Lipid disorders

Be alert for the pitfalls in ECG interpretation of ACS. An initial tracing can be normal in about 10% of cases, even during chest pain. Nonspecific changes occur in another 5% to 15% of cases.

Recommendations from the American Diabetes Association also suggest a less stringent diastolic blood pressure target, all in keeping with recent changes in cardiovascular risk management guidelines.

Eruptive xanthomas; smooth-shaped, deeply placed nodules; a solitary itchy patch . . . how much do you know about these and 2 other disorders?

The exact mechanism responsible for this effect is still open for debate. A salutatory side effect of the news may be the impact on medication adherence among men with both elevated LDL-C and erectile dysfunction.

The real impact of nutritious menu changes at fast food chains like McDonalds remains to be seen, but these-along with modifying the dosage schedules of patients who appear to be statin-intolerant-may prove to have long-term salubrious effects.

Vitamin D supplementation in the VitDISH study did not improve isolated systolic hypertension in elderly patients who were deficient.

Smoking can increase cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL while decreasing HDL.

Although this study did not show benefits for heart disease, it has shown that weight loss improves many other health problems.

Test your clinical skills in this week’s 5-question quiz.

Colesevelam helps reduce serum glucose levels and also lowers LDL-C in patients with type 2 diabetes. Bromocriptine reduces the relative risk of cardiovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Every-other-day dosing, especially of statins with longer half-lives is shown to preserve lipid-lowering benefits.

Barriers to the use of statins-the most potent medicine currently available in the fight against atherosclerotic heart disease-are both real and perceived.

Lp(a) is an LDL-like particle that exists in plasma in the VLDL range; its density lies between that of LDL and HDL. Lp(a) increases CV risk.

A new link between heart disease and red meat offers an understanding of the cardiovascular health benefits of a vegetarian diet.

Persons who eat a high-fiber diet experience a lower risk of first-time stroke, according to a new meta-analysis that supports current guidelines to increase fiber consumption.

Female CV mortality lags behind male mortality; lifetime risk assessment, not 10-year risk, is a better estimation tool for women

High-potency statin therapy may increase risk of new onset diabetes but also reduces cardiovascular events.

Patients who consumed a Mediterranean-style diet had a 30% reduction in major cardiovascular events compared with patients who ate a diet low in saturated fat.

Elevated levels of the biomarker C-reactive protein in patients with HIV infection increased the risk of MI approximately 2-fold.

Much like HIV/AIDS, RA is associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and consequent death. How might inflammation add to the risk?

It would be a mistake to attribute all beneficial outcomes obtained from statins solely to cholesterol lowering. Statins have pleiotropic effects-that is, they are simultaneously capable of producing more than one benefit, and in cardiovascular risk reduction, they accomplish more than simply lowering cholesterol.

Typical interventions in persons without CKD are essential. SHARP and TNT have added to our knowledge. Aggressive cholesterol lowering (probably also affecting LDL particle number as well as traditional measures of LDL) seems to afford better outcomes by lessening residual risk in those with chronic kidney disease.

Diabetes progress; folic acid and autism; acupuncture and allergic rhinitis; depression and shingles vaccine; HMP virus alert.

Goals for HbA1C, blood pressure, and LDL-C among diabetes patients are being met by more, according to the NIH.

It has been predicted that costs for cardiovascular disease will increase to more than $1 trillion dollars annually in the US by 2030. If statins are effective in preventing heart disease, why are costs still rising?