• Changing trends in AMI

    Updated: 2011-12-29 20:31:06
    Large series from around the Western world have consistently shown falling mortality and morbidity from cardiovascular disease but less information is available about age- and sex-specific outcomes and their changes in the recent past. In this study Nguyen et al examine the 20-year trends in patients hospitalized with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in over 10,000 patients [...]

  • Remember what I said about statistics?

    Updated: 2011-12-27 22:48:06
    One of the reasons that I write this blog is to point out the difference between the medical press and the lay press.  We have before us an excellent example. Published in JAMA 2011; 306:2588-2593 is an article entitled “Association between chlorthalidone treatment of systolic hypertension and long-term survival.”  This study is a 20-year follow-up [...]

  • New evidence on Vitamin D, cancer and heart disease

    Updated: 2011-12-23 15:48:09
    Taking vitamin D with calcium supplements reduces fracture risk, especially for institutionalized seniors, but whether the sunshine vitamin prevents cancer is uncertain, according to a systematic review of the medical research published earlier this week in Annals of Internal Medicine.

  • The Scorecard

    Updated: 2011-12-22 22:40:06
    Every year the American Heart Association publishes statistics about the state of America’s cardiovascular health.  I could sum it up in one word, but my Webmaster won’t like it.  I should, however, at this juncture quote Mark Twain who said, “There are three lies: lies, damn lies and statistics.” By nature of this kind of [...]

  • We are still batting zero (Part II)

    Updated: 2011-12-20 13:52:49
    What is the FDA’s problem?  In short, for this or any other heart failure device to be approved, it needs to reduce “heart failure” in some way.  Since the causes of heart failure are generally permanent, the one way that counts is to document that it prevents hospitalizations for heart failure by using the device. [...]

  • We are still batting zero (Part I)

    Updated: 2011-12-15 21:18:08
    I have blogged about the challenges of heart failure in the past.   It will continue to be a topic blogged about often because of the many unique challenges associated with this condition. Heart failure is the collective term used to describe a situation and not an illness.  Dr.  J. Willis Hurst who was one of [...]

  • Thousand of Unnecessary Deaths from Diabetes

    Updated: 2011-12-14 08:53:15
        Up to 24,000 people die unnecessarily in England every year from Diabetes, because they are not controlling their condition properly. A report in December 2011 from the UK National Health Service (NHS) Information Centre suggests that most of these deaths could be prevented if patients took their medication, kept to a healthy diet [...]

  • Bleeding and atrial fibrillation

    Updated: 2011-12-13 21:57:34
    When a new drug enters the market, it generally causes a reawakening of issues that are understood but often not well appreciated.  Such is the case of adding Pradaxa to warfarin as a drug available for the treatment of stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation. One would think that after 60 years, we would have a [...]

  • Case Study – Aortic Abdominal Aneurysm detected before it killed him

    Updated: 2011-12-12 18:56:50
    About Aortic Aneurysms An aneurysm is the term given to a blood vessel that swells and becomes enlarged until it bursts. Whilst these can occur in all the different parts of the body, they are especially dangerous when they develop in the Aorta, (the largest artery in the body, responsible for carrying all the blood [...]

  • How going to the Dentist could be bad for your heart health

    Updated: 2011-12-07 19:34:12
      Although not exactly an enjoyable experience that most of would look forward to, how often do you stop and wonder if it could actually be harmful to your heart, or even fatal ? We all have many different kinds of bacteria living inside our mouths, and under normal circumstances, and with good oral hygiene [...]

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