theheart.org : Lipid/Metabolic

Hypertension

INVEST: Mortality hazard with lowest blood pressures in diabetics with CAD?

1 COMMENT - Mar 14, 2010 18:00 EDT

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.

Prevention

Psoriasis "firmly established" as risk factor for CV disease

Mar 14, 2010 10:15 EDT

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.

Lipid/Metabolic

No increased atherosclerotic-plaque burden in cops and firefighters

Mar 14, 2010 08:45 EDT

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.

Hypertension

ACCORD BP: Intensive BP lowering futile in diabetics

6 COMMENTS - Mar 14, 2010 08:00 EDT

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.

Lipid/Metabolic

ACCORD: Fenofibrate no benefit to statin therapy in high-risk diabetic patients

16 COMMENTS - Mar 14, 2010 08:00 EDT

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.

Lipid/Metabolic

NAVIGATOR off course to diabetes prevention with valsartan, nateglinide

7 COMMENTS - Mar 14, 2010 08:00 EDT

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.

Lipid/Metabolic

Antisense inhibitor of apoB synthesis: A new approach for severe hypercholesterolemia

Mar 13, 2010 18:30 EST

The novel agent was associated with impressive reductions of LDL and Lp(a) in a trial in patients with homozygous FH.

Clinical cardiology

Fitness more important than fatness for thrombotic risk in firefighters

Mar 13, 2010 16:45 EST

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.

Medscape Medical News

Clopidogrel receives boxed warning for reduced benefit in poor metabolizers

8 COMMENTS - Mar 12, 2010 17:42 EST

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.

Lipid/Metabolic

Eprotirome further reduces cholesterol levels in statin-treated patients

1 COMMENT - Mar 10, 2010 17:00 EST

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.

Lipid/Metabolic

Components of metabolic syndrome linked to plaque progression

Mar 9, 2010 14:00 EST

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.

Hypertension

Overweight, obese gain greater benefit from BP lowering

Mar 8, 2010 16:00 EST

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.

Lipid/Metabolic

Dieting by DNA? Popular diets work best by genotype, research shows

Mar 8, 2010 15:45 EST

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.

News

What's going to be hot at ACC 2010?

Mar 5, 2010 16:45 EST

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.

Prevention

Weight fluctuations among normal-weight individuals increases CVD risk

Mar 5, 2010 10:15 EST

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.

Lipid/Metabolic

HbA_1c in nondiabetics a potent mortality, CV risk marker in ARIC analysis

2 COMMENTS - Mar 3, 2010 17:00 EST

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?

Prevention

Call for increased awareness, identification of prediabetes

2 COMMENTS - Mar 3, 2010 12:15 EST

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.

Prevention

Even low-level smoke exposure increases atherosclerosis and lipid changes in adolescents

Mar 3, 2010 10:15 EST

The results suggest that children should not be exposed to tobacco smoke at all.

Imaging

Weight loss, regardless of diet intervention, can reverse carotid disease

1 COMMENT - Mar 2, 2010 16:45 EST

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.

Lipid/Metabolic

Obese kids as young as three have raised CRP

Mar 2, 2010 13:45 EST

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.

Lipid/Metabolic

COX-2 inhibitors blunt "preconditioning" effect of statin

2 COMMENTS - Mar 1, 2010 17:00 EST

The COX-2 inhibitor celecoxib completely abolished the beneficial preconditioning effect of rosuvastatin in a small mechanistic study in human volunteers.

Prevention

US salt-reduction policy would save billions of dollars

4 COMMENTS - Mar 1, 2010 17:00 EST

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.

Medscape Medical News

Medicare will delay paying claims for two weeks

2 COMMENTS - Mar 1, 2010 12:00 EST

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.

Medscape Medical News

Medicare pay cut of 21.2% to take effect Monday

6 COMMENTS - Feb 26, 2010 16:30 EST

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.

Medscape Medical News

Diets high in fat, particularly trans fat, raise risk for ischemic stroke

4 COMMENTS - Feb 26, 2010 15:00 EST

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.