CALCIUM SUPPLEMENTS MAY INCREASE RISK FOR HEART ATTACKS AND STROKES IN WOMEN

The Washington Post (4/19, Stein) "The Checkup" blog reported that "an analysis of data collected about more than 16,000 women who participated in the landmark Women's Health Initiative found that those who started taking calcium as part of the study were at increased risk for heart attacks and strokes." The research, "published in...BMJ, found that the women who were not taking calcium when the study started but began taking it when they got into the research project were at between 13 and 22 percent increased risk. The risk occurred regardless of whether the women were taking calcium alone or combined with vitamin D, the researchers found."

HealthDay (4/19, Gardner) reported that "the case against calcium became stronger when researchers added in data from 13 other, unpublished trials involving almost 30,000 women. Now the increased risk for heart attack was 25 to 30 percent and, for a stroke, 15 to 20 percent."

MedPage Today (4/19, Kaiser) reported that "the authors suspect that the abrupt change in blood calcium levels after taking a supplement causes the adverse effect, rather than it being related to the total amount of calcium consumed." Also covering the story are the UK's Press Association (4/20), the UK's Telegraph (4/20, Adams), the UK's Daily Mail (4/20, Hope), WebMD (4/19, Mann) and HeartWire (4/19, Wood).

Posted by Steven Almany, MD

TIME IT TAKES TO RUN ONE MILE IN MIDDLE AGE MAY HELP PREDICT RISK OF FUTURE HEART PROBLEMS

The New York Times (5/24, Parker-Pope) "Well" blog reports that, "for people in midlife," the amount of time it takes to run one mile "may help predict their risk of heart problems as they age." In two different studies, one published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology and the other published in Circulation, "researchers from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School and the Cooper Institute in Dallas analyzed fitness levels for more than 66,000 people" Altogether, "the research showed that a person's fitness level at midlife is a strong predictor of long-term heart health, proving just as reliable as traditional risk factors like cholesterol level or high blood pressure.

Posted by Steven Almany, MD

REVIEW FINDS NO EVIDENCE OF INCREASED RISK OF MI ASSOCIATED WITH USE OF ARB'S

HeartWire (4/27, Nainggolan) reported that "a new review of 37 randomized trials including almost 150 000 patients has found no evidence of an increased risk of MI associated with the use of angiotensin-receptor blockers (ARBs). For the review, investigators "included all randomized clinical trials comparing ARBs with controls (placebo or active treatment), with follow-up of at least one year, at least 100 participants, and reporting any of the following outcomes -- MI, death, CV death, angina, stroke, heart failure, or new-onset diabetes -- published until August 2010." The investigators found that, "when compared with controls, ARBs were not associated with an increase in the risk of MI (relative risk 0.99, 95% CI 0.92-1.07), death, cardiovascular death, or angina pectoris." The research is published online in BMJ.

Posted by Steven Almany, MD

7 HEALTH EDGE HEART CHECK

A big THANK YOU to Michigan Heart Group Drs. Almany, Ajluni and Bowers for volunteering their time last weekend to screen over 6000 student athletes at Milford High school. For more information on how you can get your child athlete screened by Beaumont Cardiologist, please call (800) 633-7377.

7 HEALTH EDGE HEART CHECK

If you would like more information about how to get your student athlete a Free Heart Check by one of these Michigan Heart Group Cardiologist or another top rated Beaumont Cardiologist, please call (800) 633-7377.

ONE IN EVERY 44,000 COLLEGE ATHLETES MAY BE AT RISK FOR SUDDEN CARDIAC DEATH

The Seattle Times (4/4, Wong) reported, "College athletes across the nation suffer from sudden cardiac death up to seven times more frequently than previously reported," according to a study published Monday by in the journal Circulation. The analysis of "400,000 athletes who participate in National Collegiate Athletic Association sports every year," also indicated that women college athletes are at a "far higher risk than previously believed."

According to the AP (4/4), the researchers tracked an "NCAA database of athlete deaths, news media reports and insurance records" and found "45 heart-related deaths over five years among these elite student-athletes, an average of nine a year." The risk equates to "one death among roughly every 44,000 NCAA athletes," noted study author Dr. Kimberly Harmon from the University of Washington.

The Los Angeles Times (4/4) "Booster Shots" noted that incidence "varied dramatically by sport." The highest rate was in "Division 1 basketball, with one death per 3,146 players per year." The study was also covered by WebMD (4/4, Hendrick) and HeartWire (4/4, Miller).

Posted by Steven Almany M.D.

ANGIOGRAPHY THROUGH RADIAL ARTERY GAINING FAVOR

The Los Angeles Times (4/5, Maugh) reports, "Performing angioplasty and angiography through the radial artery of the arm is as effective as the traditional method of entering through the femoral artery of the groin, but has fewer complications and is more comfortable for the patient," according to findings presented at the American College of Cardiology meeting. "And for rescue operations performed while the patient is suffering a heart attack caused by a complete blockage of a coronary artery," the researchers said using the "radial artery is superior."

According to MedPage Today (4/4, Neale), the "30-day rate of death, MI, stroke, or non-CABG-related major bleeding occurred was 3.7% in the radial group and 4% in the femoral group." The findings from the "7,000-patient RIVAL trial" were published in The Lancet on the same day they were presented at the ACC meeting. The study was also covered by the Wall Street Journal (4/4, Winslow, subscription required) and HeartWire (4/4, O'Riordan). For a clinical perspective on this article, go to CardioSource.org.

Posted by Steven Almany M.D.

TOM IZZO GIVES A SHOUT OUT TO OUR VERY OWN DR. ALMANY FOR PIONEERING THIS LIFE-SAVING PROGRAM THAT IS MAKING HISTORY ALL OVER MICHIGAN....

Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo Praises 7 Health Edge Heart Check Program

ANTIDEPRESSANTS ASSOCIATED WITH ACCELERATED ATHEROSCLEROSIS IN MIDDLE-AGED MEN

Bloomberg News (4/3, Cortez) reported, "Antidepressants may narrow the arteries of middle-aged men, potentially putting them at risk for heart attacks and stroke," according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology meeting in New Orleans. In "a study involving 513 male twins, with an average age of 55, found those who took medications like Forest Laboratories Inc.'s Lexapro [escitalopram], Eli Lilly & Co.'s....Cymbalta [duloxetine], or Pfizer Inc.'s Zoloft (sertraline) had thicker blood vessel walls." What's more, "the increase, a measure of fatty-plaque buildup linked to atherosclerosis, was seen regardless of what type of antidepressant the men were taking."

The Los Angeles Times (4/2, Maugh) reported, "Overall, when the researchers adjusted for age, diabetes, blood pressure and other factors, they found that the intima-media thickness of men taking antidepressants was 37 microns (about 5%) thicker than that of men not taking the" medications. "When the team looked at 59 twin pairs in which one twin was taking the drugs and the second was not, the artery was 41 microns thicker in the twin taking" antidepressants.

HealthDay (4/2, Reinberg) reported, "Since each additional year of life is associated with a small increase in intima-media thickness, a brother taking antidepressants is physically four years older than the brother not taking antidepressants," the researchers "contended. They also said that even a small increase in intima-media thickness can increase the risk of a heart attack or stroke by 1.8 percent." Also covering the story were AFP (4/3), HeartWire (4/2, O'Riordan), Reuters (4/3, Berkrot, Pierson), and MedPage Today (4/3, Phend).

Posted by Steven Almany M.D.

RENAL DENERVATION TEATMENT MAY HELP REDUCE BLOOD PRESSURE IN PATIENTS WITH DRUG-RESISTANT HYPERTENSION

HealthDay (3/29, Salamon) reported that "a technique that interrupts nerve signals between the kidneys and brain dropped blood pressure to normal levels in 39 percent of patients with drug-resistant hypertension, according to a small new study" presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology's annual scientific meeting. For the study, carried out "at 24 international sites, 106 patients with uncontrolled high blood pressure (hypertension) randomly received either oral medication or renal denervation treatment, a procedure that uses a catheter-based probe emitting high-frequency energy near the renal artery to deactivate nearby nerves." Researchers found that, "six months later, the patients who received the nerve block procedure had experienced an average systolic blood pressure drop of 32 mm Hg and a diastolic blood pressure drop of 12 mm Hg."

Posted by Steven Almany M.D.