AHA: ARBITER 6-HALTS — Are There Any Clinical Implications?

By Kelley Luckstein

By a margin of 0.014 mm in carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), extended-release niacin (Niaspan) demonstrated superiority over ezetimibe (Zetia) as an add-on for high risk patients on long term statin therapy…

Stephen Kopecky, MD, a cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, Minn., said there was no doubt that "surrogate endpoints are being overused. In cardiology trials, the most important endpoints are the 'hard' major adverse cardiovascular events, which include cardiovascular death and nonfatal heart attack and stroke, among other things."…

Raymond Gibbons, MD, of the Mayo Clinic agreed with this point. "That is why HDL is not included as a target in current guidelines," he said.

MedPage Today by Peggy Peck, 11/17/09