http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. LDL cholesterol is not a useful marker of heart disease risk in patients with kidney disease, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN). The finding suggests that other measurements should be used to assess kidney disease patients' cardiovascular health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-ldl-cholesterol-poor-marker-heart.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 16 May 2013 17:28:19 EST news287944090 (HealthDay)— More Americans are meeting diabetes care goals, but nearly half still aren't achieving major targets for controlling blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol, government health officials say. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-diabetes-self-care-slowly.html Diabetes Wed, 24 Apr 2013 18:20:01 EST news286043637 We are often asked whether coffee is good or bad for the health. The answer is both good and bad. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-coffee-health.html Health Sat, 13 Apr 2013 09:20:01 EST news285049051 In what promises to be an eye-opener for many doctors and patients who routinely depend on cholesterol testing, a study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine found that the standard formula used for decades to calculate low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels is often inaccurate. Of most concern, the researchers say, is their finding that the widely used formula underestimates LDL where accuracy matters most—in the range considered desirable for high-risk patients. Results of the study are published in an online article, ahead of print, in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-commonly-cholesterol-underestimates-heart-disease.html Cardiology Tue, 26 Mar 2013 13:06:59 EST news283522009 Heart patients who can't tolerate the side effects of cholesterol-lowering drugs may have a new option, according to a new study by researchers from the Intermountain Heart Institute at Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-alternative-cholesterol-lowering-drug-patients-tolerate.html Cardiology Mon, 11 Mar 2013 13:04:50 EST news282225884 A combination drug containing niacin failed to lower the risk of heart attacks or strokes and even proved harmful for some with vascular disease, a study released Saturday reported. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-niacin-therapy-unhelpful-occasionally.html Cardiology Sat, 09 Mar 2013 15:11:35 EST news282064288 (HealthDay)—Eating a high-fiber diet does more than promote digestive well-being; it's also good for your heart, an expert says. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-high-fiber-diet-heart-expert.html Cardiology Sun, 03 Mar 2013 04:12:58 EST news281506365 Some patients are genetically prone to such dangerously high levels of cholesterol that no amount of diet, exercise and medications can reduce their cholesterol to safe levels. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-machine-similar-dialysis-cholesterol-blood.html Other Fri, 01 Mar 2013 11:20:05 EST news281356867 The largest randomised study of the vitamin niacin in patients with occlusive arterial disease (narrowing of the arteries) has shown a significant increase in adverse side-effects when it is combined with statin treatment. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-hps2-thrive-trial-side-effects-quarter-heart.html Cardiology Tue, 26 Feb 2013 19:00:04 EST news281124976 (HealthDay)—In what researchers are calling a first, a new analysis suggests that the greater a woman's exposure to a type of common chemical compound called PFCs, the greater her risk for developing osteoarthritis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-chemicals-cookware-carpets-arthritis-women.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 14 Feb 2013 12:40:02 EST news280065230 For people with diabetes, meeting the recommended guidelines for blood pressure and cholesterol is even more important than meeting the guidelines for blood sugar control in reducing the risk of heart attack or stroke, according to a new Kaiser Permanente study published today in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-blood-pressure-cholesterol-important-indicators.html Diabetes Mon, 28 Jan 2013 09:29:57 EST news278587787 The risk of ischaemic heart disease – a disease affecting some 150,000 Danes – is three times higher in persons with high levels of the so-called 'ugly' cholesterol. This is the finding of a new study of 73,000 Danes, which is shedding light on a long debate on this topic. The results have just been published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-overlooked-ugly-cholesterol-heart-disease.html Cardiology Mon, 21 Jan 2013 15:30:01 EST news277994802 In a new study, Northwestern Medicine researchers found that patients at high risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) are more likely to receive a prescription for cholesterol-lowering medication, and to achieve lower long-term cholesterol levels, when doctors use electronic health records (EHRs) to deliver personalized risk assessments via mail. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-letter-doctor-boosts-cholesterol-medication.html Health Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:41:34 EST news272220051 For many people with high cholesterol, statins serve as the first line of treatment. However, some patients are unable to effectively reduce their low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL cholesterol) or "bad cholesterol" levels with statins, the most commonly used medication to treat high cholesterol, due to their bodies' inability to tolerate or sufficiently respond to the medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-drug-significantly-lowers-bad-cholesterol.html Cardiology Tue, 06 Nov 2012 14:40:48 EST news271435209 (HealthDay)—An experimental drug may help patients who can't tolerate statins lower their cholesterol, a new Australian study suggests. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-drug-statins.html Cardiology Mon, 05 Nov 2012 17:21:20 EST news271358446 (HealthDay)—Addition of the fully human serum proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin 9 monoclonal antibody, SAR236553, to atorvastatin is associated with greater reductions in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels compared with atorvastatin alone, according to a study published online Oct. 31 in the New England Journal of Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-greater-ldl-atorvastatin-pcsk9-antibody.html Medical research Fri, 02 Nov 2012 13:10:01 EST news271078015 The Endocrine Society today issued a Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG) for the diagnosis and treatment of hypertriglyceridemia. Triglycerides are a type of fat found in the blood and are associated with cardiovascular risk. The CPG, entitled "Evaluation and Treatment of Hypertriglyceridemia: An Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline" appears in the September 2012 issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (JCEM), a publication of The Endocrine Society. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-experts-screening-adults-hypertriglyceridemia-years.html Other Fri, 07 Sep 2012 13:26:08 EST news266243103 (HealthDay) -- About 47 percent of American adults have at least one risk factor for heart disease, according to a new report released Friday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-heart-factors-americans-cdc.html Health Fri, 03 Aug 2012 11:50:04 EST news263212160 (HealthDay) -- There may be a link between low levels of "bad" low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and increased cancer risk, according to new research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-bad-cholesterol-linked-cancer.html Cardiology Mon, 26 Mar 2012 08:10:02 EST news251957292 (HealthDay) -- Administration of REGN727, a monoclonal antibody to proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin 9 (PCSK9), significantly reduces low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels, according to the results of three phase 1 studies published in the March 22 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-regn727-monoclonal-antibody-lowers-ldl.html Cardiology Thu, 22 Mar 2012 04:49:03 EST news251610535 A 12-week treatment of the fermented soy germ-based nutritional supplement containing S-equol significantly lowered hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), LDL cholesterol and improved vascular stiffness, all factors that occur as part of metabolic syndrome, according to a first-of-its-kind peer-reviewed study reported in a poster at the Women's Health 2012 annual meeting. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-soy-based-s-equol-supplement-metabolic-syndrome.html Health Mon, 19 Mar 2012 10:31:21 EST news251371859 People who carry a malfunctioning copy of a particular gene are especially good at clearing fat from their systems. The report in the December Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication, shows how the mutant gene influences metabolism in this way. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-mutation-cream.html Genetics Tue, 06 Dec 2011 13:10:01 EST news242399378 Statins safely reduce the risk of cardiovascular illness even years after treatment is stopped, according to a probe into the popular cholesterol-busters published on Wednesday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-heart-disease-long-term-benefit-statins.html Cardiology Wed, 23 Nov 2011 05:22:24 EST news241248125 In patients whose bad cholesterol is very well-controlled by statins for a long time period, the addition of high-dose, extended release niacin did not reduce the risk of cardiovascular events, including heart attack and stroke. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-niacin-heart-stable-cv-patients.html Cardiology Tue, 15 Nov 2011 11:06:17 EST news240576281 New research shows that women undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), also known as angioplasty, exhibit more co-morbidities and cardiovascular risk factors than men. Risk-adjusted analyses have now indicated that, in the contemporary era, gender is not an independent mortality predictor following PCI according to the study now available in Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-women-pci-greater-co-morbidities-men.html Cardiology Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:48:54 EST news239341727 US President Barack Obama is "fit at fifty" after improving his cholesterol readings and kicking his smoking habit, according to results of his latest medical exam released Monday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-obama-fifty-medical.html Health Mon, 31 Oct 2011 18:42:16 EST news239305330 Cardiovascular disease (CVD), driven by the global pandemics of obesity and diabetes, poses a daunting challenge to clinicians in the 21st century. Despite progress, there is still much to be done to improve the control of dyslipidaemia, a key risk factor. In Europe, as many as one-half of patients are inadequately treated.1,2 The first European guidelines specifically focused on managing dyslipidaemias offer new hope.3,4 Experts from the European Atherosclerosis Society (EAS) and the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) worked together to develop these guidelines. The aim was to keep pace with emerging data and provide up to date treatment advice for a wide range of dyslipidaemias, including diabetes and metabolic syndrome. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-joint-esceas-guidelines-dyslipidaemias.html Cardiology Tue, 28 Jun 2011 07:42:44 EST news228465631