Hypertension therapies, ACE inhibitors and calcium channel blockers are more expensive and may be no better than using a generic diuretic for preventing cardiovascular disease, according to the results of a substudy of the ALLHAT trial presented Aug. 13 at the China Heart Congress and International Heart Forum in Beijing.

Defibtech, a maker of automated external defibrillators (AEDs), and the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association (SCAA) have teamed up for the third straight year to donate AEDs in communities with critical needs.

Underscoring that a sudden cardiac arrest emergency requires quick response and that automated external defibrillators (AEDs) are easy to use, the Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter of the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association (SCAA) has launched a unique community response team with the Amish community of Lancaster County, Pa., at the center of a broad program that will deploy AEDs in public locations, schools and even on horse and buggies and Amish farms.

Rimonabant (Acomplia, Sanofi-Aventis), a cannabinoid-1 receptor antagonist, was developed as a weight loss drug to diminish waist circumference and bodyweight; however, while researchers were studying the efficacy of the drug to also reduce vascular events, they found that it increased the incidence rates of neuropsychiatric effects, including suicide.

Eligible Medicare beneficiaries who land in the Medicare Part D donut hole may be getting some relief in their mailboxes--a one-time, tax-free $250 rebate check issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Cooling cardiac arrest patients with IV ice-cold solution en route to the hospital did not improve outcomes at hospital discharge compared with patients whose cooling commenced in the hospital. Researchers not only question the timing but also the method of cooling, according to a study published online Aug. 2 in Circulation.

Merck has reported a 51 percent reduction in its net income for the second quarter of 2010, which ended June 30, due to internal expenses.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted The Medicines Company a one-year extension for its patent (Patent No. 5,196,404), covering its antithrombotic agent bivalirudin (Angiomax).