Top of the pageCoronary Calcium Better Predictor of Heart Disease
The August 30, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology has another paper that demonstrates that measuring calcium score is better than measuring standard risk factors for predicting future coronary events in previously asymptomatic healthy individuals. The study also demonstrated that it is cost effective. The study is of special interest because the population studied was relatively young, between ages 40 and 50. For information, click here.
How to Prevent a Heart Attack
The September 6, 2005, issue of Time magazine features a cover story titled "How to Stop a Heart Attack Before it Happens." The issue covers cardiac imaging in great depth focusing on new CT technology for imaging the coronary arteries. The Heart Institute of the Cascades has been a leader in this field particularly in using electron beam CT (EBT) for coronary calcium screening and coronary angiography. One of the issue's articles is titled "Do You Know Your Calcium Score?" Because of the EBT scanning capability of St. Charles Medical Center - Bend, many Central Oregonians do. For more information, click here.
Heart Screenings Detect Heart Defects in Young Athletes
The June 23, 2005, issue of the Wall Street Journal
featured a front page article titled "Doctors Miss Signs Of
Heart Defects In Young Athletes." The article describes a
number of episodes of sudden death in adolescent athletes while
strenuously exerting. The article goes on to question why
simple screening tests such as electrocardiograms are not
performed routinely on young athletes. In countries such as
Japan and Italy these tests are widely utilized. One expert
physician interviewed suggests that as many as 300 sudden
deaths occur in young athletes in the U.S each year.
The Heart Institute of the Cascades sponsors a free screening
program for high school athletes throughout Central and Eastern
Oregon which includes a screening electrocardiogram and
echocardiogram. The Heart Institute is dedicated to preventing
sudden death in our student athletes. For more information or
to schedule a heart screening at your school, please contact
Heart Services Research and Data Manager Karen Doolan, BS,
CCRC, at 541-318-4985 or kdoolan@scmc.org. For the
complete Wall Street Journal article, click
here.
New use for Viagra: Treating Lung Disease
Viagra, the erectile-dysfunction drug used byby more than 26 million men worldwide, was reborn Monday as Revatio, a drug to treat pulmonary hypertension, a rare, fatal lung disease caused by constrictions in the blood vessels that supply the lungs. The Food and Drug Administration approved the drug's main ingredient, sildenafil citrate, for the new indication in a different dose - 25 milligrams vs. 20, 50 and 100 milligrams for Viagra - and with a new look. Revatio is white and round; Viagra is a blue diamond. The drug dilates blood vessels, which promotes erections and reduces blood pressure in the lungs. Revatio demonstrated its short-term effectiveness in a 12-week study that involved 277 patients from 25 countries. Patients took Revatio or a placebo; those who took Revatio could walk at least 148 feet farther in six minutes than those on placebo, a statistically valid boost in performance. About 95% of patients survived 18 months on Revatio, compare with the 65% survival predicted for that population, says Gary Burgess of Pfizer, Viagra's maker, who directed the research. Will the drug work long term? "Only time will tell," says Norman Edleman, medical director of the American Lung Association. "Anything that lowers blood pressure in the lungs and can do it over time will probably prolong life." Bruce Brundage of the Heart Institute of the Cascades in Bend, Ore., says one of the drug's advantages is that "it is simple to give, rather than intravenously or in an injection." The only other drug that can be given orally, Bosentan, can damage the liver. Studies are underway to see whether Revatio can be given with Bosentan and other drugs to yield an even bigger benefit. Revatio's known side effects are typical of those for Viagra: muscle aches, flushing, blue-tinged vision. Unwanted erections weren't a problem. "Most of our patients were female," Burgess says. "Even among males there wasn't a single report."
By Steve Sternberg
USA TODAY
Tuesday, June 7, 2005, USA TODAY
