CardioExchange Archive

January 12th, 2015

High Rate of Inappropriate Use of Aspirin for Primary Prevention

Larry Husten, PHD

More than a third of U.S. adults — more than 50 million people — now take aspirin for the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease. Although it was once broadly recommended, aspirin for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease is now only indicated in people who have a moderate-to-high 10-year risk. Now a new report published in […]

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January 5th, 2015

Healthy Habits of Young Women Lead to Long-Term Health Benefits

Larry Husten, PHD

It may seem obvious, but a new study shows that young women with healthy habits are less likely as they age to get coronary heart disease or go on to develop cardiovascular risk factors like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes. Andrea Chomistek and colleagues analyzed data from more than 88,000 women participating in the […]

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December 16th, 2014

No Advantage for Low-Glycemic-Index Diet

Larry Husten, PHD

In recent years the glycemic index (GI), a measure of a carbohydrate’s impact on blood sugar, has assumed a major role in discussions about diets and nutrition. Now a study suggests that by itself, within the context of an otherwise healthy diet, GI may not be an important factor in improving cardiovascular risk. In a paper […]

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December 10th, 2014

Focus on Getting Rid of Sugar, Not Salt, Say Authors

Larry Husten, PHD

Too much negative attention has been focused on salt and not enough on sugar, write two authors in Open Heart. Reviewing the extensive literature on salt and sugar, they write that the adverse effects of salt are less than the adverse effects of sugar. The evidence supporting efforts to reduce salt in the diet is […]

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December 8th, 2014

New Anticoagulant Spotlights Major Role for the Intrinsic Pathway

Sanjay Kaul, MD and Ethan J Weiss, M.D.

Sanjay Kaul and Ethan Weiss discuss an entirely new approach to anticoagulation.

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December 4th, 2014

No Evidence to Support Routine Use of Aspirin in Women for Primary Prevention

Larry Husten, PHD

Although once widely recommended, aspirin for primary prevention has lost favor in recent years, as the large number of bleeding complications appeared to offset the reduction in cardiovascular events. But at the same time evidence has emerged demonstrating the long-term effect of aspirin in preventing colorectal cancer, leading some to think that the risk-to-benefit equation […]

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December 2nd, 2014

Adherence to Mediterranean Diet Linked to Marker of Healthy Aging

Larry Husten, PHD

Following a string of recent successes and favorable publicity for the Mediterranean Diet, a a new study published in The BMJ finds that women who more closely followed a Mediterranean diet had longer telomeres, a key measure of healthy aging. The new report is based on data from 4676 women in the Nurses’ Health Study who completed food-frequency […]

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November 18th, 2014

Losartan No Better Than Atenolol in Marfan’s Syndrome

Larry Husten, PHD

Beta-blockers have been the standard treatment for people with Marfan’s syndrome, a rare inherited connective tissue disorder that affects about 1 in 5000 people. The goal of treatment is to prevent or slow down the dilation of the aorta and avoid aortic dissection, the main cause of death. In recent years, studies have raised the […]

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November 18th, 2014

Don’t Count the Numbers. HDL Function Looks Like the Key

Larry Husten, PHD

A new study offers important evidence explaining the protective role of HDL cholesterol against cardiovascular disease. Previous studies with drugs that increase HDL levels, including niacin and CETP inhibitors, have not been found beneficial. The new study suggests that simply increasing HDL levels isn’t useful. Instead, cholesterol efflux, the ability of HDL to remove cholesterol from […]

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November 17th, 2014

Large Japanese Trial Casts Further Doubt on Aspirin for Primary Prevention

Larry Husten, PHD

A large trial from Japan failed to provide any evidence to support the use of routine aspirin in high-risk elderly people to prevent a first cardiovascular event. The Japanese Primary Prevention Project (JPPP),  presented at the American Heart Association meeting in Chicago and published simultaneously in JAMA, enrolled patients between 60 and 85 years of age with hypertension, dyslipidemia, or […]

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