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UPDATED // The findings do not support the use of combination fibrate-statin therapy to reduce cardiovascular risk in the majority of patients with type 2 diabetes who are at high risk for cardiovascular disease, according to the ACCORD investigators.
Atlanta, GA(updated) - Combination therapy with fenofibrate and simvastatin failed to reduce the risk of fatal cardiovascular events, nonfatal MI, or nonfatal stroke, according to results from the Actionto Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) trial [1]. There was a suggestion of benefit observed among patients with dyslipidemia, those with high triglyceride and low HDL-cholesterol levels.
Presented today at the American College of Cardiology (ACC)2010 Scientific Sessions, the ACCORD investigators, led by Dr Henry Ginsberg (Columbia University, New York), conclude that the "findings do not support the use of combination fibrate-statin therapy, rather than statin therapy alone, to reduce cardiovascular risk in the majority of patients with type 2 diabetes who are at high risk for cardiovascular disease."Read full article »
Topic: Lipid/Metabolic; Clinical
Inside: Lipid/Metabolic
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Do current guidelines provide us with the direction for managing high-risk patients with dyslipidemia? Drs. Blumenthal, Ballantyne, and Ginsberg examine goals and strategies for managing patients at high risk.
Join Drs. Michael Davidson, Christie Ballantyne, Vera Bittner, and Roger Blumenthal for a discussion that advances our knowledge of cardiovascular risk assessment.
Simvastatin 80 mg is associated with increased risk of myopathy compared with lower doses and other statins, according to an FDA review of clinical-trial and other data.
A new BP-lowering drug that acts in a similar way to omapatrilatan agent that never quite made it to the markethas shown promise in a preliminary trial. Crucially, this dual inhibiting agent, named LCZ696, blocks angiotensin II rather than angiotensin-converting enzyme; there was no indication of angioedema in the study.
Diabetic patients whose systolic blood pressure was lowered to 130 to 140 mm Hg had a better outcome than those with systolic pressures over 140. But reductions below 130 did not appear to offer any additional benefit and had a higher mortality rate in this retrospective analysis.
Psoriasis patients should be considered at increased cardiovascular risk and prioritized for earlier medical risk-factor intervention for heart disease, the authors of a new study say.
The atherosclerotic-plaque burden among cops and firefighters is no higher than in a cohort of age-matched controls, suggesting that something else, possibly increased emotional and physical stress, is causing the increased risk of on-the-job cardiac-related events.
The ACCORD BP study shows that there is no benefit to be gained from intensively lowering systolic blood pressure to less than 120 mm Hg in type 2 diabetics; for now, a goal of <140 mm Hg seems reasonable in this population, say the authors.
UPDATED // In a population with impaired glucose tolerance and CV disease or risk factors, the angiotensin receptor blocker had a slight effect and the short-acting insulin secretagogue had no favorable impact on progression to diabetes; neither drug prevented cardiovascular events.
Despite looking fit and healthy, a third of firefighters examined in a new study were at high risk of a thrombotic event, and improving their fitness is more likely to reduce this risk than tackling excess body weight, say the researchers.
The warning will inform clinicians that tests are available to predict whether a patient will convert the drug to its active form based on the genetic profile of a key liver enzyme.
The thyroid hormone analog further reduced total- and LDL-cholesterol levels, as well as triglycerides, without any adverse effects. Commonly observed side effects of past thyroid hormone mimetics have included a rapid heart rate or atrial dysrhythmias, but these were not reported with eprotirome.
Dr Valentin Fuster sits down with Drs Peter Berger, Anne Curtis, Tim Gardner, Tony Gershlick, Harlan Krumholz, Darren McGuire, Ileana Piņa, and Rita Redberg to discuss the lessons learned at the ACC 2010 Scientific Sessions, including why lower may not be better for blood pressure, why preventing diabetes does not necessarily reduce cardiovascular risk, and the future of the mitral-valve clip.
Do gender perceptions affect the way female physicians are treated in cardiology? Drs Melissa Walton-Shirley, Judith Hochman, Suzanne Oparil, and Lynne Warner Stevenson tackle this important question.