The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) will no longer issue guidelines, including the much-delayed and much-anticipated hypertension (JNC 8) and cholesterol (ATP IV) guidelines. Instead, the NHLBI will perform systematic evidence reviews that other organizations, including the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology, will use as a resource for their own guidelines….
Hypertension And Cholesterol Guidelines Delayed Again As NHLBI Gets Out Of The Guidelines Business
June 19, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Dramatic Increase in Use of Radial Artery Access for PCI in the U.S.
June 10, 2013 by Leave a Comment
In the last six years interventional cardiologists have dramatically increased their use of radial access for PCI, according to a retrospective study published in Circulation. Using data from the CathPCI registry on more than 2.8 million procedures between January 2007 and September 2012, Dmitriy Feldman and colleagues found that radial access PCI increased 13-fold, from a negligible 1.2% at the beginning of the study…
Salt Report From IOM Sparks Much Heat, Only A Little Light
May 16, 2013 by Leave a Comment
An Institute of Medicine report on salt earlier this week sparked a lot of controversy. The report concludes that there’s no evidence to support current efforts to lower salt consumption to less than 2,300 mg/day. Unfortunately, the press coverage offered little insight into the science behind the issue. On the Knight Science Journalism Tracker blog,…
The Mediterranean Diet: The New Gold Standard?
February 25, 2013 by 1 Comment
Earlier today I summarized the important new PREDIMED study published in the New England Journal of Medicine showing the cardiovascular benefits of the Mediterranean diet. This study– a rare and much welcome instance of a large randomized controlled study of a diet powered to reach conclusions about important cardiovascular endpoints– has been widely praised and will undoubtedly have a…
Back To The Future: Resurrected Data From 1960s Trial Might Impact Contemporary Dietary Fat Debate
February 5, 2013 by 2 Comments
In an exceedingly strange turn of events, data from a clinical trial dating from the 1960s, long thought to be lost, has now been resurrected and may contribute important new information to the very contemporary controversy over recommendations about dietary fat composition. The American Heart Association has long urged people to increase their consumption of…
Large Meta-Analysis Finds No Harm Associated With Eggs
January 15, 2013 by 2 Comments
No food has had more ups and downs over the last century or so than the common egg. Following a long period in which eggs were ubiquitous and highly regarded, eggs fell from favor with the rise of concerns over cholesterol. Currently the American Heart Association recommends that people restrict dietary cholesterol to 300 mg…
American Heart Association Lists Top 10 Research Advances
December 17, 2012 by Leave a Comment
The AHA has published its annual list of the top 10 advances in heart disease and stroke research. It’s probably worth remarking that not a single item on the list is related to drug therapy. I haven’t gone back and checked past lists, but I would bet this hasn’t happened before. Here’s the list: Extended…
State Of The Heart: AHA Publishes Year-End Statistical Update
December 12, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Although deaths from cardiovascular disease have been declining for many years, continued progress is threatened by disturbing trends in US lifestyles. That’s the clear message from the American Heart Association’s year-end report, “Heart Disease and Stroke Statistical Update 2013,” published in Circulation. “Americans need to move a lot more, eat healthier and less, and manage risk…
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…
Subway Meals Get American Heart Association Endorsement
June 4, 2012 by 2 Comments
The American Heart Association (AHA) announced today that it had initiated a new program that it claims will help people choose healthy meals at restaurants. The Subway restaurant chain will be the first to display the Heart-Check Meal Certification logo next to certain selected meals. In a press release the AHA’s president, Gordon Tomaselli, said…
AHA Scientific Statement Spotlights Peripheral Artery Disease in Women
February 15, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Although peripheral artery disease (PAD) raises the risk of heart disease and stroke, it often goes undiagnosed and untreated, especially in women, according to a scientific statement issued by the American Heart Association and published in Circulation. Here are a few highlights of the statement: Although women develop PAD later than men, the total number…
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