Episodes
Saturday Jan 06, 2024
Do Statins “REPRIEVE” People Living with HIV from CV Events?
Saturday Jan 06, 2024
Saturday Jan 06, 2024
As people living with HIV age, the risk of cardiovascular disease becomes the greatest threat to their health and quality of life. Not only does inflammation from HIV infection contribute to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), but dyslipidemia from the antivirals commonly used to treat HIV further enhances that risk. But does statin therapy reduce ASCVD risk in patients living with HIV? That's the question that the REPRIEVE study attempted to answer.
Guest Authors: Laura Lerner, PharmD and Joseph Nardolillo, PharmD, BCACP
Music by Guest Talk
Friday Nov 17, 2023
Should We Be Good SPORTs About Supplements for Cholesterol?
Friday Nov 17, 2023
Friday Nov 17, 2023
Can supplements marketed for cardiovascular health be used in place of statin therapy? Health professionals have long been wary of nutraceuticals and dietary supplements due to the lack of safety and efficacy regulations. The SPORT trial attempts to provide robust data, to practitioners and patients, on how common supplements perform compared to statin therapy.
Guest Authors: Kaitlyn Phillips, PharmD, Lindsey Pitt, PharmD, and Anna Love, PharmD, BCACP
Music by Good Talk
Friday Aug 05, 2022
Managing Pain in Patients with High Blood Pressure: Is There No Safe PATH?
Friday Aug 05, 2022
Friday Aug 05, 2022
Pain and hypertension are two of the most prevalent conditions worldwide. Acetaminophen is often considered the “go-to” and the “safe” over-the-counter analgesic for patients with hypertension because it is not commonly believed to increase blood pressure or cardiovascular events. But is that assumption grounded in evidence?
Guest Authors: Lizzie Baumeister, PharmD and Austin Morgan, PharmD, BCACP, CDCES
Music by Good Talk
Friday May 20, 2022
Friday May 20, 2022
Unfortunately, many patients with CAD do not receive the influenza vaccine every year. And many patients being discharged from hospital after an acute coronary event don't receive it either. The IAMI (Influenza Vaccination After Myocardial Infarction) study was the first, large, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-center trial to investigate whether influenza vaccination could reduce the rate of cardiovascular events in high-risk adults with CAD.
Guest Authors: Noelle Cordova, PharmD and Laura McAuliffe, PharmD, BCACP, CDCES
Music by Good Talk
Friday Aug 13, 2021
SGLT2i plus MRAs for Heart Failure: A Sweet or Sour Combination?
Friday Aug 13, 2021
Friday Aug 13, 2021
We now have “diabetes medications” to treat heart failure with reduced ejection practice (HFrEF). Many clinicians have not yet used a sodium-glucose transporter 2 inhibitor (SGLT2i) for the treatment of HF and are (rightfully) concerned about potential drug-drug interactions, particularly when using an SGTL2i with a mineralocorticoid (MRA). A recent secondary analysis using data from the EMPEROR-Reduced study may provide some reassurance.
Guest Authors: B. Blake Miller, PharmD, BCPS and Jennifer Clements, PharmD, BCPS, BCACP, CDCES, BC-ADM
Music by Good Talk
Friday Jun 11, 2021
Tiny (n-of-1) Trials to Overcome Statin-Associated Muscle Pain
Friday Jun 11, 2021
Friday Jun 11, 2021
In blinded clinical trials the percentage of patients who experience muscle symptoms while taking a statin is typically in the 3-5% range. In practice, the percentage of patients who report muscle symptoms is 10-25%. This disparity between what has been observed in blinded trials and what patients experience when treated with a statin is due, in part, to the nocebo effect — a belief that a medication may cause harm. How many lives could be saved if we routinely used tiny randomized, controlled, blinded trials to determine when statin therapy can be safely continued?
Guest Panelists: Elizabeth Hearn, PharmD; Stuart T Haines PharmD, BCPS, BCACP; and Kathryn (Katie) Kiser, PharmD, BCACP
Music by Good Talk
Friday Apr 02, 2021
FAST Take: Update on Febuxostat Cardiovascular Safety
Friday Apr 02, 2021
Friday Apr 02, 2021
We know gout is among the many comorbidities that increase the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). In 2018, the cardiovascular safety of febuxostat and allopurinol in patients with gout and cardiovascular morbidities (CARES) trial concluded that febuxostat was non-inferior to allopurinol. BUT, two of the secondary endpoints were very concerning. Febuxostat was inferior to allopurinol in terms of cardiovascular death and all-cause mortality. Many clinicians were left wondering whether febuxostat was cardiotoxic …. or conversely, perhaps allopurinol was cardioprotective. Will another cardiovascular outcome trial provide greater clarity to guide clinical practice?
Guest Authors: Sophia Dietrich, PharmD and Michael W. Nagy, PharmD, BCACP
Guest Panelist: Dawn Fuke, PharmD, BCPS
Music by Good Talk
Monday Jan 04, 2021
Is it Time to Add Colchicine to the CVD Cocktail?
Monday Jan 04, 2021
Monday Jan 04, 2021
Systemic inflammation appears to be an important contributor to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease but, to date, no medications have been approved that specifically target systemic inflammation. Could colchicine, an anti-inflammatory drug that has been used for decades, move from “perhaps-do” to a “must-do” standard of care for patients with coronary artery disease (CAD)? Data from two previous trials have demonstrated colchicine’s positive impact on cardiovascular outcomes. The LoDoCo2 study asks us, again, to consider colchicine for patients with CAD.
Guest Authors: Augustus (Rob) Hough, PharmD, BCCP and Taylor Huff, PharmD
Music by Good Talk
Friday Jul 31, 2020
Friday Jul 31, 2020
Hypertension is poorly managed in the United States with only 25% of patients achieving optimal blood pressure (BP) control (BP less than 130/80 mmHg). To achieve optimal control, patients require close follow-up and BP-lowering medication regimens need to be titrated and periodically adjusted. Community pharmacists are in a unique position to manage patients who have poorly controlled hypertension. However, significant barriers exist to implementing hypertension management services by community pharmacists including a lack of reimbursement. Is chronic care management (CCM) a viable payment model to support these services?
Guest Authors: Kimberly Zitko, PharmD, BCACP, BCGP and Brittany Schmidt, PharmD, BCACP
Music by Good Talk
Monday Jul 06, 2020
An Incli-ng of Benefit? Efficacy and Safety of Inclisiran for Elevated LDL
Monday Jul 06, 2020
Monday Jul 06, 2020
Lipid management continues to be an essential component in the prevention and treatment of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). For the past decade, clinical practice guidelines have gone back and forth about optimal treatment goals but guidelines all agree that statins should be used as the preferred initial therapy. However, there is still a lack of clarity about the optimal add-on therapies. The newest LDL-lowering therapy is inclisiran, a small interfering RNA (siRNA) that targets the PCSK9 pathway.
Guest Authors: Joshua O. Holmes, PharmD, MS and Amanda Schartel, PharmD, BCACP
Music by Good Talk