Cardiovascular Risk Factors

Treat Depression to Prevent CVD?

By Todd Neale, Senior Staff Writer, MedPage Today Published: Feb 6, 2014 Full Story Action Points Note that two studies suggest a causal relationship between depression and cardiovascular events — with one post hoc analysis of a randomized trial demonstrating a lower rate of CVD events among those randomized to a depression intervention. Be aware […]

FDA Panels to Consider NSAID Label Changes

Published: Feb 9, 2014 | Updated: Feb 9, 2014 By Todd Neale, Senior Staff Writer, MedPage Today Full Story Two FDA advisory committees will meet Monday and Tuesday to consider the significance of recent evidence surrounding the cardiovascular risks of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), including studies pointing to lower risks with naproxen. The FDA put […]

A Soda a Day Ups CVD Risk by 30%: NHANES Study

Marlene Busko February 04, 2014 Full Story ATLANTA, GA — American adults consume on average about 15% of their calories from sugars added to foods during processing, with a whopping 37% of the added sugar consumed in sugar-sweetened beverages, suggests an analysis of data extending back about 25 years. Moreover, the study projects that regularly […]

Too Much Added Sugar May Add to CVD Death Risk

Published: Feb 3, 2014 | Updated: Feb 4, 2014 By Todd Neale, Senior Staff Writer, MedPage Today Full Story Action Points Most U.S. adults consume more added sugar than is generally recommended for a healthy diet. This prospective study found a significant relationship between added sugar consumption and increased risk for CVD mortality. Through a […]

Stroke Risk With Oral Contraceptives in Setting of Concurrent High-Risk Conditions

Stroke 2014 Jan 21;[EPub Ahead of Print], KA Ryan, JW Cole, K Saslow, BD Mitchell, PF McArdle, MJ Sparks, YC Cheng, SJ Kittner Consensus and Guidelines · January 28, 2014 Full Story Journal Reference TAKE-HOME MESSAGE This study looked at 572 women, aged 15 to 49 years, who were taking oral contraceptives (OCs). Of these, 256 […]

Dietary Fiber Associated With Reduced CV Risk and Lower CRP Levels

Am J Cardiol 2014 Jan 15;113(2)287-291, H Ning, L Van Horn, CM Shay, DM Lloyd-Jones Research · January 20, 2014 TAKE-HOME MESSAGE The study suggests that dietary fiber has an independent association with lifetime CV risk. In this review of the diets of over 11,000 individuals, a higher dietary fiber intake was associated with a low […]

PREDIMED MRI Substudy: Regression of Plaque Volume With Mediterranean Diet

Michael O’Riordan June 03, 2014 MADRID, SPAIN — An analysis of the primary-prevention PREDIMED study provides  further evidence as to why a Mediterranean diet is able to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease[1]. In a substudy of the trial, investigators report that individuals who adhered to the Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra virgin oil had significant regression […]

Frank’s Sign

George Griffing, M.D. N Engl J Med 2014; 370:e15 March 6, 2014 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMicm1213868 A 59-year-old man with long-standing hypertension presented with exertional chest pain. An electrocardiogram and cardiac stress testing were unremarkable. Coronary angiography, however, revealed substantial stenosis, and two stents were placed. The patient’s recovery was uneventful, and he has returned to the clinic with […]

Dietary Fiber Lowers Risk of CVD and CHD

Michael O’Riordan December 27, 2013 LEEDS, UK — Aside from keeping you “regular,” eating fiber also appears to be good for your heart. A new review has shown that increased consumption of dietary fiber is associated with a significantly lower risk of CVD and CHD. For every 7 g of dietary fiber eaten daily—which can […]

Anxiety Linked to Increased Stroke Risk

Sue Hughes December 27, 2013 High anxiety levels were associated with an increased risk for incident stroke independent of other risk factors, including depression, in a new prospective study. “Anxiety is a modifiable experience that is highly prevalent among the general population. Its assessment and treatment may contribute to developing more effective preventive and intervention […]

Vitamin-D Deficiency Linked to Fatal CVD

Miriam E. Tucker December 23, 2013 Vitamin-D deficiency is much more strongly linked to fatal than nonfatal CV events, results of a large prospective study suggest. “Although our results were able to confirm an approximately 27% increased total CV risk in subjects with vitamin D deficiency, they indicate that the risk is much stronger for […]

Start Warfarin, Have a Stroke?

12.20.2013 by Todd Neale Senior Staff Writer, MedPage Today Starting warfarin for preventing stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation appeared to be associated with a transiently increased risk of ischemic stroke before the preventive effects kicked in, a large case-control study showed. Compared with not taking any antithrombotics, initiating warfarin was associated with a greater […]

Modest Weight Loss in Women Benefits Heart

Published: Dec 19, 2013 | Updated: Dec 19, 2013 By Elizabeth DeVita Raeburn, Contributing Writer, MedPage Today Action Points Overweight and obese women who lost a modest amount of weight and kept it off for 2 years saw improvement in almost every measure of cardiometabolic health. Note that waist-to-height ratio, an adiposity index that may […]

Weight Reduction and Risk Factor Management in Afib

Obesity is a risk factor for atrial fibrillation. Whether weight reduction and cardiometabolic risk factor management can reduce the burden of atrial fibrillation is not known.

Video – Are Pet Owners Healthier?

Sandra Adamson Fryhofer, MD Disclosures | December 17, 2013 Hello. I’m Dr. Sandra Fryhofer. Welcome to Medicine Matters. The topic: pets and heart disease risk, a new study in the journal Circulation.[1] Here’s why it matters. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in this country. But this new study says having a pet, […]

Excess Weight Hikes Cardiac Risk All on Its Own

Published: Nov 11, 2013 | Updated: Nov 12, 2013 By Elizabeth DeVita Raeburn, Contributing Writer, MedPage Today Full Story:  http://www.medpagetoday.com/Cardiology/MyocardialInfarction/42839 Action Points Overweight and obesity are risk factors for MI and ischemic heart disease with increasing cumulative incidences of MI and ischemic heart disease from normal weight through overweight to obese individuals. The increased risk […]

Analysis: No Such Thing as ‘Benign’ Obesity

MNG Medical Media, 2013 Dec 02, MA Moon News December 03, 2013 Full Story (may require free registration):  http://www.practiceupdate.com/news/3835 “Metabolically healthy” overweight and obese patients may carry the same short-term risk as normal-weight patients for all-cause mortality and cardiovascular events, but their weight puts them at increased risk over the long term, according to a […]

Association of Nut Consumption with Total and Cause-Specific Mortality

Ying Bao, M.D., Sc.D. N Engl J Med 2013; 369:2001-2011November 21, 2013 BACKGROUND Increased nut consumption has been associated with a reduced risk of major chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, the association between nut consumption and mortality remains unclear. METHODS We examined the association between nut consumption and subsequent […]

To Reduce Stroke Risk, Take a Hike

Published: Nov 14, 2013 | Updated: Nov 15, 2013 Download Complimentary Source PDF By Salynn Boyles, Contributing Writer, MedPage Today Action Points Time spent walking by older men was associated with reduced risk of onset of stroke in dose-response fashion. There was little evidence for a dose-response relationship between walking pace and stroke. Older men […]

Coronary artery calcium (CAC) scores and dyslipidemia in relation to outcomes of cardiovascular disease

The CAC score was better correlated with cardiac events than cholesterol levels.