Tag Archives: myocardial infarction

Dear Sirs, Research on sex difference in mortality after myocardial infarction (MI) since the 1990s has been debated and increased. Several observational studies have shown that younger women, in particular, seemed to have higher mortality rates than men of similar age during the two-year or longer follow-up, although these studies were mainly from the USA.1-3 Recent American studies have also found that, even after full adjustment for potential risk factors, excess risk for in-hospital mortality for women was still noted, particularly among those <50 years old with acute ST-segment elevation MI, leading to 98% (odds ratio [OR] 1.98, 95% c

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Caffeine intake may reduce risk of type 2 diabetes Coffee and caffeine intake may significantly reduce the incidence of type 2 diabetes, according to a new meta-analysis published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.  Pertinent studies were identified by a search of PubMed and EMBASE. The fixed- or random-effect pooled measure was selected based on between-study heterogeneity. Dose–response relationship was assessed. Commenting on the implications of this study (doi: 10.1007/s00394-013-0603-x), London general practitioner Dr Sarah Jarvis said: “There is growing evidence to suggest that moderate coffee consumption, that’s four

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That CMR is the gold standard for heart size and function, and for congenital and inherited heart disease is little disputed. The additional benefit of CMR for tissue characterisation has gained widespread acceptance, particularly now with convincing prognostic data across a wide variety of disorders,1 and the large EuroCMR registry (27,000 patients, 15 countries),2 showing that CMR entirely changed diagnosis in nearly 10% of subjects. CMR adoption as a ‘workhorse’ for ischaemia and viability testing has, however, been slower, with continued calls for cost-effectiveness and head-to-head comparison data with other modalities. These data ar

Overall, just over half of the decline is attributed to a fall in event rate and just less than half to a decline in case fatality, so advances in both primary prevention and secondary prevention appear to have contributed. The latest data come from a study conducted by researchers led by Kate Smolina (Unit of Health-Care Epidemiology, Oxford), who used national hospital and mortality data to identify 840,175 patients who had suffered a myocardial infarction (MI) during the eight year period. The standardised mortality rate from MI decreased in men from 78.7 to 39.2 (38.6 to 39.9) per 100,000 population and in women from 37.3 to 17.7. A decli

Introduction Myocardial infarction (MI) is a common condition, estimated to affect almost 150,000 people per year in the UK.1 Without effective treatment, the immediate mortality of MI approaches 40% with a further 10% of patients dying in the subsequent year.2 In those who survive the initial post-MI period, an increased risk of death from cardiovascular causes (5% per year) persists indefinitely.2 However, effective secondary prevention measures can significantly reduce this risk.3 An estimated 1.4 million people in the UK have had an MI.4 Reducing morbidity and mortality among this group requires effective secondary prevention measures. In

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The study, published online in the British Medical Journal on June 8, 2010, found that, after accounting for a pre-existing decline in admissions, trends in population size, and seasonal variation in admissions, there was a 2.4% drop in the number of emergency admissions for MI after the smoking ban legislation came into force on July 1, 2007. This equates to 1,200 fewer emergency admissions in the first year after the law came into effect (1,600 including readmissions). The researchers, from the University of Bath, note that the largest impacts of smoking bans on MI rates have been reported in smaller studies in the US, with reductions in th

ACCORD/INVEST: do not aim for normal blood pressure in diabetes patients with CAD The results of two trials comparing intensive versus more conventional blood pressure lowering in patients with diabetes at high cardiovascular risk have suggested that intensive treatment is not necessary and may be harmful in this population. In the ACCORD BP (Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes – Blood Pressure) trial, while intensive blood pressure treatment did reduce the risk of stroke, it failed to reduce the overall risk of cardiovascular events in patients and was associated with an increase in adverse events due to antihypertensive ther