Longer Sleep Improves Cardiovascular Outcomes: Time to Make Sleep a Priority
Causal diagrams demonstrating potential relationships between genetic causes (G) of sleep duration, sleep duration (S), and a cardiovascular outcome (Y). (A) G is a valid instrumental variable for the relationship of S and Y, and can be used to estimated the S–Y association (orange arrow). (B) G has a pleiotropic association with Y. Because there are no unmeasured confounders (U) of the S–Y association, causal mediation analysis can be used to estimate both the direct (pleiotropic) association of G and Y, and the indirect effect via S. (C) The pleiotropic effect of G on Y can be measured by blocking the pathway through S, which is done by conditioning on levels of S. (D) The effect of S on Y independently of G can be measured by blocking pathways through G and C (measured confounders) by conditioning or using matching methods.
Medscape and ACC Centers of Excellence
The ACC has collaborated with Medscape to create two Centers of Excellence on the topics of Cardiovascular Risk Reduction and Heart Failure.
Personal income may increase risk of heart disease
Income levels, if they are unstable, can easily turn into a stressor. However, the volatility of personal income could be having a more serious effect on people's heart health. It is often expected that a person's income will constantly rise until they reach retirement age.
Weight-Adjusted Aspirin Dosing: Evidence Builds in Primary Prevention
Low-dose aspirin intended for primary prevention, typically 75 to 100 mg once daily, doesn"t protect against cardiovascular events in persons who weigh at least 70 kg (about 154 pounds), suggests a patient-level analysis of randomized trials that included more than 100,000 patients.
But daily aspirin at higher dosages, usually at least 300 mg, was cardioprotective in that group, as was low-dose aspirin in people who weighed less than 70 kg.
New ADA/EASD Guidance on Diabetes: Assess CV Status First
The treatment approach to type 2 diabetes should begin with an assessment of cardiovascular disease (CVD) status, other comorbidities, and patient preferences, according to a draft of the upcoming 2018 joint consensus statement from the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD).
The final version of the 2018 update to the current 2015 ADA/EASDManagement of Hyperglycemia in Type 2 Diabetes statement (Diabetes Care.2015;38:140-149) will be presented on October 5, 2018 at the EASD annual meeting in Berlin and will be published in Diabetes Care and Diabetologia.
Expert opinion. Double antiplatelet therapy after ACS: "de-escalation"
In medical practice, cases in which patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and received a combination of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) with prasugrel or ticagrelor are often used, a combination of ASA with clopidogrel is started. This transition from more active platelet-derived P2Y12 blockers to less active clopidogrel has been termed "de-escalation."
The possibility of "de-escalation" is considered in documents prepared by various expert groups. Among them, an updated version of the recommendations of the European Society of Cardiology and the European Association of Cardio Thoracic Surgeons for double antiplatelet therapy for coronary heart disease, where a similar transition is proposed to be discussed with side effects or intolerance of prasugrel / ticagrelor. There is also an agreement of experts from Europe and the USA, in which practical approaches to the replacement of the P2Y12 blocker of the platelet receptor are analyzed in detail. However, it should be borne in mind that these proposals are basically based on common sense and representations of the pharmacological properties of various P2Y12 receptor blockers of the platelet, while the evidence base for "de-escalation" is small.
SUMMARY & CONCLUSIONS - 71ST WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY
Global resolution on Rheumatic Fever and Rheumatic Heart Disease adopted at the WHA
Following years of campaigning and advocacy from WHF, our members and the global RHD community, we are delighted to announce that on Friday 25 May, Member States of the World Health Organization unanimously adopted a Global Resolution on Rheumatic Fever and Rheumatic Heart Disease at the World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland.
Bread Might Be The Saltiest Part Of Your Diet, According To A New Study
When you think of salty foods, bread might not come to mind. But a new study shows that it may be a bigger contributor to sodium in your diet than you think.
Even though it doesn"t taste that salty, bread might be delivering more sodium than you think — but it all depends on which kind you eat and how much, according to a new study.
Researchers analyzed 2,000 different breads (including white, wholemeal, mixed grain, and flatbreads) sold in 32 countries around the world and found some shockingly high numbers and wide variation in the salt and sodium levels in breads. The study was conducted by the World Action on Salt & Health (WASH) at the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine of Queen Mary University of London.
The Anti-statin Lobby Strikes Again: Time to Set the Record Straight
The joint Franco-German non-commercial television network ARTE recently broadcast a television programme entitled "The Big Bluff" about the link between cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, and the use of statins. The programme propounded the theory that there is absolutely no relation between blood cholesterol levels and cardiovascular disease, and asserted that cholesterol has become the "ideal villain" in cardiovascular disease through a series of "scientific approximations". In addition, the programme encouraged physicians and patients to interrupt lipid-lowering treatments and statins, in particular, to avoid any blood lipid assessment and last but not least, suggested that the recommendations issued by professional societies such as the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) are inappropriate and influenced by conflicts of interest.
RU
EN