Hypertension
Combined home/GP hypertension control program successful in Pakistan
3 COMMENTS - Nov 2, 2009 17:00 EST
A synergistic approach of educating general practitioners about hypertension control together with a program to send lay workers into people's homes to educate them about the management of high blood pressure has proven successful in low- to middle-income households in Pakistan.

Karachi, Pakistan - A simple strategy of training general practitioners about hypertension control once a year, combined with teaching lay healthcare workers to educate people in their homes, led to significant reductions in blood pressure among those with hypertension, in a study performed in Pakistan [1].

"This combined strategy is simple, is easy to scale up in a developing country, and does not require access to specialist services," say Dr Tazeen H Jafar (Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan) and colleagues in their paper in the November 2, 2009 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.Read full article »

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Hypertension
The Importance of Rapid Blood Pressure Reduction: Beyond the Guidelines
1 COMMENT - Jan 26, 2009 02:00 EST
Join Drs Ward, Grégoire, and McFarlane as they detail the role of ARB therapy and combination therapy in rapid blood pressure reduction and review the clinical trial data related to the efficacy of the available ARB agents.
 
Lipid/Metabolic
Not all metabolic syndrome is created equal: Framingham Offspring analysis
Nov 5, 2009 11:45 EST
The syndrome (defined by ATP III criteria) can predict increased cardiovascular and mortality risk or not, depending on which three of five risk factors contributed to the diagnosis, a cohort study suggests; its investigators caution that their observations are only preliminary.
Hypertension
Adding fuel to the J-curve fire; debate is reignited
2 COMMENTS - Nov 4, 2009 14:30 EST
More discussion about the J-curve in hypertension is published this week; one expert believes the undue attention being paid to this subject might discourage doctors from treating high blood pressure aggressively.
Prevention
Another in-hospital CV risk marker: 24-hour shifts with overnight on-call duty
1 COMMENT - Nov 4, 2009 09:45 EST
Long work shifts with nighttime on-call duty, with the inevitable interruptions of sleep, are associated with ECG, blood-pressure, and biochemical changes associated with increased cardiovascular risk, suggests a randomized crossover study that hints at a sustained effect on the risk markers if the 24-hour shifts happen too frequently.
Interventional/Surgery
US updates advice on perioperative beta-blocker use in noncardiac surgery
5 COMMENTS - Nov 3, 2009 14:30 EST
A US update on the perioperative use of beta blockers for noncardiac surgery is, says the lead author, "similar" to recent European guidance on this issue.
Clinical cardiology
ACE inhibitors of benefit in ischemic heart disease patients with preserved LV function
8 COMMENTS - Oct 19, 2009 17:00 EDT
Patients with ischemic heart disease and preserved LV function on standard therapy will gain additional benefit from taking ACE inhibitors, a new review concludes. The same cannot be said for ARBs, a drug class for which the evidence is much weaker, but these are a good substitute in those who cannot tolerate ACE inhibitors, the authors say.
heartbriefs
Expanded indication for telmisartan
3 COMMENTS - Oct 19, 2009 13:30 EDT
The drug can now be used to reduce the risk of MI, stroke, or death from cardiovascular causes in patients 55 years of age or older who are intolerant to ACE inhibitors but at high risk for cardiovascular events.
Acute Coronary Syndromes
Racial background woefully underreported in CV trials
1 COMMENT - Oct 15, 2009 13:15 EDT
Two-thirds of the 156 trials considered by the AHA in preparing a recent guideline failed to even record the ethnic backgrounds of participants, a new study has found. The researchers call for the reporting of race/ethnicity to be mandatory in all clinical trials, and they suggest medical journals should enforce this policy.
Hypertension
Diuretics effective as second-line therapy for hypertension
21 COMMENTS - Oct 13, 2009 12:00 EDT
Diuretics, especially hydrochlorothiazide, are as effective when given as second-line therapy for high blood pressure as they are when used as initial treatment, according to the first review to look at this issue.
Hypertension
High adherence to antihypertensive therapy lowers cardiovascular risk
Oct 9, 2009 13:30 EDT
Newly diagnosed hypertensive individuals who stuck to their antihypertensive therapy had a significantly lower risk of cardiovascular events than low adherers.
heartbriefs
Mercury/blood-pressure link should guide fish choices
1 COMMENT - Oct 6, 2009 16:45 EDT
An association seen between mercury levels and blood pressure, even after considering omega-3s and selenium, has researchers warning about the need to weigh the risks and benefits of fish consumption and to steer clear of bigger predators.
Hypertension
China death toll due to hypertension worse than predicted
1 COMMENT - Oct 6, 2009 14:15 EDT
The first prospective study using real data to inform the number of people suffering from and dying due to high blood pressure in China finds the problem is much worse than previously thought. A number of initiatives are planned to try to tackle this crisis.
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Editorial Programs
Editorial series
Clinical research: Comparing regulatory pathways in US and UK
Oct 30, 2009 12:35 EDT
How do regulatory pathways differ in the US and UK? Drs Harrington, Bhatt, and Cleland share their experiences and offer insight on how to support innovative research.
Editorial series
All about ARBs: From Kyoto to Barcelona
Oct 16, 2009 10:00 EDT
Join heartwire's Lisa Nainggolan as she talks to Drs Franz Messerli and Melissa Walton-Shirley about the results of the KYOTO HEART Study, what they mean for North American and European populations, and the future role of angiotensin-receptor blockers (ARBs).
Editorial series
The lowdown on high blood pressure
1 COMMENT - Sep 28, 2009 14:10 EDT
Is there an ideal blood-pressure goal? theheart.org's Dr Melissa Walton-Shirley catches up with hypertension expert and current president of the American Society of Hypertension, Dr Henry Black, to address this thorny issue and others.
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