heart failure Archives - Medical Design Sourcing

Beyond diabetes and obesity: Can GLP-1 therapies also transform chronic disease treatment?

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Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists like semaglutide and tirzepatide have cemented their status as two of the most successful drugs in recent memory. Recent projections have estimated that the drug class could fetch $44 billion by 2030 and $71 billion by 2032.

But GLP-1 sales could potentially reach greater heights as these therapies move beyond their established territories of diabetes and obesity and start tackling major conditions like chronic liver and kidney disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and heart failure.

Promising clinical trial results highlight the potential of GLP-1s in an array of disease, including chronic kidney disease, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), various forms of heart failure and potentially even Alzheimer’s.

There are, however, hurdles, such as a relatively high rate of gastrointestinal (GI) side effects, which affect somewhere around 40–7…

Medtronic execs: renal denervation for AFib could be on the horizon

The Medtronic Symplicty Spyral renal denervation (RDN) catheter delivers radiofrequency energy from four electrodes to ablate nerves in the renal arteries and treat high blood pressure. The nitinol-based device expands in a spiral pattern inside the blood vessel. [Image courtesy of Medtronic]

Medtronic renal denervation leaders Jason Weidman and Sean Salmon discuss RDN’s potential to help patients with atrial fibrillation (AFib).

As if treating an epidemic-level condition like hypertension wasn’t enough, renal denervation (RDN) also shows potential for atrial fibrillation (AFib) and other conditions related to high blood pressure.

In interviews with Medical Design & Outsourcing, Medtronic EVP Sean Salmon and SVP Jason Wediman discussed whether their Spyral Symplicity radiofrequency (RF) catheter ablation technology could help AFib patients when paired with cryoablation.

Weidman — pres…

Shunt device startup wants to break barriers in nitinol and heart sensing

Adona Medical is designing its adjustable heart shunt device with pressure sensors on both sides of the heart. [Illustration courtesy of Adona Medical]

Medical devices have yet to tap nitinol’s shape memory properties, but that’s just one breakthrough Adona Medical hopes to achieve with its adjustable, bi-atrial-sensing heart shunt.

Adona Medical co-founder and CEO Brian Fahey’s presentation on his shunt device startup’s aspirations elicited palpable interest from the cardiologists in the room at CSI Frankfurt.

“You plan to disrupt two fields in heart failure?” asked Dr. Daniel Burkhoff, the director of heart failure, hemodynamics and MCS research at the Cardiovascular Research Foundation’s Clinical Trials Center.

“We’re going to try,” Fahey replied. “Our plan is to improve patient care.”

Fahey has publicly said little abo…

COVID-19’s mechanisms are becoming clearer, Abbott’s heart failure CMO says

Dr. Philip Adamson is chief medical officer of Abbott’s heart failure business [Photo courtesy of Abbott]

We still don’t fully understand why the SARS-CoV-2 virus is so transmissible and causes severe disease in some people but not others.

But Dr. Philip Adamson, chief medical officer of Abbott’s heart failure business, said he’s amazed by how quickly we’re learning about COVID-19, building off our prior knowledge of coronaviruses and other viral pathogens.

“We have more of a handle on the mechanisms, and that’s where I think we are beginning to have hope for clarity,” he said. “In just about every disease that we are able to treat, we develop those treatments because we understand the fundamental mechanism of the disease.”

Adamson warned of increasing rates of heart and lung failure due to COVID-19 when Medical Design & Outsourcing interviewed h…

Expect more heart and lung failure years after COVID, Abbott’s heart failure CMO says

Dr. Philip Adamson is chief medical officer of Abbott’s heart failure business [Photo courtesy of Abbott]Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, we know more than ever about the SARS-CoV-2 virus and how quickly it moves to ravage the human body.

What remains to be seen is how the virus — and perhaps more importantly, our immune system’s response to it — will affect the health of people long after infection, even in mild cases. This once-in-a-century pandemic that has already killed millions across the globe could leave hundreds of millions more with chronic conditions varying in acuity.

“Not only is the viral infection bad for some people, but the subsequent body’s reaction to the viral illness in many people is remarkable. I personally have never seen anything like it,” said Dr. Philip Adamson, chief medical officer of Abbott’s heart failure business. “I’ve lived through and trained through the AIDS epidemic and learned a lot abo…

Expect more heart and lung failure years after COVID, Abbott’s heart failure CMO says

Dr. Philip Adamson is chief medical officer of Abbott’s heart failure business [Photo courtesy of Abbott]

Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, we know more than ever about the SARS-CoV-2 virus and how quickly it moves to ravage the human body.

What remains to be seen is how the virus — and perhaps more importantly, our immune system’s response to it — will affect the health of people long after infection, even in mild cases. This once-in-a-century pandemic that has already killed millions across the globe could leave hundreds of millions more with chronic conditions varying in acuity.

“Not only is the viral infection bad for some people, but the subsequent body’s reaction to the viral illness in many people is remarkable. I personally have never seen anything like it,” said Dr. Philip Adamson, chief medical officer of Abbott’s heart failure business. “I’ve lived throu…

Recurrent clinical trial events: Analyzing methodologies with cardiology examples

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

Cardiology trials often adopt composite endpoints that combine several events of clinical interest as the primary efficacy outcome.

Time-to-first-event approaches follow the recommendations of regulatory agencies. But composite outcomes that only consider the first event are suboptimal for a chronic disease such as heart failure (HF), which is characterized by recurrent HF hospitalizations since repeat events within individuals are ignored in analyses.

Recurrent HF hospitalizations indicate a worsening condition and disease progression, so considering all HF hospitalizations in analysis more accurately assesses the effect of treatment on the true disease burden. Currently, there is no recommendation as to the preferred approach. The CHARM-Preserved trial shows the impact of analyzing only the time-to-first event and ignoring repeat hospitalizations.1

Of th…