-
Statins decrease the risk of cardiovascular diseases and deaths for cardiovascular causes, not only decreasing circulating lipids but also through endothelial anti-inflammatory effects. According to recent trials, it was hypothesized a third mechanism, too: a decrease in blood pressure. With a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial, some Italian researchers have evaluated the hypotensive effect of pravastatin in subjects with hypertension and dyslipidemia.
MedNews (Cardiologia) - Mar, 26 Aprile 2011
http://mn.medsurfnews.com/
-
The continuous progression of coronary revascularization techniques should be associated with a constant decrease in the number of myocardial infarctions. Some US researchers, using Medicare data, have tried to verify whether the trend of infarction incidence is really towards reduction. The rough rate of hospitalization for infarctions has dropped from 1131 every 100,000 people a year in 2002 to 866 in 2007, a reduction of 23% in 5 years.
MedNews (Cardiologia) - Mar, 26 Aprile 2011
http://mn.medsurfnews.com/
-
From previous trials we know that the assumption, at the same time, of clopidogrel and protonic pump inhibitors (PPIs) increases cardiovascular risk. Some researchers have reviewed the data from Medicaid in Tennessee concerning 20,596 patients treated with clopidogrel after a hospitalization for infarction, coronary revascularization or unstable angina; the considered period of time has been of 7 years and 37% of them have been treated, at the same time, also with a PPI.
MedNews (Cardiologia) - Lun, 18 Aprile 2011
http://mn.medsurfnews.com/
-
To test the hypothesis that hyperuricemia is associated with coronary artery calcification (CAC) among a relatively healthy population, and that the extent of calcification is directly proportional to the serum uric acid (sUA) concentration, data from 2,498 participants in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study were analyzed. results showed that yperuricemia appears to be an independent risk factor for subclinical atherosclerosis in young adults.
Arthritis Research & Therapy (Cardiologia) - Lun, 18 Aprile 2011
http://arthritis-research.com/
-
A new study found that coronary artery bypass surgery added to medical therapy for selected chronic heart failure patients offered benefits over medical therapy alone. The combination of the two treatment approaches reduced the combined rate of deaths and heart-related hospital stays by 15 percent, although the total number of deaths between the two groups of patients was not significantly different, according to the National Institutes of Health-funded research. The findings suggest that bypass surgery might be a viable option for more coronary heart disease patients than previously thought.
National Institutes of Health (Cardiologia) - Mar, 12 Aprile 2011
http://www.nih.gov
-
In superficial thromboses, the use of an anticoagulation agent is still discussed, since the risk to meet a deep venous thrombosis (DVT) or a pulmonary embolism (PE) afterwards has not been quantified with a certain safety, yet. In France, 844 patients affected by superficial venous thrombosis, confirmed with a Doppler ultrasonography (finding a hypoechogenic non-compressible area over 5 cm of length in the leg superficial blood vessels) have been studied.
MedNews (Cardiologia) - Lun, 4 Aprile 2011
http://mn.medsurfnews.com/
-
An experimental, minimally invasive procedure to place a new valve in a damaged heart is as good as conventional open-heart surgery, although it comes with a higher risk of stroke, researchers reported Sunday. Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) involves snaking a valve into position in the heart via an artery in the leg or directly through a tiny incision into the left ventricle of the heart, similar to a balloon angioplasty procedure to clear clogged arteries. The device is not yet approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, although the new study results will no doubt be taken into account when the agency makes its decision.
Medline Plus (Cardiologia) - Lun, 4 Aprile 2011
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus
-
In many patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and with few symptoms, the management of the disorder can be limited to the control of the heart rate without trying to restore sinus rhythm. Traditionally, the objective, in these cases, is to obtain a heartbeat similar to the one in such a subject but as to sinus rhythm, even if in a retrospective analysis on two trials on the comparison between rhythm and heart rate has not shown any significant clinical advantages with the strict control of heart rate. Now, a Dutch trial has randomized 614 patients with atrial fibrillation, eligible for the control of heart rate alone through intensive management (< 80 bpm at rest and < 110 bpm under little strain) or a less strict control (< 110 bpm at rest).
MedNews (Cardiologia) - Lun, 28 Marzo 2011
http://mn.medsurfnews.com/
-
Alterations in gene expression in peripheral blood cells have been shown to be sensitive to the presence and extent of coronary artery disease (CAD). A non-invasive blood test that could reliably assess obstructive CAD likelihood would have diagnostic utility. The short-term outcomes and feasibility of modular stent-graft implantation for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) have been demonstrated. However, the long-term outcomes remained to be observed. The article shows images of a modular stent-graft implanted on a 69-year-old man with exacerbating abdominal pain for his AAA.
Journal of the American College of Cardiology (Cardiologia) - Lun, 28 Marzo 2011
http://content.onlinejacc.org/
-
Improving the lipid profile in patients does not necessarily imply a remarkable clinical result: in diabetic patients (where there are often high levels of triglycerides and low levels of HDL cholesterol) it is used to add also a fibrate to the therapy. With the ACCORD trial, researchers have evaluated the possibility to add a fenofibrate to statins to prevent cardiovascular events in type 2 diabetics: more than 5000 diabetics (averagely 62 years of age; 31% women; HbA1c ≥ 7.5%; LDL between 60 and 180 mg/dl; HDL < 55 mg/dl in women and < 50 mg/dl in the others), all under treatment with statins, to which fenofibrate (160 mg/die) or placebo have been randomly added, have been enrolled.
MedNews (Cardiologia) - Lun, 21 Marzo 2011
http://mn.medsurfnews.com/