Here’s a great example of genuine medical progress: 10% of the first 50 patients who received balloon angioplasty from the procedure’s developer, Andreas Grüntzig, required emergency bypass surgery. By 2002 only 0.15% of PCI patients required emergency surgery, leading many to believe that surgical backup was no longer necessary. Now a large new study provides…

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Vorapaxar, the novel antiplatelet agent from Merck, appears to effectively reduce cardiovascular death and ischemic events in patients with MI, ischemic stroke, or peripheral vascular disease, but its potential utility is clouded by bleeding complications, including intracranial hemorrhage. Results from the TRA 2P-TIMI 50 (Thrombin Receptor Antagonist in Secondary Prevention of Atherothrombotic Ischemic Events) trial were presented…

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A large new meta-analysis published in the Lancet provides the best evidence yet that the cobalt-chromium everolimus eluting (CoCr-EES) stents (Xience and Promus) have a significantly lower rate of stent thrombosis than bare-metal stents (BMS) and other drug-eluting stents (DES). Tullio Palmerini and colleagues analyzed data from 49 randomized trials comparing different stents in more than 50,000 patients. Odds…

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Promising results from very early studies with an experimental new cholesterol-lowering drug, a monoclonal antibody to PCSK9, have been published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Evan Stein and colleagues report the results of two single-dose studies in which the drug, REGN727, was administered intravenously or subcutaneously to healthy subjects. In a third, randomized, placebo-controlled, dose-ranging trial,…

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Although daily aspirin was originally proposed to reduce cardiovascular events, aspirin’s effects on cancer have become increasingly apparent while the vascular benefits, especially in primary prevention, have become less clear. Now a meta-analysis in the Lancet adds important new details to our understanding about the effects of aspirin and increases the evidence in support of a long-term beneficial…

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Many people develop chronic kidney disease (CKD) as they grow older, and many people with CKD take antiplatelet agents to prevent cardiovascular events. However, the efficacy of antiplatelet therapy in CKD has not been examined, despite the fact that people with CKD are more likely to die from nonatherosclerotic conditions and are more likely to…

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Merck has discontinued its development of oral vernakalant for the long-term prevention of atrial fibrillation (AF) recurrence. Cardiome Pharma, Merck’s partner in the drug, said today that the “decision was based on Merck’s assessment of the regulatory environment and projected development timeline.” Merck and Cardiome will continue their partnership with the intravenous formulation of vernakalant,…

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Two large new meta-analyses published in the Lancet provide the first strong evidence demonstrating a cause-effect relationship between a specific inflammatory protein and the development of coronary heart disease (CHD). Both studies illuminate the role of interleukin-6 receptor (IL6R) by focusing on the common Asp358Ala variant of the IL6R gene. The variant is known to dampen the inflammatory effect…

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Nine years after getting underway, results of the CLOSURE 1 trial of PFO closure for cryptogenic stroke are finally published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Geoffrey Hartzler, a key figure in the development of interventional cardiology in the United States, has died from cancer at the age of 65. He was one of the first cardiologists to learn the technique of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) from its founder, Andreas Gruentzig. Hartzler then went on to perform the first angioplasty…

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