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Many patients still missing out on drugs to cut heart attacks and stroke
March 17, 2003Many patients who need statins to cut their risk of heart attacks and stroke are missing out, particularly the elderly, finds research in Heart.
The authors tracked statin prescribing habits from 1994 to 2001, using data from 142 general practices in England and Wales belonging to the Doctors’ Independent Network Database. They analysed the records of around 30,000 patients a year over the age of 35 who were being treated for narrowed and blocked arteries in their hearts.
All prescriptions of lipid lowering drugs shot up from less than 10% to over 50% during the study period, but prescribing patterns varied widely among practices. Statins accounted for virtually all of this increase. Nevertheless, by the end of 2001, only just over half of eligible men (56%) and under half of eligible women (41%) had been prescribed a statin. And one in three of these patients was on a dose that was too low.
Patients who had undergone coronary artery bypass surgery were three times more likely to be prescribed statins than those with angina, who are also susceptible to a heart attack, if not treated. Social factors were not important in determining who was prescribed a statin.
However, patients over 75 were much less likely to be prescribed a statin. In 2001 only a third of 75 to 84 year olds only 5% of those older than 85 were prescribed these drugs.
The authors point out that while family doctors are now more willing to prescribe lipid lowering drugs than they were five years ago, “there is room for improvement in a number of areas.” They suggest that while the National Service Framework on coronary artery disease will help to iron out variations in prescribing practice and address the needs of those with angina, the elderly are still likely to miss out.
British Medical Journal (BMJ)
Patients who had undergone coronary artery bypass surgery were three times more likely to be prescribed statins than those with angina, who are also susceptible to a heart attack, if not treated. Social factors were not important in determining who was prescribed a statin.
However, patients over 75 were much less likely to be prescribed a statin. In 2001 only a third of 75 to 84 year olds only 5% of those older than 85 were prescribed these drugs.
The authors point out that while family doctors are now more willing to prescribe lipid lowering drugs than they were five years ago, “there is room for improvement in a number of areas.” They suggest that while the National Service Framework on coronary artery disease will help to iron out variations in prescribing practice and address the needs of those with angina, the elderly are still likely to miss out.
British Medical Journal (BMJ)
Heart Attack Current Events and Heart Attack News RSSInhibition of GRK2 is protective against acute cardiac stress injuries
Inhibition of a protein known to contribute to heart failure also appears to be protective of the heart in more acute cardiac stress injury, namely ischemia reperfusion.
Vitamin B niacin offers no extra benefit to statin therapy in seniors already diagnosed with CAD
The routine prescription of extended-release niacin, a B vitamin (1,500 milligrams daily), in combination with traditional cholesterol-lowering therapy offers no extra benefit in correcting arterial narrowing and diminishing plaque buildup in seniors who already have coronary artery disease, a new vascular imaging study from Johns Hopkins experts shows.
Heart and bone damage from low vitamin D tied to declines in sex hormones
Researchers at Johns Hopkins are reporting what is believed to be the first conclusive evidence in men that the long-term ill effects of vitamin D deficiency are amplified by lower levels of the key sex hormone estrogen, but not testosterone.
Elevated biomarkers lead to diminished quality of life in heart attack patients post-discharge
Many heart attack patients have high levels of cardiac biomarkers in the blood for several months after leaving the hospital, with more shortness of breath and chest pain, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study.
Tiny particles can deliver antioxidant enzyme to injured heart cells
Researchers at Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed microscopic polymer beads that can deliver an antioxidant enzyme made naturally by the body into the heart.
Early end to key study on benefits of niacin, a B vitamin, in keeping arteries open was premature
Heart experts at Johns Hopkins are calling premature the early halt of a study by researchers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Washington Hospital Center on the benefits of combining extended-release niacin, a B vitamin, with cholesterol-lowering statin medications to prevent blood vessel narrowing.
oo much selenium can increase your cholesterol
A new study from the University of Warwick has discovered taking too much of the essential mineral selenium in your diet can increase your cholesterol by almost 10%.
Higher carotid arterial stenting rates associated with poorer clinical outcomes
Among eligible Medicare beneficiaries, increased use of carotid arterial stenting (CAS) procedures to treat carotid stenosis-the narrowing of the carotid artery-is associated with higher rates of mortality and adverse clinical outcomes, including heart attack and stroke, according to researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
Study suggests dentists can identify patients at risk for fatal cardiovascular event
A new study indicates dentists can play a potentially life-saving role in health care by identifying patients at risk of fatal heart attacks and referring them to physicians for further evaluation.
Common Pain Relievers May Dilute Power of Flu Shots
With flu vaccination season in full swing, research from the University of Rochester Medical Center cautions that use of many common pain killers - Advil, Tylenol, aspirin - at the time of injection may blunt the effect of the shot and have a negative effect on the immune system.
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