The ISCHEMIA trial found no evidence of reduction in MI and death with an initial invasive strategy compared with an initial conservative strategy. However, a…
CVCT Forum Teaser 2020: SGLT2 inhibitor trials in CKD
SGLT2 inhibitors are probably the hottest new drug on the scene in cardiology this year. They were bandied about for lowering glucose in diabetes but…
CVCT Forum 2020 Teaser: Patient Engagement is More Than a Catchphrase
We have been increasingly hearing about the need to include patient representatives in our clinical trials. “Patient engagement” has become the buzz word of the…
CVCT Forum 2020 Teaser: Darrel Francis interview with Faiez Zannad on Meta-Analysis Interpretation
Darrel Francis speaks to Faiez Zannad about his meta-analysis of SGLT2 inhibitors for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction published inThe Lancet. This interview takes you through the key components of the meta-analysis: Forest plots, what to make of the heterogeneity of effect, and subgroup analyses.
CVCT Forum 2020 Teaser: Women as One
A frequently underserved population in cardiovascular medicine is a large one… women. Dedicate Friday afternoon on December 4th to rectifying the knowledge and treatment gaps…
What Happened to Hospital Attendance: A Perception Trap
Hospital admissions for almost everything came to almost a complete halt this year because of the pandemic. In March and April 2020, people stopped coming…
James Stein Interview with SAMSON senior author Darrel Francis: Statin Side Effects – The Symptoms are Real
The SAMSON trial recruited patients who had given up statins for good due to side effects. Why was the trial needed and what do the…
SAMSON and the Future of Clinical Trials in Cardiology
The most interesting and impactful trial presented at the AHA this week (and simultaneously published in the New England Journal of Medicine) was the SAMSON trial,…
COVID-19 Heart: We have all the gear but no idea
We have plenty of sophisticated gear to understand heart problems. For COVID-19, we’ve seen Troponin blood tests, cardiac MRIs and echo. For example, cardiac injury was associated with a higher risk of death in hospitalized patients. And yet, we have no answers to the questions that matter for clinical practice.
Darrel Francis Interview with Matthew Budoff: Demistifying the EVAPORATE trial of icosapent ethyl
Darrel Francis speaks to Matthew Budoff about EVAPORATE trial and asks about the plaque progression in the placebo arm and the choice of placebo. EVAPORATE was a follow-on mechanistic study from REDUCE-IT and was presented at the European Society of Cardiology 2020 and published in the European Heart Journal.