Two observational studies published Nov. 28 in the Journal of the American Medical Association produced heart failure (HF) treatment efficacy results that differ markedly from the results found in clinical trials of the treatments. 

Researchers analyzed two large cohorts of the general population and found a strong association between incident atrial fibrillation (AF) and sudden cardiac death and between incident AF and non-sudden cardiac death. But editorial writers offered several caveats about the analysis.

The FDA has approved the HeartWare Ventricular Assist System to support heart function and blood flow in patients with end-stage heart failure who are awaiting a heart transplant.

The risk of developing cardiac complications was higher in older women who received trastuzumab as adjuvant treatment for early stage breast cancer than was shown in clinical trials, and use of this therapy in older women is growing, according to a recent study. The results underline the importance of studying the cardiotoxic side effects of biological therapies as more agents enter clinical practice, the lead author told Cardiovascular Business.

Risk-adjusted survival rates for patients who experienced cardiac arrest in a hospital intensive care unit or inpatient ward increased every year between 2000 and 2009, according to a recent study. "There are about 160,000 in-hospital deaths from cardiac arrest every year," co-author Paul S. Chan, MD, of Saint Luke's Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, Mo., told Cardiovascular Business. "[It is] a hidden epidemic, and people don't have a good appreciation of its impact."

Stepped administration of pharmocologic therapy was superior to ultrafiltration in safely achieving weight loss and change in serum creatinine levels in patients experiencing decompensated heart failure (HF) with cardiorenal syndrome, according to CARRESS-HR results presented Nov. 6 at the American Heart Association's (AHA) scientific sessions in Los Angeles, and simultaneously published online in the New England Journal of Medicine.

More younger men in the U.S. are being admitted to hospitals for congestive heart failure (CHF), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A home-based intervention for managing chronic heart failure (CHF) patients had mortality and unplanned hospitalization rates similar to a clinic-based intervention but cost the healthcare system one-third less, according to a randomized trial. The cost savings were mostly due to fewer days in the hospital.