(Updated) –Cardiovascular outcomes finally available for PCSK9 inhibitors. Amgen announced on Thursday afternoon that the FOURIER trial had met both its primary composite endpoint (cardiovascular death, non-fatal MI, non-fatal stroke, hospitalization for unstable angina or coronary revascularization) and the even more rigorous key secondary composite endpoint (cardiovascular death, non-fatal MI or non-fatal stroke). The company…
Can 50 Million Blood Pressure Prescriptions Each Year Be Wrong?
–For decades physicians may have been prescribing the wrong diuretic. Now an innovative new trial will settle the question. A radically innovative large new VA trial will finally shed light on a decades-old unresolved question that could have important public health implications. According to guidelines thiazide diuretics are the first-line treatment for hypertension. Hydrochlorothiazide accounts…
What You Need To Know About IMPROVE-IT
The IMPROVE-IT trial will be big news when its results are finally presented on November 17 during the annual meeting of the American Heart Association. The results of the trial–underway for nearly a decade– have been long and eagerly awaited by everyone interested in cardiovascular medicine. The trial could impact the future sales of a key Merck drug, ezetimibe, though because it is nearing…
Heart Failure: The Missing 800 Pound Gorilla In Diabetes Trials
Is heart failure the missing 800 pound gorilla in diabetes trials? That’s the argument proposed by a group of prominent cardiovascular and diabetes researchers. It was long believed that by virtue of their glucose-lowering properties diabetes drugs would confer substantial cardiovascular benefits. Now, however, that belief is no longer widely held and the FDA now…
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