that this […]
April 6th, 2015
Bringing Clarity and Consensus to the Treatment of Hypertension in Patients with CAD
Elliott Antman, MD
AHA President Elliott Antman discusses the recent scientific statement from the AHA/ACC/ASH on the treatment of hypertension in patients with existing CAD.