The FDA approved generic versions of rosuvastatin calcium (Crestor) on July 21, one day after a federal judge denied AstraZeneca’s request to extend its exclusivity for the best-selling cholesterol-lowering medication.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced July 21 that 516 organizations in 47 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia will participate in a randomized trial and program to reduce the risk of MIs and stroke in Mediciare fee-for-service beneficiaries.

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) provided researchers in California and Massachusetts a total of $6.5 million in funding for two studies that will compare the effectiveness of anticoagulants in preventing blood clots in the veins and lungs.

Although fewer than one percent of adolescents had diabetes, more than 17 percent had prediabetes, according to an analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

A cross-sectional analysis found that U.S. adults who had a higher consumption of foods derived from subsidized food commodities had an increased risk of some cardiometabolic risk factors.

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine have developed a device that has a 100 percent success rate in repairing the mitral heart valve in its first human clinical study, with results published in the journal Circulation.

Fewer than a third of eligible patients participate in cardiac rehabilitation programs, Kaiser Health News and NPR report. Several factors contribute to the low percentage, including high costs, inconvenient locations and busy schedules.

Although obese adults have had improvements in their blood pressure and cholesterol levels during the past three decades, their hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels have increased, according to a survey analysis.