Statin therapy in elderly patients with hypertension reduces the risk of new-onset atrial fibrillation (AF), according to results of a study presented May 9 during a poster session at the 33rd annual scientific sessions of the Heart Rhythm Society. The research team from Taiwan also found that the CHADS2 score could predict the preventive effect of statins in their study population.

David S. Rosenbaum, MD, chief of the division of cardiology and director of Heart & Vascular Center for the MetroHealth System, passed away on May 5 in Cleveland, after battling pancreatic cancer. He was 54.

BOSTONWomen with ischemic heart disease on defibrillator therapy were half as likely as their male counterparts to develop arrhythmic events, regardless of the device implanted, according to a study presented May 9 at the 33rd annual scientific sessions of the Hearty Rhythm Society (HRS). In addition, nonischemic women who received cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT-D) fared better than nonischemic women who received only implantable cardioverter-defibrillators.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) patients have a five-fold increase in the risk of stroke; however, older women diagnosed with AF may fare worse than men, despite warfarin use, according to a study published in the May 9 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Buoyed by sales of its anticoagulant drug dabigatran (Pradaxa), Boehringer Ingelheim recorded a 6.2 percent increase in net sales for the fiscal year 2011, the pharmaceutical company reported.

Dabigatran, like other novel drugs, has upped the ante for the anticoagulant market due its ability to prevent stroke in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients without the need for continuous monitoring, like warfarin. However, while dabigatran has become a hit with some clinicians, many wonder whether the drug is cost-effective.

As patients age, the number requiring cardiac implantable electronic devices continues to grow. And while these devices are life-sustaining treatment options, they come with a hefty price tag and are prone to infection. Patients with cardiac device infective endocarditis have high rates of concomitant valve infection and mortality, according to a study published April 24 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The clinical spectrum of intracranial hemorrhage was similar for patients given warfarin and dabigatran (Pradaxa, Boehringer Ingelheim); however, the absolute rates at all sites and both fatal and traumatic intracranial hemorrhages were lower with dabigatran than with warfarin, based on an analysis of the RE-LY trial, published online April 5 in Stroke. In addition, concomitant aspirin use was the most important modifiable independent risk factor for intracranial hemorrhage.