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.

Rivaroxaban limits adverse limb and cardiovascular events in surgically treated PAD patients

Rivaroxaban was associated with more bleeding than a placebo, researchers observed, but the overall incidence of such events was still low.

August 13, 2021

Same-day discharge after TAVR is safe for low-risk patients, leads to considerable cost savings

Statin use prior to hospitalization linked to lower COVID-19 mortality

The trend is particularly noticeable in patients with a history of CVD or hypertension.

August 5, 2021

Chronic liver disease associated with worse PCI outcomes

Researchers tracked data from more than 54,000 adult patients with CLD who underwent PCI from 2004 to 2015.

August 3, 2021

Continuous and high-adherent statin users had lower baseline arterial stiffness which also grew more slowly over time, a new JAMA Network Open study finds.

FDA pushes for statin warnings to be updated

It has long been believed that patients should not take statins while they are pregnant. Now, however, the FDA is emphasizing that there are certain exceptions to that rule.

July 20, 2021

Prasugrel outperforms ticagrelor among PCI patients

The study's authors tracked data from more than 3,000 patients who underwent PCI for acute coronary syndrome.

June 30, 2021

Ticagrelor vs. prasugrel for severe heart attack patients undergoing PCI

A new study, published in Circulation, tracked how each drug helped STEMI patients undergoing primary PCI.

December 15, 2020

Skip the clopidogrel? TAVR patients benefit from antiplatelet therapy that includes aspirin only

The risk of major bleeding or life-threatening bleeding events was higher when clopidogrel was included in the patient's treatment strategy.

December 9, 2020

How ticagrelor or clopidogrel use can impact PCI outcomes

The authors tracked data from more than 62,000 adult patients who received treatment from November 2011 to March 2019.

November 2, 2020

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