New Blood Pressure Guideline Sets Lower 130/80 Threshold

Expanded guideline means more than 100 million people have high blood pressure. The new US blood pressure guideline lowers the definition of high blood pressure to 130/80 mm Hg. This means that more than 100 million adults will now have high blood pressure, though many will be unaware of the diagnosis. The 192 page guideline…

Click here to continue reading…

Novartis Withdraws Support For Controversial Entresto Contest

(Updated) Novartis will no longer sponsor a contest designed to support the publication of peer review articles about Entresto, the company’s important new heart failure drug. The contest is taking place on Cureus, an open access journal, publishing platform, and vehicle for industry-sponsored content. The contest offered $10,000 in rewards for articles supporting a recent…

Click here to continue reading…

Novartis Contest Rewards Positive Peer Review Articles About Entresto

(See the bottom of the story for updates. Since the original publication of the story the cardiologists on the “peer review panel” have resigned and Novartis has withdrawn its support for the contest.) Despite the fact that it had one of the biggest clinical trial successes in recent years, the Novartis heart failure drug Entresto has…

Click here to continue reading…

New Atrial Fibrillation Guideline Supports New Drugs And Devices

A new guideline for atrial fibrillation (AF) was released on Friday by the American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology, and the Heart Rhythm Society. Among other features, the 2014 Guideline for the Management of Patients With Atrial Fibrillation incorporates important new information about the new oral anticoagulants and catheter ablation for the treatment…

Click here to continue reading…

12.8 Million More Adults Now Eligible For Statin Therapy

Millions more people are now eligible for statin therapy under the new cholesterol guideline, according to a new estimate published in the New England Journal of Medicine. … There have been many attempts to quantify just how many more people are now eligible for statin therapy under the new guideline. Now in the new paper in NEJM, Michael Pencina…

Click here to continue reading…

More Guideline Controversy: Blood Pressure Expert Decries ‘Political Correctness’

Now add “political correctness” to the long list of criticisms directed against the recent publication of new and updated cardiovascular guidelines. One leading hypertension expert writes that the authors of the recent AHA/ACC/CDC Science Advisory on blood pressure control were chosen not for their expertise but for political expediency. … Click here to read the full post on Forbes. Confusion…

Click here to continue reading…

European Heart Guidelines Based On Disgraced Research May Have Caused Thousands Of Deaths

Despite a 2-year-old scandal discrediting key evidence, current guidelines relying on this evidence have not been revised. As a result of physicians following these guidelines, some researchers say, it is possible that thousands of patients may have died each year in the UK alone. It is unlikely that a true understanding of the damage will…

Click here to continue reading…