Heart Archives

Cost of diabetes treatment doubled in US

In US, diabetic patients have nearly doubled their spending on drugs for the diabetes disease in last 6 years. – Because of the increased number of patients, growing reliance on multiple medications and the shift toward more expensive new medicines, the annual cost of diabetes drugs nearly doubled in only six years, rising from $6.7 billion in 2001 to $12.5 billion in 2007 according to a study in the Oct. 27, 2008, issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

21st century could be the age of paranoia

21st century could be the “age of paranoia”, according to a leading psychiatrist. Dr Daniel Freeman. – Paranoia is on the increase and could go unchecked unless we take urgent action, claims a leading scientist. Dr Daniel Freeman, a Wellcome Trust fellow, warns that changes in how we live and work could mean that we are entering an “age of paranoia.”

People with mental illness smoke more

People with mental illness smoke at four times the rate of general population, says new University of Melbourne study. – Australians with mental illness smoke at four times the rate of the general population, says a new study from the University of Melbourne.

Sickness absence can predict employee mortality

Employees who take long spells of sick leave more than once in three years are at a higher risk of death than their colleagues who take no such absence, particularly if their absence is due to circulatory or psychiatric problems or for surgery. – Major diagnoses for medically certified absences were associated with increased mortality, with the exception of musculoskeletal disease. Data on sickness absence diagnoses may provide useful information to identify groups with increased health risk and a need for targeted interventions.

New genes linked to gout

Three genes are associated with increased risk of higher levels of uric acid in the blood, which can lead to gout. – Researchers have identified two new genes ? and confirmed the role of a third gene ? associated with increased risk of higher levels of uric acid in the blood, which can lead to gout, a common, painful form of arthritis.

Heart patients should be screened, treated for depression

American Heart Association Scientific Statement: Heart Patients Should Be Screened, Treated for Depression – Heart patients should be screened for depression — a common condition that can profoundly affect both prognosis and quality of life — according to the American Heart Association’s first scientific statement on depression and coronary heart disease.

No increased risk of heart attacks in users of HRT

Danish study provides new information on hormone replacement therapy and the risk of heart attacks – It’s not what you take but the way that you take it that can produce different results in women who take hormone replacement therapy (HRT), according to new research on the association between HRT and heart attacks, published online in Europe’s leading cardiology journal, the European Heart Journal.

Statins do not increase risk of Lou Gehrig’s Disease

FDA analysis shows cholesterol lowering medications statins do not increase the risk of “Lou Gehrig’s Disease”. FDA recommends no change in prescribing and use of statins. – A U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s analysis provides new evidence that the use of statins does not increase incidence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative disease often referred to as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease.” The analysis was reported on Monday, Sept. 29, 2008 in Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety.

Physicians rarely show empathy with lung cancer patients

In a small study of 20 audiorecorded interactions, physicians seldom responded empathetically to concerns raised by patients with lung cancer, according to a report in the September 22 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. – In consultations with patients with lung cancer, physicians rarely responded empathically to the concerns of the patients about mortality, symptoms or treatment options, according to a study led by a University of Rochester Medical Center researcher.

Audio relaxation program may help lower blood pressure

Study highlights an audio-guided relaxation CD with background sounds of ocean waves and a calming voice may lower blood pressure in elderly people. – An audio relaxation program lowered blood pressure more than a Mozart sonata in a group of elderly people with high blood pressure, researchers reported at the American Heart Association’s 62nd Annual Fall Conference of the Council for High Blood Pressure Research.

Aortic valve disorder adults do not have lower survival rate

Bicuspid aortic valve is the most common congenital cardiac anomaly in the adult population, and these adults do not appear to have lower survival rates compared to the general population. – Young adults with a bicuspid aortic valve, a congenital heart abnormality, experience subsequent cardiac events but do not appear to have lower survival rates compared to the general population, according to a study in the September 17 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

Migraine linked to blood clots in veins, venous thrombosis

People with migraine are more likely to have strokes and other cardiovascular problems. – People with migraines may also be more likely to develop blood clots in their veins, and are more likely to have strokes and other cardiovascular problems, revealed by researchers.