(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?
August 15, 2016 by 2 Comments
–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
November 7, 2014 by Leave a Comment
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
March 12, 2014 by Leave a Comment
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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