Category: cardiovascular disease
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How saturated fats lost, and won, on new food pyramid
How saturated fats lost, and won, on new food pyramid For months, nutrition experts have been anxiously waiting to see whether the new U.S. dietary guidelines would follow through on health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s pledge to end the war on saturated fat. The guidelines’ longstanding recommendation to cap saturated fat consumption at 10%…
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Dietary guidelines declare war on processed foods and sugar, encourage more protein and dairy
Dietary guidelines declare war on processed foods and sugar, encourage more protein and dairy The Trump administration on Wednesday issued a long-promised revamp of national dietary guidelines, urging Americans to eat more protein and less added sugar and, for the first time, discouraging consumption of highly processed foods. The guidelines, despite widespread expectations, do not…
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STAT+: Cytokinetics heart drug wins FDA approval, the biotech’s first
STAT+: Cytokinetics heart drug wins FDA approval, the biotech’s first It took 27 years, but Cytokinetics secured its first U.S. drug approval. On Friday, the Food and Drug Administration cleared the new medicine, called Myqorzo, to treat patients with obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, an inherited heart disorder. Cytokinetics said it will begin selling Myqorzo in late…
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Free pass or failing grade for saturated fats? Review sets off scientific and political debate
Free pass or failing grade for saturated fats? Review sets off scientific and political debate Saturated fats are having a moment, one that has ensnared researchers in a political debate they never intended to enter. A new systematic review of 17 randomized clinical trials found that reducing intake of saturated fats reduced the chance of serious cardiovascular…
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Merck’s heart disease win and the FDA’s new drug regulator
Merck’s heart disease win and the FDA’s new drug regulator What does Rick Pazdur’s new role mean for the Food and Drug Administration? Has Merck solved the PCSK9 access issue? And how much credit can the president take for lowering GLP-1 drug prices? Dean Li, the head of R&D at Merck, joins us to discuss…
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STAT+: Does coffee mix with AFib, and other new data from heart meeting
STAT+: Does coffee mix with AFib, and other new data from heart meeting This is the online version of AHA in 30 Seconds, the latest from the American Heart Association’s scientific sessions. Hello from New Orleans. Coming from Boston, running on the River Walk this morning felt balmy, not as shockingly hot and humid…
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New AHA leader sees AI as way to address cardiology’s blind spot: women
New AHA leader sees AI as way to address cardiology’s blind spot: women NEW ORLEANS — Stacey Rosen is a cardiologist who has been coming to American Heart Association meetings for 30 years. Executive director of Northwell’s Katz Institute for Women’s Health, she is also senior vice president of Women’s Health at Northwell, a professor…
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STAT+: Merck’s pill to reduce cholesterol on top of statins matches results from injectables
STAT+: Merck’s pill to reduce cholesterol on top of statins matches results from injectables NEW ORLEANS — A pill designed to further lower cholesterol in people already on statins but at risk of a serious cardiovascular event — their first or a recurrence — reduced LDL cholesterol by up to 60%, a new late-stage trial…
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STAT+: Amgen’s cholesterol shot prevented first heart attacks and strokes, more detailed data affirm
STAT+: Amgen’s cholesterol shot prevented first heart attacks and strokes, more detailed data affirm NEW ORLEANS — A cholesterol-lowering injection that’s been on the market for nearly a decade has now shown its power to cut cardiovascular events in people considered at high risk but who haven’t yet suffered a heart attack or stroke. A…
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STAT+: CRISPR-based treatment cuts cholesterol and triglycerides in early study
STAT+: CRISPR-based treatment cuts cholesterol and triglycerides in early study A CRISPR-based gene editing therapy dramatically reduced levels of low-density lipoprotein, often called “bad cholesterol,” and triglycerides in patients with heart disease, a new study found. Some researchers said that the treatment, developed by the biotech CRISPR Therapeutics and so far tested in just 15…
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STAT+: For heart health, physical activity favors women
STAT+: For heart health, physical activity favors women When it comes to reaping heart health benefits from physical activity, women saw bigger drops than men in their risk of developing coronary heart disease when they followed or exceeded weekly exercise recommendations. And as a new study published Monday in Nature Cardiovascular Research reports, they needed…
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Opinion: STAT+: Why this cardiologist is cautious about the Apple Watch’s blood pressure feature
Opinion: STAT+: Why this cardiologist is cautious about the Apple Watch’s blood pressure feature Welcome to The Workup, a First Opinion column from Vishal Khetpal. As a physician in the age of wearables, glancing at a patient’s wrist has become a natural, unspoken part of the physical exam. In most cases, finding an Apple Watch doesn’t…
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Warning: Serious cardiovascular events don’t come out of the blue
Warning: Serious cardiovascular events don’t come out of the blue Heart attacks, heart failure, and strokes don’t come out of nowhere, a new study concludes. The first time they strike, patients, clinicians, and researchers might think there were no red flags. But a prospective cohort study reports that more than 99% of people who experienced…
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Risk of dying from chronic disease in the U.S. declined, but there are caveats, study says
Risk of dying from chronic disease in the U.S. declined, but there are caveats, study says The popular sentiment that Americans’ health is on a hellish downward spiral may not be true — or at least not entirely — according to a new study of global death data. From 2010 to 2019, the risk of…
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STAT+: Cytokinetics drug yielded benefits over common therapy in patients with heart condition, study shows
STAT+: Cytokinetics drug yielded benefits over common therapy in patients with heart condition, study shows An experimental medicine from Cytokinetics improved exercise capacity more than a widely prescribed beta blocker in patients newly diagnosed with a common, inherited heart condition, study results reported Saturday showed. The Cytokinetics drug, called aficamten, is currently being reviewed by…
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STAT+: Alnylam’s hypertension treatment did not significantly lower blood pressure in mid-stage study
STAT+: Alnylam’s hypertension treatment did not significantly lower blood pressure in mid-stage study An investigational therapy from Alnylam Pharmaceuticals did not significantly lower blood pressure in a key Phase 2 trial, raising questions about the benefit of the twice-a-year treatment as it enters late-stage testing. Among high-risk patients already taking at least two common hypertension…
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STAT+: Trump administration restored funding for major diabetes study. The pause still set researchers back
STAT+: Trump administration restored funding for major diabetes study. The pause still set researchers back The Trump administration’s restoration of federal research funding to Columbia University has revived a landmark diabetes study that has tracked patients for nearly 30 years and vastly expanded understanding of the disease, its treatment, and its prevention. The study, which has been…
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Trump’s hand bruise renews attention to his health — and his heart
Trump’s hand bruise renews attention to his health — and his heart President Trump’s bruised hand and his apparent use of makeup to cover the discolored patch of skin have renewed attention to his health in general and his cardiovascular health in particular. His case also highlights an often underrecognized and undertreated condition. It’s called…
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What updated thresholds for statin use could mean for patients
What updated thresholds for statin use could mean for patients It’s a math problem with life-and-death consequences. When a new and improved model for estimating the risk of developing atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease emerged in November 2023, the calculator won raves for drawing on a larger, more contemporary, and more diverse population of Americans than its…
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Lowering blood pressure reduces dementia risk, new guideline affirms
Lowering blood pressure reduces dementia risk, new guideline affirms A study in rural China demonstrating the power of intensive blood pressure control clinched the deal. The large, cluster-randomized controlled trial convincingly demonstrated that well-controlled blood pressure — below 130/80 mm Hg — lowered the risk of dementia by 15% and cognitive impairment by 16%. That was…
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Nearly 1 in 3 teens have prediabetes, CDC finds, in ‘wake-up call’
Nearly 1 in 3 teens have prediabetes, CDC finds, in ‘wake-up call’ About 1 in 3 young people who are 12 to 17 years old have prediabetes, new national data show, putting them at risk not just for type 2 diabetes but also for heart disease and stroke. Developing chronic diseases early in life also…
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STAT+: Sales of BridgeBio’s new heart drug blow past expectations
STAT+: Sales of BridgeBio’s new heart drug blow past expectations BridgeBio’s recently approved heart drug brought in $36.7 million in sales in the first quarter, blowing past expectations as the biotech continues to see a strong demand for its first major commercial product. Analysts had estimated that the treatment, called Attruby, would bring in sales…
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Rural health study is told it’s losing federal funds, and other major heart studies are worried
Rural health study is told it’s losing federal funds, and other major heart studies are worried Vasan Ramachandran is baffled. A cardiologist and veteran of the famed Framingham Heart Study, he is struggling to understand why a similar study he brought to life in 10 rural counties across four Southern states is facing elimination. The…