Editor’s Note: The following guest post is published with the permission of its author, Edward J. Schloss, MD, (Twitter ID @EJSMD) the medical director of cardiac electrophysiology at Christ Hospital in Cincinnati, OH. Lessons from the Riata Recall– Part III by Edward J Schloss MD In two earlier posts on Cardiobrief (here and here), I have written…
20 Deaths Linked to New Problem with Riata Leads
March 28, 2012 by 1 Comment
Electrical malfunctions, not externalized conductors, may be the cause of 20 or more deaths associated with the troubled Riata ICD leads from St. Jude Medical, according to a new report published online in Heart Rhythm. Robert Hauser and colleagues at the Minneapolis Heart Institute searched the FDA’s MAUDE database and found 22 deaths caused by…
Merck Drops Development of Oral Vernakalant for Atrial Fibrillation
March 19, 2012 by Leave a Comment
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,…
Michael Ezekowitz Joining Cardiovascular Research Foundation To Establish AFib Research Center
March 8, 2012 by 3 Comments
Correction: An earlier version of this article erroneously stated that Ezekowitz would be leaving Lankenau. Michael Ezekowitz is joining the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF) in New York City to start a new center for atrial fibrillation research. Ezekowitz, a cardiologist at the Lankenau Institute for Medical Research in Philadelphia, had been a professor and vice president for clinical research at…
Software Tool Could Provide Early Warning of ICD Lead Failure
March 7, 2012 by Leave a Comment
In recent years defects in ICD leads have caused recalls and provoked broad concerns among health care professionals and patients alike about the safety and reliability of ICDs and other implanted cardiac devices. Now a key player in these events proposes that a computer software program can better monitor ICD leads and provide earlier warnings…
Decision on Apixaban (Eliquis) Pushed Back By Three Months
February 29, 2012 by 1 Comment
Update, March 1, 5 PM: Ramsay Baghadi of the RPM Report says that the Cardiorenal committee will take up the apixaban NDA on Mary 22 and the rivaroxaban supplemental NDA for the ACS indication on May 23, but this information has not been confirmed. Confirming earlier speculation by a Wall Street analyst, Pfizer and Bristol-Myers…
Guest Post: More Lessons From the Riata ICD Lead Recall
February 22, 2012 by 7 Comments
Editor’s Note: The following guest post is published with the permission of its author, Edward J. Schloss, MD, (Twitter ID @EJSMD) the medical director of cardiac electrophysiology at Christ Hospital in Cincinnati, OH. This post is longer and far more technical than most of the content published on CardioBrief. Due to the extraordinary nature of the…
Guest Post: What Are the Lessons of the Riata ICD Lead Recall?
February 14, 2012 by 2 Comments
Editor’s Note: The following guest post is published with the permission of its author, Edward J. Schloss, MD, (Twitter ID @EJSMD) the medical director of cardiac electrophysiology at Christ Hospital in Cincinnati, OH. What Are the Implications of the Riata ICD Recall? by Edward J. Schloss, MD This week the New England Journal of Medicine published an…
Women and ICDs: More Complications and Fewer Benefits
February 6, 2012 by Leave a Comment
After consulting an electrophysiologist, women are just as likely as men to receive an ICD but they suffer more complications and are less likely to benefit from the device, according to a new study from Canada published in Annals of Internal Medicine. Derek MacFadden and colleagues analyzed data from 6,021 patients treated at 18 ICD…
Study Explores Role of Periprocedural Dabigatran in AF Ablation
February 2, 2012 by 1 Comment
Updated with a comment from John Mandrola– As dabigatran becomes more widely used in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients, electrophysiologists are now trying to figure out how to handle anticoagulation in patients taking dabigatran (Pradaxa) for whom AF ablation is planned. In a new study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Dhanunjaya Lakkireddy and colleagues…
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