Dual antiplatelet therapy with ticagrelor (Brilinta) reduced major adverse cardiovascular events in type 2 diabetes patients with coronary artery disease but no prior heart attack or stroke, AstraZeneca announced in topline results from the THEMIS trial. However, no numerical data were released.
The FDA approved the first ultrathin strut drug-eluting stent, Orsiro, as well as a shelf-stable, premixed vancomycin injection for infective endocarditis and other indications.
Eisai, which makes the weight loss drug lorcaserin (Belviq), has requested new labeling to reflect cardiovascular outcomes data suggesting the agent doesn’t pose special risk.
Medtronic recalled its dual chamber pacemakers (Adapta, Versa, Sensia, Relia, Attesta, Sphera, and Vitatron A, E, G, and Q series) due to a possible software error that can stop pacing.
Alirocumab (Praluent)’s cost-effectiveness was again downgraded by the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER). It said that the drug should cost $2,300 to $3,500 per year for ODYSSEY Outcomes trial-like patients or $2,700 to $4,000 per year for higher-risk patients with LDL ≥100 mg/dL despite intensive statin therapy based on the now-published trial data. A recent price cut still leaves the drug’s cost well above those thresholds.
ICER also announced plans to look at icosapent ethyl (Vascepa) and rivaroxaban (Xarelto) as add-on therapies in cardiovascular disease.
Heart attack risk is rising among young women. But NHANES data show women are still ahead of men on control of hypertension, diabetes, and cholesterol. (Circulation)
Medicare Advantage plans may be driving up quality of care in terms of preventive treatment for coronary artery disease patients, but that has had little impact on outcomes compared with fee-for-service Medicare, researchers reported in JAMA Cardiology.
Patients with necrotizing autoimmune myopathy from statins may benefit from a PCSK9 inhibitor, a case report from Spain noted in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Most paroxysmal atrial fibrillation episodes are triggered by avoidable things, like alcohol, caffeine, or exercise, according to a survey of symptomatic patients published in HeartRhythm.
While nearly 10% of middle-age adults in China have high risk for cardiovascular disease, only 0.6% of these high-risk individuals use statins and 2.4% take aspirin, a national screening project reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
The Pascal transcatheter mitral valve repair system was approved for use in Europe, Edwards announced. (MassDevice)
Level III echo training has been around for years but is now codified in a statement from the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, and the American Society of Echocardiography.
Transgender hormone therapy appears to increase cardiovascular risk. (Circulation)
A mobile app with a step-by-step guide to prepping vasoactive drugs for CPR of children in the emergency room substantially cut medication errors, drug preparation time, and delivery time compared with using infusion-rate tables in a study using manikins. (The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health)
Painkiller celecoxib (Celebrex) unexpectedly was linked to aortic stenosis in an observational study and in vitro experiments showing a possible mechanism of dystrophic calcification of aortic valve interstitial cells. (JACC: Basic to Translational Science)
Source: MedicalNewsToday.com
