Medscape Conference Coverage, based on selected sessions at the:

European Society of Cardiology (ESC) 2008 Congress

August 30 - September 03, 2008; Munich, Germany

This activity is not sanctioned by, nor a part of, the European Society of Cardiology. Conference news does not receive grant support and is produced independently.

Featured Coverage

Controversies in Hypertension From ESC 2008

Was the "bad news" for beta-blockers from ASCOT/CAFE and LIFE real? New analyses say otherwise. And a new analysis finds good news for calcium channel blockers, again contradicting old beliefs.
Studies of Raising HDL Cholesterol: Updates at ESC 2008

In addition to data-mining the famous 4S results, new results with pravastatin, ApoA-1 Milano, niacin, and fibrates support the next big step: raising HDL-C levels.

Conference News

UK Indians with ACS present younger

A new prospective British study has found that Indian Asians with acute coronary syndrome presenting to a chest pain clinic were, on average, almost 10 years younger than white Europeans presenting for the same reason, and they also had a much higher incidence of triple-vessel disease.
Medscape Medical News, September 19, 2008
Early Enzyme Treatment Best in Fabry's Disease

A new study has found that in patients with Fabry's disease, the extent of myocardial fibrosis at baseline is crucial in determining how well they will respond to enzyme-replacement therapy.
Heartwire, September 17, 2008
France Doing Well Too

Three small countries--Luxembourg, Norway, and Switzerland--have emerged as the top nations for cardiac care in Europe in a new report. France comes a close fourth, scoring high on prevention.
Heartwire, September 12, 2008
HORIZONS-AMI: Mortality and Major Bleeds

Fewer major bleeding complications with bivalirudin accounted for the drug's observed significant clinical advantage over conventional heparin plus a glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor, according to its investigators.
Heartwire, September 12, 2008
Natriuretic Peptide Marker and Acute HF

It's a resurgence for atrial natriuretic peptide, the first in this class of hormones to be discovered. A fragment of its precursor molecule may have a future as a diagnostic marker.
Heartwire, September 10, 2008
REVERSE at 18 Months

The trial's extended follow-up of its European patients strengthens its earlier evidence that CRT can reverse cardiac remodeling even in NYHA class 1-2, and its suggestions of a clinical benefit continue to inspire optimism.
Heartwire, September 8, 2008
Apixaban in Phase 2 Study

The addition of apixaban to antiplatelet therapy resulted in an increase in bleeding, but there was also an observed trend toward a reduction in clinically relevant ischemic events, a new dose-ranging study has shown.
Heartwire, September 5, 2008
EUROASPIRE III

Investigators told the audience that almost 85% of patients wanted to know their risk of heart disease, but very few knew their real risk, assuming they were as healthy as men and women their own age. Also, more than 80% of those participating in the survey were not provided with a professional lifestyle and risk-factor management program, despite evidence that such programs are effective.
Heartwire, September 3, 2008
Immunosuppression and Virus-Negative Inflammatory Cardiomyopathy

The findings support a strategy of first testing patients for persistent viral load before choosing a treatment strategy.
Heartwire, September 3, 2008
Tirofiban Cuts Periprocedural MI

A new study in low-risk, elective-PCI patients who were also nonresponsive to aspirin and/or clopidogrel shows that adding tirofiban during PCI can cut MI rates by more than 40%, as compared with patients given a placebo infusion.
Heartwire, September 3, 2008
FX06 of Little Benefit

An exploratory phase 2 trial of a new small peptide compound, FX06, designed to cut reperfusion injury in STEMI patients, has failed to show a benefit on the primary end point. But the investigators are still planning a larger trial, convinced that the agent holds promise.
Heartwire, September 2, 2008
Restenosis Rates for Endeavor Stent: SCAAR

Investigators say the findings support calls for larger randomized trials comparing different DES, although whether the higher restenosis rates also affect mortality remains unclear.
Heartwire, September 2, 2008
Vytorin Data in Aortic Stenosis Patients

The SEAS data were presented today at the European Society of Cardiology, but the focus turned to the cancer risks observed in the trial. An analysis of ongoing studies--IMPROVE-IT and SHARP--suggests the finding is a play of chance, but others, including prominent New England Journal of Medicine editorialists, say there is uncertainty about the safety and efficacy of the drug.
Heartwire, September 2, 2008
TRITON-TIMI 38: Clinical Gains for Prasugrel

Diabetics with ACS treated with PCI who received the newer agent didn't show the increased bleeding risk observed in the overall trial.
Heartwire, September 2, 2008
Better Survival With PCI in Stable CAD?

The authors acknowledge that their analysis, which included COURAGE patients, will stoke new debate, but argue that their approach has endeavored to avoid selection bias while including the longest possible follow-up, something that has masked PCI's survival benefits in other studies.
Heartwire, September 2, 2008
SYNTAX: DES Fail to Match CABG for Complex CAD

While DES results failed to meet the test of noninferiority to CABG for a composite end point of death, MI, stroke, and revascularization, the two strategies had comparable rates of "hard" clinical events at one year. Rates of stroke were higher for CABG, while repeat procedures were more common for PCI.
Heartwire, September 1, 2008
LEADERS at the ESC

The novel stent platform, which elutes a sirolimus analog from a biodegradable platform, was noninferior to the sirolimus-eluting stent in terms of the primary end point of cardiac death, MI, and target-vessel revascularization.
Heartwire, September 1, 2008
BEAUTIFUL: Negative Trial With Niche Benefits

Ivabradine was no better than placebo in terms of reducing cardiac death and other coronary and heart-failure outcomes in the overall trial population; however, patients with heart rates higher than 70 bpm had reduced hospitalizations for heart failure and MI and reduced revascularizations with ivabradine.
Heartwire, August 31, 2008
TRANSCEND Disappoints

The angiotensin-receptor blocker telmisartan has fared no better than placebo in TRANSCEND in patients at high-risk of cardiovascular disease unable to tolerate ACE inhibitors, seemingly providing more questions than answers.
Heartwire, August 31, 2008
TIME-CHF and HF Natriuretic-Peptide Targets

Medical therapy aimed at cutting natriuretic-peptide levels to prespecified targets didn't improve hospitalization-free survival compared with symptom-guided management, but there were secondary suggestions that the novel management strategy might be helpful in patients younger than 75 years.
Heartwire, August 31, 2008

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