When Younger Women Have a Heart Attack. According to a new study published in JAMA, younger women who seek out medical care for a myocardial infarction (MI) are more likely to present at the hospital without chest pain and are also more likely to die in the hospital following a heart attack

Sex Is Safe for Many Patients With Heart Disease. Your patients will be happy to hear the latest advice from the American Heart Association (AHA)!

Does Every Adult Patient Need Aspirin? Your patients are likely to ask you about a meta-analysis just published in the Archives of Internal Medicine showing that while aspirin may reduce the risk of heart attack in middle-aged adults without known heart disease, the benefits are only modest.

Founder Effect in Familial Hypercholesterolemia (FH): A Focus on Early Detection and Treatment to Prevent Premature CHD in FH   CME Information Program Overview Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is a common autosomal dominant genetic disorder associated with...

FDA Evaluating Reports of Serious Bleeding With Pradaxa. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is evaluating postmarketing reports of serious bleeding events in patients taking Pradaxa®. Pradaxa is an anticoagulant used to reduce the risk of stroke in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (AF), the most common type of heart rhythm abnormality.

Best Practices in Primary Care: Dyslipidemia and the Chronic Kidney Disease Patient. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among people with chronic kidney disease (CKD). While the link between CVD and CKD is apparent, primary care providers are not effectively screening and treating patients with renal disease who are at enhanced risk for cardiovascular disease and events.

How Concerned Are You About Familial Hypercholesterolemia In Your Practice? Familial Hypercholesterolemia (FH) is among the most common genetic lipid disorders; left untreated, FH patients have a 20-fold increased risk for CHD. As a consequence, males with FH often experience heart attacks in their thirties and forties, and women in their fifties. FH is a treatable disorder, but one of the great challenges is that FH remains underdiagnosed and undertreated.

New FDA Warning About Simvastatin Dosing. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is recommending that healthcare professionals limit the use of the highest approved dose of the cholesterol-lowering medication simvastatin (80 mg) because of increased risk of muscle damage. Patients taking simvastatin 80 mg daily have an increased risk of myopathy compared to patients taking lower doses of simvastatin or other statins.

Updated Guidelines for Preventing Cardiovascular Disease in Women. Practical medical advice that works in the “real world” may more effectively prevent cardiovascular disease in women than recommendations based only on findings in clinical research settings, according to the 2011 update to the American Heart Association’s cardiovascular disease prevention guidelines for women.

New Guidance on Concomitant Use of PPIs and Clopidogrel. Over the past year, confusion has ensued as to whether patients who take clopidogrel should also take proton pump inhibitors. The potential benefits of antiplatelet therapy for patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease have been amply demonstrated, especially among patients at higher risk of CV events.

Take a Moment to Remind Your Patients About Heart Attack Warning Signs. A new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine suggests that patients often delay seeking medical care for an average of 2.6 hours following symptoms of a suspected non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, with 1 in 9 patients waiting longer than 12 hours.

New CPR Guidelines Published by The American Heart Association. The American Heart Association is re-arranging the ABCs of cardiopulmonary resuscitation in its 2010 revision of cardiopulmonary resuscitation and emergency cardiac care.