Pharmaceutics

This page contains key pharmaceutical news on drug recalls, FDA clearance, safety communications and research. In cardiology, key pharmaceutic agents include antiplatelet therapies, anticoagulants, hypertension drugs, and drugs for heart failure and arrhythmias.

COVID-19 vaccines helped heart failure patients stay out of the hospital and live longer
Vaccination was linked to key benefits in terms of all-cause mortality, heart failure hospitalizations, stroke, heart attack, myocarditis, venous thromboembolism and testing positive for COVID-19.
New hypertrophic cardiomyopathy guidelines highlight importance of exercise, new drug class
HCM is widely underdiagnosed, but the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association hope their new guidelines can help cardiologists learn more about the potentially fatal condition and improve patient care.
FDA announces Class I recall after insulin pump software causes 224 injuries
The new recall impacts more than 85,000 devices. If users update their iPhone app as recommended, however, they can continue using the insulin pump as directed.
Cardiologists want better data on how legal marijuana will impact heart health in the US
Many states have legalized the recreational use of marijuana in recent years, creating one of the more radical cultural shifts the United States has seen in quite some time. What could this trend mean from a cardiologist's perspective?
Statin therapy may help HFpEF patients lower their risk of death, heart attack or stroke
All participants were free of ASCVD and had no history of statin use at the start of the study.

Paul M. Ridker, MD, MPH, director of the Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention, and the Eugene Braunwald Professor of Medicine, cardiovascular medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, who presented the results of late-breaking study on residual inflammatory risk in contemporary statin treated patients. The study used an analyses of 31,197 patients in the PROMINENT, REDUCE-IT and STRENGTH trials.

What new data can teach cardiologists about statin use and treating inflammation

"If we do not attack the inflammation, we just are not going to get the best outcomes for our patients," one researcher told Cardiovascular Business.

May 1, 2023

Marielle Scherrer Crosbie and Tomas Neilan explain the STOP-CA trial and how statins can help prevent cardiotoxicity from anthracycline chemo agents.

Statins may help prevent anthracycline cardiotoxicity in chemotherapy

The STOP-CA trial showed that statins can help chemotherapy patients avoid potential side effects related to anthracycline agents. Co-principal investigators Marielle Scherrer-Crosbie, MD, and Tomas Neilan, MD, discussed the details of that trial at ACC.23.

April 14, 2023

Clopidogrel linked to better long-term outcomes than aspirin in PCI patients with and without diabetes

Clopidogrel is especially effective at limiting major adverse cardiovascular events among PCI patients with diabetes, researchers found.

April 13, 2023

Antibiotic recalled due to risk of endocarditis, other life-threatening infections

According to an advisory on the FDA’s website, there is a “reasonable probability” that any immunocompromised patients exposed to the affected antibiotic could develop a life-threatening infection.

April 6, 2023

Evkeeza is a prescription medication administered by injection, aiming to lower LDL cholesterol. .

FDA approves drug for children with rare condition causing high LDL cholesterol

Evkeeza, which was previously approved for patients ages 12 and above, was shown to help lower cholesterol for children with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH), in conjunction with other therapies.

March 26, 2023

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins conducts research for the Effect of Microgravity on Drug Responses Using Engineered Heart Tissues (Cardinal Heart) investigation onboard the International Space Station, one of several cardiovascular experiments on the ISS in recent years. Two more cardiac experiements launched to the ISS in March 2023. NASA Image

Heart tissue heads to space for research on aging and impact of long spaceflights

These experiments, performed with help from NASA, are simply out of this world.

March 23, 2023

Blood thinner recalled due to potential cancer risk

The recall, announced by the FDA, includes multiple lots of dabigatran etexilate capsules.

March 23, 2023

Steven Nissen, MD, chief academic officer of the Heart, Vascular and Thoracic Institute, Cleveland Clinic, explains the details from the late-breaking CLEAR Outcomes trial presented at the 2023 American College of Cardiology (ACC) meeting found bempedoic acid can be used in statin-intolerant patients to reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels. #ACC #ACC23 Nexletol

CLEAR Outcomes trial shows statin-intolerant patients benefit from bempedoic acid

Steven Nissen, MD, spoke with Cardiovascular Business at ACC.23 about the late-breaking CLEAR Outcomes trial.

March 15, 2023

Around the web

Health Imaging

New imaging protocols proposed to curb rise of cardiovascular infections

Eleven medical societies have signed on to a consensus statement aimed at standardizing imaging for suspected cardiovascular infections.

Radiology Business

What does radiology have to do with climate change?

Kate Hanneman, MD, explains why many vendors and hospitals want to lower radiology's impact on the environment. "Taking steps to reduce the carbon footprint in healthcare isn’t just an opportunity," she said. "It’s also a responsibility."

Pharmaceutics

COVID-19 vaccines helped heart failure patients stay out of the hospital and live longer

New hypertrophic cardiomyopathy guidelines highlight importance of exercise, new drug class

FDA announces Class I recall after insulin pump software causes 224 injuries

Cardiologists want better data on how legal marijuana will impact heart health in the US

Statin therapy may help HFpEF patients lower their risk of death, heart attack or stroke

Around the web