March 25th 2024
J&J’s Opsynvi is single-tablet combination of macitentan, an endothelin receptor antagonist, and tadalafil, a PDE5 inhibitor. It will be priced on parity with Opsumit, which is also a J&J product to treat patients with PAH.
Medical Crossfire®: Updates in Continuous Glucose Monitoring—Having the Important Conversations With Your Patients
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Evaluating the Recent Advancements in Chronic Kidney Disease Treatment: A Case-Based Approach to Managing CKD and Related Comorbidities
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Elevating Care for PAH: Applying Recommended Management Approaches to Maximize Outcomes
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7th Annual New York Cardio-Endo-Renal Collaborative (NY CERC)
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‘REEL’ Time Patient Counseling™: Navigating the Complex Journey of Diagnosing and Managing Fabry Disease
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Expert Illustrations & Commentaries™: Envisioning Novel Therapeutic Approaches to Managing ANCA-associated Vasculitis
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Elevated atorvastatin dosage reduces rate of cardiovascular events in CHD patients
September 1st 2006Intensive therapy with atorvastatin 80 mg/d, in comparison with the same medication at 10 mg/d, significantly reduced the rate of major cardiovascular events by 25% in patients with clinically evident stable coronary heart disease (CHD) and diabetes, according to a study published in Diabetes Care.
Alterations in mitochondrial function are likely cause of imatinib-induced cardiotoxicity
September 1st 2006The tyrosine kinase inhibitor imatinib is cardiotoxic and can lead to severe left ventricular dysfunction and heart failure in humans, according to research involving humans, mice and cultured cardiomyocytes.
High-dose non-COX-2 NSAIDs associated with increased vascular risk
August 1st 2006While the increased risk of vascular events associated with cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors has been well established, new data are emerging that demonstrate similar risk increases associated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that are not selective for COX-2. The data, published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), were from a meta-analysis of published and unpublished randomized trials. The study comes more than a year after the withdrawals of the COX-2-selective NSAIDs rofecoxib and valdecoxib from the US market.
COX-2 inhibitors, nonselective NSAID use increases risk of death, reinfarction in acute MI patients
August 1st 2006A meta-analysis of data from national hospital records in Denmark and from the country's national prescription registry showed that the use of selective cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors in all doses and nonselective non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in high doses raised the risk of death in patients who experienced first-time acute myocardial infarction (MI).
Use of ACE inhibitors in first trimester raises risk of fetal cardiovascular, CNS malformation
July 1st 2006An observational cohort study found that the risk of major congenital malformations for infants who were exposed to angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors during their first trimester increased by a factor of more than 2, while exposure to other antihypertensive medications did not demonstrate an increased risk.
NSAID use among elderly increases risk of first-time hospitalization for heart failure
July 1st 2006A cohort study with a nested case-control analysis of first hospitalizations for heart failure (HF) associated the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) with a 30% increase in the target end point among patients aged 60 to 84 years.
Nebivolol demonstrates efficacy and favorable safety profile in treatment of hypertension
July 1st 2006Phase 3 clinical trials demonstrated that the once-daily, highly selective beta blocker nebivolol lowers blood pressure in a dose-dependent manner and is well tolerated at all doses, according to presenters at the 21st annual scientific meeting of the American Society of Hypertension (ASH), in New York, NY.
ACE inhibitors versus ARBs: comparison of practice guidelines and treatment selection considerations
June 1st 2006Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) play a role in the treatment of hypertension (HTN) and heart failure (HF). The literature shows that in patients with HTN with comorbidities, such as HF, myocardial infarction (MI), diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, and stroke, ACE inhibitors and ARBs appear to provide added benefit beyond solely lowering blood pressure. In addition, clinical trials have also demonstrated that ACE inhibitors and ARBs may be beneficial in the prevention of diabetes, atrial fibrillation (AF), and recurrent stroke. This review evaluates the practice guidelines and current literature to assess the implications for the use of ACE inhibitors or ARBs in HTN and HF.
Aspirin resistance: a growing concern
April 1st 2006Aspirin is the cornerstone of therapy in the treatment and prevention of cardiovascular disease. The potential benefit of aspirin therapy may be significantly reduced in patients with aspirin resistance, creating a clinical and economic burden on the healthcare system. The purpose of this article is to clarify the term "aspirin resistance," describe the proposed mechanisms, review the clinical outcome studies with associated resistance testing, and discuss the potential pharmacologic management of this problem. Literature searches were performed using MEDLINE (January 1966 to January 2006) for review articles on aspirin resistance and antiplatelet activity. Aspirin's primary mechanism of action is to irreversibly inhibit cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1); however, there are reports of alternative biochemical pathways producing platelet aggregation. The addition of thienopyridines to aspirin should be considered for the management of aspirin-resistant patients. (Formulary. 2006;41:192–201.)
Topiramate safely decreases body mass hypertension
March 1st 2006Topiramate safely decreases body mass, hypertension. Topiramate reduces body weight and blood pressure with generally mild-to-moderate adverse effects, according to a randomized, placebo-controlled trial involving obese subjects with hypertension.
Meta-analysis concludes statins have no effect on cancer risk
March 1st 2006A recent meta-analysis published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that statins have no effect on cancer risk. The finding is in contrast with at least 7 retrospective analyses that suggest that statins reduce the risk of developing cancer.
Aprotinin may increase risk in cardiac surgery; FDA issues alert
March 1st 2006The serine protease inhibitor aprotinin (Trasylol, Bayer) may increase the risk of renal failure, myocardial infarction, heart failure, stroke, and encephalopathy among patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery, according to an observational study in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).
Study diminshes value of beta blockers in treatment of hypertension
January 1st 2006Beta blockers, touted for 3 decades as first-line drugs in the treatment of hypertension, are less than optimum in comparison to other antihypertensive drugs and raise the risk of stroke, according to a meta-analysis published online by The Lancet.
Early invasive stategy no better than selectively invasive approach for acute coronary syndromes
January 1st 2006Early invasive strategy, recommended by the current guidelines in the treatment of patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS), did not excel when compared with its more conservative alternative in a randomized study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
2005 AHA Scientific Sessions: EURIDES/ADONIS
January 1st 2006Dronedarone, a class III multichannel blocker developed for maintenance of sinus rhythm and ventricular rate control, reduces the risk of all-cause hospitalizations and death in patients with atrial fibrillation/flutter (AF/AFl), according to a post-hoc analysis of 2 randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials.
2005 AHA Scientific Sessions: REVIVE II/SURVIVE trials
January 1st 2006The calcium sensitizer levosimendan was associated with an improvement in the clinical course of patients compared with placebo when used for the treatment of acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF), but the drug failed to reduce 6-month mortality when compared with dobutamine in a similar set of patients.
2005 AHA Scientific Sessions: CAF? trial
January 1st 2006Drugs that reduce brachial blood pressure similarly can have different effects on central blood pressure. This finding may explain differences in clinical end points between antihypertensive drugs that lower blood pressure similarly, said Bryan Williams, MD, lead investigator of the Conduit Artery Function Evaluation (CAF?) trial, a substudy of the Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial (ASCOT).
2005 AHA Scientific Sessions: IDEAl trial
January 1st 2006In a trial comparing high-dose atorvastatin with moderate-dose simvastatin in patients with stable coronary heart disease (CHD), the aggressive LDL-lowering strategy offered no significant advantage over the less aggressive strategy in reducing the number of coronary events, said Terje R. Pedersen, MD.
2005 AHA Scientific Sessions: ERICA trial
January 1st 2006The anti-anginal agent ranolazine, in phase 3 clinical trials, reduced anginal frequency in patients experiencing 3 or more anginal attacks per week despite daily treatment with amlodipine 10 mg/d said Peter Stone, MD, lead investigator of the Evaluation of Ranolazine in Chronic Angina (ERICA) trial.
2005 AHA Scientific Sessions: ACTIVE-W
January 1st 2006Oral anticoagulant therapy proved superior to the combination of clopidogrel and aspirin in preventing adverse vascular outcomes in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). This outcome was observed in a large, multicenter trial at the 2005 AHA meeting in Dallas, comparing warfarin therapy with combination antiplatelet therapy in patients with AF.
FDA seeks more information about potential CV mortality risk related to short-term clarithrycin use
January 1st 2006Short-term treatment with the macrolide clarithromycin may cause significantly higher cardiovascular mortality in patients with stable coronary heart disease, according to a randomized, placebo-controlled multicenter study that took place in Denmark and was published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).