Last June, the FDA investigated the blood pressure drug olmesartan (Benicar, Daiichi Sankyo) after two clinical trials showed that the drug increased the rate of death from a cardiovascular cause in patients with type 2 diabetes. This week, the agency ruled that the drug's benefits outweigh its potential risks, but only in high blood pressure patients.

An estimated one in 44,000 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athletes experiences sudden cardiac death (SCD) per year, leaving clinicians wondering whether a more extensive screening process may be necessary, according to a study published online April 4 in Circulation.

To "keep up with the growing challenges within the healthcare industry," Medtronic said it will combine its U.S. Cardiac and Vascular group sales functions to form a single, unified sales organization.

NEW ORLEANS Outcomes of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) when compared with the gold standard of aortic valve replacement are similar, and TAVI is now being called the new standard of care for high-risk patients who are ineligible for surgery, even though these percutaneous devices are not yet FDA-approved, according to data from the PARTNER trial presented today during the late-breaking clinical trials at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) annual meeting.

NEW ORLEANSWith a projected life expectancy of approximately 1.9 years, transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) patients compared with the non-surgical standard of care have an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of about $50,200 for each additional year of life gained, or approximately $62,000 for each quality-adjusted life year gained, based on the cost-effectiveness analysis of cohort B of the PARTNER trial, which assessed TAVI for patients with severe aortic stenosis who are deemed inoperable patients, according to a study presented April 3 at the American College of Cardiologys (ACC) 60th annual scientific sessions.

NEW ORLEANSCo-investigator Saibil Kar, MD, of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, explained the two-year follow-up results of the EVEREST II randomized controlled trial, which compared the results observed at 12 months to determine the durability of outcomes through 24 months for the device and control groups using the MitraClip device (Abbott) or surgical repair for patients with mitral regurgitation. The late breaking clinical trial was presented April 4 at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) Scientific Sessions.

CHICAGOAfter 30 years of advocating for EHRs, Its disappointing where we are at this point, said C. Peter Waegemann, vice president of mHealth Initiative, during his keynote speech at the mHealth Initiative Conference March 30-31.

High-dose atorvastatin (Lipitor, Pfizer) compared with placebo is associated with a slightly increased risk of new-onset type 2 diabetes, based on one of three large randomized trials, which researchers evaluated and published April 5 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. However, baseline fasting glucose level and features of the metabolic syndrome are predictive of new-onset type 2 diabetes across the three trials.