News and views
April 2011
In brief
Positive EU opinion for apixaban in VTE prevention The new factor Xa inhibitor, apixaban, (Pfizer/Bristol-Myers Squibb), has received a positive opinion from the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), for the prevention of venous thromboembolic events (VTE) in adult patients who have undergone elective hip or knee replacement surgery. Apixaban is one of a number of new oral anticoagulants that are expected to replace warfarin....
April 2011
Telehealth programme shows reduced hospital admissions and high patient satisfaction
A survey it carried out following the introduction of telehealth monitoring to the homes of 74 people suffering from long-term conditions in NHS Birmingham East and North, showed savings of £277,187 through reduced hospital admissions for relevant conditions (see table 1). The number of hospital admissions for the group fell from 175 in the 12 months before monitoring began, to 24 in the 12 months following introduction of the programme. Total number of days spent in hospital was reduced by 1,062 (table 1)....
February 2011 Br J Cardiol 2011;18:9-10
ACCELERATE: start antihypertensive therapy with two drugs
Patients who start antihypertensive treatment with two drugs do better than those initially given just one, according to the ACCELERATE trial....
February 2011 Br J Cardiol 2011;18:9-10
BJC supports Stroke Association 2011 initiatives
The UK Stroke Association is in the process of planning an awareness campaign around atrial fibrillation (AF) and its link to stroke. The campaign has three stated aims:...
February 2011 Br J Cardiol 2011;18:9-10
BJC prize for innovation in cardiac rehabilitation
Congratulations to Barbara Conway, Cardiovascular Clinical Team Leader at NHS Darlington, who has won the British Journal of Cardiology Prize for Innovation in Cardiac Rehabilitation. She was awarded £500 at the BACR’s (British Association of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation) recent conference. ...
February 2011 Br J Cardiol 2011;18:59-61
Ticagrelor approved in Europe
Ticagrelor (Brilique®, Astra Zeneca) has received authorisation from the European Medicines Agency for use in combination with aspirin in the prevention of atherothrombotic events in adults with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). The authorisation follows publication of data from the PLATO study carried out in over 18,000 patients with ACS. At 12 months, ticagrelor and aspirin resulted in a reduction in cardiovascular-related death, myocardial infarction, or stroke compared to clopidogrel and aspirin (ticagrelor group 9.8% versus clopidogrel group 11.7%). Bleeding complication rates were similar with the two agents....
February 2011 Br J Cardiol 2011;18:9-10
Heart failure registry looks at mortality with ARBs
Use of the angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) candesartan was associated with a lower mortality than losartan in a Swedish registry of heart failure patients....
February 2011 Br J Cardiol 2011;18:9-10
Statins and CV events in patients with abnormal liver tests
According to a recent study, led by Vasilis Athyros from the Hippokration University Hospital in Thessaloniki, Greece, and Dimitri Mikhailidis from University College London, patients with alanine aminotransferase (ALT) receive a substantially greater cardiovascular benefit from statin treatment compared with patients who have normal liver tests. These findings suggest that statins are a safe and promising treatment strategy for patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)....
February 2011 Br J Cardiol 2011;18:11-3
News from the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2010
News from the world of cardiology. ...
