Lipid & Metabolic news, trials, articles & opinions | theheart.org

FDA panel recommends lorcaserin for obesity

Tue, 15 May 2012 15:45:31 EDT

The Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee of the FDA has recommended approval of lorcaserin to treat obesity in certain populations.

Data gathering for Sunshine Act delayed

Fri, 11 May 2012 17:15:19 EDT

The CMS says that drug and device makers will not have to start collecting data on payments to physicians until 2013.

Moderate coffee intake protects against stroke

Fri, 11 May 2012 15:45:51 EDT

A new meta-analysis finds that one to three cups of coffee a day may reduce the risk of stroke in the general population and that an even higher intake of up to six cups a day also seems to offer some protection.

Whistleblower suit claiming pioglitazone cover-up implicates Nissen, Cleveland Clinic

Thu, 10 May 2012 16:15:38 EDT

Dr Helen Ge, a former employee at Takeda, alleges she was fired for repeatedly trying to flag as "serious" the congestive heart failure event reports she was reviewing for the company. She has filed a False Claims Act complaint seeking damages and civil penalties from Takeda on behalf of the US government, which has declined to intervene in the case.

Telemonitoring by pharmacists boosts BP control

Thu, 10 May 2012 15:45:00 EDT

Initial findings from a US study employing an unusual approach to blood-pressure management—whereby pharmacists monitor patients by phone and can make alterations to their therapy—are proving encouraging.

Pfizer stops promoting Lipitor in US

Thu, 10 May 2012 11:30:21 EDT

The product lost its patent protection in the US last November.

Waist-hip ratio excels at SCD risk prediction in ARIC cohort

Thu, 10 May 2012 08:45:07 EDT

Greater waist-to-hip ratio—but not two more common obesity measures—meant a higher sudden death risk independently of diabetes, CV disease, and heart failure in the community-based cohort study.

BP and lipid tests in pharmacies could boost risk-factor control

Tue, 08 May 2012 14:15:25 EDT

A nationwide campaign in Portugal—whereby pharmacy customers were encouraged to have their BP, cholesterol, and BMI assessed in-store—has demonstrated that this kind of approach is feasible and that pharmacists can act as good go-betweens for patients and physicians, says one of the researchers.

New IOM report addresses obesity prevention

Tue, 08 May 2012 08:30:00 EDT

Obesity threatens to undo other health achievements made over the past century, authors warn.

Roche stops dalcetrapib trial for lack of benefit

Mon, 07 May 2012 11:40:06 EDT

Roche has halted the phase 3 trial of dalcetrapib after the interim analysis found the drug was not providing benefit to stable coronary heart disease patients.

Cheese, please: Could a little Grana Padano drop your BP?

Fri, 04 May 2012 16:15:25 EDT

Contrary to the idea that cheese, conventionally quite high in sodium and fat, is not that good for cardiovascular health, a small Italian study finds that Grana Padano might lower blood pressure.

WHF defends Dubai WCC, reimburses Israelis denied visas

Fri, 04 May 2012 13:35:21 EDT

The World Heart Federation is apologizing to Israeli cardiologists who, at the last minute, were denied visas to attend the WCC 2012 in Dubai. One of the Israelis who attended, however, has spoken out to clarify that he and his colleagues "only have good words to say" about their visit to the Emirate city.

New ESC cardiovascular disease guidelines emphasize primary prevention

Thu, 03 May 2012 14:00:21 EDT

The guidelines are intended to keep the car engine running before any problems occur, according to the experts. Prevention and education should ideally start with young parents and continues with children through kindergarten and as they advance through the school system. For adults, secondary prevention can be coordinated through nurse-based activities and by the efforts of general practitioners and cardiologists.

Energy drinks up BP and heart rate; calls for regulation

Thu, 03 May 2012 12:00:00 EDT

UPDATED WITH COMMENTARY // A small study illustrates that energy drinks can cause increased blood pressure, tachycardia, and arrhythmias, with those who consume these beverages on a habitual basis being most at risk. The author calls for more research and believes sales of these products should be regulated.

Mixed findings with vitamin D in hypertension

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 12:30:18 EDT

A small, short-term study looking at the effects of high-dose vitamin D on blood pressure in hypertensive subjects in Denmark during the winter months has shown somewhat discrepant results.

Friend or foe? Uric acid a "probable cause" of CVD

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 10:00:47 EDT

Using a unique approach, Israeli researchers have shown that people with so-called "normal" levels of uric acid have a 50% higher risk of hypertension and an almost doubling of diabetes, compared with those with naturally very low uric-acid levels.

ApoA size independently associated with MI

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 17:30:40 EDT

The relationship between apoA and MI exists even after adjustment for lipoprotein (a).

Topol is most influential physician executive in new US poll

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:00:09 EDT

Dr Eric Topol, editor in chief of theheart.org, has been voted the number one most influential physician executive of 2012 in a poll run by Modern Healthcare, a US publication covering healthcare business news and research.

Raise the bar for starting primary prevention, cardiologists argue

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 10:00:46 EDT

When primary prevention is launched prior to prospective trials evaluating hard outcomes, there remains a possibility that the campaign is instituted in error, authors of a new paper argue, citing niacin, fenofibrate, torcetrapib, and ezetimibe all as evidence in support of their thesis.

Diabetes/statin link probed in EFFECT cohort

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 09:00:44 EDT

Digging into five years' worth of follow-up data, investigators found no differences in new-onset diabetes related to statin dose.

Mall rates? Silent CV risk factors abound in Dubai shoppers

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 08:30:23 EDT

Physicians in Dubai have leveraged the Gulf city's best-known asset to shine a light on what they say is a sweeping lack of awareness about cardiovascular risk factors and how to keep them in control.

No aliskiren with ACE inhibitors, ARBs in some patients: FDA

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 15:30:56 EDT

Aliskiren-containing BP drugs in combination with ACE inhibitors and ARBs are now contraindicated for patients with diabetes based on the aborted ALTITUDE study, the FDA announced.

AIM-HIGH fell short, leaving experts looking for reasons in new review

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 17:00:46 EDT

The new review attempts to reconcile the disconnect between AIM-HIGH and other positive studies with niacin, particularly since the study failed to support the popular HDL-increasing hypothesis.

TIPS 2: Full-dose polypill boosts efficacy, with no increased side effects

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 09:15:07 EDT

The polypill tested in the large, primary-prevention TIPS trial included half-dose formulations of blood-pressure and lipid-lowering drugs, in the hopes of boosting tolerance. Now TIPS 2 shows that a full-dose combination may be feasible in secondary prevention.

Medicare Part D coverage gap leads to cardiovascular drug discontinuation

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 17:00:14 EDT

Compared with Medicare beneficiaries who received financial assistance to compensate for the gap in coverage, those who reached the Part D spending threshold and received no financial help were greater than 50% more likely to stop taking their medication for a cardiovascular condition, report investigators.

Tough sell: WCC 2012 course coaxes trainees toward preventive cardiology

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 09:15:57 EDT

How to convince young doctors to get involved in CVD prevention, when other areas of cardiology are so alluring—and more lucrative? That's a central conundrum underpinning a trainee course that kicked off this year's meeting, in a region where soaring CV risk factors make it a life-and-death question.

Report validates risk of high-dose simvastatin

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 16:00:00 EDT

Published as a letter to the editor in the Journal of the American Medical Association, a brief report confirms the higher risk of rhabdomyolysis in patients treated with high-dose simvastatin.

Sleeve gastrectomy reduces diabetes, CV risk factors

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 10:30:05 EDT

Sleeve gastrectomy trumps traditional medical therapy for diabetes reduction in an Italian study.

Higher HbA1c levels predict better outcomes in advanced heart failure with diabetes

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 14:15:10 EDT

But not in patients with heart failure without diabetes, observed researchers, who suggest that a midrange rather than very low HbA_1c target may be reasonable in some patients with heart failure.

Hospitals launch medical practices to lure well-insured

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:00:00 EDT

America's hospitals are busier than ever expanding into new and affluent geographic markets to lure well-insured patients, a strategy that could drive up costs as well as jeopardize independent physician practices, according to a new study.

Should statins be used in primary prevention? JAMA gets in on the debate

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:00:00 EDT

Introduced by the JAMA editors to encourage discussion and debate, the inaugural "dueling viewpoints" kicks off its new series by considering the clinical question of whether or not a healthy 55-year-old male with elevated cholesterol levels should begin taking a statin.

Persistent high cholesterol more likely in countries with poorer healthcare systems

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 17:30:13 EDT

An international study found that patients with diagnosed high cholesterol or reported use of lipid-lowering agents were more likely to have persistent high cholesterol if they lived in countries with lower national incomes, higher out-of-pocket healthcare expenses, and less efficient healthcare systems.

Dr Gary Gibbons named director of the NHLBI

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 11:30:00 EDT

Currently at the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, Gibbons will begin his new role as director of the NHLBI this summer. He is taking over for Dr Susan Shurin, who was named acting director after Dr Elizabeth Nabel left in January 2010.

Medical societies list 45 dubious tests, therapies

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 16:00:00 EDT

The American College of Cardiology is one of nine societies that each identified five tests and procedures that are common but often unnecessary, running up the cost of care and sometimes harming a patient's health.

heartwire's Lisa Nainggolan picks up AHCJ award

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 14:15:00 EDT

Nainggolan's feature story "Lost in transition: The looming epidemic of grown-up congenital heart disease" has placed third in the Association of Health Care Journalists' annual journalism awards in the trade-publication category.

Statin therapy changes plaque composition fast

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 17:15:00 EDT

Some studies have shown that statin therapy can cause nonatherosclerotic coronary plaques to regress, so the YELLOW trial investigators are trying to determine whether statins can modify the composition and flow physiology of obstructive lesions.

Waist measurements linked with lipids, BP, in youth

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 13:45:35 EDT

In multivariate regression models that adjusted for age and sex, increasing waist-to-height ratios were significantly associated with worsening lipid profiles across BMI strata, with the strongest association observed in obese patients.

Comparison of risk-assessment strategies favors "statins for all"

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 07:45:01 EDT

The multiple approaches to risk-stratifying patients at risk for coronary disease help to identify which patients should take statins, but the comparative cost and effectiveness of these strategies is unknown. So researchers conducted a sophisticated statistical comparison of five approaches.

FDA advisors: "Safe" obesity drugs need to prove absence of cardiovascular risk

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 10:00:57 EDT

If the FDA follows the recommendations, drug companies will have to either conduct phase 2 to 3 trials or do meta-analyses that rule out excess cardiovascular risk for new obesity drugs that do not have a signal for cardiovascular risk. Advisors voted 17 to 6 in favor of a cardiovascular-safety benchmark that equals the one for diabetes drugs.

FDA committee members grapple with cardiovascular risks in obesity drugs

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 11:00:37 EDT

In day one of a two-day meeting, members of the FDA Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee heard from experts in obesity, diabetes, cardiology, and statistics. Later today, the panel will vote on whether obesity drugs with no cardiovascular risk signal still need to rule out excess cardiovascular risk.

New monoclonal antibody to PCSK9 impresses with LDL-cholesterol reductions

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 17:15:20 EDT

Among a group of patients treated with atorvastatin who still had elevated cholesterol levels, treatment with the new compound reduced LDL cholesterol by more than 70% from baseline. Researchers called it a "wow" moment, while others, equally impressed, said that hard clinical outcomes will be the drug's true measure.

Start lowering LDL in childhood, new study suggests

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 17:15:00 EDT

Results of a "natural" randomized trial using genetic data suggest that lowering LDL early in life has a much greater potential to reduce heart disease than starting treatment later in life.

STAMPEDE: Bariatric surgery betters standard diabetes treatment in the obese

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 11:30:00 EDT

UPDATED // Findings from two randomized trials showed that bariatric surgery was considerably better than traditional medical therapy for controlling type 2 diabetes in obese patients, independent of weight loss. But critics caution that much longer-term data are needed—to show actual changes in the serious complications of diabetes in years to come—before this "huge intervention" can be considered as a valid treatment for the condition.

Low levels of LDL cholesterol predate cancer cases by nearly two decades

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 17:45:00 EDT

The analysis, which used data from the Framingham Heart Study and included patients not currently taking lipid-lowering medications, puts a kibosh on hypotheses suggesting that cancer causes low LDL-cholesterol levels, say investigators.

Cardiologists are happy(ish), married non-tweeters, survey reveals

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 17:00:00 EDT

Cardiologists, for the most part, drive Japanese cars, believe in a higher power, and are moderately savvy when it comes to social media. Those are just some of the cardiology pearls from a recent "lifestyle survey" of physicians.

Investigational antibody to PCSK9 reduces LDL-cholesterol levels

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 17:00:00 EDT

Three new phase 1 studies of an investigational human monoclonal antibody specific to PCSK9 significantly reduced LDL-cholesterol levels in a group of healthy volunteers and in subjects with familial and nonfamilial forms of hypercholesterolemia.

Orthostatic hypotension ups risk of HF by 50%

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 12:00:44 EDT

New data from the ARIC study show that those with orthostatic hypotension have a higher risk of developing heart failure over 17 years of follow-up.

Nonphysicians pinpoint those at high CVD risk in rural India

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 16:00:00 EDT

Employing nonphysician healthcare workers to go into villages in India, spot those at high risk of CVD, and recommend appropriate therapies holds promise as a way of tackling the CVD epidemic affecting the country, say the authors of a new study.

What's going to be hot at ACC 2012

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 14:00:51 EDT

There are 18 late-breaking clinical trials, many addressing unresolved issues with already-approved products or procedures. Outside the main tent, the program offers debates, live and taped cases, a new Q&A series with "legends" in cardiology, plus a novel gambit for attracting attendees to the exposition: a "thought leaders' theater" located in the exhibit hall.