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Top cardiology news of July: E-cigarettes, REDUCE-IT analysis and more
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Healio compiled a list of the most-read cardiology articles posted in July. This month, our readers were interested in discoveries from REDUCE-IT and other prevention trials, the potential CV risks of e-cigarettes, the top-line results of PARAGON-HF and much more.
VIDEO: Deepak Bhatt, MD, MPH, highlights REDUCE-IT, treating beyond LDL lowering
SAN ANTONIO — In this video exclusive, Deepak L. Bhatt, MD, MPH, executive director of interventional cardiovascular programs at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, highlights the take-home messages from his keynote lecture at the American Society for Preventive Cardiology Congress on CVD Prevention, which focused on key discoveries from REDUCE-IT and other trials showing benefit of treating patients beyond LDL lowering.
FDA designates recall of intra-aortic balloon pumps as class 1
The FDA has designated Maquet/Datascope’s product recall of several intra-aortic balloon pumps as a class 1 recall, the most serious kind. The recall affects 22,853 devices used in patients undergoing cardiac and noncardiac surgery and for the treatment of HF complications or ACS.
Out of the loop: Augmenting diuresis with SGLT2 inhibitors in HF
Since 2008 and 2012, respectively, the FDA and the European Medicines Agency have mandated CV outcome trials for all new antihyperglycemic drugs approved for type 2 diabetes management. Three SGLT2 inhibitors have demonstrated a reduction in major adverse CV events and also hospitalization for HF compared with placebo in patients with type 2 diabetes with or at high risk for CVD.
E-cigarette use increases risk for MI
Patients who smoked electronic cigarettes every day or some days had an increased risk for MI, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
PARAGON-HF top-line results: sacubitril/valsartan for HFpEF misses primary endpoint
Novartis announced top-line results from the PARAGON-HF trial, which showed that the trial narrowly missed statistical significance for the primary endpoint in patients with HF with preserved ejection fraction who were treated with sacubitril/valsartan compared with valsartan alone.
Systolic, diastolic BP increase risk for CV events regardless of hypertension definition
Systolic and diastolic hypertension independently affected the risk for adverse CV events, including MI, hemorrhagic stroke and ischemic stroke, regardless of whether hypertension was defined as BP of at least 140/90 mm Hg or at least 130/80 mm Hg, according to a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
LDL below 70 mg/dL increases hemorrhagic stroke risk
Patients with LDL concentrations less than 70 mg/dL had an increased risk for intracerebral hemorrhage, which became nonsignificant once LDL levels surpassed 70 mg/dL, according to a study published in Neurology.
Cardiologists grapple with potential CV risks posed by e-cigarettes
Electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, have become increasingly popular since they entered the market in 2006. Use of these alternative devices continues to grow. Data on long-term effects of e-cigarettes are limited due to the fact that the current devices have not been available on the market long enough to perform such studies.
Injectable cardiac monitor receives FDA clearance
Biotronik announced that an injectable cardiac monitor to identify unexplained syncope or suspected arrhythmia has received FDA clearance.
Elderly adults with low CAC may not be at risk for CVD
Older adults with low coronary artery calcium scores were found to have significantly low CV risk, according to findings published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.