–Broad disagreement about how, when, and if to use statins. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has issued final recommendations regarding the use of statins for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in adults. The recommendations, first proposed last December, are broadly consistent with the 2013 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guidelines. But accompanying the…
Debate Ensues As USPSTF Finalizes Statin Primary Prevention Guideline
November 13, 2016 by Leave a Comment
The Twitter Debate Over Cholesterol Screening In Kids
August 11, 2016 by 1 Comment
–Cardiologists discuss the screening controversy in 140 characters or less. My recent post on the debate over cholesterol screening in children provoked a fascinating discussion on Twitter, including comments from several highly knowledgeable experts and clinicians. The discussion started when James Stein, a preventive cardiologist at the University of Wisconsin), tweeted: Lipid screening in kids….
Experts Disagree About Cholesterol Screening In Kids
August 10, 2016 by 3 Comments
(Updated) –Lack of evidence leads to major disagreement over guidelines. Once again the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has performed an invaluable— and almost certainly thankless— service. In a series of papers published in JAMA and Annals of Internal Medicine the USPSTF states unequivocally that there is no good high quality evidence to evaluate…
USPSTF Updates Aspirin for Primary Prevention Recommendation
April 11, 2016 by 1 Comment
–But many experts think the evidence base is slim at best. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) finalized the update to its guidelines regarding the use of aspirin for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease and colorectal cancer. The USPSTF is now recommending that people between the ages of 50 and 59 who are at increased…
Vitamin Supplements Come Up Short Once Again
February 24, 2014 by 1 Comment
Once again the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has concluded that there is no good evidence to support the routine use of multivitamins or most individual or combination vitamins by healthy adults to prevent cardiovascular disease or cancer. The USPSTF also recommended against the use of two specific vitamins — beta-carotene and vitamin E. Beta-carotene has been…
Screening For AAA Comes Under Renewed Scrutiny And Criticism
September 18, 2012 by Leave a Comment
A 2007 Medicare initiative to increase AAA (abdominal aortic aneurysm) screening in appropriate patients failed to prevent AAA rupture or reduce all-cause mortality, according to a new study published in Archives of Internal Medicine. The larger implications of the study are unclear, but two accompanying papers, an invited commentary and a perspective, emphasize the darker side of…
USPSTF Maintains Recommendation Against ECG Screening Of Asymptomatic Low-Risk Adults
July 30, 2012 by Leave a Comment
The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has reaffirmed its 2004 recommendation against ECG screening for asymptomatic adults who are already at low risk for coronary heart disease (CHD). The Task Force also concluded that there was insufficient evidence to assess the risks and benefits of ECG screening in asymptomatic people at intermediate- or high-risk for…
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