Accupril Recall; USPSTF Finalizes Aspirin Recs; Cardiologist’s COVID Fraud

Nitrosamines struck again, forcing Pfizer to recall five lots of the antihypertensive medication quinapril HCl (Accupril), according to the FDA.

Consistent with draft recommendations released last fall, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force kept the C recommendation to individualize aspirin use in the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (and D recommendation warning against aspirin for people ages 60 and older). (JAMA)

Researchers found that nitrosamine-related drug recalls, which started in 2018 with angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs), did not impact unit price or access to ARBs. “If this is the case, why should we tolerate a generic drug market that looks solely at price and not at quality, given the quality concerns we reviewed in the cardiology market?” wrote Kevin A. Schulman, MD, of Stanford University, and colleagues. (Circulation)

Another study showed more adverse drug reactions in female versus male users of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. (JAMA Network Open)

People who developed cardiovascular risk factors quickly were more likely to develop dementia, a Swedish observational study found. (Neurology)

A Mediterranean diet was linked to a reduced risk of preeclampsia among pregnant women. (Journal of the American Heart Association)

Windtree Therapeutics announced that istaroxime was able to quickly ramp up systolic blood pressure in early cardiogenic shock in the SEISMiC phase II trial.

The FDA gave 510(k) clearance to several new continuous hemodynamic parameters on the noninvasive VitalStream wearable monitoring platform, Caretaker Medical said.

Of German stroke survivors who had received endovascular treatment, women were less likely to return to work. (Stroke)

Could alcohol septal ablation be a better choice for obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy than surgical septal myectomy? (Journal of the American College of Cardiology)

Interventionalists and surgeons penned opposing articles arguing that the 2021 European guidelines for valvular heart disease were too restrictive or too loose on transcatheter aortic valve replacement. (European Heart Journal)

Professional societies stipulated the training required for endovascular specialists, across medical and surgical specialties, to perform revascularization in chronic limb-threatening ischemia. (Journal of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions)

The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions also provided a statement on best practices for percutaneous axillary arterial access and training. (Journal of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions)

A meta-analysis of four cohort studies confirmed that the risk for myocarditis was highest among young men getting their second COVID-19 mRNA shots. (JAMA Cardiology)

The U.S. Supreme Court enlisted the Solicitor General for help in the patent spat between Amgen and Sanofi over their respective PCSK9 inhibitors. (Fierce Pharma)

Sex and socioeconomic disparities persist in cardiac surgery. (Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery)

A New York cardiologist was charged in an alleged scheme to defraud Medicare and Medicaid in over $1.3 million in false claims for COVID-19 testing, the U.S. Department of Justice found, as part of a larger fraud investigation.