CardioExchange Archive

August 19th, 2014

Do Patients Really Have to Fast Before Lipid Testing?

Sripal Bangalore, MD, MHA

Harlan Krumholz interviews Sripal Bangalore about his research group’s study of the prognostic value of non-fasting lipid panels.

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February 3rd, 2014

The Not So Sweet Facts About Sugar

Larry Husten, PHD

A new study offers a broad overview of the use of sugar in the U.S. diet and its consequent health implications. The good news is that the growth in sugar intake appears to have stopped and may even have slightly declined. The bad news is that people still consume way too much sugar and that […]

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October 10th, 2013

Prevalence of Cardiovascular Disease Likely to Increase Despite Gains in Treatment

Larry Husten, PHD

It is the best of times and the worst of times in the battle against cardiovascular disease. On the one hand, mortality rates from cardiovascular disease in the U.S. have dropped by more than half in the last 30 years, likely due in large part to improvements in treatment for elevated blood pressure and cholesterol […]

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February 15th, 2013

Amid Rising Tide of Diabetes More Patients Reach Treatment Goals

Larry Husten, PHD

There’s a glimmer of good news amidst all the recent bad news about diabetes. Although the prevalence of diabetes has doubled over the last generation, more people today are reaching their treatment goals than in the past. New data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES), published online today in Diabetes Care, show that efforts to control hemoglobin […]

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October 9th, 2012

Observational Study Links Common Household Chemical to Cardiovascular Disease

Larry Husten, PHD

High levels of a man-made chemical widely used in common household products and detectable in more than 98% of people may increase the risk for cardiovascular (CV) disease and peripheral arterial disease (PAD), according to a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. (The study was published online in September and will appear in this week’s […]

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September 4th, 2012

CDC: Nearly 36 Million Americans Have Uncontrolled Hypertension

Larry Husten, PHD

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, new data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) show: 30.4% of U.S. adults (an estimated 66.9 million people) have hypertension. Of those with hypertension, 53.5% have uncontrolled hypertension (about 35.8 million people). 39.4% with uncontrolled hypertension (about 14.1 million) are unaware that they have hypertension. 89.4% with […]

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August 7th, 2012

Survey Finds Significant Drop in Cholesterol Levels in Youths

Larry Husten, PHD

New data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), published in JAMA, show significant and perhaps surprising  improvements over the last 20 years in the lipid profile of youths aged 6-19 years. Among the key lipid parameters measured by the survey from 1988-1994 to 2007-2010: Total cholesterol decreased from 165 mg/dL to 160 mg/dL (p<0.001) Prevalence of […]

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September 13th, 2011

HHS Announces Initiative to Prevent One Million Heart Attacks and Strokes

Larry Husten, PHD

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is launching a campaign to prevent one million heart attacks and strokes in the next 5 years.

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July 12th, 2011

Study Finds High Sodium-Potassium Ratio Strongly Tied to Mortality and CV Disease

Larry Husten, PHD

The separate roles of sodium and potassium in cardiovascular disease have been extensively observed in epidemiologic studies. Now a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine examines their joint effect. Quanhe Yang and colleagues analyzed data from 12,267 adults participating in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. As expected, they found that higher […]

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February 2nd, 2011

CDC Details the Persistent Problem of Hypertension and Elevated LDL in the U.S.

Larry Husten, PHD

New data from the CDC show that in the years 2005 to 2008, 31% of adults in the U.S. had hypertension and 33.5% had high LDL cholesterol. The two reports are based on statistics gathered from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and have been published online by Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Of the nearly […]

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