theheart.org : Prevention

Medscape Medical News

Clopidogrel receives boxed warning for reduced benefit in poor metabolizers

5 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.

Arrhythmia/EP

Coffee associated with lower risk of arrhythmias

11 COMMENTS - Mar 9, 2010 15:00 EST

Drinking four or more cups of java per day is associated with an 18% lower risk of hospitalization for arrhythmias, new research shows. While the data are observational and researchers don't advocate for greater consumption, they say it is good news that coffee doesn't appear to be harmful to the heart's electrical system.

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.

Thrombosis

Apixaban better than European enoxaparin regimen for preventing VTE

Mar 4, 2010 18:30 EST

The investigational anticoagulant apixaban is more effective than the dose of enoxaparin commonly used in Europe for preventing venous thromboembolism in those undergoing knee replacement, according to new study results.

Prevention

Vigorous physical activity modestly more protective than moderate activity

4 COMMENTS - Mar 4, 2010 09:30 EST

Researchers say the incremental benefit of vigorous activity over moderate physical activity is small and that as long as individuals are burning a certain number of calories per week they lower their risk of cardiovascular disease.

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.

Brain/Kidney/Peripheral

AAA: Aspirin not warranted in healthy subjects with low ABI, based on population screening

5 COMMENTS - Mar 2, 2010 16:00 EST

Authors of the study say their study does not rule out a role for ankle/brachial index screening in the clinic or for other CVD drugs to reduce risk in asymptomatic subjects. But for aspirin and for populationwide screening, the study raises some questions.

Prevention

D is for discord: Not all studies support vitamin-D-CVD link

3 COMMENTS - Mar 2, 2010 10:30 EST

Two new studies looking at the link between use of vitamin D or blood levels of the supplement tilt in favor of the vitamin playing a role in preventing cardiovascular disease or helping improve CV risk factors. But more research is needed.

Arrhythmia/EP

Adding ECG picks up abnormalities not detected by physical exam and medical history

Mar 2, 2010 09:45 EST

Researchers say the physical examination, medical history, and 12-lead ECG were "complementary," with the exam and history detecting individuals with valvular disease, while the ECG picked up myocardial abnormalities, including hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Still, one expert says there are too many obstacles to establishing mandatory preparticipation screening with ECGs.

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.

Prevention

Less is more: Small changes would improve heart-disease outcomes in US

Feb 25, 2010 18:30 EST

Rather than concentrating primarily on medical technologies and greater use of pharmacotherapy, the US needs to seriously address lifestyle risk factors if it wants to properly tackle its heart-disease epidemic, a new Lancet editorial concludes.

Prevention

US scientists begin to unravel the mystery of 9p21

Feb 25, 2010 09:30 EST

New research has shed some light on a hitherto-unsolved genetic mystery: how a common variation on chromosome 9p21, associated with an increased risk of early coronary artery disease, might exert its effects. But the scientists stress that more work will be needed to see whether the findings in mice translate into humans.

Prevention

Walnuts may improve lipids, endothelial function in diabetics

1 COMMENT - Feb 22, 2010 19:00 EST

A small randomized crossover trial showed that flow-mediated dilation improved in people with type 2 diabetes who added walnuts to their meals over an eight-week period.

Hypertension

IOM report calls hypertension the "neglected disease"

Feb 22, 2010 18:15 EST

Most patients diagnosed with hypertension do not have their blood pressure adequately controlled, the report found. Physicians are also failing to adhere to guidelines for treating mild hypertension in older patients.