CardioExchange Archive

December 20th, 2010

JoAnne Foody: Looking Back at 2010 and Ahead to 2011

JoAnne M. Foody, MD

To celebrate the holiday season, CardioExchange asked several of our contributors to choose the 3 most important cardiology-related events of the past year and to make 3 predictions for 2011. Looking back at 2010: 1. The ACCORD lipid trial investigated the effects of adding fenofibrate to a statin (simvastatin) in 5518 patients with type 2 diabetes deemed “high […]

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May 14th, 2010

To Treat or Not to Treat: A Poll on Primary Prevention for a Hypothetical Woman

JoAnne M. Foody, MD

Rita Redberg’s recent post, Why I Don’t Recommend Statins for Primary Prevention in Women, has gotten some attention on CardioExchange. In comments on the post, CardioExchange members and contributors support various approaches to preventive interventions for women. Here’s your chance to weigh in: How would you handle a 65-year-old woman who has reasonably controlled hypertension and […]

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March 24th, 2010

ACCORD: Bigger Issues for Our Patients

JoAnne M. Foody, MD

We are now at a point where it is increasingly difficult to demonstrate the incremental value of any preventive therapy, as we are successful in reducing CV risk to lower and lower levels. What is my take on the ACCORD BP study? It’s that we should focus on ensuring that all patients achieve at least the […]

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March 9th, 2010

Which Focus for Statin Therapy: Treat More Patients or Ensure Better Adherence?

JoAnne M. Foody, MD

Millions of people who take statins to reduce their cholesterol levels do not adhere to their prescribed regimens. That’s troubling in light of estimates from a recent analysis of data from more than 40,000 participants in the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study. It showed that if the percentage of patients with at least 80% adherence to […]

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January 13th, 2010

Americans IGNORE prevention

JoAnne M. Foody, MD

The American Heart Association has issued its Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics 2010 Update, which underlines the fact that most Americans are ignoring prevention. While more than half a trillion dollars is spent annually on heart disease, little is spent on prevention. What can we do to change this? If more money were available for prevention, how do you think […]

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December 16th, 2009

FDA Advisers Recommend Expanded Use of Rosuvastatin

JoAnne M. Foody, MD

The Associated Press reports that, based on the JUPITER study, an FDA panel of advisers has recommended expansion of rosuvastatin. The FDA is expected to decide whether to act on this recommendation in 2010. According to the report, Astra Zeneca will develop an approach to use rosuvastatin in all patients at risk for heart disease based on hypertension and family history. […]

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November 16th, 2009

ARBITER 6-HALTS: Will you change your practice? Will you halt your use of ezetimibe?

JoAnne M. Foody, MD

ARBITER 6-HALTS provides provocative information and suggests that niacin is the preferred secondary agent once statin therapy is maxed out in high-risk CAD patients with low HDL levels (for the study, go here; for editorials, go here and here; for a summary and analysis of the study, go here; and for a question-and-answer session with the author, go here). […]

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November 4th, 2009

Forget aspirin in primary prevention?

JoAnne M. Foody, MD

Recent studies (e.g., Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin 2009;47:122; Lancet 2009; 373:1849; BMJ 2008; 347:a1840) suggest that aspirin confers no benefit whatsoever in primary prevention of cardiovascular disease. The more we explore this issue, the more it appears that only individuals at intermediate or high risk are likely to benefit. We know that data in women […]

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October 30th, 2009

Is the Framingham Risk Score Over the Hill?

JoAnne M. Foody, MD

The Framingham study has revolutionized our understanding of cardiovascular disease, but I wonder: is the 60-year-old study’s risk score getting a little long in the tooth? Faced with the epidemic of heart disease and growing numbers of younger people worried about heart disease risk, I find that Framingham provides me little guidance. As I see it, Framingham […]

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