Tag Archives: NICE

European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines recommend low-density lipoprotein (LDL) below 1.4 mmol/L in patients post ACS, which differs from UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline recommendations of 1.8 mmol/L and 1.4 mmol/L in very-high-risk patients only.6,7 The fifth European survey of Cardiovascular Disease prevention and Diabetes (EUROASPIRE V) survey showed that only 30% of post-ACS patients had low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels <1.8 mmol/L one year after discharge.8 The ACS EuroPath survey showed a considerable lack of physicians’ compliance with guidelines in managing lipid low

For over 10 years, the Primary Care Cardiovascular Society (PCCS) was an active organisation flying the flag for high quality cardiovascular care for patients in the community. It was a multidisciplinary organisation and supported the education of all members of the primary care team, working alongside the BJC. Unfortunately, like many good things, six years ago the organisation came to an end. Since that time there has been a group of GPs who have maintained regular contact and meetings as the GPSI Forum. Many members of this group are well-known primary care leaders working in national, professional societies and with organisations such as

The Gospel of Matthew tells us, “…the last can be first…” Nowhere is this truer than the towering UK success of that fundamental cornerstone of cardiovascular prevention, cholesterol-lowering therapy. In 2002, BJC published a paper showing how far the UK lagged behind other countries in Europe when it came to prescribing lipid-lowering drugs.1 At the same time, a number of other very large UK surveys were published.2 All showed that the UK was the sick man of Europe, with limited statin prescribing in the face of a huge burden of cardiovascular disease. Figure 1. Coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality compared to statin sales: Aug

Physio-Control, a global leader in lifesaving emergency response technology, is launching a new automated external defibrillator (AED) in European countries (LIFEPAK® CR2). The LIFEPAK® AED Response System: Features a new design intended for ease of use by bystanders and rescuers Launches new technology that supports high quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation Has been demonstrated to offer faster time-to-first-shock Deploys a new remote monitoring and connectivity capability through the online LIFELINKcentral™ AED Program Manager. The CR2 can be remotely monitored and can even, in some areas, transmit a heart rhythm to emergency medical

Sacubitril/valsartan is the first of a new kind of drug called angiotensin receptor neprilysin inhibitors. NICE recognised sacubitril/valsartan as an innovative treatment, which it says “offers the potential to prevent deaths and reduce the more than 30,000 hospital admissions for this condition each year in England”.  It is the first non-cancer drug to be fast-tracked through the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency’s Early Access to Medicines Scheme. The scheme aims to give patients with life threatening or seriously debilitating conditions access to medicines before they are licensed where there is a clear, unmet medi

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published recommendations supporting the use of two new lipid-lowering agents – both PCSK9 inhibitors, which inhibit the body’s natural system for eliminating low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). A Final Appraisal Determination (FAD) has been published for evolocumab (Repatha®, Amgen) recommending it be used alone or in combination with other cholesterol-lowering therapies, for several types of patients at particularly high risk of cardiovascular events with persistently high cholesterol despite maximal tolerated lipid-lowering therapy.  The NICE recommendation is

Acute heart failure is a common cause of admission to hospital with over 67,000 admissions in England and Wales a year, and is the leading cause of hospital admission in people 65 years or older in the UK. NICE expects the six quality statements will help improve outcomes from this condition. The six quality statements are: Adults presenting to hospital with new suspected acute heart failure have a single measurement of natriuretic peptide. Adults admitted to hospital with new suspected acute heart failure and raised natriuretic peptide levels have a transthoracic doppler 2D echocardiogram within 48 hours of admission. Adults admitted to hos

Jules Payne hopes NICE will ‘see sense’ about the PCSK9 inhibitors In November 2015, NICE published draft guidance not recommending evolocumab as an option for people with high cholesterol (primary hypercholesterolaemia – heterozygous familial and non-familial) and mixed dylipidaemia. A similar decision for alirocumab followed in February 2016, although only a few days before, the earlier decision for evolocumab had been modified by NICE who said that it could be used for a limited number of NHS patients who are considered to be statin intolerant. HEART UK Chief Executive Ms Jules Payne said: “NICE appear to be confused about

Introduction In 2010, the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published a new guideline for the investigation of patients with chest pain of recent onset. This guideline reflected the importance of assessing the pre-test probability (PTP) of finding coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients, prior to selecting further investigations. NICE advocated a modified Duke Clinical Score method to calculate pre-test probability of CAD. They recommended the use of cardiac computed tomography (CT) in the investigation of patients with low PTP of having CAD, alongside clearly defined roles for functional imaging tests, in patients wit

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