News and views

News in brief from the world of cardiology...

We continue our series in which Consultant Interventionist Dr Michael Norell takes a sideways look at life in the cath lab…and beyond. In this column, he considers meetings....

“Old age starts with the first fall and death comes with the second.”1 Syncopal events and falls are a major healthcare and cost burden for the National Health Service (NHS). Each year between 35% of community living adults over 65 years and 45% of adults over 80 years have such an event.2 This common medical problem accounts for up to 6% of emergency medical admissions. We have previously shown the potential impact that a dedicated syncope and falls facility for older adults can have enabling an attributable diagnosis and on emergency bed usage.3,4 In this issue Ali et al. (see pages 22–8) further emphasise the need and benefits for the development of rapid access blackout clinics. They describe a comprehensive investigation pathway and highlight the importance of making a correct diagnosis and the implications of an incorrect one. It is still the case that a diagnosis is elusive in up to 40% of cases.4,5 They point out that even in those who do receive a diagnosis it may be incorrect. This is particularly so within the older age group. In relation to the diagnosis of ‘epilepsy’ the authors highlight that up to 100,000 people in the UK live with the moniker but without the condition. This has significant implications for public health including utilisation of inappropriate and expensive therapy. ...

General practitioners (GPs) have become used to asking their patients fairly detailed questions about the traditional risk factors, such as smoking habits, and measuring blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose to allow cardiovascular risk to be calculated. However, few would dream of including an oral examination within an assessment of global cardiovascular risk. Oral health has been viewed as the domain of dentists and has not troubled physicians when considering the prevention and management of cardiovascular disease. ...

We continue our series in which Consultant Interventionist Dr Michael Norell takes a sideways look at life in the cath lab… and beyond. In this column, he considers electronic communication....

A new on-line resource from the National Library for Health – the Vascular Specialist Library – has been launched to provide information for both health care professionals and the general public on the prevention, diagnosis and management of diseases of the arteries, veins and the lymphatic system....

Two government websites – NHS Choices and NHS Direct – have joined forces to provide the public with a one stop health information service: www.nhs.uk. The website will give public advice and information about anything from which hospital to choose (including data on hospital comparisons) to checking what symptoms might mean. NHS guides will cover long-term conditions, a health A-Z will cover more than 700 conditions and treatments, answers to common health questions will be given and there will also be an online enquiry service for non-emergency health questions....

As one person is diagnosed with diabetes every three minutes, faster than ever before, according to the charity Diabetes UK, the pharmaceutical company MSD is trying to build a ‘face of diabetes’ mosaic to highlight the impact of type 2 diabetes on patients....

People who have been diagnosed with panic attacks or panic disorder have a greater risk of subsequently developing heart disease or a myocardial infarction (MI) than the normal population, with higher rates occurring in younger people, according to a recent study (Eur Heart J 2008:29:2981–8) ...

Phase III clinical study results with a nicotinic acid/laropiprant combination (Tredaptive®), show that in the treatment of patients with dyslipidaemia and primary hypercholesterolaemia, this new lipid-modifying therapy produced less flushing compared with those patients who were treated with extended-release nicotinic acid (Int J Clin Pract 2008;62:1959–70)....