September 14th, 2013
Podcast 167 — The polypill: adherence at last?
Running time: 7 min The recent JAMA article examining the effects of the “polypill” on adherence and clinical benefits in patients with (or at high risk for) cardiovascular disease, is our topic. The polypill in this trial contained fixed doses of four separate drugs: aspirin, a statin, lisinopril and one other blood-pressure-lowering drug — either atenolol […]
February 13th, 2012
Podcast 145: The Y chromosome and the possible role of a common variant in coronary disease in men.
Haplogroups — who knew? Ancient variations in the Y chromosome form what’s known as haplogroups, and haplogroup I is common in Europe, particularly so in northern Europe. Researchers find that “I” is an independent risk factor for coronary artery disease in men, carried as it is on the male-only Y chromosome. Listen in as we talk […]
May 14th, 2011
Podcast 121: NSAIDs Unsafe at Any Dose after MI
Guidelines warn about using NSAIDs after myocardial infarction, and a 10-year look-back study from Denmark shows that the warning should be even louder. Whereas current AHA guidelines advise using NSAIDs after MI for the briefest possible time, the Danish study, published last week in Circulation, finds that the risks for death and reinfarction begin within […]
May 6th, 2011
Podcast 120: Pass the salt!
European researchers say they’ve got the data to show that restricting salt in the general population is a bad mistake. By implication, the U.S. dietary salt guidelines are plainly wrong. How did they do this? They followed 3700 subjects for roughly 8 years, having first measured their 24-hour urinary sodium excretion. Their data show that lower […]
April 22nd, 2011
Podcast 119: Calcium supplements and risk
Most clinicians, when asked, say they will routinely recommend calcium supplements for their postmenopausal patients. A meta-analysis from BMJ shows that this well-intentioned advice seems to lead to a moderate increase in cardiovascular risk in these women. We talk with Prof. Ian Reid, whose re-analysis of Women’s Health Initiative data confirms earlier work he’d done. Listen in. […]
March 2nd, 2011
Podcast 114: Guidelines for preventing cardiovascular disease in women
We think you’ll find this of interest. The American Heart Association last month issued revised guidelines for preventing cardiovascular disease in women. The change that hits you right off is the title’s shift from “Evidence-Based” to “Effectiveness-Based,” emphasizing the writing committee’s belief that the way things go in clinical trials doesn’t always hold in the more […]
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