Conclusion: Despite important reductions in nonfatal MI, aspirin prophylaxis in people without prior CVD does not lead to reductions in either cardiovascular death or cancer mortality. Because the benefits are further offset by clinically important bleeding events, routine use of aspirin for primary prevention is not warranted and treatment decisions need to be considered on a case-by-case basis.
underwriting
No Age Limit on Benefits of Eating Well
Older people who eat properly are likely to live longer.
That’s the implication of a study looking at mortality and eating habits among a cohort of nearly 4,000 people 65 and older, according to Luis Afonso, MD, of Wayne State University in Detroit, and colleagues.
After an average follow-up of 13 years, participants with a good diet had lower rates of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, compared with those who had a poor diet, Afonso and colleagues reported in the Feb. 13 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
I’ll take fries with that.
Biomarkers May Help Heart Failure Risk Prediction
After accounting for the clinical risk score, several echocardiographic findings were independently associated with incident heart failure HRs 1.11 to 2.91, P≤0.001 for all:
- Reduced left ventricular ejection fraction
- Abnormal mitral inflow E/A peak velocity ratio a measure of diastolic function
- Enlarged left atrium Increased left ventricular mass
These variables were used to create an echocardiographic score.Elevated levels of NT-proBNP also were independently associated with heart failure risk HR 1.61 as a continuous variable and HR 2.7 for values greater than 190 pg/mL, P
Cardiovascular Mortality in Women With OSA
Conclusion: Severe OSA is associated with cardiovascular death in women, and adequate CPAP treatment may reduce this risk.
Richard Lehman’s Journal Review – January 2012
BMJ Group blogs: BMJ » Blog Archive » Richard Lehman’s journal review – 9 January 2012.
BMJ Group blogs: BMJ » Blog Archive » Richard Lehman’s journal review – 16 January 2012.
BMJ Group blogs: BMJ » Blog Archive » Richard Lehman’s journal review – 23 January 2012.
BMJ Group blogs: BMJ » Blog Archive » Richard Lehman’s journal review – 30 January 2012.
Patient Access to Core Attributes of Primary Care Linked to Lower Mortality
Specifically, authors of “Primary Care Attributes and Mortality: A National Person-Level Study” found that patients who reported three attributes in their usual source of care — comprehensiveness, patient-centeredness and enhanced access — had lower mortality during up to six years follow-up than patients reporting less access to those three attributes.
50-Year-Olds Get New Knees in Record Numbers
During the past three decades there has been a dramatic, 130-fold increase in knee replacement surgeries, particularly among individuals in their 50s, a Finnish study found.
Knee replacement cost – cost of knee replacement surgery.
After reading about the dramatic increase in the number of knee replacements I did a Google search for “average cost knee replacement” without the quotation marks in the search string. At the top of page one was the second link above.
Taiwan anyone?
Meaningful Treatments
Thankfully, we’ve learned from our mistakes. Opening blocked vessels is useful in really only two general areas:
Heart attack, where the rule of thumb is to open the tightest blockage (we refer to it as the “infarct-related artery”) and leave the rest as is.
Symptomatic blockages such as the 99% plug that caused my patient his troubles. If, on the other hand, a person has no chest pain or breathing difficulty associated with the disease, we provide no benefit by uncorking it—even if the blockage is 100%.
via Meaningful treatments in the battle against coronary disease.
Binge Drinking in Adults United States 2010
- Binge drinking causes more than half of the 80,000 deaths and three quarters of the $223.5 billion in economic costs caused by excessive drinking.
- Approximately one in six (38 million) U.S. adults binge drink, and do so approximately four times a month. On average, the largest number of drinks consumed by binge drinkers is eight drinks per occasion.
- Prevalence and intensity of binge drinking was highest among persons aged 18–34 years, but the frequency of binge drinking was highest among binge drinkers aged ≥65 years. Binge drinkers with annual household incomes ≥$75,000 had the highest binge drinking prevalence, but binge drinkers with household incomes <$25,000 had the highest frequency and intensity of binge drinking.
Vital Signs: Binge Drinking Prevalence, Frequency, and Intensity Among Adults — United States, 2010.
The first link takes you to the MedPage Today article. The second link takes you to the source article which is also available in a downloadable PDF format. This report is well worth sharing with your underwriting staff.
The Advantages of the Middle-Age Brain -TIME.com
A study in the British Medical Journal lit up the Internet last week with the conclusion that cognitive decline begins at age 45. While it’s true that some innate skills like memory and speed of reasoning fall off as we age, other aspects of intelligence related to learning and experience actually improve.
via Patricia Cohen: The Advantages of the Middle-Age Brain | TIME Ideas | TIME.com.
Positive proof the older brain improves with time. I found an article on some positive aspects of the aging brain.
Now if I could only remember where I put my car keys…
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