Aldosterone

Fewer than one-third of patients with heart failure are taking the three types of medications that are most effective in prolonging life and improving quality of life. The November issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter provides an overview of treatments recommended by national guidelines.

By about age 50, more than half of adults have dealt with hemorrhoids. The November issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter covers home treatments that can relieve symptoms of this common and embarrassing problem.

Less than one-third of patients hospitalized for heart failure and participating in a quality improvement registry received a guideline-recommended treatment of heart failure, aldosterone antagonist therapy, according to a study in the October 21 issue of JAMA.

A study published today in JAMA (October 21) by Nancy M. Albert and colleagues, exploring aldosterone antagonist usage among US patients hospitalised with heart failure, found that only one-third of patients meeting current US Clinical Practice Guidelines criteria were actually being treated.

A study published today in JAMA (October 21) by Nancy M. Albert and colleagues, exploring aldosterone antagonist usage among US patients hospitalised with heart failure, found that only one-third of patients meeting current US Clinical Practice Guidelines criteria were actually being treated.

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for its angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) Micardis® (telmisartan) Tablets 80 mg for reduction of the risk of myocardial infarction, stroke, or death from cardiovascular causes in patients 55 years of age or older at high risk of developing major cardiovascular events who are unable to take angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors.(1) MICARDIS is the most studied ARB in this high-risk patient population and has been commercially available to treat hypertension (high blood pressure) since its approval in 1998.

Relypsa, Inc., today announced the initiation of patient enrollment in the PEARL-HF study, a Phase 2b clinical trial of the company’s lead compound, RLY5016. A novel potassium binder designed for chronic use, RLY5016 is being evaluated in the prevention and treatment of hyperkalemia, for which there are no current satisfactory treatments.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Valturna((R)) (aliskiren and valsartan) tablets, the first and only medicine to target two key points within the renin system, also known as the renin angiotensin aldosterone system (RAAS), an important regulator of blood pressure.

Twenty-four month findings from IMPROVE HF, (The Registry to Improve the Use of Evidence-Based Heart Failure Therapies in the Outpatient Setting), funded by Medtronic, Inc., demonstrated that clinics using the process improvement program increased adherence to evidence-based, guideline-recommended care by 82 and 62 percent, respectively, for cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) and implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) use, and 80 percent for aldosterone antagonist use, all relative to baseline results.