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: 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.
Under-Representation of Women in Heart Failure Trial Leadership
Women have been under-represented as professionals in cardiology and as researchers. In a systematic review of randomized clinical trials published in high impact journals, we…
New drugs for Heart Failure: “My cup runneth over”
The therapy of patients with Heart Failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) has evolved over the past several decades. Beta blockers; ACEIs, ARBs or sacubutril/valsartan; along with a MRA; a loop diuretic; and hydralazine/ISDN (in African Americans) form the basis of current guideline recommended therapy. Despite their use, even when appropriately dosed at target levels, there remains a considerable incidence of hospitalizations for Heart Failure (HHF) and cardiovascular mortality (CVM) as well as compromised quality of life and increased health care costs.
Darrel Francis Interview with Milton Packer : the EMPEROR-Reduced Trial, the Patients and the Endpoints
How do triallists decide the two key features of a trial: which patients and what endpoints? And what is the future for SGLT2 inhibitors in…
A COVID-19 Cardiac MRI Study: What Went Wrong?
We still don’t know what COVID-19 is doing to the heart or how we should be investigating it and treating it. Last month JAMA Cardiology published a German cohort study of 100 patients recently recovered from COVID-19.
A number of striking problems with the study were noted on Twitter.
Learning Amidst A Pandemic: Collecting COVID-19 Data Across Cardiovascular Clinical Trials
In December 2019, the rumblings of a virus meandering its way through Wuhan province in China slowly made their way to Western airways. Little attention…