Cardiology news: award winning coverage by heartwire

Prevention

More doctors advising patients to exercise

1 COMMENT - Feb 10, 2012 14:45 EST

In 2010, one in three patients who visited a physician or other health professional had been told to start or maintain physical activity or exercise.

Features

The doctor will see you now (from the other side of the world)

5 COMMENTS - Feb 10, 2012 12:30 EST

A unique "medical mission" using handheld echo in a remote rural population in India is being hailed as a success after cardiologists around the globe logged on over a two-day period to read the echocardiograms of unseen patients half a world away.

Lipid/Metabolic

Over 1300 deaths in Mediator scandal in France

Feb 9, 2012 14:15 EST

The number of deaths attributable to heart-valve insufficiency as a result of the use of benfluorex in France is likely more than double that previously thought, a new investigation finds.

Hypertension

Ten foods provide half of sodium eaten in US

Feb 9, 2012 10:00 EST

New estimates of salt consumption from a recent US survey show that 10 food groups provide almost half of the dietary sodium consumed in the country and that 90% of individuals eat more than the recommended daily amount of sodium.

Prevention

Like father, like son: Y-chromosome variant may explain CAD

Feb 8, 2012 18:30 EST

New genetic work has unveiled an association between some lineages of the relatively empty male Y chromosome and coronary artery disease. The hypothesis, while "intriguing," requires more research to confirm, says one expert.

Brain/Kidney/Peripheral

For stroke risk, look for novel lipid/lipoprotein biomarkers

4 COMMENTS - Feb 8, 2012 11:15 EST

Women with triglyceride levels in the highest quartile had a significant 56% increased risk of stroke compared with women in the lowest quartile. Similarly, for women with highest quartile of VLDL particle size and IDL particle number, there was a significant 59% and 46% increased risk of ischemic stroke compared with women in the lowest quartile.

Lipid/Metabolic

Fitness and fatness independently linked with CVD risk factors

2 COMMENTS - Feb 6, 2012 16:00 EST

Individuals should be aware that exercising can have positive health effects, even if the weight doesn't necessarily come off, as can losing weight alone, researchers say, although the ideal combination is to improve fitness and lose fat.

Lipid/Metabolic

Lower mortality in NFL players—if weight is kept in check

2 COMMENTS - Feb 6, 2012 14:15 EST

The reduction in mortality and cardiovascular disease was observed in the smaller players—defensive backs, quarterbacks, and wide receivers, as well as fullbacks, halfbacks, and running backs, among others. For the true giants of the gridiron, the linemen, cardiovascular disease mortality was not significantly reduced compared with the US population.

Brain/Kidney/Peripheral

KEEP: Focus on CKD patients with highest SBP

Feb 6, 2012 12:30 EST

A new, contemporary study in real-world patients with chronic kidney disease finds that those with systolic BPs of 140 mm Hg and higher are at the greatest risk of developing end-stage renal disease. Hence the current "goal" in CKD patients of 130 mm Hg should be revised upward, say the authors, making the target easier to achieve and allowing physicians to focus on other aspects of care.

Medscape Medical News

Sitagliptin/metformin once-daily combo approved for diabetes

Feb 3, 2012 18:00 EST

The extended-release combination of sitagliptin and metformin joins saxagliptin/metformin as a once-daily tablet for type 2 diabetes.

Prevention

Photos on school lunch trays boost veggie intake

Feb 3, 2012 15:45 EST

A simple intervention, whereby photographs of green beans and carrots were placed in lunch trays in a school cafeteria, has had some success in boosting consumption of these vegetables among elementary schoolchildren.

Features

The flap over flavonoids

7 COMMENTS - Feb 2, 2012 15:15 EST

The field of flavonoids and polyphenols continues to attract a massive amount of interest, from researchers and the public alike. But can health really be improved by eating chocolate and drinking red wine?

Prevention

"Cardiovascular health," new focus of the AHA, linked with reduced mortality

2 COMMENTS - Feb 1, 2012 16:15 EST

Individuals meeting five of seven cardiovascular health metrics outlined by the American Heart Association had a significantly lower risk of all-cause mortality and deaths from diseases of the circulatory system when compared with unhealthy individuals who met none of the cardiovascular health criteria.

Medscape Medical News

Stroke risk linked to infections in children

Feb 1, 2012 09:00 EST

A new study finds the risk is highest closer to infection, then tapers off.

Medscape Medical News

Combination type 2 diabetes pill gets FDA nod

Jan 31, 2012 17:30 EST

The new treatment option combines linagliptin and metformin in a single tablet taken twice daily in adults with type 2 diabetes who require more than one medication to lower blood glucose.

Imaging

New data will shed light on cancer risk from imaging

Jan 31, 2012 13:00 EST

Ongoing epidemiological studies in children who have undergone CT scans should help provide a better understanding of radiation-associated cancer risks from cardiac imaging over the next few years.

Medscape Medical News

Once-weekly exenatide okayed by FDA for type 2 diabetes

1 COMMENT - Jan 30, 2012 17:30 EST

The FDA approved the once-weekly version of exenatide for type 2 diabetes with a list of required postmarketing studies on the potential for cardiovascular events and medullary thyroid carcinoma.

Lipid/Metabolic

Statins reduce cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality in women: Meta-analysis

13 COMMENTS - Jan 30, 2012 16:00 EST

Based on the meta-analysis, which included 18 clinical trials, investigators conclude that the benefits of statin therapy for the reduction of cardiovascular outcomes and all-cause mortality extend to both men and women.

Hypertension

Interarm BP differences increase CVD risk

Jan 30, 2012 13:15 EST

New research indicates that large differences in systolic blood pressure between the right and left arm of 15 mm Hg or more point to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and death. The findings should add weight to guidelines, which already encourage doctors to measure BP in both arms, say the authors and editorialists.

Acute Coronary Syndromes

Heart attack deaths plummet in three EU nations

36 COMMENTS - Jan 26, 2012 12:15 EST

New statistics from Denmark, England, and Poland show a roughly 50% drop in deaths due to acute AMI in recent decades.

Murmurs

Cardiologists flagging woeful patient care say they paid with their jobs

8 COMMENTS - Jan 25, 2012 15:30 EST

An echocardiographer and cardiac surgeon who say their jobs were axed in retaliation after they lodged numerous complaints of substandard patient care at a county hospital in Santa Clara are suing some of their former bosses, including two other cardiologists. The plaintiffs also claim they suffered severe harassment as a result of expressing their concerns. The defendants' attorney says the case "is hotly disputed."

Brain/Kidney/Peripheral

Vytorin US label updated with SHARP results

5 COMMENTS - Jan 25, 2012 12:05 EST

But the FDA has not allowed an official indication for chronic-kidney-disease patients, which has concerned investigators who conducted the trial.

Medscape Medical News

Pay for SGR repeal with war savings, say medical groups

3 COMMENTS - Jan 24, 2012 15:45 EST

A letter to Rep Dave Camp from 110 medical societies admits that war savings from military pullbacks are a "budget gimmick" but says they could retire SGR debt, another budget gimmick.

Thrombosis

PLATO: PPI analysis "raises flag" but should not change practice

7 COMMENTS - Jan 24, 2012 13:00 EST

A new analysis of the PLATO study has found that use of a proton-pump inhibitor was independently associated with a higher rate of cardiovascular events but that this was apparent in both the ticagrelor and clopidogrel arms. The finding is likely due to confounding and should not precipitate any change in advice on this subject, says the lead author.

Imaging

Carotid images don't boost quit rates or cut CV risk factors in smokers

8 COMMENTS - Jan 23, 2012 17:00 EST

A new randomized controlled trial is the latest addition to a contentious field of research trying to establish whether "seeing is believing" when it comes to motivating cardiovascular risk reduction.