Wegovy linked to fewer COVID-19-related deaths vs. placebo in SELECT population
August 30 ,2024
Overview:In an analysis of deaths of patients with obesity but not diabetes from the SELECT trial, those assigned semaglutide 2.4 mg had reduced risk for death from COVID-19 compared with those assigned placebo.The semaglutide 2.4 mg (Wegovy, Novo Nordisk) group also had lower rates of all-cause death and non-CV death compared with the placebo group, according to the findings presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress and simultaneously published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.As Healio previously reported, the SELECT trial included 17,604 patients (27% women) with more
Experts in AI, medicine converge for AIMed24, ‘largest AI in medicine meeting’
August 30 ,2024
Overview:Clinicians will gather for AIMed24 to meet with industry leaders and innovators and attend keynotes and workshops to discuss the future of AI implementation in medicine, according to information from the meeting organizers.Healio will serve as the media partner for AIMed24, which will take place from November 17 to 19 at the Caribe Royale Orlando in Florida. AIMed, the “largest AI in medicine meeting,” forms a community of clinicians, health care executives, educators and investors dedicated to advancing health care through AI, according to the organizers.The meeting was founded more
Choice to halt RAS therapy before major surgery can be left to patient, physician
August 30 ,2024
Overview:Discontinuation of renin-angiotensin system inhibitor therapy before major noncardiac surgery did not appear to affect postoperative outcomes vs. treatment continuation, a speaker reported.The results of the STOP-or-NOT trial were presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress and simultaneously published in JAMA.“Major noncardiac surgeries are being performed on more than 300 million people per year and postoperative mortality is the third leading cause of death,” Matthieu Legrand, MD, PhD, professor of anesthesia at the University of California, San Francisco, said more
ABYSS trial does not demonstrate safety of beta-blocker interruption after heart attack
August 30 ,2024
Overview:In the ABYSS trial, a strategy of interrupting long-term beta-blocker treatment was not noninferior to continued use for the primary composite outcome of death, myocardial infarction, stroke or hospitalization for CV reasons.“In addition, beta-blocker interruption did not result in an improvement in patient quality of life, and resulted in increased blood pressure, resting heart rate and a higher rate of hospitalization for CV reasons,” Johanne Silvain, MD, PhD, professor of cardiology at Sorbonne University and director of the ICU at the Institut de Cardiologie of the Hospital Pitié-Salpêtrière more
Vutrisiran reduces death, CV events in ATTR amyloidosis with cardiomyopathy
August 30 ,2024
Overview:Among patients with transthyretin amyloidosis with cardiomyopathy, vutrisiran, an RNA interference agent, reduced risk for death and recurrent CV events compared with placebo, according to the results of the HELIOS-B trial.The results were consistent regardless of whether patients were already taking tafamidis (Vyndamax, Pfizer), a transthyretin stabilizer, the only drug currently approved by the FDA to treat transthyretin amyloidosis with cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM).“Vutrisiran demonstrated profound and unequivocal benefit on CV outcomes, including mortality and disease progression, in a more
Legislation seeks to minimize prior authorizations that ‘deny, delay and aggravate’
August 30 ,2024
Overview:Attempts to curtail prior authorizations for patients insured by Medicare Advantage plans have failed in back-to-back legislative sessions in 2019 and 2021, but a new bill has some experts hopeful that the third time is a charm.“The previous bill had a $16 billion price tag from the Congressional Budget Office,” Robert W. Levin, MD, past president of the Florida Society of Rheumatology, president of the Alliance for Transparent and Affordable Prescriptions, and associate affiliate professor of medicine at the University of South Florida, told Healio. “The way the new bill is more
Wegovy likely not cost-effective in the SELECT trial population
August 29 ,2024
Overview:Researchers estimate that semaglutide 2.4 mg is not cost-effective for secondary CVD prevention for patients with overweight or obesity without diabetes, according to an Australian study.Ella Zomer, BBiomedSc, PhD, senior research fellow at Monash University School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine in Melbourne, Australia, and colleagues estimated that the cost of semaglutide 2.4 mg (Wegovy, Novo Nordisk) would need to be at least halved before it becomes cost-effective in their current health care system.“Weight management has not traditionally been considered a therapeutic more
Recreational drug use elevates chance of repeat serious heart-related event
August 29 ,2024
Overview:Among patients admitted to the cardiac ICU, those engaging in recreational drug use were almost three times as likely to experience a repeat serious CV event within 1 year compared with nonusers, researchers reported.“Among patients admitted to the intensive cardiac care unit (ICCU), systematic screening for recreational drugs evidenced a significant prevalence — 11% — of recent use,” Raphaël Mirailles, MD, from Hospital Lariboisiere, Paris, who presented the findings at the European Society of Cardiology Congress, said in a press release. “Recreational drug more
Systemic immune-inflammation index predicts mortality in rheumatoid arthritis
August 29 ,2024
Overview:Systemic immune-inflammation index levels may be used to predict all-cause and cardiovascular mortality among patients with rheumatoid arthritis, according to data published in Scientific Reports.“The SII has been extensively investigated as an indicator that reflects the level of systemic inflammation and immune response,” Wei Wang, of Dandong Central Hospital and China Medical University, and colleagues wrote. “The SII is determined through the formula: (platelet count×neutrophil count)/lymphocyte count.“Therefore, utilizing the biomarker SII, which represents the more
Deep-learning model based on retinal images may help assess cardiovascular disease risk
August 28 ,2024
Overview:The retinal image-based, deep-learning cardiac BioAge model accurately stratified individuals by traditional cardiovascular disease risk biomarkers, with leukocyte telomere length inversely related to BioAge score, researchers reported.“It is now recognized that deep learning (DL) can extract data from retinal images to augment the traditional means of estimating atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk,” Ehsan Vaghefi, PhD, from the department of optometry and ophthalmology at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, and colleagues wrote in Optometry and Vision Science. “We more
GLP-1s may improve outcomes when added to SGLT2 therapy for HFpEF, diabetes and obesity
August 28 ,2024
Overview:GLP-1 receptor agonist use on top of SGLT2 inhibition in patients with HF with preserved ejection fraction, type 2 diabetes and obesity was associated with reduced risk for adverse events vs. SGLT2 inhibition alone, researchers reported.The benefits of adding a GLP-1 receptor agonist to SGLT2 inhibitor therapy were consistent across subgroups based on BMI and left ventricular ejection fraction, according to the study published in JACC: Heart Failure.“GLP-1 receptor agonists [have] been found to improve the quality of life of patients with obesity and type 2 diabetes combined with HFpEF. more
Q&A: Yutrepia for PAH, pulmonary hypertension-ILD receives tentative FDA approval
August 28 ,2024
Overview:Around 7 months after not meeting the Prescription Drug User Fee Act goal date for Yutrepia, the FDA has tentatively approved the drug for pulmonary arterial hypertension and pulmonary hypertension-associated interstitial lung disease.As Healio previously reported, the FDA did not make a decision on Yutrepia (treprostinil, Liquidia Corporation) to treat patients with PAH and pulmonary hypertension (PH) associated with ILD by its goal date of Jan. 24 earlier this year.According to a press release from Liquidia, the recent tentative approval of Yutrepia — an investigational, inhaled dry more
Q&A: Overlooked health issues that ‘need to be addressed’ in Asian communities
August 27 ,2024
Overview:Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, or AA and NH/PI, communities continue to face significant racial disparities in health care access and outcomes across the United States, according to an expert.During the Asian American Journalists Association's National Convention, Rita K. Kuwahara, MD, MIH, a primary care internal medicine physician and Healio Primary Care Peer Perspective Board member, gave a presentation on overlooked health disparities in AA and NH/PI populations.She noted that AA and NH/PIs are not a monolith and comprise over 50 racial and ethnic groups and speak more
Single-dose vials of tirzepatide now available on LillyDirect for adults with obesity
August 27 ,2024
Overview:Adults with obesity who have been prescribed tirzepatide can now purchase 2.5 mg and 5 mg single-dose vials of the medication, Eli Lilly announced.As Healio previously reported, the FDA approved tirzepatide (Zepbound, Eli Lilly) for chronic weight management among adults with obesity or overweight with one weight-related comorbidity in November 2023.In response to high demand for the drug, adults with obesity and a prescription for tirzepatide can pay for single-dose vials of the medication through a self-pay pharmacy component of Eli Lilly’s digital health care hub LillyDirect, the more
Stigma is ‘common thread’ among clinician suicides
August 27 ,2024
Overview:Health care professionals are more likely to experience mental health issues than other workers in the United States, but the stigma they face often deters them from seeking treatment, leading to tragic outcomes, a speaker said.At the Ending Clinician Burnout Global Summit, J. Corey Feist, JD, MBA, CEO and co-founder of the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation, discussed how health care leaders can address this stigma and remove barriers to mental health care for their employees.The Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation is named after Lorna Breen, MD, FAEP, a New York-Presbyterian more
FDA designates recall of catheter for large blood vessel clot removal as class I
August 27 ,2024
Overview:Inari Medical has issued a recall and update to the instructions for use of its 30 mm thrombectomy catheter due to risk for injury and death from device entrapment and pulmonary emboli.The FDA has identified the recall of the device (ClotTriever XL) as class I, the most serious type, as use of the device may cause injury or death. The FDA noted in an alert that this recall involves an updated instructions for use and not a product removal.Labeling changes include updates to the device warnings, prior to use, procedure and contraindications sections, according to the FDA alert.The FDA issued a more
Binge drinking increases morning-after heart rate, nervous system reactivity to BP
August 27 ,2024
Overview:Adults assigned to an evening of binge drinking alcohol experienced elevations in heart rate and sympathetic transduction to blood pressure the following morning, researchers reported.A randomized controlled study to investigate the impact of binge drinking on sympathetic transduction of muscle sympathetic nerve activity to BP was published in Hypertension.“Our motivation for this study is the under appreciation for the detrimental effects of alcohol on sleep and hypertension risk, and the lack of pragmatic study designs that have looked at these relationships at night and the following more
AI models detect pulmonary embolism early with medical record data
August 27 ,2024
Overview:Two machine learning-based models using only medical record data had high accuracy in detecting individuals with and without pulmonary embolism at hospital admission, according to results published in Journal of Medical Internet Research.“The plan is for findings from this study and similar studies to eventually be assimilated into a large model that will support the prediction of patient deterioration and assess the risk of disease and illness,” Gad Segal, MD, head of the Education Authority at Sheba Medical Center, told Healio. “This model is currently in the process of more
COVID-19 vaccine myocarditis tied to fewer adverse events vs. conventional myocarditis
August 26 ,2024
Overview:Clinical outcomes after COVID-19 vaccine-related myocarditis were similar vs. myocarditis from COVID-19 infection, and events were fewer vs. conventional myocarditis, researcher reported.Vaccine-related myocarditis predominantly affected younger men, whose treatment was similar compared with conventional myocarditis in the months after hospitalization, according to data presented at the International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology Annual Meeting and published in JAMA.“Cases of myocarditis have been broadly reported following vaccination with the COVID-19 mRNA BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 more
Postoperative atrial fibrillation more common in men, but mortality worse in women
August 26 ,2024
Overview:Among patients who had cardiac surgery, men were more likely than women to have postoperative atrial fibrillation, but for those with postoperative AF, the mortality risk was greater in women, researchers reported.“While [postoperative] AF is the most common complication after open-heart surgery, its relationship with sex — particularly regarding long-term survival — has been underexplored,” Sergey Karamnov, MD, a cardiothoracic anesthesiologist in the department of anesthesiology, perioperative and pain medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, told Healio. “By more
Hello world!
February 04 ,2021
Overview:Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start writing! The post Hello world! appeared first on World Heart Federation. more
WHF to attend the WHO Executive Board meeting in January 2017
January 23 ,2017
Overview:From 23 January to 01 February 2017, the World Health Organization(WHO) will host the 140th session. From 23 January to 01 February 2017, the World Health Organization(WHO) will host the […] more