Heart Failure

Although the US Food and Drug Administration revised its approval processes for antihyperglycemic agents to include cardiovascular safety components, researchers still cannot discern whether those drugs affect cardiovascular outcomes.

Citing interim results that met parameters for efficacy in reducing cardiovascular mortality, an independent group of experts has put an early stop to a late-stage study on Novartis's novel oral medication for chronic heart failure.

Collaboration between American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology, Heart Rhythm Society, and the Society of Thoracic Surgery includes guidance on the use of new oral anticoagulants.

After FDA reviewers advocated for not accepting the acute heart failure drug, an advisory panel voted unanimously to reject serelaxin.

The FDA's Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee convenes today to discuss serelaxin after reviewers recommended against the approval of the heart failure drug.

Hyponatremia is associated with increased mortality and rehospitalization in patients hospitalized for heart failure.

Using erythropoietin (EPO) therapy in patients with cardio-renal-anemia syndrome may be associated with more harm than benefit in this population. As new study found a statistically higher mortality rate among EPO users.

Stressing the significant effect heart failure has on quality of life, a study published in Heart found that patients' and their families' lack of knowledge on their condition causes delays in seeking medical attention and an absence of a long-term care plan.

In a real-world sample of patients hospitalized for heart failure (HF), hyponatremia predicted clinical complications during admission, but it was not linked to short-term mortality or readmission.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has requested clinical trial data from the manufacturer of saxagliptin to investigate the diabetes drug's potential association with heart failure (HF).

A proverb assessment modeling study compares the theoretical influence of a statin a day versus an apple a day on the primary prevention of vascular disease.

Hyponatremia must be managed with care, especially in patients with chronic severe illness, due to the unpredictable nature of tolvaptan to raise serum sodium levels.

Do mandatory follow-up visits after discharging heart failure patients decrease rehospitalizations?

Five presentations from the World Diabetes Congress are highlighted, covering studies of long-acting Lantus insulin, affordability of care, DPP-4 inhibitors and heart failure in diabetes, brown versus white rice to reduce obesity and diabetes, and the converging pandemics of diabetes and tuberculosis.

Though dialysis patients have a greater risk for thyroid disorders due to uremic toxins, protein malnutrition, and inflammation, the prevalence of those disorders and their impact on cardiovascular (CV) events and mortality have not been investigated.

A recent study published online in the Journal of the American Heart Association discovered an association between cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cognitive decline in postmenopausal women between the ages of 65 and 79 years old.

Although there appears to be no difference in blood pressure reduction in patients who take aspirin at bedtime compared to those who take it when they awake in the morning, bedtime aspirin may be associated with reduced morning platelet reactivity.

A recent study of thienopyridine use among patients who had undergone percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in a large hospital network found that the antiplatelet drug ticagrelor was more frequently prescribed in higher risk, less stable patients.

Patients with heart failure who received left ventricle augmentation with Algisyl-LVR hydrogel implant experienced improved quality of life and functional capacity compared to similar patients treated with optimal medical therapy.

Antiarrhythmic drug therapy was associated with increased risk of rehospitalization after one year in a population of elderly patients with atrial fibrillation and CAD.

Researchers reported finding large differences in the incidence rates of major cardiovascular disease across a broad range of immigrant groups to Canada.

Study results presented at AHA 2013 show that nearly half of patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) are at high risk of discontinuing their medications. However, patients taking novel anticoagulants such as dabigatran or rivaroxaban were less likely to stop their medications.

Long term survival after cardiac resynchronization therapy in patients with atrial fibrillation and atrioventricular junction ablation is similar to that observed in patients in sinus rhythm, but death rate is elevated for atrial fibrillation patients treated with rate-slowing drugs.

Presentation at the 2013 Southern Hospital Medicine Conference reviewed the clinical application of several key risk indices, including the Revised Cardiac Risk Index and the Vascular Study Group of New England Risk Index.

New evidence suggests that physical activity and drug interventions are similar in terms of mortality benefits in the secondary prevention of congestive heart failure (CHF), rehabilitation after stroke, treatment of heart failure, and prevention of diabetes.

Results of a randomized controlled trial demonstrate that a long-term, supervised, moderate-intensity exercise training program for chronic heart failure patients can produce improvements in hospital readmission and survival rates.

Study results presented at CHEST 2013 show that patients given beta-blockers may actually be at increased risk of having an adverse cardiac event during a noncardiac surgical procedure.

Researchers at Duke University discover that hearts from donors with histories of cardiac arrest can be successfully transplanted, sometimes with excellent outcomes.

Medicare will be assessing $227 million in fines against hospitals in 49 states as part of the federal government's campaign to reduce the number of patients readmitted within a month of discharge.

Though EMD Serono's Novantrone (mitoxantrone) injection is the only drug approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), progressive-relapsing multiple sclerosis (PRMS), or worsening relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), its use is associated with significant risks.