Rahm Emanuel said today city workers should take better care of themselves — with City Hall’s help — as one way to save taxpayers money by reducing health care costs. In 2011, Chicago taxpayers will spend nearly $500 million on health care costs for city employees, their families and retirees, Emanuel said. If elected mayor, he said he is committed …
Low HDL and Cardiovascular Risk
Current national guidelines for CVD risk reduction are primarily focused on strategies to reduce levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), with the most recent focus being on “lower is better” rather than an effort to increase high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). A careful examination of randomized, controlled trials (RCTs) using statins demonstrates that even with intensive statin therapy and intensive LDL-C …
Statins may improve your cholesterol but not your cardiac risks
Question: Do Statins really improve the risk of coronary artery disease? Answer: A paper published in this issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, reviewed the association of statin therapy and cardiovascular outcomes, but found little difference between treated and untreated patients. As the current focus of statin therapy is to reduce low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), rather than increase high-density lipoprotein …
VT-111 comments
LONDON, Dec. 16, 2010: In a press release by Viron Therapeutics about the protective effects of VT-111 during stenting, the CEO of the company announced: “Although the use of cardiovascular stents have dramatically improved the outcomes for patients with occlusive coronary artery disease, numerous studies have shown that the procedure itself can cause what is termed peri-procedural myocardial injury (PMI),” …
VT-111 results
Viron phase 2a data, published in leading cardiovascular journal, circulation: cardiovascular interventions. VT-111 results demonstrate statistically significant reduction in two key biomarkers of cardiac damage. LONDON, ON, Dec. 16 /PRNewswire/ – Viron Therapeutics Inc. today announced that the results of Viron’s Phase 2a trial for VT-111 were published today in Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions. In the study led by Dr. Jean-Claude Tardif, …
Improper and unnecessary procedures
It has been a while since I have written about improper and unnecessary stenting. Articles in response to a US Senate Finance Committee statement earlier this week have re-activated my concerns about both these activities and the growing industry efforts to influence medical care. The case involves a Maryland hospital, a local cardiologist and a stent manufacturing firm. Other cases …
Treatment of 3VD with/without Diabetes in Washington State
A paper from Washington State examines the treatment of patients with multi-vessel coronary artery disease. A second paper, like the BARI-2D study and a much earlier published paper, focuses on patients with diabetes and 3VD. The short as well as long term benefits of CABG for these type of patients have been described in the SYNTAX trial as well as …
Inaccuarte Risk Predictor Calculator sponsored by the Drug Industry?
A September 20, 2010, NYTimes article describes inaccurate outcomes with a point based tool to calculate your chances of developing coronary artery disease & stroke over the next 10 years. The simplified system was developed so doctors and patients would not need a computer. Each risk factor corresponds to a number of points; the more points you have, the higher …
Review of the MASS II study
MASS II is yet another study that shows the benefits of CABG compared to the limits of PCI as a viable long term strategy in stable patients with Coronary Artery Disease. This evidence adds to the ever growing body of literature promulgating the same in other risk groups (SYNTAX, SYNTAX-3 Analysis, BARI-2D, OAT trial, PCI vs. CABG – A Current …
SYNTAX 3 Analysis
At the September meeting of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery Meeting three year follow-up data of the SYNTAX trial [9] were presented. I have commented repeatedly on both SYNTAX and reactions it provoked in the professional literature and the lay press [4], [5], [6],[7],[8]. In this analysis, the SYNTAX score was used to separate patients into three groups. This …