Statins have revolutionized the treatment of cardiovascular disease and have repeatedly demonstrated their ability to reduce adverse cardiovascular outcomes. However despite tantalizing data from some trials suggesting statins may even be capable of causing disease regression, few studies have formally assessed the comparative ability of competing drugs to achieve this. […]
Category: General cardiology
AIM-HIGH fails to fly
Despite the efficacy of statins in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease a substantial number of patients go on to have further events, even when LDL cholesterol targets are achieved. Consequently, interest has grown in combination therapy approaches and the HDL raising treatment niacin – a drug now over 50 years old – has enjoyed […]
Clinical Trials in CPR
Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is a common and lethal problem, with an estimated 330,000 deaths each year in North America alone. Even in those cases where help arrives in a timely fashion, outcomes remain dismal with estimates of survival to hospital discharge ranging from 3.0% to 16.3%. Compounding the situation is the difficulty associated with conducting […]
Ambulatory BP Monitoring Cost-Effective
Affecting a billion people, hypertension is the cardiovascular risk factor associated with the highest mortality worldwide. There are well-documented problems in the detection of hypertension, as it varies throughout the day and in response to various stimuli. Out-of-office options have been developed that monitor blood pressure either at home or whilst ambulatory, and have been […]
Rocket AF – rivaroxaban shows efficacy
While warfarin has served as the oral anticoagulant of choice for decades, its time in widespread clinical use may finally be drawing to a close. A variety of new agents are in late stage development which hold several advantages: fewer interactions with other drugs, no need for therapeutic drug monitoring, and simpler dosing regimes. […]
Bicuspid aortic valves and aortic disease
Bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) is the most common congenital heart defect, affecting 1.3% of the population. Although it is now well recognised that having a bicuspid aortic valve can lead to early valve dysfunction, the association between BAV and aortic pathology has remained less clear. […]
Cardiac biomarkers and prognosis in COPD
Cardiovascular disease is common in patients with COPD with the two conditions often being linked by the common aetiology of smoking. Moreover, dysfunction in one organ system can transmit to the other with severe hypoxemia, pulmonary hypertension, and systemic inflammation all potentially impacting on cardiac function. However, the interplay between lung and cardiac disease is […]
When good cholesterol turns bad
Increasing levels of circulating HDL (“good cholesterol”) has been targeted as an important therapeutic goal in reducing the risk of patients with coronary disease. HDL has been shown to have a variety of potentially beneficial effects including cholesterol efflux from foam cells, promotion of endothelial repair mechanisms and stimulation of the enzyme eNOS to increase […]
Chronic NSAID use increases mortality from cardiovascular disease
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are effective and extensively used pain-killers, particularly in the treatment of chronic musculoskeletal problems. However, doubts about their safety in patients with coronary disease have surfaced, particularly since the NSAID-like COX1 inhibitor, rofecoxib, was withdrawn from the market after a demonstrated increase in cardiovascular events. Despite these concerns, compelling data on […]
Low vitamin D levels linked to subclinical atherosclerosis
In recent epidemiological studies, 25-hydroxyvitamin D deficiency has been identified as a novel cardiovascular risk factor. However, the mechanisms by which vitamin D deficiency affect cardiovascular risk remain unclear. […]