ADDING NIACIN TO STATIN THERAPY DOES NOT IMPROVE HDL CHOLESTEROL FUNCTION

MedPage Today (8/9) reports that a study published online in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that “despite increasing HDL cholesterol levels, the addition of niacin (Niaspan) to statin therapy did not improve the beneficial functions of HDL cholesterol, which could explain the drug’s failure to improve clinical outcomes in recent large clinical trials.”

POSTED BY:  Steven Almany M.D.

HEART HEALTHY RECIPE- CHICKEN AND PASTA WITH PEANUT SAUCE

Chicken and Pasta with Peanut Sauce

6 oz. dried fettuccine or linguine

1 6 oz. pkg. frozen pea pods

1 c. cooked skinless chicken breast strips

1 8 oz. can pineapple chunks, drained

¼ c. reduced-sodium chicken broth

2 T. creamy peanut butter

1 T. reduced-sodium soy sauce

1 T. lemon juice

1 clove garlic, minced

Cook pasta and pea pods according to package directions, drain well.  In a small saucepan, stir chicken broth into peanut butter.  Heat and stir with a whisk until peanut butter melts.  Stir in soy sauce, lemon juice and garlic; heat through.

Combine pasta, pea pods, chicken and pineapple in pasta pot.  Add  sauce and stir gently over low heat to coat pasta.  Serves 4.

Nutrition Information:  per serving

Calories 317, Total fat 7 g, Saturated fat 2 g, Cholesterol 30 mg, Sodium 254 mg, Carbohydrate 44 g, Fiber 3 g, Protein 21 g

ASYMPTOMATIC PATIENTS WITH AT LEAST ONE NARROWED VESSEL ARE BETTER WITH DRUG THERAPY AND STENT THEN DRUG THERAPY ALONE

The San Francisco Chronicle (8/29, Allday, Lee, Colliver) reports, "Patients who are asymptomatic but have at least one narrowed blood vessel that severely lowers blood flow to the heart are better off being treated with drugs and a stent placed in the artery than with drug therapy alone, according to results of a large trial" published online Aug. 28 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

        HealthDay (8/29, Mann) reports that for "the new study, researchers used a diagnostic tool called fractional flow reserve (FFR) to help determine the best course of treatment among more than 1,200 people with stable heart disease." The research "was stopped early due to high rates of hospitalization and urgent need for stenting seen among people who only received drug therapy...initially."

        The Minneapolis Star Tribune (8/29, Walsh) reports that Dr. Bernard De Bruyne, the coordinating clinical investigator of the FAME II Trial, said, "With this new knowledge, I believe that FFR should become the standard of care for treating patients with stable coronary artery disease and significant coronary narrowings."

        On its website, ABC (8/29) reports, "However, the new study is unlikely to end the debate over the use of stents, which has raged since a landmark study in 2007 known as the COURAGE trial."

        MedPage Today (8/29, Neale) reports, "Spencer King III, MD, professor emeritus at Emory University and a past president of the American College of Cardiology, said that there would be some criticisms about the study regarding the inclusion of urgent revascularization - often considered a 'soft' outcome - in the primary composite endpoint with the hard outcomes of death and MI."

        WebMD (8/29, Laino) reports, "Fractional flow reserve is available at most medical centers. And It's being used more and more to help determine the best course of treatment for opening narrowed arteries, says American College of Cardiology immediate past president David Holmes, MD."

        CardioSource (8/29) reports "A couple of limitations warrant mention. The mean follow-up was very short-approximately 7 months. Thus, it was too short to study meaningful differences in hard endpoints such as death or MI, and also for assessing the impact of restenosis in the PCI arm. Thus, it will remain a point of discussion that the Data Safety Monitoring Board terminated this trial early based on differences in unplanned revascularization between the two arms, since rates of death and MI were similar. The practicality and cost-effectiveness of FFR-guided PCI for every stable angina lesion will need to be further studied.

Steven Almany M.D.

HEART HEALTHY RECIPE- STRAWBERRY AND CANTALOUPE SOUP

Strawberry-Cantaloupe Soup

½ medium cantaloupe, peeled, seeded and cut into chunks                       

1 c. strawberries, rinsed and hulled

1 small banana, peeled and cut into chunks

½ c. unsweetened pineapple juice

½ c. nonfat vanilla yogurt

Place all ingredients except yogurt in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

Add yogurt and blend until combined.  Serve immediately or cover and chill until serving time.

Makes about 3 cups.

Nutrition Information:  per 1 cup serving

Calories 147, Total fat 1 g, Saturated fat 0 g, Cholesterol 1 mg, Sodium 32 mg, Carbohydrate 32 mg, Protein 4 g 

BEAUMONT MICHIGAN HEART GROUP'S PHYSICIAN LIAISON IS HERE TO HELP YOU

Michigan Heart Group has a Physician Liaison on staff to assist with questions, concerns or problems you, your staff or your patients may have with our office.

Stacie Batur is available Monday through Thursday at (248) 267-5050 (x6509). She is often between two buildings or visiting referring physician offices. If you get her voice mail, please leave a message and she will call you back shortly. If you need to speak to her immediately you can reach her on her cell phone at (248) 765-4466.

VITAMIN D MAY NOT REDUCE BLOOD PRESSURE IN OLDER ADULTS WITH HYPERTENSION

HealthDay (8/13, Preidt, 2K) reports that research published in JAMA Internal Medicine suggests that vitamin D supplementation may not reduce blood pressure in older individuals with hypertension.

MedPage Today (8/13, Neale, 185K) reports that “at both 3 months and 1 year, there were no differences in office blood pressure between the supplementation and placebo groups.” Investigators also found that “there were no effects seen on nearly all of the secondary outcomes, with the exception of parathyroid hormone levels, which dropped by 3.8 ng/mL with supplementation relative to placebo.” MedPage Today points out that “isolated systolic hypertension...occurs in about 65% of hypertensive patients over 60 and 90% over 70, according to an expert consensus document from the American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology.”

POSTED BY: Steven Almany M.D.

HEART HEALTHY RECIPE- CORN CHOWDER

Corn has a reputation as a fattening food.  Actually, it is low in fat and high in complex carbohydrates and fiber.  Try a new way of serving corn with this New England-style corn chowder.

Corn Chowder

                       

4 c. fresh or frozen corn

½ T. oil

1 c. chopped onion

1 c. diced celery

4 ounces lean ham, trimmed and diced

2 cloves garlic, peeled, ends removed, minced

2 cans (10 ½ oz.) low-sodium chicken broth

2 c. diced peeled potatoes

¼ c. all-purpose flour

                                                                                    ½ tsp. black pepper

                                                                                   1/8 tsp. ground red pepper

                                                                                    2 c. skim milk
                                                                                    1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Process 2 ½ c. of the corn in a food processor or blender until smooth; set aside.  Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add the onion, celery, ham and garlic, and sauté 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.  Add the broth and diced potato; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add the corn puree and remaining 1 ½ c. of corn; cook 10 minutes.

Place the flour and black and red pepper in a small bowl.  Gradually add the milk and Worcestershire sauce, blending with a wire whisk.  Gradually add the mixture to the chowder.  Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes or until thickened, stirring constantly.

Nutrition Information:  per 1/10 recipe

Calories 167, Total fat 2 g, Saturated fat 0.5 g, Cholesterol 7 mg, Sodium 184 mg, Carbohydrate 33 g, Fiber 3 g, Sugar 5 g, Protein 8 g 

HOW DO I KNOW IF I HAVE HEART FAILURE?

Heart failure means the heart is not pumping adequate output to satisfy the bodies needs.  Usually this results in fluid retention, fatigue, edema, and shortness of breath.  There is a form called diastolic failure in which the heart pumps adequately but to do this requires high intracranial pressures and fluid retention.

POSTED BY:  Steven Ajluni, MD

HEART HEALTHY RECIPE- WALDOLF SALAD

                            
WALDOLF SALAD   

                                               
                                                   1 T. lemon juice       
                                                   ½ c. nonfat mayonnaise

                                                   1 c. diced celery

                                                   ½ c. raisins

                                                   2 T. chopped walnuts

                                                   3 c. pared and diced favorite apple

                                                   8 romaine lettuce leaves, washed, dried

In a medium-size bowl, mix the lemon juice with the mayonnaise.  Add the celery, raisins and walnuts, and mix thoroughly.  Add the diced apple immediately to avoid browning.  Line each serving plate with lettuce leaves.  Place ½ cup of the salad on top of the lettuce and serve.

Nutrition Information: 1/8 recipe

Calories 76, Total fat 1 g, Cholesterol 0 mg, Sodium 119 mg, Carbohydrate 16 g, Fiber 2 g, Sugar 11 g, Protein 1 g

HEART LIGHT...A NATION WIDE NEW TRIAL AT BEAUMONT OFFERS HOPE TO THOSE THAT SUFFER FROM ATRIAL FIBRILLATION!

EKG of Atrial Fibrillation

Heart Light is an exciting National Research Trial using new technology to treat Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation.  William Beaumont Hospital is one of only 22 centers in the United States to offer this trial also one of the highest for enrollment.   Michigan Heart Group's own Dr. Kutinsky is the principle investigator at Beaumont.

The technology is called Cardio Focus, an endoscopic laser balloon system used to isolate the pulmonary veins and cure Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation.  The technology is cutting edge for many reasons, first the operator can visualize how and where the treatment is being directed and second it has increased efficacy and success for curing Atrial Fibrillation.  If you want more information or are interested in seeing if you are eligible for the trial, please visit, www.cardiofocus.com.  The deadline for applications is October 1st.