Statin-Exercise Combo Lowers Mortality Risk

November 28, 2012November 28, 2012 / SupremeCmdr / Leave a comment

Patients who took statins and were physically fit had as much as a 70% reduction in the risk of dying during the follow-up period as compared with the least physically fit patients who were taking statins, according to Peter Kokkinos, PhD, of George Washington University in Washington, and colleagues.

Physical fitness also had an independent effect on mortality risk among patients who were not taking statins, reducing the likelihood of death during follow-up by as much as 47%, they reported online in The Lancet.

via Statin-Exercise Combo Lowers Mortality Risk.

I really need to get the gym more often.

U.S. Diabetes Prevalence Soars

November 27, 2012 / SupremeCmdr / Leave a comment

From 1995 to 2010, the median age-adjusted prevalence of diagnosed diabetes for all 50 states, the District of Columbia (D.C.), and Puerto Rico rose from 4.5% to 8.2% Linda Geiss, MA, of the CDC, and colleagues reported in the Nov. 16 issue of Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report.

via U.S. Diabetes Prevalence Soars.

Afib Linked to Sudden Cardiac Death

November 27, 2012 / SupremeCmdr / Leave a comment

Atrial fibrillation may raise the risk of sudden cardiac death, according to findings from two large population-based cohorts.

The risk of sudden cardiac death was elevated 3.26-fold with incident atrial fibrillation in multivariate analysis of the ARIC (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities) study, Lin Y. Chen, MD, MS, of the University of Minnesota Medical School in Minneapolis, and colleagues found.

via Afib Linked to Sudden Cardiac Death, Too.

Ankle-Brachial Index Standards Set by AHA

November 26, 2012 / SupremeCmdr / Leave a comment

The AHA endorsed the most commonly used threshold of 0.90 or less for peripheral arterial disease detection, although it noted that the American Diabetes Association has proposed minor modifications of the criterion for diabetes patients based on observational study findings.

via Ankle-Brachial Index Standards Set by AHA.

Effect of Fruit and Vegetable Consumption on Immune Function in Older People

November 25, 2012 / SupremeCmdr / Leave a comment

Conclusion: Increased FV intake improves the Pneumovax II vaccination antibody response in older people, which links an achievable dietary goal with improved immune function. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00858728.

via Effect of fruit and vegetable consumption on immune function in older people: a randomized controlled trial.

Mom was right. Eat your vegetables.

5-Hour Energy Shots Linked to 13 Deaths

November 15, 2012 / SupremeCmdr / 1 Comment

5-Hour Energy shots are linked to 13 deaths and 33 hospitalizations, the FDA confirms.So far, 5-Hour Energy maker Living Essentials LLC has received 92 reports from people who fell ill after using the product. Since the product is sold as a nutritional supplement, the company is required to relay such reports to the FDA.The reports themselves do not prove that 5-Hour Energy had anything to do with any of the deaths or illnesses.

via 5-Hour Energy Shots Linked to 13 Deaths.

Domestic Medical Tourism Movement

November 4, 2012 / SupremeCmdr / Leave a comment

Wal-Mart gives major boost to domestic medical tourism movement – amednews.com.

Change in Kidney Markers Not Just Function of Age

November 3, 2012 / SupremeCmdr / Leave a comment

In a large cohort study, relative mortality risk for reduced eGFR was higher in every age category, but fell with increasing age (P<0.05), with similar albeit less evident findings for increased albuminuria, Josef Coresh, MD, PhD, of the Chronic Kidney Disease Prognosis Consortium Data Coordinating Center in Baltimore, and colleagues reported online in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Overall, Coresh and colleagues found that death and ESRD risks were higher at lower eGFR and higher albuminuria in every age category.

via Change in Kidney Markers Not Just Function of Age.

AHA: No Excess Bleeding Risk with Dabigatran (Pradaxa)

November 3, 2012 / SupremeCmdr / Leave a comment

Although the FDA review discounted an excess bleeding risk with dabigatran, it did not address another potential concern — the ability to reverse the anticoagulant effect acutely in cases of emergency.

Antman acknowledged that there is no specific, approved antidote for dabigatran or any of the novel anticoagulants, although it is an area of active investigation and the topic of several studies that will be presented at the AHA meeting in the coming days.

He said it’s not true, however, that clinicians don’t have any options. Intravenous administration of blood coagulation factors — prothrombin complex concentrates that are available in every hospital — can help to reverse the effect, though not completely.

In comparison, the effects of warfarin can be reversed with the administration of vitamin K. Antman noted. But that that doesn’t always work either, and patients can die because of it, he added.

via AHA: No Excess Bleeding Risk with Dabigatran.

lifeunderwriter.net

Curated Content From a Life Underwriting Professional

Medical News

Statin-Exercise Combo Lowers Mortality Risk

U.S. Diabetes Prevalence Soars

Afib Linked to Sudden Cardiac Death

Ankle-Brachial Index Standards Set by AHA

Effect of Fruit and Vegetable Consumption on Immune Function in Older People

5-Hour Energy Shots Linked to 13 Deaths

Domestic Medical Tourism Movement

Change in Kidney Markers Not Just Function of Age

AHA: No Excess Bleeding Risk with Dabigatran (Pradaxa)

A generation of children risks growing up with obsessive personalities, poor self-control, short attention spans and little empathy because of an addiction to social networking websites such as Twitter, a leading neuroscientist has warned.