Merck's Vioxx Heir - Forbes.com:
"Merck has released the first data from a giant study of Arcoxia, the drug that was designed to be an heir to its withdrawn painkiller Vioxx, and says it still hopes the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will approve the drug, based on the new data..Merck says the study found no more risk to the heart from Arcoxia than with an older drug that is commonly used in Europe. But, as Forbes.com predicted on Monday, critics still see problems with data. ...."

Baby boomer obesity surpasses seniors, new study shows :
"The number of obese 'baby boomers' in Canada today is 60 per cent higher than it was just a decade ago, according to a new report by the Heart and Stroke Foundation. In fact, says Queen's epidemiologist Ian Janssen, boomers are in even worse shape than Canadian seniors......"

Safety of External Defibrillators Examined: "More than one in five external defibrillators, which are often placed in public places to revive heart attack victims in emergencies, were recalled because of potential malfunctions, new research shows.

The data, based on 10 years of U.S. Food and Drug Administration records, provide some of the first evidence on the safety and reliability of automated external defibrillators (AEDs). The findings were presented Thursday at the Heart Rhythm Society's annual meeting in Boston....."

"Having two strokes more than doubles a person's risk of dying in the next two years, a University of Michigan study finds [United Press International] :
Those who live through a stroke should get special attention from their physicians and other health professionals to reduce their risk of having another one, because of their extra risk of suffering another stroke, according to the study published in the journal Annals of Neurology.....

Risk of Recurrent Stroke High in Mexican-Americans :
"Mexican Americans have an almost 60% higher risk of a second stroke than non-Hispanic white patients, although ethnicity was not linked to a high risk of subsequent all-cause death in both groups, according to researchers here........."

Cardiovascular Safety Warning Added for Stimulants for ADHD : "With an eye on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the FDA has ordered blanket changes for labels of all stimulants, including Dexedrine (dextroamphetamine sulfate) and Ritalin (methylphenidate).

The new language warned that sudden death 'has been reported in association with CNS stimulant treatment at usual doses in children and adolescents with structural cardiac abnormalities or other serious heart problem.'

Additionally, the labels now warn that although 'some serious heart problems alone carry an increased risk of sudden death, stimulant products generally should not be used in children or adolescents with known serious structural cardiac abnormalities, cardiomyopathy, serious heart rhythm abnormalities, or other serious cardiac problems that may place them at an increased vulnerability to the sympathomimetic effects of a stimulant drug......'"

Stroke risk spikes twice daily:
"The day contains two 'time zones,' one in the morning and one in the evening, when the risk of stroke is greatest, researchers have found.

The Japanese scientists, who published their findings in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, examined 12,957 stroke cases and found that while the risk of stroke was lowest during sleep, it peaked between the hours of 6 a.m. and 8 a.m., and again between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m............"

Cost of stroke expected to skyrocket - Reuters: "The cost of treating people who suffer strokes in the U.S. is projected to exceed $2 trillion between 2005 and 2050, according to new estimates......"

FDA Approves New Indication For Plavix (clopidogrel Bisulfate) Offering New Option For Patients With Most Severe Type Of Heart Attack:
"Sanofi-aventis and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the supplemental new drug application (sNDA) for the antiplatelet agent PLAVIX(clopidogrel bisulfate) to reduce the rate of death from any cause and the rate of a combined endpoint of re-infarction, stroke or death in patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). STEMI is a severe acute heart attack in which a coronary artery is generally blocked completely. These blockages are caused by clot formation in the arteries, a life-threatening complication of an underlying disease known as atherothrombosis. However, this benefit is not known to pertain to patients who receive primary angioplasty.

'Clopidogrel taken with aspirin has previously been shown to reduce the risk of death, recurrent heart attacks or stroke in patients with unstable angina or less severe heart attacks,' said Dr. Marc Sabatine, TIMI Study Group, Brigham and Women's Hospital. 'Now, based on the positive results of two clinical trials, COMMIT and CLARITY-TIMI 28, clopidogrel has been approved by the FDA for use with aspirin in patients with the most severe types of heart attacks, thereby extending the benefit of clopidogrel to patients across the spectrum of acute coronary syndromes.' ...."

CITIZEN-TIMES.com: Don't delay stroke treatment: "It is probably safe to say that most of us knows someone who has experienced a stroke.I am hearing more and more about people who have suffered a stroke with little to no warning. Unlike a heart attack, a stroke will usually not exhibit sharp chest pains. Most people I have spoken with who have experienced a stroke spoke of the horrible headache, the dizziness, the blurred vision and the arm feeling funny, but they didn't act promptly.

Instead, they waited, hoping the symptoms would pass, never thinking of the possibility of a stroke. Then, there were those who experienced no true symptoms- it just happened. One friend said she was walking into the kitchen to get a cup of coffee when suddenly she could not move her arm or leg. She fell to the floor. In reading more information on strokes, it's interesting that some folks who may have experienced a stroke on the right side of the brain may not process it mentally. Therefore, they don't realize the urgency of the situation. Usually, it's family and friends who notice a difference........"

ACE Inhibitors Help All Heart Patients:
"Even moderate-risk heart patients already taking other medications to protect against heart attacks and strokes can benefit from adding an ACE inhibitor to the mix, a new analysis finds.
Researchers concluded that for every 1,000 patients treated with an ACE inhibitor for 4.5 years, 21 serious events such as heart attackheart attack or strokestroke could be prevented.
The analysis appears in the Aug. 12 issue of The Lancet".......

Strokes are a risk at any age

Like many people, Nic and Katharine Soldan didn't realize that a young person can have a stroke — an interruption in the flow of blood to part of the brain.....

Bristol-Myers Sees a Generic Rival to Plavix - New York Times: "A Canadian drugmaker, Apotex, said today that it had begun shipping a generic version of Plavix, one of the top-selling prescription drugs in the world, to retailers in the United States....."

Stroke at 23: A memory denied

High-Dose Statins Following a Stroke Can Prevent a Second
Patients with cardiovascular disease are less likely to have a stroke if they are taking statins.

Loading up on a statin within six months of a stroke or transient ischemic attack reduced the risk of recurrent stroke or TIA, according to results of a major trial published today.

Lipitor (atorvastatin) at 80 mg/day begun during that period was associated with 2.2% five-year absolute reduction in risk of stroke (P=0.03) and a 16% relative reduction in risk of fatal or nonfatal stroke, found the SPARCL (Stroke Prevention by Aggressive Reduction in Cholesterol Levels) trial....

Lonely Children May Grow Up With Fragile Hearts - CME Teaching Brief - MedPage Today
"For some patients with cardiovascular disease risk factors, the root cause may be the loneliness of childhood, according to a study that followed more than 1,000 adults from birth. Those who were socially isolated as children and adolescents were up to 2.5 times more likely than others to have three or more risk factors for cardiovascular disease, including hypertension and elevated cholesterol, said Avshalom Caspi, Ph.D., of the Institute of Psychiatry here...."

HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL: Press Release: RESEARCHERS UNCOVER HOW A MOLECULAR SWITCH REGULATES FAT AND CHOLESTEROL METABOLISM PATHWAY
Findings May Contribute to Understanding and Treatment of Metabolic Syndrome Condition

"Boston, MA-August 2,2006-Researchers at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital have identified how a molecular switch regulates fat and cholesterol production, a step that may help advance treatments for metabolic syndrome, the constellation of diseases that includes high cholesterol, obesity, type II diabetes, and high blood pressure......"

Migraine with "aura" linked with heart disease risk:
"A new study found that older women who experience migraines with auras run a much higher risk of heart disease than women who either get migraines without auras, or never have migraines at all.
"Aura" refers to visual warnings migraine sufferers experience 10 to 30 minutes before a migraine, and can include seeing bright lights or wavy lines, or temporary vision loss.

The researchers say they need to conduct further studies to determine if men and younger women with aura migraines also run a higher risk of stroke and heart disease. More research is also needed to find out how to lower the risks for aura migraine sufferers, as well as whether or not treating the migraine itself can lower risks.

Most likely, the migraines and heart disease share a common cause. The "aura" of the migraines is simply a symptom of the underlying cause, which is probably related to poor cardiovascular health and poor nutritional habits.......The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.."

Women and Cardiovascular Disease: Brigham and Women's Hospital - Harvard Medical
How does cardiovascular disease affect women?
Long considered a man's problem, heart disease now affects more females than males. Heart disease is responsible for 52 percent of all deaths in American women, claiming 250,000 female lives every year – more than all forms of cancer. Fortunately, much is known today about preventing and monitoring heart disease through lifestyle changes, which makes it possible to control many of your risk factors. Learn more.