JAMA – Nonobstructive Coronary Artery Disease and Risk of Myocardial Infarction

JAMA Network | JAMA | Nonobstructive Coronary Artery Disease and Risk of Myocardial Infarction.

Conclusions and Relevance  In this cohort of patients undergoing elective coronary angiography, nonobstructive CAD, compared with no apparent CAD, was associated with a significantly greater 1-year risk of MI and all-cause mortality. These findings suggest clinical importance of nonobstructive CAD and warrant further investigation of interventions to improve outcomes among these patients.

 

Let’s Stop the Unnecessary Treatment of Heart Disease

Let’s Stop the Unnecessary Treatment of Heart Disease.

recent population-based prospective studyof Swedish men suggested almost four of five MIs in men could be preventable.[1](That’s not a typo.) Researchers from the Institute of Environmental Medicine in Stockholm, Sweden, followed 20 721 men from 1997 to 2009. They specifically asked about five modifiable lifestyle behaviors: a healthy diet, moderate alcohol consumption, no smoking, being physically active, and having no abdominal fat (waist circumference.) There were 1361 cases of MI in the 11-year follow-up period.

heartwire journalist Michael O’Riordan recaps the details of the study here. The short story was that each of the five low-risk behaviors independently reduced the chance of having a heart attack. Not smoking was the strongest risk reducer. Men who combined all five behaviors were 86% less likely than those who had zero behaviors to have a heart attack.

Fruit, Veg Intake Has Dose-Response Link With CV Death

The inverse association between increased fruit and vegetable consumption and mortality was particularly noticeable for cardiovascular mortality; higher consumption was not significantly linked with reduced risk of cancer mortality

All of the pitfalls of the component studies are present in the meta-analysis, the authors warn, including the fact that fruit and vegetable intake is typically self-reported. Not all studies adjusted for other types of foods consumed, including saturated fats, processed meats, etc. The definition of “portions” may also have been different across studies, the authors caution.

via Fruit, Veg Intake Has Dose-Response Link With CV Death.

Vegans and radical vegetarians take note.  Bold in quote above is my emphasis.

 

Diabetes and the Heart: Risk Greater in Women

Diabetes and the Heart: Risk Greater in Women.

Data from 64 studies with both male and female participants yielded a 44% greater multiple-adjusted relative risk ratio (RRR) for incident coronary heart disease (CHD) in women compared with men (RRR 1.44, 95% CI 1.27-1.63), Rachel Huxley, DPhil, of the University of Queensland in Sydney, Australia, and colleagues found.

Pooled data from 52 studies indicated that women also had a 44% greater chance than men of dying from fatal CHD associated with diabetes, Huxley and colleagues reported online in the journal Diabetologia.