–CV disease accounts for large portion of health disparities. Cardiovascular disease led to the loss of more than 2 millions years of life in the African-American population between 1999 and 2010. A new scientific statement from the American Heart Association, Cardiovascular Health in African Americans, makes clear that, compared to whites, African Americans suffer disproportionately…
Women with Migraine Face Increased CV Risk
May 31, 2016 by Leave a Comment
–But clinical implications are unclear since there’s no known mechanism Women who have migraine headaches have a significantly increased risk of cardiovascular disease, according to new results from a large observational study published in the BMJ. Earlier studies have established a strong link between migraine and stroke, which the the new study now extends to…
Clot Extraction For Stroke: Beware The Hype
November 3, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Clot extraction (thrombectomy) for stroke has been on a roll lately. After the failure of a series of trials a few years ago investigators and industry went back to the drawing board. The result of their efforts– a new and improved thrombectomy– has brought about a dramatic reversal of fortune for the technology. In the past year five newer trials…
What A Long Strange Trip It’s Been: FDA Approves Watchman Device From Boston Scientific
March 13, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Finally reaching its destination after an extremely long and strange trip, Boston Scientific gained approval from the FDA today to market its Watchman Left Atrial Appendage Closure Device in the US. The device has been in development for well over a decade and had been turned down by the FDA on several occasions. … Click here to…
Three Trials Show Benefits Of Thrombectomy In Stroke Patients
February 11, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Three new studies offer important additional evidence that early treatment with current thrombectomy devices that extract clots from blood vessels in the brain can lead to improved outcomes in carefully selected stroke patients. The trials were stopped early based on efficacy following positive findings last year from another trial, MR CLEAN. The three new trials were…
New Devices May Bring Improved Treatment To Stroke Patients
December 17, 2014 by Leave a Comment
A large new trial provides the first substantial evidence that new devices can improve the outcome of patients who have acute ischemic stroke. Earlier, less sophisticated versions of the devices had produced disappointing results in clinical trials. The previous trials may also have been hindered by long treatment delays and difficulties in recruiting suitable patients. The new…
Women: Don’t Use Aspirin For Routine Prevention Of Heart Attacks, Stroke, And Cancer
December 5, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Although once widely recommended, aspirin for the prevention of a first heart attack or stroke (primary prevention) has lost favor in recent years, as the large number of bleeding complications appeared to offset the reduction in cardiovascular events. But at the same time evidence has emerged demonstrating the long-term effect of aspirin in preventing colorectal cancer,…
AF Patients at Increased Risk for Silent Strokes
November 4, 2014 by Leave a Comment
The increased risk of stroke in people with atrial fibrillation (AF) is well known, and this stroke risk is, of course, linked to an increased risk of cognitive impairment and dementia. Less well known is that people with AF have an increased risk for cognitive impairment independent of their stroke risk. Now a new study published…
FDA Advisory Panel Gives Tepid Support To New Daiichi Sankyo Drug
October 31, 2014 by Leave a Comment
On Thursday the FDA’s Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee voted 9-1 in favor of approval for Daiichi Sankyo’s edoxaban(Savaysa), but the outcome will likely result in a drug that will be on the market but that few physicians will prescribe until further studies are performed. … Click here to read the full post on Forbes….
FDA Panel Gives Cautious Endorsement To Novel Boston Scientific Device
October 8, 2014 by Leave a Comment
The FDA’s Circulatory System Devices advisory panel gave an extremely cautious endorsement on Wednesday to Boston Scientific’s Watchman device, a novel catheter-delivered left atrial appendage closure device for people with atrial fibrillation. They signaled that although they thought the device should be made available they also thought that there should be significant restrictions on its use. … Click here…
Novel Boston Scientific Device Headed For Another Rough FDA Panel
October 7, 2014 by Leave a Comment
On Wednesday Boston Scientific’s Watchman device will once again appear before the FDA’s Circulatory System Devices advisory panel. The Watchman is a novel catheter-delivered left atrial appendage closure device which is intended to be used in place of chronic warfarin therapy to lower the risk of stroke in people with atrial fibrillation. It has been under development for more than…
Warning: Neck Adjustments Might Lead To Stroke
August 8, 2014 by 2 Comments
After a neck adjustment — also known as cervical manipulative therapy and typically employed by chiropractors and other healthcare providers — people are at increased risk for cervical dissections (tears), which can lead to stroke, according to a scientific statement released by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. Although a cause-and-effect relationship is far from being proved, the groups say that healthcare providers…
Clot Busters For Stroke Gain More Support
August 6, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Although thrombolysis for ischemic stroke has been widely recognized as beneficial, its use has been limited because of concerns about its effects on patients treated after 3 hours, on older patients, and on patients with mild and with severe strokes. Now a new metaanalysis published in the Lancet offers evidence that the use of thrombolysis should be more…
Cardiovascular Disease Declines in Rich Countries but Grows Elsewhere
April 3, 2014 by Leave a Comment
A new Global Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Atlas portrays a divided world where rich countries are gradually freeing themselves from the yoke of CVD but where many poor and middle-income countries are still struggling. Ischemic heart disease and stroke were the two biggest contributors to the global burden of disease in 2010, accounting for 5.2% and 4.1%,…
FDA Once Again Rejects New Indication For Rivaroxaban
February 14, 2014 by Leave a Comment
The third time wasn’t the charm. The FDA today turned turned down– for the third time– the supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for rivaroxaban (Xarelto, Johnson & Johnson) for use in acute coronary syndrome patients to reduce MI, stroke or death. In addition, the FDA– for the second time– turned down the sNDA for rivaroxaban in…
Problems Persist Despite Gains In Oral Anticoagulant Use
January 28, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Although significant progress has been made in recent years, a new survey from the European Society of Cardiology finds that there are still too many atrial fibrillation patients who are not taking the best medications to reduce their elevated risk of stroke. Many elderly patients are not receiving oral anticoagulants and overall too many patients…
Merck’s Vorapaxar Gets Positive FDA Review
January 13, 2014 by Leave a Comment
A few years ago a novel antiplatelet agent from Merck seemed all but dead. Vorapaxar, a thrombin receptor antagonist, was widely thought to have no future after unacceptably high serious bleeding rates were found in two large clinical trials studying the drug in a wide variety of acute and chronic cardiovascular patients. But hopes for the drug resurfaced with…
Large Study Finds Favorable Risk-Benefit Profile For The New Anticoagulants
December 5, 2013 by Leave a Comment
A very large new meta-analysis finds a favorable risk-benefit for the new oral anticoagulant drugs in the setting of atrial fibrillation. The findings, published online in the Lancet, were remarkably consistent for all four of the new agents which have been fighting to replace warfarin, which was the only oral anticoagulant available for decades until the arrival of…
Take Your Blood Pressure Pills Or Increase Your Risk Of Stroke
July 17, 2013 by Leave a Comment
A large new observational study demonstrates that people who don’t take their antihypertensive medications are much more likely to have a stroke. The new study, published in the European Heart Journal, used nationwide prescription, hospital and mortality records from 73,527 hypertensive patients in Finland. The Finnish investigators compared 26,704 patients who were hospitalized or died of stroke…
Some Patients With Minor Stroke Or TIA May Benefit From Early Clopidogrel And Aspirin
June 26, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Some people with minor ischemic stroke or transit ischemic attack (TIA) may benefit from dual antiplatelet therapy with aspirin and clopidogrel, according to a large new study from China published in the New England Journal of Medicine. In the immediate period following a TIA or minor stroke people are at high risk for having a major stroke. Aspirin…
Controversial PFO Closure Trials Published In NEJM
March 20, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Two controversial trials testing PFO closure with the Amplatzer PFO Occluder (St. Jude Medical) in patients with cryptogenic stroke, first presented last fall at the TCT meeting, have now been published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Both trials missed their primary endpoints but contained suggestions of possible benefit. The results appear unlikely to resolve…
Following An Embargo Break PREVAIL Trial Won’t Be Presented At ACC
March 9, 2013 by 2 Comments
UPDATED–The already complicated story behind the PREVAIL trial, which was designed to confirm the safety and efficacy of the Watchman left atrial appendage closure device, just got even more complicated. This morning, after the trial’s sponsor, Boston Scientific, prematurely distributed to investors a press release summarizing the results of the trial, the ACC announced that…
Two Experts Help Sort Out The New Generation Of Anticoagulants
January 17, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Don’t miss this very practical discussion about the new generation of anticoagulants and the short term loan costs to cover them over on CardioExchange. Here are a few excerpts. Christian Thomas Ruff: I believe the addition of the 3 currently approved novel anticoagulants (dabigatran, rivaroxaban, and apixaban) will eventually translate into a greater proportion of eligible patients…
Achieving CLOSURE: Final Act of PFO Closure Device
March 14, 2012 by Leave a Comment
You can choose from a myriad of metaphors– closing the book, sealing the deal, fixing a hole– but the story is simple: the publication of CLOSURE 1 in the New England Journal of Medicine is the final act of the long and sad melodrama of the CLOSURE 1 trial. As initially reported at the American Heart Association…
Recent Comments