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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 // 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.
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.
A new IVUS study has found that although the metabolic syndrome is associated with accelerated plaque progression, this can be attributed to its individual component risk factors rather than the syndrome itself.
The overweight and obese should be more aggressively treated with antihypertensive therapy than normal-weight individuals, because they will derive greater benefit, a new analysis of the PROGRESS study suggests.
Data presented last week suggest the secret to weight loss might lie in DNA and that the best way to shed excessive pounds is to diet according to genotype.
Pack this up for your patients: program chairs say a patient-care focus means results of this year's line-up of late-breaking clinical trials will have immediate relevance to clinical practice. Highlights include two ACCORD analyses looking at blood pressure and lipids, the EVEREST II results with the MitraClip, the MM-WES study of warfarin genotyping, plus a range of DES, HF, and atrial-fibrillation studies that may help answer the question of what therapies work best and at the best price.
Normal-weight individuals whose weight fluctuated, defined as a change in one BMI unit over a two-year period, had a risk of cardiovascular-disease events similar to individuals who were overweight. Overweight individuals who cycled did not experience an increased risk of cardiovascular events.
Glycated hemoglobin, even at levels in the normal range, independently predicted heart-disease events, stroke, and death in people initially without diabetes followed for a median of 14 years. As a risk marker, how did it compare with fasting glucose?
Less than 10% of adults in the US with prediabetes are aware that they are at high risk of developing diabetes, according to the first nationally representative survey of adults there. But gaining advice from a doctor to improve lifestyle was motivating, the study found.
Improvements in carotid disease severity, as measured by conventional ultrasound but also a three-dimensional volumetric ultrasound technique, were independent of whether patients followed a low-fat, "low-carb," or Mediterranean diet in an imaging substudy of a randomized trial.
A new study has found that abnormal levels of C-reactive protein and two other inflammatory markers are associated with increasing weight in children, starting as young as age three.
The COX-2 inhibitor celecoxib completely abolished the beneficial preconditioning effect of rosuvastatin in a small mechanistic study in human volunteers.
Adding more weight to the argument for a populationwide approach to reduce dietary sodium levels in the US is a new study suggesting such a move would save $32 billion in medical costs.
The move by Medicare is intended to blunt the effect of the 21.2% pay cut. If a fix is passed, CMS carriers will pay March claims that had been put on hold, at the current rate.
Senate Democrats will not introduce legislation creating a new effective date for the reduction until next week, according to a spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Researchers say their study is the first to confirm a link between dietary fat and stroke in older women and should serve as a reminder to clinicians to educate their patients about food choices.
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.