BOSTON—Implantation of the Watchman device (Boston Scientific) without a warfarin transition is safe and effective in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients with contraindications to even short-term oral anticoagulation, according to an analysis of the ASA Plavix registry, presented May 11 as a late-breaking clinical trial at the 33rd annual scientific sessions of the Heart Rhythm Society.
BOSTON—Results from the ARISTOTLE study showed that apixaban may give warfarin a run for its money, particularly for atrial fibrillation (AF); however, does the drug’s benefits differ between the varying types of AF? A secondary analysis of the ARISTOTLE trial, presented May 11 at a late-breaking clinical trial session at the 33rd annual scientific sessions of the Heart Rhythm Society, showed apixaban to take the cake in all subsets of AF patients when compared with warfarin.
Pulmonary vein isolation with radiofrequency ablation is safe for patients with symptomatic atrial fibrillation (AF) and significantly superior to the current first-line therapy approach of antiarrhythmic drugs, according to trial results presented May 11 at the 33rd annual scientific sessions of the Heart Rhythm Society.
BOSTON—No device or lead failures or patient deaths have occurred among 454 patients with pacemakers and implantable cardioverter-defibrillators undergoing MRI scans as part of The MagnaSafe Registry, according to a presentation May 9 at the Heart Rhythm Society's 33rd annual scientific sessions.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) patients have a five-fold increase in the risk of stroke; however, older women diagnosed with AF may fare worse than men, despite warfarin use, according to a study published in the May 9 issue of the
Journal of the American Medical Association.
Neither aspirin nor warfarin is superior for preventing a combined risk of death, stroke and cerebral hemorrhage in heart failure (HF) patients with normal heart rhythm, according to the 10-year WARCEF trial published May 2 in the
New England Journal of Medicine.
Buoyed by sales of its anticoagulant drug dabigatran (Pradaxa), Boehringer Ingelheim recorded a 6.2 percent increase in net sales for the fiscal year 2011, the pharmaceutical company reported.
Dabigatran, like other novel drugs, has upped the ante for the anticoagulant market due its ability to prevent stroke in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients without the need for continuous monitoring, like warfarin. However, while dabigatran has become a hit with some clinicians, many wonder whether the drug is cost-effective.
The use of catheter ablation to treat atrial fibrillation (AF) has expanded in recent years. But the complicated technique makes patient selection, operator experience and setting all the more critical to achieve a successful procedure and good outcomes.
St. Jude Medical has reported a 1 percent increase in sales, but an overall $21 million decrease in net earnings for the first quarter of 2012, which ended March 31.
Pre-operative statin therapy can reduce the chance of post-operative atrial fibrillation and shortens the stay on the intensive care unit (ICU) and in the hospital in patients who undergo cardiac surgery, based on a systematic review published April 17 in the
Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. However, statin pre-treatment had no influence on the risk of dying, stroke, heart attack or kidney failure around the time of the operation.
Hugh G. Calkins, MD, offered this advice for physicians and hospital administrators who are too busy to read all 86 pages of the 2012 international consensus statement on catheter and surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF): If nothing else, be aware of five important changes.
The U.K.’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) appraisal committee recommended rivaroxaban for the prevention of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with atrial fibrillation in a final appraisal determination. The recommendation is subject to appeal until April 17.
Eric D. Peterson, MD, MPH, has been appointed director of the Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI), succeeding Robert A. Harrington, MD, and Robert M. Califf, MD, its founder.
CHICAGO—The usage of dabigatran, rivaroxban and apixaban may be associated with a reduction in medical costs when used instead of warfarin—with apixaban “potentially” being associated with the greatest cost reduction, based on an analysis of ARISTOTLE, RE-LY and ROCKET-AF trials, presented March 26 at the 61st annual American College of Cardiology (ACC) scientific session.
CHICAGO—Non-cardiac co-morbidities, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic kidney disease, atrial fibrillation and frailty, are main predictors of late mortality after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), suggesting that patients with these conditions merit closer evaluation and follow-up, according to the longest multicenter study on the clinical outcomes and valve durability with TAVI presented March 24 at the 61st annual American College of Cardiology’s (ACC) scientific session. However, in general, valve function remained stable at four years.
CHICAGO—Patients who underwent transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) at medical centers in 12 countries had significant improvement in valve function as well as low mortality and stroke rates at 30 days and six months, according to the real-world ADVANCE trial presented March 24 at the American College of Cardiology’s (ACC) 61st annual scientific session.
Merck has communicated to Cardiome Pharma its decision to discontinue further development of the oral formulation of vernakalant, which is being evaluated as maintenance therapy for the long-term prevention of atrial fibrillation recurrence. The decision was based on Merck's assessment of the "regulatory environment and projected development timeline."
The U.K.’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommended the anticoagulant dabigatran (Pradaxa, Boehringer Ingelheim) as an option for the prevention of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF).
After nine years of waiting, the results are out on a trial evaluating whether device closure offered benefit over medical therapy alone for the prevention of stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) in patent foramen ovale (PFO) patients. However, the CLOSURE I trial may have missed its mark, as it was found that undergoing an expensive device closure procedure may be no more effective than medical therapy.
