‘Where All the Patients Went’; Statin Price Fixing; Antiplatelets for COVID-19? – MedPage Today

Heart disease accounted for a large proportion of excess non-COVID deaths in the early weeks of the pandemic, according to a study in JAMA. "Frankly, that would explain where all the patients went," John Puskas, MD, told the Washington Post.

Autopsy findings in COVID-19 unexpectedly turned up rare platelet-producing cells in the heart, suggesting that antiplatelet drugs might be worth trying, the Post also reports.

Mesoblast said it's providing compassionate use of its allogeneic mesenchymal stem cell product candidate remestemcel-L for COVID-19 infected children with cardiovascular and other complications of multisystem inflammatory syndrome.

Federal prosecutors charged Glenmark Pharmaceuticals with conspiring with other drugmakers to inflate the price of pravastatin. (Politico)

Efforts in the community to boost bystander CPR appeared to improve survival for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. (JAMA Network Open)

Bempedoic acid (Nexletol) was associated with lower LDL across statin and indication groups in pooled analysis of its phase III trials. (JAMA Cardiology)

Higher hospital and surgeon-level case volumes were linked to lower 30-day and 1-year mortality after mitral valve surgery for primary mitral regurgitation in national registry data. (JAMA Cardiology)

Comorbidities appear to be behind the worse outcomes for Black patients in stent trials. (JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions)

No surprise: Getting recommended physical activity was linked to better survival in national data. (The BMJ)

The FDA and European regulators cleared the Linq II insertable cardiac rhythm monitor with remote programming, Medtronic announced.

Arrow International's Arrow AutoCAT2 and AC3 Optimus intra-aortic balloon pumps are under Class I recall due to the possibility of motor connector wire breakage.

Abiomed's latest percutaneous left ventricular assist device, Impella 5.5, yielded 84% survival to explant and 76% cardiac recovery in a cardiogenic shock trial. (MassDevice)

First-in-human data from the phase II MOCA-1 trial supported the safety of CorFlow Therapeutics's CoFI diagnostic system for ST-elevation myocardial infarction in results presented at the virtual PCR e-Course, the company said.

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'Where All the Patients Went'; Statin Price Fixing; Antiplatelets for COVID-19? - MedPage Today