Pharmaceutics

This page contains key pharmaceutical news on drug recalls, FDA clearance, safety communications and research. In cardiology, key pharmaceutic agents include antiplatelet therapies, anticoagulants, hypertension drugs, and drugs for heart failure and arrhythmias.   

Video of Hari Naidu, MD, director of the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center of Excellence at Westchester Medical Center, explaining the role of alcohol septal ablation and surgical myectomy in the era of mavacamten. #HCM #ASE

Surgery, interventional therapies still the best choice for many HCM patients

"You have to look at each patient and understand their goals," one HCM expert said in a new interview. 

August 9, 2023
Weekly doses of semaglutide, a GLP-1 receptor originally developed to treat diabetes, could help approximately 93 million U.S. adults lose weight and reduce their risk of adverse cardiovascular events, according to new research published in Cardiovascular Drugs and Therapy. Novo Nordisk sells and markets subcutaneous treatments of semaglutide 2.4 mg under the brand name Wegovy.

Weight loss drug semaglutide reduces risk of adverse cardiovascular events by 20% among overweight, obese patients

Weekly subcutaneous treatments of semaglutide, originally developed to treat diabetes, are sold and marketed under the brand name Wegovy.

August 8, 2023
Interventional cardiologists performing PCI

Colchicine before PCI: New research tracks the long-term impact on heart health

Researchers shared long-term follow-up data from the Colchicine-PCI trial, which compared colchicine administration before PCI with a placebo.

August 7, 2023
Anjali Owens, MD, medical director, Center for Inherited Cardiac Disease, associate professor of medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, discusses the need for standardization in HCM care. #ASE #ASE23 #ASE2023 #HCM

More consistency, standardization still needed when treating HCM

Anjali Owens, MD, discussed the past, present and future of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy care in the United States. "What we are aiming to do is develop a minimum standard for assessments of patients with HCM so they are getting properly diagnosed and managed," she explained. 

August 4, 2023
The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially endorsed the use of polypills—fixed combinations of multiple medicines contained in a single pill—for the prevention of cardiovascular disease, adding them to the latest edition of the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines.

Cardiologists applaud WHO’s endorsement of polypills for CVD prevention

Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD, one of the world’s most prominent cardiologists, said "it is now our responsibility to ensure these treatments are widely available and used by the medical community.”

August 3, 2023
Clinical illustration showing the types of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Lisa Salberg, CEO of the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association (HCMA) explains how the group has helped improve HCM patient care. #HCM #Hypertrophiccardiomyopathy

Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association has helped advance HCM care

The Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association (HCMA) has helped guide and advance HCM care not only for patients, but also for hospitals and physicians. 

August 2, 2023
Peter Libby, MD, explains how infections cause heart attacks. This came out of research taking a close look at COVID, but the inflammation from any infection may cause increased inflammation of coronary plaques that cause heart attacks. #COVID #COVID19

Do infections cause heart attacks? Lessons from COVID

COVID-19 opened the eyes of many cardiology researchers that infections may promote inflammation in atherosclerotic plaques, leading to cardiac events.

August 2, 2023
Matt Martinez, MD, Morristown Medical Center HCM program, explains how hypertrophic cardiomyopathy patient management is changing.

Exercise plays a key part in HCM management

Matthew Martinez, MD, detailed the many ways HCM care management is changing during an exclusive interview at ASE 2023.

July 26, 2023

Around the web

Eleven medical societies have signed on to a consensus statement aimed at standardizing imaging for suspected cardiovascular infections.

Kate Hanneman, MD, explains why many vendors and hospitals want to lower radiology's impact on the environment. "Taking steps to reduce the carbon footprint in healthcare isn’t just an opportunity," she said. "It’s also a responsibility."

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