–The AHA reports that he received a stent and is doing well. The president of the American Heart Association, John Warner, had a “mild heart attack” on Monday morning, according to the AHA. Warner received a stent at an undisclosed hospital. The AHA said he is “doing well.” Warner is 52. The attack occurred while…
My Beef With The AHA’s Saturated Fat Recommendations
June 21, 2017 by 22 Comments
–We shouldn’t forget the unintended consequences of dietary recommendations. The American Heart Association’s position on saturated fat pretends to be science-based but is not, writes Gary Taubes, in a brilliant and wildly popular guest post published here on CardioBrief late last week. The AHA’s statement, which recommends that saturated fats be replaced with polyunsaturated…
Guest Post: Vegetable Oils, (Francis) Bacon, Bing Crosby, And The American Heart Association
June 16, 2017 by 26 Comments
–Gary Taubes responds to the AHA presidential advisory on dietary fats. Editor’s note: I was planning to write about the American Heart Association’s new statement about dietary fats so I asked Gary Taubes for a brief quote. Taubes, of course, is an investigative science and health journalist who has written three major books (Good Calories,…
Controversial Pharma CEO To Chair AHA Charity Ball
March 24, 2017 by 5 Comments
–The Wizard of Oz-themed ball seeks to raise $2 million on the yellow brick road. The American Heart Association’s annual Heart & Stroke Ball will be chaired by John Thero, the CEO of Amarin Corporation, the controversial pharmaceutical company. Amarin manufactures the prescription fish oil product Vascepa for which it is aggressively seeking an expanded indication…
Lunchroom Scandal At The AHA: Day Two Of Buttergate
November 15, 2016 by 5 Comments
–After a CardioBrief investigation the American Heart Association changes the lunchroom menu There is no better proof that journalism can change the world– both for the good and the bad– than Buttergate. Yesterday your intrepid reporter exposed the ongoing scandal of Buttergate taking place within the press lunchroom at the American Heart Association meeting in New…
Is The American Heart Association Trying To Kill Health Reporters?
November 14, 2016 by 4 Comments
The answer is no. The AHA is not trying to kill us. But its dietary advice is consistently confusing and occasionally wrong, and health reporters in New Orleans may end up as collateral damage. Just take a look at what’s being served in the press room at the big American Heart Association meeting going on now…
No, $75 Million Won’t Cure Heart Disease Or Reinvent Science
October 7, 2016 by 6 Comments
–Silicon Valley hype and hubris come to cardiology. We may be close to peak hype and hubris in cardiology. This week some of the smartest people on the planet said that $75 million can help find new ways to prevent heart disease AND, as if that’s not enough, completely reinvent the way we do science….
FDA Proposes Voluntary Sodium Cuts by Food Industry
June 1, 2016 by Leave a Comment
–AMA, AHA, ACC, etc voice support, but not everyone agrees. After decades of discussion and inaction, the FDA today took a first concrete step toward reducing sodium levels in the general population: It issued draft guidance for voluntary sodium reduction targets for the food industry. The FDA said that the new recommendations come from “leading…
Hot Lines, Simultaneous Publications, And The Decline Of Medical Meetings
August 29, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Back in the Dark Ages when I covered big medical conferences (like the European Society of Cardiology meeting now getting underway in London) it was necessary to attend the sessions, roam the halls, and talk to doctors. There were no late-breaking or hot line sessions and there were certainly no simultaneous publications in journals. (If memory…
Rise In Popularity Of E-Cigarettes Sparks Concerns And Recommendations
August 25, 2014 by Leave a Comment
The recent dramatic rise in popularity of e-cigarettes threatens to reverse hard-fought progress in the war against smoking, according to a new policy statement from the American Heart Association. “E-cigarettes have caused a major shift in the tobacco-control landscape,” said the lead author of the statement, Aruni Bhatnagar, chair of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Louisville. But…
Minority Report: Five Guideline Authors Reject Change In Blood Pressure Goal
January 13, 2014 by Leave a Comment
It didn’t seem possible but the guideline situation just got even more confusing. Last December, after years of delay and other twists and turns, the Eighth Joint National Committee (JNC 8) hypertension guideline was published in JAMA. The previous guideline recommended that all adults have a target systolic blood pressure below 140 mm Hg. In the new guideline, the target…
L.A. Confidential: Preview Of AHA Scientific Sessions 2012
October 29, 2012 by Leave a Comment
The American Heart Association scientific sessions, which start next weekend in Los Angeles, will be bigger than ever, with 853 separate sessions– 111 more than last year– and 27 late-breaking clinical trials– 6 more than last year. Elliott Antman, chair of the scientific sessions program committee, provided a preview of some of the highlights of this…
Walking With the American Heart Association: Valerie Bertinelli and Chester Cheetah
September 30, 2012 by 1 Comment
A few weeks ago Chester Cheetah, the official mascot for Frito Lay’s Cheetos, played an official part in the American Heart Association’s Dallas Heart Walk. Yoni Freedhoff, on his Weighty Matters blog, pretty much says what needs to be said about this disgraceful association between Frito Lay and the AHA. This weekend I received a press kit…
News Briefs: Cholesterol Trends, AHA Late-Breakers, FDA Updates On Rivaroxaban And Heartware HVAD
September 7, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Cholesterol Trends The Centers for Disease Control issued a new report with the latest details about the prevalence of cholesterol screening and high blood cholesterol in US adults. Here is their summary of the key findings: …cholesterol screening increased from 72.7% in 2005 to 76.0% in 2009, whereas the percentage of those screened who reported…
Recent Comments