November 22nd, 2019
Podcast 243: Lowering high blood pressure lowers dementia risk
Controlling hypertension lowers the relative risk for dementia and Alzheimer’s disease by roughly 15%. Given that many people have poorly-controlled hypertension, the finding that all antihypertensives are effective in bringing about this result might get your patients to be more adherent. We talk with Dr. Lenore Launer of the NIH’s Institute on Aging about her recent meta-analysis […]
September 14th, 2017
Podcast 212: BP in CKD — Where’s the Sweet Spot?
There was an excellent commentary accompanying a recent JAMA Internal Medicine meta-analysis: “The Ideal Blood Pressure Target for Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease — Searching for the Sweet Spot” by Csaba Kovesdy. He offers a nice perspective on the problem and kindly agreed to talk with us. Links: Kovesdy’s commentary in JAMA Internal Medicine The meta-analysis […]
November 9th, 2015
Podcast 189: Blood Pressure Target Should Be 120, SPRINT Data Show
The SPRINT study, suggesting that we aim for a systolic BP target of 120 mm Hg in high-risk hypertensive patients, has been published with much fanfare. Dr. Paul Whelton — one of the SPRINT investigators — is our guest. He warns against setting 120 as a performance measure, observing that roughly half the patients in the […]
June 25th, 2011
Podcast 124: Getting more accuracy into blood pressure measurements
Patients’ systolic pressures vary by about 10%, regardless of whether they are measured at home or under the duress of a visit to the doctor. That variation is troubling when deciding whether to put a patient on an antihypertensive regimen: how reliable are the measurements that will form the basis of your decision? How do […]
March 19th, 2010
Podcast 79: Prostate cancer, patients’ consultations, and the treatments they receive
Patients who consult urologists only are more likely to get radical prostatectomy, and those who consult both urologists and radiation oncologists are more likely to get radiation. Those who see internists are more likely to receive watchful waiting. What are all these facts trying to tell us? Our conversation is with the principal authors of a […]
March 12th, 2010
Podcast 78: Just what are “comparative effectiveness” studies anyway?
This week, a conversation with Michael Hochman on his examination of what the major general journals publish in the way of comparative effectiveness studies. He talks about what they are and how to think about that reprint that the drug rep has just dropped off for you. Reach us at 617-440-4374, or write to jelia@jwatch.org. This week’s […]
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