Heart Health

This news channel includes content on cardiovascular disease prevention, cardiac risk stratification, diagnosis, screening programs, and management of major risk factors that include diabetes, hypertension, diet, life style, cholesterol, obesity, ethnicity and socio-economic disparities.
 

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Study supports higher risk thresholds for initiating statins

The authors of a new study in the Annals of Internal Medicine believe too many patients are being recommended statin therapy, and contend that current guidelines don’t fully consider the risks of the popular drugs.

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U.S. guidelines advise early action against hypertension—here’s why that might not be a good idea

Contrary to U.S. guidelines, early action against high BP in patients exhibiting signs of hypertension doesn’t reduce their risk of heart disease later in life, according to a study published in the European Heart Journal Nov. 21.

ACC offers guidance on using diabetes drugs for CV event reduction

A new expert consensus document from the American College of Cardiology singled out liraglutide and empagliflozin as the preferred drugs in their classes to reduce cardiovascular risk among patients with type 2 diabetes and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

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Smoking bans in restaurants, workplaces linked to lower SBP

Smoke-free policies in public places like bars and restaurants were linked to lower systolic blood pressures (SBPs) among participants from the longitudinal CARDIA study, according to new research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

SGLT2 inhibitors tied to ketoacidosis, limb amputation in diabetics

An observational study of nearly 35,000 Scandinavian patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) has found sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, a class of prescription drugs approved by the FDA to lower blood sugar in adults with T2D, may almost double patients’ risks of lower limb amputation and diabetic ketoacidosis compared to glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP1) receptor agonists.

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Even ‘intermittent’ exposure to Western lifestyle leads to BP increases

A study of two neighboring communities living in the remote Venezuelan rainforest is poking holes in the idea that blood pressure inevitably increases with age.

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3rd blood pressure drug recalled due to cancer concerns

A third blood pressure drug has been recalled over a carcinogenic impurity, the FDA announced Nov. 8.

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AHA.18: VITAL, REDUCE-IT deliver mixed results for fish oil products

VITAL and REDUCE-IT—both highly anticipated trials revolving around the cardiovascular benefits of fish oil products—delivered mixed results at this year’s AHA Scientific Sessions in Chicago, with one trial observing few heart benefits from omega-3s while the other saw a 25 percent reduction in major cardiovascular events with a purified eicosapentaenoic acid product.

Around the web

Several key trends were evident at the Radiological Society of North America 2024 meeting, including new CT and MR technology and evolving adoption of artificial intelligence.

Ron Blankstein, MD, professor of radiology, Harvard Medical School, explains the use of artificial intelligence to detect heart disease in non-cardiac CT exams.