People taking the widely prescribed blood-pressure medication valsartan may have been exposed to a probable human carcinogen for at least four years after a change in the manufacturing process introduced the impurity, according to an update from the FDA’s ongoing investigation into the contaminants that have been found in a series of angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs).

Non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants (NOACs) including dabigatran, rivaroxaban, apixaban and edoxaban have replaced warfarin as the preferred treatment for reducing stroke risk in patients with atrial fibrillation, according to updated guidelines issued Jan. 28.

The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) weighed in on the ongoing debate regarding the long-term safety of paclitaxel-coated balloons and stents on Jan. 25, largely agreeing with the FDA’s stance that the benefits of such devices appear to outweigh the risks until more information becomes available.

The risk of infective endocarditis rises alongside concomitant use of injected opioids, a team of researchers in Ontario, Canada, has found.

The use of transcatheter mitral valve repair (TMVR) systems continues to grow rapidly nearly six years after the FDA approved the U.S.'s first such treatment, according to research published in the American Journal of Cardiology. In contrast, rates of surgical mitral valve repair (SMVR) have remained steady.

About 1 in 5 patients experienced cachexia—or a loss of muscle and body weight—within a year of acute ischemic stroke, according to a small, single-center study published Jan. 24 in the Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle.

Although the 2013 American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association cholesterol guidelines expanded indications for statin use in heart patients, few primary care providers (PCPs) are prescribing more of the medication, researchers reported Jan. 25 in the Journal of the American Heart Association. 

Certain personality traits—namely hostility, negativity and low optimism—might elevate people’s risk of developing diabetes, according to research published Jan. 21 in the online journal Menopause.