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cardiovascular events

The following articles have the tag cardiovascular events

Study cautions on clarithromycin use in COPD

CLARITHROMYCIN may be associated with cardiovascular events when used to treat acute COPD and pneumonia, UK data shows.

Statins' CV benefit outweighs diabetes risk

THE benefits of statin therapy outweigh the risk of diabetes even among those most likely to develop the disease, according to new findings that experts believe should reassure prescribers.

Statins’ CV prevention benefits both sexes

THE benefit of taking statins for secondary prevention has been confirmed for women as well as men in a meta-analysis.

Cardiac polypill shown to halve major events

THE first polypill, combining four cardiac preventative drugs, could be available in Australia within two years, an expert says, after clinical trial results showed it could halve major cardiovascular events. An international collaborative group, including researchers from Sydney’s George Institute for Global Health, measured the effects of a combined pill in 378 people without an indication for any component of the pill but who had a five-year cardiovascular risk over 7.5%. They found that over 12 weeks, the polypill – containing aspirin 75 mg, lisinopril 10 mg, hydrochlorothiazide 12.5 mg and simvastatin 20 mg – reduced systolic ...

Age 30 mooted as starting point for statins in high-risk patients

THE debate on when statin therapy should be initiated in high-risk patients continues, with a US expert arguing that initiation at age 30 may be an option.   Professor Daniel Steinberg, an endocrinologist at the University of California, said statins could be initiated in patients aged 30 years who had a lifetime cardiovascular absolute risk of 35% or more. He argued the estimated 10-year Framingham risk at age 30 could be misleading because it didn’t take into account that cardiovascular risk increases progressively as patients age.   An American College of Cardiology Foundation statement said initiating ...

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BP tool measures risk of surges

A MEASURE for determining the ‘power’ of morning blood pressure (BP) surges could be a promising tool for identifying patients at high risk of cardiovascular events. Australian researchers have developed the BP measurement tool based on a mathematical estimate of the rate of BP rise and amplitude (day-night difference) to determine differences in morning BP rises in 400 patients with untreated hypertension and 391 receiving treatment for hypertension. Patients with untreated hypertension had more than two-times greater morning BP surge than patients without hypertension. Untreated white-coat hypertensives had almost twice as high morning surges as non-hypertensives. ...

Doctors left in limbo over clopidogrel-PPI safety

CONCERNS remain over the concurrent use of clopidogrel and PPIs with conflicting findings leaving clinicians uncertain of the safety profile of the therapies in combination.   The latest findings, from a US retrospective cohort study, show those treated with clopidogrel plus any PPI had a 93% higher risk of rehospitalisation for MI compared with patients with similar cardiovascular risk factors treated with clopidogrel alone. The 1033 patients in the study had at baseline been discharged from hospital after a MI or coronary stent placement. However, the findings contrasted with those of a recent UK review of ...

BP monitoring at home superior to office: study

ROUTINE use of home blood pressure (BP) monitoring is gaining ground, after a new study found it to be a superior predictor of cardiovascular events to office BP monitoring.   A Finnish population-based study, including 3672 participants, found home BP measurements predicted cardiovascular events 22% better than office BP measurements, and were the sole effective predictor of all-cause mortality.  After seven years, changes in cardiovascular risk were steeper with an increase in home BP compared with office BP.  Professor Anne-Marie Hennessy, foundation chair of medicine at the University of Western Sydney, said the findings added to ...

Target CVD risk in migraine without aura

MIGRAINEURS without aura  should join those who experience aura in being regularly checked for vascular risk factors, after more evidence shows a link between  migraine and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD).     A US case-control study involving 6102 migraineurs and 5243 patients without migraine, found those with self-reported migraines with and without aura had double the risk of myocardial infarction and a 50% greater risk of stroke than controls. They also had almost three times greater risk of claudication after five years, after adjusting for gender, age, disability, treatment and CVD risk factors. ...

Raising HDL reduces CV risk independent of LDL

RAISING HDL cholesterol levels reduces the risk of cardiovascular events independently of effects on other lipids, researchers have found. An international observational study examined the effect that statins, fibrates, resins or niacin had on HDL levels and cardiovascular events in 454 patients with cardiovascular disease and/or diabetes. They found that after eight years HDL-C changes represented a strong independent risk factor for these events. A 1% increase in HDL showed a 2% reduction in cardiovascular events, after adjusting for LDL cholesterol changes, pretreatment lipid levels, smoking, weight and beta-blocker use. Professor Philip Barter, co-author and director ...

Cardiovascular benefits of raised HDL queried

DOUBTS have been raised over the benefits of using drug therapy to increase high-density lipoprotein levels to prevent adverse cardiovascular events. A meta-analysis of 108 randomised trials involving more than 299,000 participants found no association between treatment-induced change in HDL-C and coronary heart disease events or deaths. This was after adjustment for changes in low-density lipoprotein.  Around half the trials had compared statins with placebo or usual care; nine others compared fibrates to placebo, while others had looked at niacin, resins, n-3 fatty acids or low-fat diets or surgery. The only positive association was ...

Diabetes aspirin not for primary prevention

EVIDENCE has emerged to cast doubt on the efficacy of aspirin and antioxidants for primary prevention of cardiovascular events in patients with diabetes. A UK multicentre, randomised trial of 1276 adults older than 40 with type 1 and 2 diabetes found a similar rate of primary cardiovascular event occurred in patients receiving daily 100 mg aspirin compared to a control group. A similar rate of serious adverse events, including deaths, occurred in both groups. The findings did not provide any evidence to support its use as a primary preventer, the authors concluded. They added that “few data ...