Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Cardiology for June 2008. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal articles, as well as the FDA approvals and regulatory changes that are the most likely to affect clinical practice.
Waist Size Determines Cardiovascular Disease Risk
MONDAY, June 30 (HealthDay News) -- Waist circumference is effective in determining the risk of metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease, and is as effective as body mass index (BMI) in identifying individuals with cardiovascular risk factors, according to the results of a study published in the July 1 issue of the American Journal of Cardiology.
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Exercise-Related Cardiac Arrest Survival Poor in Youth
MONDAY, June 30 (HealthDay News) -- Incidents of exercise-related sudden cardiac arrest in youths in the United States have generally resulted in poor survival during the past seven years, although a trend toward improved survival has developed recently, researchers report in the June issue of Heart Rhythm.
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Higher Albuminuria Levels Associated with Hypertension
MONDAY, June 30 (HealthDay News) -- Having a higher albumin/creatinine ratio -- even if it's in the range considered "normal" -- is associated with an increased risk of incident hypertension in women without diabetes, according to a report published online June 25 in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.
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One in Eight Taiwanese Has Chronic Kidney Disease
FRIDAY, June 27 (HealthDay News) -- About 12 percent of the Taiwanese population has chronic kidney disease, which nearly doubles their risk of death, though most are unaware that they have the disorder, researchers report in the June 28 issue of The Lancet.
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Screening Vital for Relatives of Long-QT Patients
FRIDAY, June 27 (HealthDay News) -- It is becoming increasingly common for children to be identified with congenital long-QT syndrome because of family screening, and with appropriate therapy, survival is excellent among both probands and non-probands, according to a report published in the June 15 issue of the American Journal of Cardiology.
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Silent Infarcts Found in Many Without Stroke History
FRIDAY, June 27 (HealthDay News) -- More than 10 percent of subjects without a history of clinical stroke showed at least one silent cerebral infarction on MRI, according to research from a Framingham Offspring Study sample published online June 26 in the journal Stroke.
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Doctors Urged to Take Action on Climate Change
FRIDAY, June 27 (HealthDay News) -- Just as doctors helped change public attitudes about smoking, they should lead the way in changing attitudes about climate change, according to a Views & Reviews article published June 28 in BMJ.
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High C-Reactive Protein Level Tied to Failed Cardioversion
THURSDAY, June 26 (HealthDay News) -- Increased levels of the inflammatory marker C-reactive protein (CRP) are associated with a greater risk of electrical cardioversion failure in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation, researchers report in the June 15 issue of the American Journal of Cardiology.
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Rosuvastatin Effective When Taken Twice Weekly
THURSDAY, June 26 (HealthDay News) -- Twice-weekly doses of rosuvastatin in patients intolerant of daily statins reduces total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides, according to a report published in the June 15 issue of the American Journal of Cardiology.
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Angiotensin II-Receptor Blockers Effective in Marfan's
WEDNESDAY, June 25 (HealthDay News) -- In patients with Marfan's syndrome, the use of angiotensin II-receptor blockers is associated with a significant decrease in the rate of progressive aortic-root dilation, according to the results of a small study published in the June 26 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Rivaroxaban Found Superior to Enoxaparin
WEDNESDAY, June 25 (HealthDay News) -- In patients undergoing either total hip replacement or total knee replacement, thromboprophylaxis with rivaroxaban is significantly more effective at preventing adverse events than thromboprophylaxis with enoxaparin, according to two studies published in the June 26 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine and one study published online June 25 in The Lancet.
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Source of Cardiomyocyte Progenitors Identified
WEDNESDAY, June 25 (HealthDay News) -- A subset of cells present in the epicardium, the epithelial sheet lying over the heart, can migrate into the heart and differentiate into cardiomyocytes, which could be used someday to repair the heart, according to the results of a study published online June 22 in Nature.
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Pharmaceutical Firms at Cornerstone of Drug Discovery
WEDNESDAY, June 25 (HealthDay News) -- Research and development by private sector pharmaceutical companies complements the work of publicly funded research organizations, and they played a crucial role in bringing to market the 35 most important and most commonly prescribed drugs, according to a report published in June in the Manhattan Institute's sixth Medical Progress Report.
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Radio Frequency Identification May Be Hazardous
TUESDAY, June 24 (HealthDay News) -- Radio frequency identification can induce potentially hazardous electromagnetic interference in critical care medical equipment, according to research published in the June 25 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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New Care Model Improves Blood Pressure Control
TUESDAY, June 24 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with uncontrolled hypertension can achieve blood pressure control by participating in a new model of care that combines patient Web services, home blood pressure monitoring and pharmacist-assisted care, researchers report in the June 25 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Outcomes of Drug-Eluting Versus Bare-Metal Stent Analyzed
TUESDAY, June 24 (HealthDay News) -- The widespread use of drug-eluting stents has decreased the incidence of repeat revascularization but has not increased the risk of death or ST-elevation myocardial infarction compared to the use of bare-metal stents, according to a report published in the June 25 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Aldosterone Effect on Cardiac Hypertrophy Studied in Mice
TUESDAY, June 24 (HealthDay News) -- The hormone aldosterone can lead to cardiac hypertrophy in mice via the cytokine cardiotrophin-1 (CT-1), according to research published online June 19 in Endocrinology.
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Coronary Calcium Score Shows Usefulness in Two Studies
TUESDAY, June 24 (HealthDay News) -- Coronary artery calcium (CAC) score was a better predictor for coronary heart disease and total cardiovascular disease than carotid intima-media thickness in middle-aged and older adults, and CAC scoring is effective for stratifying risk even in the elderly, according to studies in the June 23 Archives of Internal Medicine and the July 1 Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
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Statins Linked to Rise in Some Oxidized Biomarkers
TUESDAY, June 24 (HealthDay News) -- The use of statins in individuals with coronary obstructions leads to increases in oxidized phospholipids on apolipoprotein B-100 particles (OxPL/apoB) and malondialdehyde epitopes on apoB particles (MDA/apoB), though these aren't associated with changes in atheroma volume, according to research published in the July 1 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
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Guidelines for Treatment of Thrombosis Updated
TUESDAY, June 24 (HealthDay News) -- The American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) has published updated guidelines for the prevention, treatment and management of thrombosis in populations such as pregnant women, children and hospitalized patients in a supplement to the June issue of Chest.
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Preeclampsia May Lead to Decreased Insulin Sensitivity
TUESDAY, June 24 (HealthDay News) -- Women with a history of preeclamptic pregnancy respond to increased visceral fat in an enhanced insulin-resistant manner that may be associated with impaired vasodilatation. Also, early-onset preeclampsia is associated with impaired insulin sensitivity later in life, according to the results of a study released online June 23 in advance of publication in the August issue of Hypertension.
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Study Sheds Light on Link Between Smoking, Blood Clots
TUESDAY, June 24 (HealthDay News) -- Cigarette smokers show a considerable impairment in thrombin-mediated vascular responses, with inhibition of protease-activated receptor type 1 (PAR-1)-mediated endothelial vasomotor and fibrinolytic ability, according to research published in the July 1 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
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Greater Adherence to Healthy Diet Cuts Women's Death Risk
TUESDAY, June 24 (HealthDay News) -- Women who eat a prudent diet high in vegetables, fruit, legumes, fish, poultry and whole grains may have a significantly reduced risk of cardiovascular and total mortality compared to women who eat a typical Western diet, according to a report published in the July 15 issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
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Vitamin D Deficiency Related to Cardiovascular Mortality
MONDAY, June 23 (HealthDay News) -- There is an independent association between low levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, although a causal link has yet to be established, according to an article published in the June 23 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
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Protein Mediates Damage from Tobacco Pollutants
MONDAY, June 23 (HealthDay News) -- Compounds present in cigarette smoke responsible for inflammation of lung nerve endings and respiratory hypersensitivity mediate their effects via an excitatory ion channel, according to a report published online June 20 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
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Mechanism Explains Toxicity of Late tPA After Stroke
MONDAY, June 23 (HealthDay News) -- A protein activated by tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) may explain why administering tPA more than three hours after a stroke can lead to hemorrhagic complications, according to the results of a study published online June 22 in Nature Medicine.
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Article Examines Use of 'Key Opinion Leaders' in Drug Sales
FRIDAY, June 20 (HealthDay News) -- Influential doctors known as "key opinion leaders" are paid generous fees to influence their peers to prescribe a company's drugs and may in fact be considered salespeople by the industry, according to an article in the June 21 issue of BMJ.
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Bosentan Beneficial in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension
FRIDAY, June 20 (HealthDay News) -- Bosentan, a dual endothelin receptor antagonist, was associated with improvements in pulmonary vascular resistance in patients with mildly symptomatic pulmonary arterial hypertension, according to research published in the June 21 issue of The Lancet.
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Experts Discuss Cardiovascular Risks in HIV/AIDS Patients
FRIDAY, June 20 (HealthDay News) -- The success of antiretroviral drugs has enabled HIV-infected patients to live longer, but recent studies indicate that they are at higher risk of coronary heart disease, which is now a leading cause of death in this population, according to the proceedings of an American Heart Association scientific conference on the topic, published online June 19 in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
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Statins Benefit Kidney Disease Patients with Dyslipidemia
FRIDAY, June 20 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with mild-to-moderate chronic kidney disease (CKD) are prone to abnormal lipid metabolism, which can be treated effectively with statins, but evidence of statins' effectiveness in hemodialysis patients is inconclusive, researchers report in the June 24 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
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Low Income Linked to Post-Heart Attack Death
THURSDAY, June 19 (HealthDay News) -- Residing in a neighborhood with low income is associated with a higher risk of mortality following a myocardial infarction, according to research published in the June issue of the Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
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Stent Thrombosis Patients Require Better Management
THURSDAY, June 19 (HealthDay News) -- ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients who have had stent thrombosis have more adverse events and poorer early clinical outcomes than de novo STEMI patients, and require better care to narrow the gap, according to a paper published in the June 24 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
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Central Blood Pressure Beats Brachial As Prognostic Tool
THURSDAY, June 19 (HealthDay News) -- Central blood pressure is a superior predictor of cardiovascular events than brachial blood pressure and should be considered in determining the effectiveness of treatment on patients, according to research published in the June 24 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
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No Advances Made in Two Studies of Heart Failure Patients
WEDNESDAY, June 18 (HealthDay News) -- A rhythm-control strategy didn't reduce the death rate from cardiovascular causes compared to a rate-control strategy in patients with atrial fibrillation and congestive heart failure, and the antiarrhythmic drug dronedarone was associated with worsening heart failure, according to two studies published in the June 19 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Cardiac Abnormality Predicts Death in Myotonic Dystrophy
WEDNESDAY, June 18 (HealthDay News) -- Severe electrocardiogram (ECG) abnormalities and diagnosis of atrial tachyarrhythmia are independent predictors of sudden death in adults with myotonic dystrophy type 1, according to research published in the June 19 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Older Patients May Only Need Systolic Pressure Measured
WEDNESDAY, June 18 (HealthDay News) -- Patients 50 years of age or older are best tested for high blood pressure using systolic blood pressure only, because the burden of cardiovascular disease is due largely to systolic pressure, according to an editorial published online June 17 in The Lancet.
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Positive Outcomes for Drug-Eluting Stents in Diabetics
WEDNESDAY, June 18 (HealthDay News) -- Two types of drug-eluting stents result in a low need for repeat revascularization in patients with diabetes, with similar rates of revascularization, major adverse cardiac events and stent thrombosis, according to research published in the June 24 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
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Endovascular Aortic Repair Shows Mortality Benefit
WEDNESDAY, June 18 (HealthDay News) -- The availability of endovascular repair for patients with ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm led to a reduction in early overall mortality, according to research published in the June issue of the Archives of Surgery.
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Blood Pressure Tracking from Childhood Important
TUESDAY, June 17 (HealthDay News) -- Blood pressure tracking from childhood to adulthood is useful because childhood blood pressure is correlated with blood pressure in adulthood, according to a report published online June 16 in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
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Genetic Variant Affects Response to Cholesterol Drugs
TUESDAY, June 17 (HealthDay News) -- A genetic variation called alternative splicing may explain why some individuals respond poorly to cholesterol-lowering drugs, according to research published online June 16 in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
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Insulin Resistance Linked to Peripheral Arterial Disease
TUESDAY, June 17 (HealthDay News) -- Insulin resistance is strongly associated with peripheral arterial disease, and modifies the relationship between inflammation and peripheral arterial disease, according to research published online June 16 in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
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Heavy Coffee Consumption May Lower Risk of Death
TUESDAY, June 17 (HealthDay News) -- Drinking large amounts of coffee lowers the risk of death, mostly due to fewer deaths from cardiovascular disease, according to the results of a study published in the June 17 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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U.S. Death Rates Declined Sharply in 2006
MONDAY, June 16 (HealthDay News) -- Death rates in the United States dropped significantly in 2006, and life expectancy reached a record high, according to a report released this week from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics.
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Weight Not a Factor in Sirolimus-Eluting Stent Outcomes
MONDAY, June 16 (HealthDay News) -- In patients with multivessel coronary artery disease who are treated with sirolimus-eluting stents, body mass index has no effect on short-term outcomes, according to the results of a study published in the June issue of the American Journal of Cardiology.
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Red Yeast Rice Extract Shows Heart Benefits
FRIDAY, June 13 (HealthDay News) -- Long-term use of an extract of red yeast rice in patients with a previous myocardial infarction and average low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels significantly reduced the recurrence of coronary events, according to research published in the June 15 issue of the American Journal of Cardiology.
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Nurse-Led Cardiology Program Shows Some Benefits
FRIDAY, June 13 (HealthDay News) -- A preventive cardiology program coordinated by nurses that encouraged family lifestyle change, dietary changes and other improvements in risk factors helped patients with coronary heart disease and those at high risk make some healthier changes compared to usual care, according to research published in the June 14 issue of The Lancet.
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CT Lung Cancer Screenings Show Mixed Results
FRIDAY, June 13 (HealthDay News) -- In patients at high risk for lung cancer, regular helical computed tomographic screening may reduce long-term lung cancer-specific mortality. Because of other mortality risks associated with smoking, however, it may have a less significant effect on reducing overall mortality, according to research published in the July issue of Radiology.
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Smoking Needs Recognition as a Chronic Disorder
FRIDAY, June 13 (HealthDay News) -- Tobacco addiction must be recognized as a chronic disorder that may require long-term treatment, which will have more success when treatments are better matched with patients, according to an article published in the June 14 issue of The Lancet.
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Early Stroke Risk High After Transient Ischemic Attack
FRIDAY, June 13 (HealthDay News) -- Patients who have recently had a transient ischemic attack (TIA) and intracranial atherosclerosis are at high risk of having a subsequent stroke in the region of the blocked artery within 90 days, researchers report in the June issue of the Archives of Neurology.
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Cardiac Device Implantation Overused in Very Ill Patients
THURSDAY, June 12 (HealthDay News) -- Advanced heart failure patients may be undergoing cardiac device implantation that does not help them and increases their risk of in-hospital mortality because they are too ill to benefit from the treatment, according to research published online June 3 in the American Heart Journal.
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Death Risk Charts Put Disease Risk in Context
THURSDAY, June 12 (HealthDay News) -- Simple charts that give the 10-year risk of death based on age, sex and smoking status could help put disease risk in context and help patients decide where to focus on reducing risk, researchers report in the June 18 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
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Oxypurinol May Not Improve Heart Failure
THURSDAY, June 12 (HealthDay News) -- Treatment with oxypurinol didn't result in improvements in individuals with moderate to severe heart failure, although the underlying mechanism of oxypurinol may benefit patients with elevated serum uric acid, according to the results of a study published in the June 17 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
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Myeloma Drug Relieves Lupus Pathology in Mice
WEDNESDAY, June 11 (HealthDay News) -- Treating mice with lupus with bortezomib, a drug approved to treat multiple myeloma, eliminates autoreactive plasma cells, reduces glomerulonephritis and improves survival, according to study findings published online June 8 in Nature Medicine.
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Drug May Cut Risk of Invasive Breast Cancer in Some Women
WEDNESDAY, June 11 (HealthDay News) -- Raloxifene, a selective estrogen receptor (ER) modulator, lowers the risk of invasive ER-positive breast cancers but not other types of breast cancers in women who have or are at high risk of coronary heart disease, researchers report in the June 18 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
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Toothbrushing May Pose Greater Risk of Endocarditis
WEDNESDAY, June 11 (HealthDay News) -- Because it is done so frequently, routine toothbrushing may pose a greater cumulative threat to people at risk of infective endocarditis than single-tooth dental extractions, undertaken with or without prophylactic amoxicillin, according to research published online June 9 in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
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Middle-Aged Smokers at Risk of Memory Loss
WEDNESDAY, June 11 (HealthDay News) -- Middle-aged smokers are at greater risk of poor memory, but studying the impact of smoking on cognition is hampered by the greater rate of loss to follow-up by death and non-participation in tests compared to non-smokers, according to study findings published in the June 9 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
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CRP Has Poor Predictive Value for Later Heart Events
WEDNESDAY, June 11 (HealthDay News) -- C-reactive protein (CRP) measurement at three time points in patients with acute coronary syndromes was unable to predict a composite of death, non-fatal myocardial infarction and unstable angina at one year, according to research published in the June 17 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
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A Third of In-Hospital Deaths After CABG Were Preventable
WEDNESDAY, June 11 (HealthDay News) -- Approximately one-third of in-hospital deaths following coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) were preventable and occurred regardless of hospitals' low all-cause mortality rates, according to a report in the June 10 issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
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Vitamin D Deficiency Increases Myocardial Infarction Risk
WEDNESDAY, June 11 (HealthDay News) -- Men with low levels of plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D are more likely to have a myocardial infarction, even when other coronary artery disease risk factors are taken into account, according to the results of a study published in the June 9 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
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Electrical Dyssynchrony Studied in Heart Failure Patients
TUESDAY, June 10 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction who are hospitalized for worsening heart failure are likely to have a prolonged QRS duration, which is an independent risk factor for high rates of post-discharge morbidity and mortality, researchers report in the June 11 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Peptide Level Points to Future Decompensated Heart Failure
TUESDAY, June 10 (HealthDay News) -- B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) assessment six months after hospital discharge for decompensated heart failure identifies a long-term risk of future decompensation even in low-risk individuals with non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy, according to research published in the June 17 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
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Blood Urea Nitrogen Helps Predict Heart Failure Mortality
TUESDAY, June 10 (HealthDay News) -- Blood urea nitrogen may be a better predictor of mortality than glomerular filtration rate in patients with stage B and C heart failure, according to research published in the June 1 issue of the American Journal of Cardiology.
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Gender Doesn't Affect Post-PCI Mortality
TUESDAY, June 10 (HealthDay News) -- After adjusting for risk, men and women have similar mortality rates following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), with overall mortality declining in the past 25 years, particularly for women, researchers report in the June 17 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
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Exercise Blood Pressure Responses Predict CVD
MONDAY, June 9 (HealthDay News) -- In middle-aged adults, elevated diastolic blood pressure -- but not elevated systolic blood pressure -- during low-intensity exercise and recovery is associated with an increased long-term risk of incident cardiovascular disease, researchers report in the June issue of the American Journal of Cardiology.
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Dietary Interventions Benefit Heart Attack Survivors
MONDAY, June 9 (HealthDay News) -- In heart attack survivors who adopt either a low-fat or a Mediterranean-style diet, overall and cardiovascular event-free survival is similar and significant, according to study findings published in the June issue of the American Journal of Cardiology.
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Thrombus Aspiration Before Stenting Improves Outcomes
FRIDAY, June 6 (HealthDay News) -- Thrombus aspiration during angioplasty resulted in slightly lower cardiac death rates one year after the procedure than conventional angioplasty alone and lower rates of non-fatal reinfarction, according to research published in the June 7 issue of The Lancet .
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Mild Hypothermia Can Reduce Post-Ischemic Injury
FRIDAY, June 6 (HealthDay News) -- Use of mild hypothermia following an ischemic injury appears to reduce permanent damage to tissue function if treatment is administered within hours of the event and, following treatment, the body is re-warmed slowly, researchers report in the June 7 issue of The Lancet.
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Prevalence of Conn's Syndrome Lower Than Thought
FRIDAY, June 6 (HealthDay News) -- The prevalence of hyperaldosteronism, also known as Conn's syndrome, in people with hypertension is much lower than previously thought, according to a report in the June 7 issue of The Lancet.
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Alcohol May Protect Against Rheumatoid Arthritis
FRIDAY, June 6 (HealthDay News) -- Alcohol consumption reduces the risk of rheumatoid arthritis, particularly in smokers, with the degree of reduction dependent on the amount of alcohol consumed, according to a report published online June 5 in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.
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Low Doses of Resveratrol Slow Aging in Mice
FRIDAY, June 6 (HealthDay News) -- Resveratrol, a natural molecule found in red wine, appears to be as effective as calorie-restricted diets in slowing some aspects of aging in mice, based on gene expression profiling analysis, according to study findings published in the June 4 issue of PLoS One.
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Study Says ICU Patients' Death Risk Higher with Certain Doctors
THURSDAY, June 5 (HealthDay News) -- Critically ill patients in intensive care units (ICUs) in the United States are more likely to die if they receive care entirely from physicians trained in critical care medicine, even after taking illness severity into account, according to an article in the June 3 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine.
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Metals in Canadian Farmed and Wild Salmon at Safe Levels
THURSDAY, June 5 (HealthDay News) -- Levels of mercury and other metals are low enough to account for only 2 percent of dietary intake and the fish continue to be a safe source of omega-3 fatty acids, according to the results of a study published in the June issue of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.
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Aliskiren May Protect Against Diabetic Nephropathy
WEDNESDAY, June 4 (HealthDay News) -- Type 2 diabetics struggling with nephropathy and hypertension had significantly lower albumin levels following treatment with losartan and aliskiren, a newly FDA-approved drug, according to a report in the June 5 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Assays of Cholesterol Function Needed to Evaluate Therapies
WEDNESDAY, June 4 (HealthDay News) -- Measuring changes in circulating high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) levels is inadequate to determine the effectiveness of a therapeutic intervention designed to lower atherosclerotic risk, and reliable assays of HDL function and surrogate markers of efficacy are needed, according to a review in the June 10 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
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Drug Improves Outcomes in Diabetics with Stents
WEDNESDAY, June 4 (HealthDay News) -- Diabetics who receive stents have a reduced risk of death or myocardial infarction with longer clopidogrel use, according to the results of a study published in the June 10 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. In a related study, patients receiving drug-eluting stents for unprotected left main coronary artery disease generally have good long-term outcomes.
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Heart Failure Patients Overestimate Life Expectancy
TUESDAY, June 3 (HealthDay News) -- Ambulatory patients with heart failure tend to overestimate how long they will live relative to life expectancy predicted by a well-validated model, researchers report in the June 4 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Genetic Lowering of 'Good' Cholesterol May Not Be Bad
TUESDAY, June 3 (HealthDay News) -- While low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol are a known risk factor for ischemic heart disease, genetically reduced HDL levels due to mutations in a cholesterol transport gene do not confer an increased risk of heart disease, according to an article published in the June 4 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Diabetes Trials Tend to Assess Surrogate Outcomes
TUESDAY, June 3 (HealthDay News) -- Many planned and ongoing diabetes trials do not measure patient-important outcomes, such as mortality and quality of life, but rather assess laboratory or surrogate outcomes, researchers report in an article published in the June 4 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Black Athletes at Higher Risk of Heart Abnormalities
TUESDAY, June 3 (HealthDay News) -- Elite black athletes are more likely to have abnormal electrocardiograms and left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy than white athletes, according to two studies published in the June 10 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Abstract - Magalski
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