Pulse on Cardiovascular

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Latest on Cardiovascular Disease

High heart rate a cardiovascular risk factor in heart failure patients

02 Sep 10

Researchers have shown for the first time that heart failure patients with a high resting heart rate are at higher risk of admission to hospital and death from cardiovascular causes.

Telemonitoring improves outcomes in heart failure patients

01 Sep 10

Access to care via telephone or digital, wireless or Bluetooth telemonitoring technology reduces mortality and hospitalisation rates for patients with chronic heart failure, according to a gold-standard systematic review by Australian researchers.

Migraine 'increases risk of mortality'

31 Aug 10
BNP test required for suspected heart failure diagnosis

27 Aug 10
GPs call for better checks on pharmacist supply of statins

25 Aug 10
Hypertension guidance revamp urged 'to address ethnic differences'

20 Aug 10
NICE unveils nine more 'quality standards' to judge GP commissioning

12 Aug 10
PCTs to scale back vascular screening plans

10 Aug 10
Primary prevention cardiovascular indicator planned for QOF

09 Aug 10
NICE mulls change to QOF blood pressure targets

06 Aug 10

Latest on CHD

Majority of patients with cardiovascular conditions 'are fit to fly'

04 Aug 10

GPs can advise the vast majority of patients with cardiovascular disease who are not critically ill that they are fit to fly, according to the British Cardiovascular Society.

Heart tsar sets out primary care CVD strategy

27 Jul 10

The Department of Health’s heart tsar has set out his priorities for raising standards in the management of cardiovascular disease in primary care.

GP aspirin prescribing falls by a fifth

01 Jun 10

Exclusive: GPs are shunning NICE guidance and reducing their prescribing of aspirin for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease amid growing doubt over whether its use is justified.

Polypill cardiovascular benefits 'less than expected'

28 Jul 10

A randomised controlled trial of a polypill for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease has found that the effects of the drug on blood pressure and lipids were ‘less than anticipated’.

Concern over growing use of ezetimibe by GPs

15 Jul 10

There is ‘no sound basis’ for the growing use of lipid-lowering drug ezetimibe within the NHS, according to independent prescribing advisers.

Adding PPI to clopidogrel raises vascular event risk

11 May 10

Patients who receive clopidogrel plus a proton-pump inhibitor (PPI) have a higher risk of being rehospitalised for vascular events than those on clopidogrel alone, according to a US study.

Doubled risk of CV event after COPD exacerbation

10 May 10
Universal vascular screening scheme ‘unrealistic’

26 Apr 10
Large variation in LDL control between statins

22 Apr 10
It may be a cliché, but you are what you eat

30 Mar 10
Heart tsar calls for QRISK to replace Framingham score

23 Mar 10
Intensive blood pressure control in diabetes 'has no benefit'

19 Mar 10
Ipratroprium cardiac risks not proven in trials

03 Feb 10

Rosuvastatin granted EU licence for primary prevention

30 Apr 10
Screening tool 'predicts warfarin non-adherence'

23 Apr 10
GPs call for PCTs to pick CV risk tool

08 Apr 10
No 'significant benefit' of simvastatin above 20mg, says drugs regulator

25 Mar 10
Video: How can GP management of CVD be improved?

22 Mar 10
Positive people 'at lower risk of heart disease'

22 Feb 10
Statin treatment should be based on 'risk and not cholesterol levels'

19 Jan 10

Hypertension guidance revamp urged 'to address ethnic differences'

20 Aug 10

Patients with high blood pressure from different ethnic backgrounds may require different second-line drugs, according to UK research showing optimal treatment combinations may vary between ethnic groups.

Majority of patients with cardiovascular conditions 'are fit to fly'

04 Aug 10

GPs can advise the vast majority of patients with cardiovascular disease who are not critically ill that they are fit to fly, according to the British Cardiovascular Society.

ARBs not equally effective at reducing blood pressure, UK study finds

29 Jul 10

Candesartan is more effective at lowering blood pressure than losartan, according to a meta-analysis by UK researchers who estimate the difference could equate to a substantial reduction in coronary heart disease events and strokes.

Primary prevention cardiovascular indicator planned for QOF

09 Aug 10

Exclusive: NICE wants to push and pilot a QOF incentive for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease – despite recent research suggesting statins do not reduce mortality in people at increased cardiovascular risk.

Warning on falls risk with thiazide diuretics in older patients

30 Jul 10

Thiazides are associated with a 25% higher risk of falls when prescribed to older people, with the highest risk of falling in the first three weeks after a prescription is given, UK researchers have shown.

Polypill cardiovascular benefits 'less than expected'

28 Jul 10

A randomised controlled trial of a polypill for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease has found that the effects of the drug on blood pressure and lipids were ‘less than anticipated’.

Heart tsar sets out primary care CVD strategy

27 Jul 10
Antihypertensive prescribing in the elderly (1 CPD hour)

23 Jun 10
Antihypertensive drugs 'raise cancer risk'

15 Jun 10
Self-monitored patients have lower blood pressure in surgery

07 Jun 10
JBS set to push use of BP drug combinations

05 May 10
Candesartan better than amlodipine in hypertension

21 Apr 10
GPs call for PCTs to pick CV risk tool

08 Apr 10

JBS to advise occasional high blood pressure be treated

24 Jun 10
Patients who self-monitor see bigger drops in BP

22 Jun 10
QOF set to get first statin primary prevention target

14 Jun 10
Drug trios best for hypertension

17 May 10
Universal vascular screening scheme ‘unrealistic’

26 Apr 10
JBS set to swap 10-year CVD risk score for lifetime risk

21 Apr 10
Call for GPs to audit testing of hypertensive patients

06 Apr 10

Majority of patients with cardiovascular conditions 'are fit to fly'

04 Aug 10

GPs can advise the vast majority of patients with cardiovascular disease who are not critically ill that they are fit to fly, according to the British Cardiovascular Society.

Polypill cardiovascular benefits 'less than expected'

28 Jul 10

A randomised controlled trial of a polypill for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease has found that the effects of the drug on blood pressure and lipids were ‘less than anticipated’.

Key questions on atrial fibrillation (1.5 CPD hours)

09 Jun 10

Cardiology GPSIs Dr Matthew Fay and Dr Andreas Wolff answer GP Dr Sabby Kant’s questions on diagnosing and treating AF

$Antidepressants linked with significant risk of stroke and fracture$

Antidepressants linked with significant risk of stroke and fracture

03 Aug 10

Antidepressant prescribing is associated with a significantly increased risk of stroke, falls and fractures in older people, according to analyses of primary care data by UK researchers.

Heart tsar sets out primary care CVD strategy

27 Jul 10

The Department of Health’s heart tsar has set out his priorities for raising standards in the management of cardiovascular disease in primary care.

Doubled risk of CV event after COPD exacerbation

10 May 10

COPD patients have double the risk of a major cardiovascular event in the days following an exacerbation, say UK researchers.

New score to assess bleeding risk in AF

01 Apr 10
Video: How can GP management of CVD be improved?

22 Mar 10
PPI-clopidogrel mix more than doubles risk of death

16 Mar 10
Google map of vascular screening in your area

13 Jan 10
Statins 'halve risk of heart attack in healthy women'

19 Nov 09
Alternative to warfarin could herald 'paradigm change' in AF treatment

01 Sep 09
Decline in HRT use 'has led to fewer heart attacks in women'

21 May 09

Heart tsar calls for QRISK to replace Framingham score

23 Mar 10
GPs set for stricter targets on warfarin treatment

19 Mar 10
Improvement on stroke care still needed, says watchdog

02 Feb 10
NICE set to streamline cardiovascular QOF indicators

11 Dec 09
Limited warfarin benefit for patients at low risk of stroke, study finds

10 Sep 09
ABCD2 stroke risk score effective within 24 hours of TIA

08 Jun 09
Statins may cut strokes in high CVD risk patients

24 Apr 09

Latest Clinical Articles

Ten tips on measuring blood pressure

09 Sep 09

Cardiology GPSI Dr Rubin Minhas offers tips on making sure BP monitoring in your practice is as accurate as possible

Tackling poor compliance

01 Jul 09

Professor Hugh McGavock continues his series on common problems in primary care prescribing by discussing difficulties with compliance and strategies to overcome them

Should we ever think about stopping antihypertensives?

01 May 09
Why is vitamin D’s role in heart disease ignored?

15 Apr 09
What you need to know about hypertension

13 Mar 09
Hyperlipidaemia - what you need to know

17 Feb 09
Heart failure - what you need to know

11 Feb 09
Obesity - what you need to know

26 Jan 09
Cardiac tests - nuclear perfusion imaging

15 Dec 08

What you need to know about childhood UTIs

02 Sep 09

Paediatric nephrologist Dr Rodney Gilbert answers GP Dr Sabby Kant’s questions on the usefulness of urine dipsticks, antibiotic choice and how age affects management

Latest Education Articles

Antihypertensive prescribing in the elderly (1 CPD hour)

23 Jun 10

Elderly care physicians Professor Stephen Jackson and Dr Nigel Beckett provide a guide to safe and effective blood-pressure management in the elderly in the second of our nine-part series on therapeutics in older adults

Key questions on non-AF arrhythmias (1.5 CPD hours)

16 Jun 10

Cardiology GPSIs Dr Matthew Fay and Dr Andreas Wolff answer GP Dr Sabby Kant's questions on benign versus dangerous arrhthymias, key ECG abnormailities, ectopics and pacemakers

Key questions on atrial fibrillation (1.5 CPD hours)

09 Jun 10
Key questions on heart failure (1.5 CPD hours)

17 Mar 10
Key questions on psoriasis (1.5 CPD hours)

10 Mar 10
Key questions on hyperlipidaemia (1.5 CPD hours)

28 Jan 10
Why does this woman have painful, swollen fingers?

14 Oct 09

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