Thursday, November 14, 2013

Cholesterol treatment gets a makeover

My Paper, Thursday, November 14, 2013, Page A19, My Executive
From http://epaper.mypaper.sg/emnd/fvxen/fvxp/fvxpress.php?param=2013-11-14
Source Website: http://mypaper.sg/my-executive/cholesterol-treatment-gets-makeover-20131114
By Reuters, mypaper, Published on Nov 14, 2013


NEW US guidelines on heart healt are likely to be followed by cardiologists and primary-care physicians, as well as influence insurance coverage. It emphasis on specific targets for lowering
PHOTO: NEW US guidelines on heart healt are likely to be followed by cardiologists and primary-care physicians, as well as influence insurance coverage. It emphasis on specific targets for lowering "bad" LDL cholesterol levels and more intensive treatment with cholesterol-lowering statin drugs.
Picture by WB Editors on Monday, July 1, 2013 (Posted in Features on July 2013, Makeovers, Workouts)
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WASHINGTON - NEW US guidelines on heart health that were a decade in the making recommend stronger measures for patients at particularly high risk of heart attack or stroke, including more aggressive therapy with drugs that lower cholesterol or even weight-loss surgery.

The guidelines issued by two leading United States medical organisations on Tuesday are likely to be followed by cardiologists and primary-care physicians, as well as influence insurance coverage.

The guidelines dropped an emphasis on specific targets for lowering "bad" LDL cholesterol levels and suggest that individual patient risk of developing heart disease rather than an LDL number should be used to determine the need for more intensive treatment with cholesterol-lowering statin drugs.


Emphasis is on specific targets for lowering 'bad' LDL cholesterol levels and suggest individual patient risk of developing heart disease rather than an LDL number.
PHOTO: Emphasis is on specific targets for lowering "bad" LDL cholesterol levels and suggest individual patient risk of developing heart disease rather than an LDL number.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4CJfo8SpMknfaCIFang00iMyMz3LD0i78TYVCRpc8tPWL9V00IQwcnfLQGyi_h1UUvrSnewKuwNkZcQqCMHX3G9hTS9kmgelueLyjwVzQwbsUHIHPUKijqgufVEqeVh_ina3G8cYmhRw/s1600/HDL-LDL.gif
http://www.farmaciacomunalecesenatico.it/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/HDL-LDL.gif
http://www.farmaciacomunalecesenatico.it/alimentazione-e-dislipidemie/


There had been an expectation that the new guidelines would set a lower LDL target for heart patients.

"This guideline represents a departure from previous guidelines because it doesn't focus on specific target levels of LDL, or bad cholesterol, although the definition of optimal LDL cholesterol has not changed," Dr Neil Stone, lead author of the cholesterol report, said in a statement.

The long-awaited guidelines announced by the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association came in the form of four reports: one on managing blood cholesterol; one on managing overweight and obese patients; one for assessing cardiovascular risk in adults; and one on heart-disease prevention through healthy lifestyle.

They still emphasise a healthy diet and exercise as keys to avoiding the No. 1 killer in the country.

The cholesterol-management guidelines, if followed in practice, could lead to more extensive use of high-potency statins, such as AstraZeneca's Crestor, and higher doses of Pfizer's Lipitor, now available as generic atorvastatin.

They could also lead to reduced use of lower-dose generic statins and perhaps far less use of non-statin cholesterol medicines, such as Merck's Zetia and AbbVie's Tricor, which the report said lacked evidence of reducing heart attacks and death.

Merck has a large study under way of its Vytorin combination cholesterol treatment that should definitively prove whether use of Zetia prevents heart attacks and strokes.

"Non-statins didn't provide enough risk prevention," said Dr Stone. He noted that there has been "over-treatment with drugs not proven to add incremental benefit".

The four groups deemed most likely to benefit from higher-intensity statin treatment were: Patients with known heart disease; those with an LDL level of 190 or higher; patients with type 2 diabetes between the ages of 40 and 75; those between 40 and 75 deemed to have a 10-year risk of developing heart disease of 7.5 per cent or higher, based on new risk-assessment formulas.


Body Mass Index, a measure of ideal weight in relation to height, is used to identify patients at high risk of developing heart disease.
PHOTO: Body Mass Index, a measure of ideal weight in relation to height, is used to identify patients at high risk of developing heart disease.
Picture by Bonesandbeauty on April 21, 2011 · 6:23 pm
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The guidelines still use Body Mass Index, a measure of ideal weight in relation to height, to identify patients at high risk of developing heart disease.

Another recommendation for reducing heart risk said there should be a focus on achieving sustained weight loss of 5 per cent to 10 per cent within the first six months.

The healthy-living clinical-practice guidelines for lowering heart-disease risk called for 40 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise three to four times a week.

They also recommend a diet in which levels of saturated fat, trans fat and sodium are below what is currently consumed by the average American.

Not surprisingly, the report recommends a diet that emphasises fruit, vegetables, whole grains, fish and nuts while limiting red meat, sweets and sugar-sweetened beverages.
By Reuters, mypaper, Published on Nov 14, 2013


List of healthy foods which can prove good for the heart.

PHOTO: List of healthy foods which can prove good for the heart.
Fruit, green vegetables, oats, soy protein, whole grains, olive oil, apples, tomatoes, red wine, almonds, fish (Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids) and nuts (monounsaturated fats).
Posted by inderpreet, Image by Shutterstock
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http://www.glamcheck.com/health/2012/04/24/food-good-for-heart/



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