Tag Archives: polypill

FH: improving detection in primary care The launch of the NICE (National Institute of Health and Care Excellence) guidelines for familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) heralded great optimism for improving detection rates in primary care.1 Even with new research showing that FH is more common than previously thought,2  still around 80% of patients are not recognised. Novel detection approaches are clearly needed. Professor Nadeem Qureshi (University of Nottingham) presented preliminary findings from six GP centres taking part in FAMCHOL (Feasibility of Improving Identification of Familial Hypercholesterolaemia in General Practice: Intervention

FREEDOM: CABG beats PCI in diabetes patients with multi-vessel disease Coronary artery by-pass graft (CABG) surgery was associated with better outcomes than percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with diabetes with multi-vessel coronary artery disease in the FREEDOM (Future Revascularization Evaluation in Patients With Diabetes Mellitus: Optimal Management of Multi-vessel Disease) trial. Senior FREEDOM investigator, Dr Valentin Fuster (Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, USA), said the results (table 1) would change practice. He estimated that patients in this study represent about a quarter of patients undergoing PCI. In

The study, published on July 18 in PLoS One, was conducted by Dr David Wald (Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, London) and colleagues. The polypill used contained three antihypertensive medications – the calcium antagonist, amlodipine 2.5 mg; the angiotensin-receptor blocker, losartan 25 mg; and the diuretic, hydrochlorothiazide 12.5 mg – in addition to the cholesterol-lowering agent simvastatin 40 mg. In the study, 86 individuals were randomised to the polypill or placebo for 12 weeks. They then crossed over and took the other treatment. Mean systolic blood pressure was reduced by 17.9 mmHg, diastolic pressure was reduced by 9.8

Heart hotspots campaign The North/South divide in coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality remains significant despite improvements in cardiovascular disease (CVD) care, according to the ‘Heart Hotspots’ campaign launched at this year’s conference. The North West region has the highest mortality (93.72 per 100,000) versus South Central, which showed the lowest mortality (65.59 people per 100,000), according to NHS Information Centre data highlighted by the campaign (figure 1).1 CHD mortality in Tameside and Glossop, near Manchester, is almost four times as high as for those living in Kensington and Chelsea, London (140.84 vs. 36.91 people

Polypill could cut cardiovascular risk by half The strategy of giving a ‘polypill’, consisting of three antihypertensive drugs, a statin, and aspirin, to vast amounts of people who have not yet developed heart disease, could cut cardiovascular risk by half, according to the first major clinical trial of such an approach. The Indian Polycap Study (TIPS), presented at the ACC meeting by Dr Salim Yusuf (McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada), included 2,053 patients aged 45–80 years without cardiovascular disease but with one risk factor (type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, smoker within the past five years, increased waist-to-