Larry Husten, PHD
January 22nd, 2010
Friday January 22 News Roundup: Abbott Stops Sibutramine in Europe; Generic News
Larry Husten, PHD
Abbott Suspends Sibutramine Marketing in European Union: Following yesterday’s recommendation by the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) that sibutramine be withdrawn from European markets, Abbott Laboratories announced that it was suspending its marketing of the drug in the European Union. Generic News: A Wall Street analyst at Sanford Bernstein reports that clopidogrel besilate, which […]
January 21st, 2010
Thursday January 21 News Roundup: Tough Day for Sibutramine, Abnormal Lipids in Youths; Baylor in Trouble with the NIH
Larry Husten, PHD
Tough Day for Sibutramine– The FDA announced today that sibutramine is now contraindicated for people with cardiovascular disease. Almost simultaneously, the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) recommended that sibutramine be withdrawn from European markets. Abnormal Lipids in Youths– The CDC reported today that 20.3% of U.S. youths aged 12-19 have abnormal […]
January 20th, 2010
Wednesday January 20 News Roundup: Salt in NEJM; AHA Defines Cardiovascular Health; FDA Approves HeartMate II LVAS for Destination Therapy
Larry Husten, PHD
Salty Stuff: Reducing dietary salt by 3 g per day would cut the annual number of new cases of CHD in the U.S. by 60,000 to 120,000, stroke by 32,000 to 66,000, and MI by 54,000 to 99,000, according to a report released early online in the NEJM by researchers from UCSF, Stanford, and Columbia University. […]
January 19th, 2010
Tuesday January 19 News Roundup: Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Biological Aging in CAD Patients, Genetic Code Pioneer Dies
Larry Husten, PHD
Coronary patients with high levels of omega-3 fatty acid levels in their blood have a lower rate of telomere shortening, according to a new study in JAMA. The study bring together two very different strands of research. In one strand, the shortening of telomeres, the protective caps of DNA at the end of chromosomes, has […]
January 18th, 2010
Monday January 18 News Roundup: Tailoring Statin Therapy, ED and CVD, Unnecessary Stents
Larry Husten, PHD
New Approach to Statin Therapy: Tailoring statin therapy based on individual risk is more effective and efficient than the treat-to-target approach adopted by NCEP III, according to a new report in Annals of Internal Medicine by Rodney Hayward and colleagues (including CardioExchange’s Editor Harlan Krumholz). Using data from statin trials and national data on CAD […]
January 15th, 2010
Japanese Study Links Radiation to Cardiovascular Disease Deaths
Larry Husten, PHD
Between 1950 and 2003 survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki had an increased risk of stroke and heart disease, according to a new analysis published in BMJ. Japanese researchers estimated a 9% increased risk of stroke per gray and a 14% increased risk of heart disease per gray. An accompanying editorial notes that the study “adds […]
January 14th, 2010
Thursday January 14 Roundup: PLATO, ACC Loses in Court
Larry Husten, PHD
PLATO-Invasive: A large substudy from PLATO of ACS patients undergoing an invasive strategy has been published in the Lancet. The substudy found that ticagrelor was superior to clopidogrel in 13,408 ACS patients for whom an invasive procedure was planned. Christopher Cannon et al. reported that the combined rate of CV death, MI, and stroke was significantly cut from […]
January 13th, 2010
Wednesday January 12 Roundup: Diabetics in SYNTAX, Obesity in the USA
Larry Husten, PHD
Diabetics in SYNTAX: The one-year results of the subset of diabetic patients enrolled in the SYNTAX trial, the ongoing trial comparing PCI to CABG in patients with left main or multivessel disease for five years, were published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Although the investigators found an increase in revascularizations in the PCI […]
January 12th, 2010
Tuesday January 12 Roundup: Statin Adherence; FDA Panel Grills Nebivolol; CETP, CRP and APOE in dementia
Larry Husten, PHD
You can save twice as many lives by increasing adherence to already-prescribed statins than by expanding the pool of people eligible for statins, according to estimates by A Shroufi and JW Powles in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. The FDA Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee unanimously recommended that the FDA turn down a heart […]
January 11th, 2010
Monday, January 11 Roundup: Variations in Guidelines, Too Much TV, and Too Much Salt
Larry Husten, PHD
Cardiovascular risk assessment guidelines are not always in agreement and may not always be reliable, according to a systematic review published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Only 16 of the 27 guidelines reported possible conflicts of interest and only 17 “showed considerable rigor.” In an accompanying comment, Sidney Smith wrote that future “progress will […]
NEJM — Recent Cardiology Articles- Endovascular Therapy for Post-Thrombotic Syndrome — A Randomized Trial April 13, 2026Among patients with moderate or severe PTS, the addition of endovascular therapy to standard care resulted in less severe PTS and better quality of life at 6 months than standard care alone but with a higher risk of bleeding.
- Stenting for Post-Thrombotic Syndrome — A Step Forward April 13, 2026Post-thrombotic syndrome is the most common chronic complication of deep-vein thrombosis (DVT), affecting 20 to 50% of patients with DVT and causing debilitating symptoms involving the limbs — including pain, swelling, skin changes, and venous ulcers — that substantially reduce quality of life and impose considerable socioeconomic burden.1 ...
- Paving the Road toward Targeted Lipid Lowering April 9, 2026In patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, lowering lipid levels is critical for reducing the risk of recurrent cardiovascular disease. International guidelines endorse the targeting of a low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol level of less than 55 mg per deciliter for secondary prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in patients at high risk...
- Case 10-2026: A 70-Year-Old Woman with a Racing Heart, Fatigue, and Dyspnea April 9, 2026A 70-year-old woman presented with a racing heart, fatigue, dyspnea, and leg edema. One month earlier, percutaneous catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation had been performed. A diagnosis was made.
- Systems-Based Success for Hypertension April 9, 2026In 2022, more than 130,000 deaths in the United States were primarily attributable to high blood pressure and were largely preventable; this number represents a near doubling since 2012.1 Despite the availability of multiple effective, safe, and inexpensive therapies for lowering blood pressure, fewer than half of U.S....
- Endovascular Therapy for Post-Thrombotic Syndrome — A Randomized Trial April 13, 2026