Esperion Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing first-in-class, oral, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-cholesterol) lowering therapies for the treatment of patients with hypercholesterolemia and other cardiometabolic risk markers, today announced dosing of the first patient in its Phase 2 clinical study of ETC-1002 in patients with hypercholesterolemia and hypertension, ETC-1002-014. The company expects to announce top-line results from the study in the second quarter of 2015.

There are many benefits to shared decision-making with patients. Informed patients make better decisions and have more meaningful and frank health discussions with their physicians, but there are as many barriers to an open conversation and shared decision between doctor and patient as there are benefits.

The journal BMJ took aim at the anticoagulant dabigatran and its manufacturer in a three-pronged package published online July 23 that catalogued the drug’s tumultuous pre-approval and post-approval journeys in the U.S. and Europe. Maker Boehringer Ingelheim called the stories unbalanced.

If followed, the cholesterol guidelines published in late 2013 will increase the timing and frequency of initiating statin therapy in men, according to an editorial published in the July 11 issue of the Journal of Men’s Health. The authors added that the guidelines overlooked erectile dysfunction as a risk factor for coronary artery disease.

The heart of an astronaut is a much-studied thing. Scientists have analyzed its blood flow, rhythms, atrophy and, through journal studies, even matters of the heart. But for the first time, researchers are looking at how oxidative stress and inflammation caused by the conditions of space flight affect those hearts for up to five years after astronauts fly on the International Space Station. Lessons learned may help improve cardiovascular health on Earth as well.

Between 2001 and 2010, some acute MI (AMI) rates barely budged for people younger than 55, a trend that runs counter to the declines reported by Medicare in elderly patients, according to a study published July 29 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Armed robbery and drug trafficking are no longer the only crimes of choice for gangs. Instead of a gun, their newest weapon of choice is a mobile phone with Internet access. Now more sophisticated gang members are targeting medical practices and using their smart phones to steal patient records. 

Post-menopausal women may be at greater risk for cardiovascular diseases if they have ever experienced miscarriage or stillbirth, according to a study published in the July issue of Annals of Family Medicine.