This longitudinal study correlated insulin resistance during the teen years with other cardiovascular risk factors and found that women have a protective advantage against heart disease at puberty. Medscape Medical News
A new registry analysis of almost 21 000 STEMI and non-STEMI patients admitted to Indian hospitals suggests that the country, along with other developing nations, is in dire need of better emergency services, healthcare insurance, and public-education campaigns if any dint is to be made in the global CVD epidemic. Heartwire
A large trial of a medication designed to raise HDL was stopped early because of a higher risk for death among subjects receiving active treatment. However, HDL-raising therapy may still have an important role in the prevention or management of cardiovascular disease. The current article reviews these treatments. Nature Clinical Practice Cardiovascular Medicine
Coronary artery calcification is associated with cardiovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes, was a stronger independent predictor than many risk factors, and appears to add significantly to existing risk scores, such as the Framingham and the UKPDS risk scores, according to a new study. Heartwire
Daniel W. Coyne, MD, Professor of Medicine at Washington University, describes the consequences of low vitamin D and the potential to increase the risk for diabetes mellitus. Medscape Nephrology
One analysis showed that aggressive statin therapy reduced the risk of cardiovascular events in coronary heart disease patients with chronic kidney disease and diabetes, while another showed that high-dose statin therapy reduced not only first events but second and third cardiovascular events as well. Heartwire
An analysis of studies involving the use of hemoglobin-based blood substitutes indicates that their use is associated with the increased risks for death and myocardial infarction. Medscape Medical News
The presence of diabetic retinopathy in patients without clinical heart disease could lead to subclinical left ventricular dysfunction, according to Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities investigators. Medscape Medical News
Waist circumference is the new battle of the 21st century, clinicians should consider going beyond body weight to improve the risk-factor profile of their high-risk, abdominally obese patients. Medscape Medical News
