American Heart Association Rapid Access Journal Report: Study Finds Racial Gaps Continue In Heart Disease Awareness
Racial gaps exist in women's heart-health awareness, women's knowledge of heart attack warning signs requires attention and nearly half of women report they would not call 9-1-1 if they were having heart attack symptoms, according to new research published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, a journal of the American Heart Association. Results of the study, commissioned by the American Heart Association, revealed that although 60 percent of white women were aware of heart disease as the leading cause of death for women, less than half of African-American (43 percent), Hispanic (44 percent) and Asian (34 percent) women identified heart disease as the leading cause.
US FDA Approves New Indication For CRESTOR reg; Rosuvastatin Calcium
AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved CRESTOR® (rosuvastatin calcium) to reduce the risk of stroke, myocardial infarction (heart attack) and arterial revascularization procedures in individuals without clinically evident coronary heart disease but with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) based on age (men 50 and over, women 60 and over), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) 2 mg/L or more, and the presence of at least one additional CVD risk factor, such as hypertension, low HDL-C, smoking, or a family history of premature coronary heart disease. The FDA approval was based on data from the landmark JUPITER (Justification for the Use of statins in Primary prevention: an Intervention Trial Evaluating Rosuvastatin) study which evaluated the impact of CRESTOR 20 mg on reducing major CVD events in a previously unstudied population.
SMT Research And Development, Ltd. Reports Two Successful Clinical Cases
SMT Research and Development, Ltd., a privately held company, announced that it has completed its first two clinical cases using the Shimon Embolic Filter [SHEF] (TM). SMT R&D developed a novel technology for brain protection (Neuroprotection) from stroke complication hazards arising from invasive cardiology procedures and heart surgery. The rate of stroke and silent brain damage is the leading severe limiting factor for delivering the trans-catheter and invasive therapeutic modalities. Neuroprotection from stroke and brain emboli is a largely untapped major field. The SHEF filter reduces significantly the risk of emboli (blood clots and other debris) from traveling to the brain.
Women With Gout At Greater Risk Of Heart Attack Than Men
Women with gout are at greater risk of a heart attack than men with the disease, indicates research published ahead of print in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. Gout is known to boost the risk of a heart attack in men. But to date, little has been known about the impact of gout on women's cardiovascular health. Gout is common and caused by inflammation in the joints as a result of excess uric acid deposits. Uric acid is a by-product of purines, which are abundant in a Western diet. Obesity, weight gain, high alcohol intake, high blood pressure, poorly functioning kidneys and certain drugs can all precipitate its development. The authors base their findings on a population study of more than 9500 gout patients and 48, 000 people without the disease, aged 65 and older.
FDA Approves New Indication For Crestor
On Feb. 8 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the cholesterol-lowering medication Crestor (rosuvastatin) for some patients who are at increased risk of heart disease but have not been diagnosed with it. The new indication is for reducing the likelihood of a heart attack or stroke or the need for a procedure to treat blocked or narrowed arteries in patients who have never been told they have heart disease but are nevertheless at increased risk of a cardiac event. Specifically, this includes men 50 years of age and older and women 60 years of age and older who have an elevated amount of a substance known as high sensitivity C-reactive protein in their blood and at least one additional traditional cardiovascular risk factor such as smoking, high blood pressure, a family history of premature heart disease, or low amounts of high-density lipoprotein or HDL cholesterol, the so-called "good cholesterol.