Cardiovascular System

Early Signs of Stroke Missed in Many Cases

Published: Apr 7, 2014 | Updated: Apr 8, 2014 By Todd Neale, Senior Staff Writer, MedPage Today Full Story Journal Reference  Action Points Many strokes are potentially missed in emergency departments (EDs) in the days before the problems become obvious, a retrospective study found. Note that about one in every 10 of those potential misses […]

‘Usual’ Sodium Intake Seems to Hit Right Balance

Published: Apr 6, 2014 | Updated: Apr 6, 2014 By Todd Neale, Senior Staff Writer, MedPage Today Action Points This meta-analysis evaluated the relationship between individual measures of dietary sodium intake versus outcome, in cohort studies and randomized controlled trials. Investigators found a U-shaped association such that both low sodium intakes and high sodium intakes […]

Malalignment: a possible target for prevention of incident knee osteoarthritis in overweight and obese women

Runhaar J, et al. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2014 Apr 4. [Epub ahead of print] Abstract Objectives. The present study aims to investigate the associations between malalignment and incident knee OA after 2.5 years in a high-risk group of 333 middle-aged overweight women (BMI ≥ 27 kg/m(2)) free of clinical and radiological knee OA at baseline.Methods. The […]

Yogurt and dairy product consumption to prevent cardiometabolic diseases: epidemiologic and experimental studies

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 04/03/2014  Clinical Article  Full Story PubMed Reference Journal Reference Astrup A – Dairy products contribute important nutrients to the diet, including energy, calcium, protein, and other micro– and macronutrients. However, dairy products can be high in saturated fats, and dietary guidelines generally recommend reducing the intake of saturated fatty acids (SFAs) to […]

Overweight and Obesity Linked to Age-Related Cataract

Research · April 03, 2014 Full Story Journal Reference   TAKE-HOME MESSAGE This meta-analysis of six longitudinal cohort studies revealed that overweight (defined as BMI of 25 to 29.9 kg/m2) was significantly associated with the development of posterior subcapsular (PSC) cataracts, while obesity (defined as BMI > 30 kg/m2) was significantly associated with nuclear, cortical, […]

Mediterranean dietary pattern, inflammation and endothelial function

Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2014 Apr 2. pii: S0939-4753(14)00109-4. doi: 10.1016/j.numecd.2014.03.003. [Epub ahead of print] Mediterranean dietary pattern, inflammation and endothelial function: A systematic review and meta-analysis of intervention trials. Schwingshackl L, Hoffmann G. Abstract BACKGROUND: High adherence to a Mediterranean diet (MD) is associated with reduced all-cause and cardiovascular mortality risk. To our knowledge, […]

The risk of venous thromboembolism, myocardial infarction, stroke, major bleeding and death in patients undergoing total hip and knee replacement

A 15-year retrospective cohort study of routine clinical practice  The Bone & Joint Journal, 04/02/2014  Evidence Based Medicine Clinical Article Full Story PubMed Reference Journal Reference Pedersen AB, et al. – Authors examined the risk of thrombotic and major bleeding events in patients undergoing total hip and knee replacement (THR and TKR) treated with thromboprophylaxis, […]

Egg consumption and cardiovascular disease among diabetic individuals

Systematic review of the literature Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity: Targets and Therapy, 03/28/2014  Review Article Tran NL, et al. – This study reviewed epidemiological and experimental evidence on the relationship between egg consumption and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risks among type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM) individuals, and T2DM risk in nondiabetic subjects. Differences in study […]

Do Fat Teens Face an Early Death?

Published: Apr 2, 2014 By Salynn Boyles, Contributing Writer, MedPage Today Full Story Action Points Body mass index at adolescence is associated with all-cause mortality in adulthood. In contrast to a documented decrease in mortality rates in normal weight participants, mortality rates among overweight and obese adolescents did not improve in the last 40 years. […]

Lifestyle Changes Staves Off Diabetes, Death

Published: Apr 2, 2014 | Updated: Apr 3, 2014 By Nancy Walsh, Senior Staff Writer, MedPage Today Full Story Action Points The randomized study assessed the long-term effect of lifestyle intervention (diet and/or exercise) on long-term outcomes among adults with impaired glucose tolerance. At 6-year the cumulative incidence of cardiovascular disease mortality, all-cause mortality, and […]

Vitamin D Not Linked With Heart Risk in Men

Published: Apr 1, 2014 | Updated: Apr 2, 2014 By Nancy Walsh, Senior Staff Writer, MedPage Today Full Story Action Points Note that this large observational cohort study failed to demonstrate a significant association between low vitamin D levels and cardiovascular outcomes. The modest association between low Vitamin D levels and cerebrovascular disease will need […]

Are you sitting down? Your heart failure risk is higher

Nanci Hellmich, USA TODAY 10:55 p.m. EDT March 31, 2014 Both sitting too much and exercising too little increase the risk of heart failure.   Both sitting too much — sometimes called sitting disease — and exercising too little may increase the chance of heart failure, a new study suggests. The risk of heart failure […]

Extra-Virgin Olive Oil Consumption Reduces Risk of Atrial Fibrillation

Research · April 30, 2014 TAKE-HOME MESSAGE In this randomized primary prevention trial, a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil significantly reduced the incidence of newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation compared with a low-fat diet and a Mediterranean diet supplemented with nuts. The authors conclude that extra-virgin olive oil within an overall Mediterranean diet may […]

Celiac Disease Linked to Almost Doubled Risk of CAD

Marlene Busko March 29, 2014 WASHINGTON, DC — Compared with the general population, individuals with celiac disease were almost twice as likely to have CAD, according to a large retrospective study presented here today at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) 2014 Scientific Sessions [1]. Even patients younger than aged 65 years were at higher […]

Dietary macronutrients, genetic variation, and progression of coronary atherosclerosis among women

American Heart Journal, 03/28/2014 Clinical Article Kalantarian S, et al. – Previous studies observed the surprising finding that saturated fat was inversely associated with atherosclerosis progression in postmenopausal women, whereas polyunsaturated fat (PUFA) and carbohydrates were positively associated. Whether certain genes modify the association of diet with atherosclerotic progression is unknown. The authors observed an […]

Eating More Fruits and Vegetables Lowers CAC Burden in Women: CARDIA

Michael O’Riordan March 28, 2014 WASHINGTON, DC — Long-term follow-up from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study suggests that a higher consumption of fruits and vegetables in women is associated with a lower risk of developing coronary atherosclerosis. Interestingly, the association between a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and coronary […]

The effect of green tea on blood pressure and lipid profile

A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials  Nutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Diseases, 03/27/2014  Evidence Based Medicine  Review Article Onakpoya I, et al. – The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the evidence for or against the effectiveness of green tea (Camellia sinensis) on blood pressure and lipid parameters. Green tea intake […]

Weight change following TKA, THA affects outcome

March 25, 2014 Patients who lose weight after joint replacement surgery have better clinical outcomes and activity levels, according to data presented at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting. “Our findings represent the first report to present evidence that weight loss is associated with improved clinical outcomes, while weight gain is associated with […]

Glycated hemoglobin measurement and prediction of cardiovascular disease

JAMA, 03/26/2014  Evidence Based Medicine JAMA. 2014;311(12):1225-1233. doi:10.1001/jama.2014.1873. The value of measuring levels of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) for the prediction of first cardiovascular events is uncertain. To determine whether adding information on HbA1c values to conventional cardiovascular risk factors is associated with improvement in prediction of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. In a study of individuals without […]

Aerobic exercise and weight loss reduce vascular markers of inflammation and improve insulin sensitivity in obese women

Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 03/21/2014 Clinical Article Ryan AS, et al. – The study aims to examine the relationships between plasma and tissue markers of systemic and vascular inflammation and obesity and insulin resistance and determine the effects of aerobic exercise training plus weight loss (AEX+WL) and weight loss (WL) alone on these […]