John Ryan interviews Elizabeth Bradley about the hospital management strategies that can reduce 30-day risk-standardized mortality rates for acute myocardial infarction.
The FDA has issued new warnings about antihypertensive drugs containing the direct renin inhibitor aliskiren (including Tekturna, Amturnide, Takamio, and Valturna) when used in combination with ACE inhibitors or angiotensin-receptor blockers (ARBs). The FDA now states that these drug combinations are contraindicated in patients with diabetes, and it is adding a new warning to avoid…
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This week’s topics include an “awful question” about statin therapy, coronary computed tomographic angiography in the ED, vorapraxar for secondary prevention, and stent wars.
Demonstrating once again that association and causation should not be confused, the American Heart Association today published a scientific statement in Circulation asserting that there is no convincing evidence showing that periodontal disease causes cardiovascular (CV) disease or that treating periodontal disease will reduce CV disease risk. The statement does not rule out the possibility that periodontal…
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A recent report published in the Archives of Internal Medicine highlights some “low-hanging fruit” for anyone trying to deliver more cost-effective healthcare. The authors (I am the first author and Harlan Krumholz, CardioExchange editor-in-chief, is the senior author) describe how branded formulations of fenofibrate — marketed by Abbott as Tricor and Trilipix — account for the vast majority…
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Although routine ECG screening in asymptomatic people is not recommended by guidelines, a new study raises the possibility that ECGs in an elderly population can provide a modest improvement in risk classification. In the Health, Aging, and Body Composition Study, published in JAMA, Reto Auer and colleagues followed 2192 adults 70 to 79 years of age without…
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A new meta-analysis published in the Archives of Internal Medicine finds no evidence to support claims of a beneficial effect of omega-3 fatty acid supplements on secondary CV prevention. Sang Mi Kwak and colleagues in the Korean Meta-analysis Study Group analyzed data from more than 20,000 patients with a history of CV disease who were randomized…
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The American College of Cardiology (ACC) and other medical societies have released lists of commonly overused or misused tests and procedures. The action is part of Choosing Wisely, a broad initiative from the ABIM foundation. Here are the five tests or procedures identified by the ACC: Cardiac imaging tests (particularly, stress tests or advanced noninvasive imaging) should…
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In an interview on CurrentMedicine.TV, CardioExchange editor-in-chief Harlan Krumholz discussed an editorial he co-authored with Rodney Hayward on why the NIH’s forthcoming Adult Treatment Panel IV should abandon LDL Targets.
Two new randomized trials offer evidence that bariatric surgery is highly effective in obese patients with diabetes. The results, according to Paul Zimmet and K. George M.M. Alberti, writing in an editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine, “are likely to have a major effect on future diabetes treatment.” In the STAMPEDE trial, which was presented…
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