Cardiovascular

The announcement comes with word from FDA touting the effectiveness of its efforts to advance digital health regulatory pathways.

The application is based on results presented in March at the 67th Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology.

The analysis of patient records found no elevated risk of retinopathy among those using glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists to treat type 2 diabetes.

Serious vascular events in patients with diabetes can be prevented with aspirin use, according to results of the ASCEND (A Study of Cardiovascular Events iN Diabetes) trial, which were presented at the ongoing ESC Congress in Munich, Germany.

GOP senators have introduced legislation they say would protect provisions for preexisting conditions under the Affordable Care Act; Cigna shareholders have voted in favor of the acquisition of pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts; and study results show that aspirin does not lower cardiovascular (CV) risk in the long-term.

A Health Affairs analysis showed a wide range of cost-effectiveness estimates for 30 of the most commonly prescribed cardiovascular drugs, suggesting that drug pricing is not consistently aligned with value.

Coverage of our peer-reviewed research and news reporting in the healthcare and mainstream press.

Physician and patient predictors of hyperlipidemia screening and statin prescription at a large, multihospital regional health center based on electronic health record data.

Health plans continue to show interest in expanding outcomes-based contracts, according to an Avalere Health study that also found cardiovascular diseases, infectious diseases, and oncology represent the most common therapeutic areas to have these contracts.

Sulfonylureas are an older class of type 2 diabetes therapy but remain the most commonly prescribed antidiabetic drug after metformin.

Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are associated with increased prescription costs. Actual practice data show a high switch rate and poor adherence among DOAC initiators that need to be addressed.

Findings from a 10-year research project show that implementing health initiatives at a population level can improve health and reduce the risk of heart disease for an entire community.

Public health messaging has typically focused on the volume of walking not the intensity. This study suggests for those with limited time, a faster pace could make a difference.

The number of US adults who have high blood pressure could grow by as much as 31 million—and the number of adults who will be recommended for antihypertensive treatment could increase by 11 million—if full implementation of the American Heart Association’s 2017 hypertension guideline is reached.

The authors write that these differences among Veterans Affairs (VA) populations could reflect variability across the medical centers in terms of quality of care, adherence to evidence-based treatment and screening guidelines, access to urgent care, posthospitalization care protocols, chronic disease management, and access to specialty care, social work services, and behavioral health care.

This week's announcement comes after cardiologists have spent several years sharing accounts of their difficulty gaining access to PCSK9 inhibitors for their patients.

While cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death among women as well as men, and while both sex and gender differences in CVD and its treatments have been well documented, women continue to be less represented than men in clinical trials of drugs to treat CVD. Among proposed reasons for this phenomenon are the recruitment of younger patients, inclusion criteria that tend to select men, and exclusion criteria that are more common in women.

Huntington disease (HD) is an incurable, inherited neurological disorder caused by the mutant Huntingtin gene, which produces a mutant form of Huntingtin protein (mHTT). In addition to creating the profound neurological impacts of HD, the mHTT protein also impairs other organ systems, and new research, published in Cell Reports, suggests that the protein may play a role in cardiac-related mortality in patients with HD.

Women with a past history of migraine have a 15% higher risk of developing hypertension than those with no history of migraine, according to study findings published in Cephalalgia.

Guidance for primary care physicians prescribing type 2 diabetes therapies comes at an opportune time. A major rift over guidelines for glycemic control has opened between the American College of Physicians, a professional association of internists, and diabetes specialists, including endocrinologists and diabetes educators.

Divorce and socioeconomic status (SES)—measured by disposable income and education—predict patients who survived a heart attack who are at higher risk of a second event.

Papers from The Lancet's Taskforce of Non-Communicable Diseases analyzed the potential health and economic impact of implementing taxes on soda, alcohol, and tobacco to combat the rising rates of the chronic diseases worldwide.

The study compared patients taking semaglutide with those taking placebo and liraglutide, which is approved for treatment of obesity.

Results from the ODYSSEY Outcomes trial for the PCSK9 inhibitor alirocumab were the top news at the meeting.

The report finds a connection between payment reform and hospital use patterns, but that connection may add to the debate that cardiologists have raised over the effect on patients.