ACC: Dark Chocolate Improves Vascular Function - CME Teaching Brief® - MedPage Today [CLICK HERE TO READ ARTICLE]

ACC: Depression Shortens Survival in Heart Failure - CME Teaching Brief® - MedPage Today [CLICK HERE FOR ARTICLE]

Newswise: Who Gets Heart Failure? Race Takes Back Seat to Diabetes and High Blood Pressure

Newswise — Diabetes and high blood pressure, two conditions rooted in genetics and environmental surroundings, play a much greater role than race alone in determining who is mostly likely to develop heart failure, according to the latest study from cardiologists at Johns Hopkins. Each year, nearly 300,000 Americans die from heart failure.

Experts say that racial disparities have long been known to exist in who actually develops risk factors for the condition, with African Americans nearly twice as likely to be diagnosed with diabetes and more than a third as likely to have high blood pressure than Caucasian Americans. But researchers have only now determined the precise role played by race in comparison to other risk factors, including socio-economic factors, age, gender, smoking, family history, and other health problems, as well as diabetes and hypertension.

The Hopkins team will present its findings March 27 in New Orleans at the American College of Cardiology’s annual Scientific Sessions in New Orleans.

In the study, researchers monitored nearly 7,000 men and women, age 45 to 84, of different ethnic backgrounds and with no existing symptoms of heart disease. African Americans developed heart failure at significantly higher rates (4.6 cases per 1,000 per year) than all other races, including Hispanics and Caucasians. Their rate was almost five times that of Chinese Americans (1 case per 1,000 per year) and almost twice that of Caucasians (2.4 cases per 1,000 per year).

However, these apparent risk differences among races almost disappeared (dropping from twice as likely, a significant difference, to no more than one-and-a-half times as likely, an insignificant difference) when researchers used statistical techniques to exclude the two traditional risk factors for heart disease.

“When all major factors are taken into account, the differences between races for heart failure largely evaporate in the absence of diabetes and hypertension among African Americans,” says senior study investigator João Lima, M.D.

According to Lima, an associate professor of medicine and radiology at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and its Heart Institute, these early results add to other interesting findings from the so-called Multiethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA).
The study, started in 2001, is monitoring its ethnically diverse participants for six to eight years to see who develops heart failure and who does not. It is the first large-scale analysis of racial or ethnic differences in heart function. So far, 79 study participants have developed congestive heart failure.

Other results presented at the meeting showed differences among races in heart strain, or contraction, which may contribute to disparities in heart failure, albeit to a lesser extent. Indeed, African American hearts were found to contract less strongly than those of Hispanic, Caucasian or Chinese American backgrounds.

Lima cautions, however, that much remains to be understood about the root causes of racial disparities and how to fix them.

He points out that while African Americans are at much higher risk of heart failure, there is no similarly higher number for risk of suffering heart attack, which, like diabetes and hypertension, often leads to heart failure.

In MESA, researchers found a reverse relationship, with African Americans having the lowest rates of heart failure due to myocardial infarct (at 25 percent), while other races had a much higher proportion: Caucasians (40 percent), Hispanics (42 percent), and Chinese Americans (100 percent.)

Lima says the difference could be due to successful disease prevention efforts among all racial groups, except for African Americans, at controlling hypertension.

“A lot of public health attention has already been paid to getting high blood pressure under control, so it may be just that this risk factor is under tighter control in some ethnic groups than in others,” he says. “African Americans are clearly getting heart failure from causes other than heart attack.”

According to lead researcher Hossein Bahrami, M.D., M.P.H., the message to physicians is clear, “warding off heart failure in African Americans requires aggressive treatment of diabetes and hypertension. Whether through increased screening or greater emphasis on drug therapies, these are two risk factors that must be brought under control.”

Bahrami, a senior cardiology research fellow at Hopkins, says removing barriers for African Americans to controlling their diabetes and hypertension could be critical to reducing new cases of heart failure. Across all ethnic groups, an estimated 550,000 Americans are diagnosed each year.

Bahrami says the team’s next steps are to determine why different rates exist for these risk factors and the role played by biological and environmental factors. Funding for this study, which is taking place in six centers in the United States, comes from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, a member of the National Institutes of Health.

Besides Lima and Bahrami, another Hopkins investigator involved in this study was David Bluemke, M.D., Ph.D. Study co-authors were Richard Kronmal, Ph.D., from the University of Washington in Seattle; Kiang Liu, Ph.D., from Northwestern University in Chicago, and Gregory L. Burke, M.D., M.S., from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Fend off heart disease with fish.

Good-for-You Fish
The Greenland Inuit eat an incredibly high-fat diet with few vegetables, yet their rate of heart disease is stunningly low. Chalk it up to all the fatty fish they eat: The staple food in their diet is fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids. You've probably heard by now that omega-3s fend off heart disease -- something that could be right around the corner if your blood sugar is stuck in overdrive. It's no wonder fish makes our list of Magic foods.

A study at the Harvard School of Public Health found that women with diabetes who ate fish just once a week had a 40 percent lower risk of dying from heart disease than did women with diabetes who ate fish less than once a month.

But omega-3s do more than protect your heart. They also quell inflammation in the body, a major contributor to numerous chronic diseases of aging, including insulin resistance and diabetes. It may even play a role in brain diseases such as Alzheimer's as well as certain cancers.

Of course, fish is also a protein food, and protein foods have virtually no impact on blood sugar. We suggest that you aim to eat fish for dinner once or twice a week when you might otherwise have chicken or beef. Make it baked, broiled, pan-fried, stewed, or grilled. Just don't make it fast food or deep fried, like fish and chips or a fish sandwich. Loaded with bad-for-you fats, this fare just isn't the same kettle of fish. One study found eating fried fish and fish sandwiches offered no heart benefits at all.

All fish contain some omega-3s, but fatty types such as albacore tuna, salmon, mackerel, lake trout, herring, and sardines are richest in them.

Health Bonus
While the strongest proof of the health benefits of fish points to the heart, there's also plenty of research showing that food with fins can cut the risk of prostate cancer and help maintain brain power as you age. There's also evidence that fatty fish may help defend against depression.

Study: Aspirin May Lower Risk Of Death In Women

(CBS News) CHICAGO Aspirin in low-to-moderate doses may lower the risk of death in women, particularly those who are older and prone to heart disease, a 24-year study of nearly 80,000 women suggests.

However, experts cautioned that the results are not definitive and that women shouldn't take aspirin as a health preventive without talking to their doctor.

In this long-running study of nurses who were middle-aged and older, women who took aspirin had a 25 percent lower risk of death compared to those who never took it. Aspirin-takers had a 38 percent lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease and a 12 percent lower risk of death from cancer.

Many doctors advise people who've had heart attacks and strokes to take a daily 81-milligram baby aspirin, costing less than 50 cents a week. The new study suggests aspirin may help healthy women, too.

No benefit was found for high doses, which the study defined as two or more standard 325-milligram aspirin tablets a day.

"This confirms what we already know: Aspirin is good for you, whether you're a man, whether you're a woman," said Dr. Jeffrey Berger of Duke University Medical Center who studies aspirin's effects. He was not involved in the new research and receives no money from aspirin makers.

However, since aspirin can cause ulcers and bleeding, Berger said, women should talk to their doctors before taking it to prevent disease.

"It's not a little vitamin; it's not a sugar pill," he said....[MORE]

HEART FELT -- Kastan Fills Emotional Gaps for Women With Heart Disease
By Mary Powers / powers@commercialappealcom

She never smoked.

She wasn't overweight.

Her blood pressure was normal.

She exercised regularly.

But at age 41, Kathy Kastan of Cordova started having symptoms of heart disease.

It would take two years, visits to two Memphis heart specialists and a trip to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., to get the correct diagnosis and relief from crippling chest pain. Before it was over, she'd undergo five heart procedures plus emergency heart bypass surgery.

During her search for information, she found plenty of books about how to prevent or reverse heart disease. Most were written by physicians. None addressed the emotional roller coaster she was riding.

So she wrote that book.

"From the Heart: A Woman's Guide to Living Well with Heart Disease" is what she was looking for when she was diagnosed. Its official publication date is Sunday, but the book ($25, Da Capo Press) is in book stores now.

"I would have realized I'm not alone," Kastan said, explaining how the information would have helped her. "I would have felt more hopeful. I would have had something to direct me in a positive way and help me understand why I was floundering."

Instead of the physiology of atherosclerosis, in "From the Heart," Kastan writes about body image and sex. Instead of low-fat meal ideas, she details her own struggle to digest the diagnosis.

Along with strategies for navigating the health system, Kastan outlines the healing power of activism.

Kastan, whose father and husband are both physicians, is a licensed clinical social worker who had worked as a psychotherapist before her diagnosis. She now devotes herself full time to advocacy.

She is in her second term as president of WomenHeart, a national coalition for women with heart disease. She's also chairwoman of the American Heart Association's northwest region. In 2005, Kastan and the the foot-long bypass scar bisecting her chest were featured in a national public-awareness campaign about women and heart disease.

It's work that has her traveling, sometimes several times a month, lobbying elected and government officials or speaking to medical, consumer and other groups. She talks about the still under- appreciated risk heart disease poses to women as well as the need for more research about women and heart disease.

Her message to doctors: Take seriously female patients and their heart disease risk. Although she said more research and education are needed, she is hopeful. "We are getting there. We are moving in the right direction," she said.

She got serious about writing the book three years ago after surveying WomenHeart members. What they told her about their experiences with heart disease reinforced her belief that her story wasn't unique.

Kastan had a family history of heart disease and elevated cholesterol, but she wasn't considered an obvious candidate for the problem.

So when her left arm would tingle during a swim or a bike ride left her short of breath and nauseated, she blamed her age and asthma.

The first doctor blamed a leaky heart valve. The next one found a blockage in one of the main arteries supplying blood to her heart and vasospasm, a cramping of the blood vessel that temporarily reduced or halted its blood supply. But it took a trip to the Mayo Clinic's women's heart clinic before more aggressive treatment of the vasospasm brought symptom relief....[MORE]

Bloomberg.com: AtheroGenics Drug That Failed in Study Cuts Diabetes (Update2)

March 27 (Bloomberg) -- AtheroGenics Inc.'s experimental heart drug, which failed to meet a primary study goal last week, reduces diabetes and deaths from heart disease and should be developed, doctors said. Shares soared as much as 26 percent.

The medication, an anti-inflammatory known as AGI-1067, lowered deaths from heart attacks, cardiac arrest and strokes by 19 percent in the study, details of which were presented at the American College of Cardiology meeting in New Orleans. It cut by 64 percent the number of patients diagnosed with diabetes.

The study was initially designed to measure effectiveness against a range of complications, including chest pain. AtheroGenics reported last week that the medicine failed to meet the wider goal, though details weren't available. Doctors now say the drug should be developed because of how it works individually against deaths, heart attacks and diabetes.

The results ``are very encouraging and suggest that the drug is having a beneficial effect,'' said Steven Nissen, president of the cardiology group and chairman of cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic, in an interview. ``Someone should pursue further development of this drug.''

AtheroGenics' stock rose 17 cents, or 4.8 percent, to $3.75 at 11:14 a.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading, after touching $4.54 earlier. The stock plunged 61 percent last week after the company first announced the trial failed to meet its primary goal, trading low as $2.83.

Marketing Agreement
London-based AstraZeneca Plc has a marketing agreement with AtheroGenics to develop AGI-1067 that could be worth as much as $1 billion if the drug completes development and hits sales goals. AstraZeneca hasn't yet told AtheroGenics if it plans to continue working with them on the product, said Russell Medford, Chief Executive Officer of AtheroGenics, in an interview today.

AGI-1067 is designed to counter the buildup of plaque in the arteries that occurs in 16 million Americans. More than 6,000 patients in the U.S., U.K., Canada and South Africa took part in the phase III study, the last stage generally required for regulatory approval.

Patients in the study were already getting drug therapy for the year following a heart attack or sudden on-set of chest pain, suggesting that the new medication may provide additional benefit beyond the current standard of care, researchers said.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide and kills 700,000 people in the U.S. each year, according to government statistics. The drug is the first in a new class that aims to treat heart disease by fighting inflammation.

Additional studies are needed to confirm the benefits and ensure the drug is safe. Patients getting AGI-1067 were more likely to be hospitalized for heart failure and develop diarrhea in the study.

There were also signs that the drug might affect liver function. One patient developed liver failure and recovered after the drug was halted.

Associated Press: Jurors side with Merck in Illinois Vioxx trial
Drug maker cleared over 2003 heart-attack death

EDWARDSVILLE, Illinois - Jurors in the Midwest's first trial over the once-blockbuster painkiller Vioxx on Tuesday cleared the drug's maker in the 2003 deadly heart attack of an obese 52-year-old woman.

The jury deliberated over two days before siding with Merck & Co., which had argued that Patty Schwaller's obesity and other health issues might have posed risks that better explain her collapse and sudden death.

Schwaller had taken Vioxx for about 20 months. Her husband claimed that Vioxx contributed to his wife's death and that Merck failed to sufficiently warn consumers that the drug increased the risk of cardiovascular problems.

The victory was Merck's 10th in 15 cases that have been tried in the mushrooming litigation over the drug Merck pulled off the market in 2004 after its research showed it increased the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

During the monthlong trial, Merck lawyers insisted that Patty Schwaller had several risk factors for heart disease, including obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and a sedentary lifestyle.

The 5-foot-2 woman's weight fluctuated between 250 pounds and 300 pounds for roughly two decades before her death, attorneys have acknowledged.

But attorneys for Schwaller's widower, Frank Schwaller, pressed that the woman had no heart attacks, strokes or symptoms of congestive heart disease before her fatal collapse, fueling their belief that Vioxx contributed to her demise....[MORE]

Telephone-Based Psychotherapy Shows Durability in Depression - CME Teaching Brief® - MedPage Today

SEATTLE, March 22 -- For depressed patients on medication but too sad to seek psychotherapy as well, lasting help may be available by phone researchers found in a follow-up study.

For more than 75% of nearly 400 patients, the positive effects of six months of brief telephone psychotherapy at the start of antidepressant medication endured for 18 months after the first session, including six months beyond the end of all phone therapy, said Evette Ludman, Ph.D., of the Group Health Cooperative Center for Health Studies here, and colleagues.

This study, reported by Dr. Ludman and colleagues in the April issue of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, was a follow-up to a 2004 report on the same sample of 393 patients, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The follow-up found that at 18 months, 77% of those given phone-based therapy reported that depression was "much" or "very much" improved, compared with only 63% of those receiving usual care.

In the 18-month analysis, the benefits of telephone psychotherapy in the first six months were sustained during the second six months when only brief booster sessions were provided. Significantly a "robust clinical benefit" endured for six months after all treatment contact was discontinued, the researchers found.

"As with weight control," Dr. Ludman said, "maintaining improvement is the hardest part of treating depression."

Traditional in-person psychotherapy has limited reach among the large number of patients beginning antidepressant treatment in primary care, the researchers wrote. Expanding access to therapy calls for considering new therapy approaches, such as phone-based sessions, that place greater emphasis on accessibility, outreach, and patient convenience, the investigators concluded.

Of the participants, 195 were randomly assigned to antidepressant medication and usual care while 198 got medication and phone therapy. Of these, 348 (89%) completed the six-month blinded assessment, and 334 (85%) completed the 18-month follow-up.

On average, all patients reported a moderate level of depressive symptoms at baseline, two to four weeks after starting antidepressants prescribed by a primary-care provider.

Phone psychotherapy sessions, delivered by masters-level therapists, included eight core sessions (about 30 minutes) during the first six months, with 15- to 20-minute booster sessions every two months up to a year. After that, phone therapy ended.

According to a structured cognitive behavioral-based psychotherapy program, patients were encouraged to identify and counter their negative thoughts (cognitive behavioral therapy), pursue activities they had enjoyed in the past, and develop a plan to care for themselves....[MORE]

Doctor’s Orders: Take HeartAware Assessment Today

Tuesday, 20 March 2007
By David Schneider, MD
Director of Cardiology, University Cardiology at Fletcher Allen Health Care

Now available free to the community through Fletcher Allen Health Care is a quick and confidential online questionnaire that will help determine your risk for heart disease. Taking this test could save your life.

According to the National Heart, Lung., and Blood Institute, 50 percent of men and 64 percent of woman who die suddenly from coronary heart disease have no previous symptoms of the disease.

Those are pretty sobering statistics. What is more sobering is that many of these deaths can be prevented by identifying people at increased risk. This assessment will help identify people with unrecognized heart disease and will allow them to take action to reduce their risk.

The questionnaire called HeartAware, is available at www.FletcherAllen.org. It evaluates several risk factors including overall health and family history. When completed, you will receive a personalized, confidential report assessing your heart health and providing recommendations for lifestyle modifications. You also have the option of receiving free heart health information by e-mail.

Those who are found to be at-risk will be eligible for a free, 20-minute consultation with a nurse at Fletcher Allen’s outpatient cardiology office in South Burlington. This consultation which includes a blood pressure and cholesterol check, will help identify if you are at-risk and help your physician to prevent heart disease.

Also now available at our Web site is a comprehensive heart health information center that includes a wealth of prevention tips and information about conditions and procedures, complete with interactive animations.

If you have questions, please e-mail heartaware@vtmednet.org or call Fletcher Allen Cardiology at 847-4600. Don’t delay. Take HeartAware today.

Knowing Cholesterol, Blood Pressure Numbers Can Save Lives

If one of your New Year's resolutions was to get healthier, then 'knowing your numbers' is a good way to start.

Andre Stanley decided to visit his doctor to get his health back on track for the new year. One of the first things she told him was to get to know his numbers.

"When she told me about the numbers, that they were very important based on my size," says Stanley. When I came here to her, I didn't know anything about numbers at all, O was just lost."

Stanley's physician, cardiologist Dr. Patricia Davidson says it's no longer acceptable to just know your total cholesterol level. Now you also need to know your HDL, LDL and triglycerides numbers.

"I know practically no one that will walk in my office and tell me they know what their numbers are," says Dr. Davidson, "It's a difference between life and death."

Doctors have long believed that people with a low total cholesterol level, under 150, are less likely to have heart attacks. But recent studies show that the HDL, or the good cholesterol, levels might be the key to good heart health.

A low HDL level can predict heart problems, especially if there's a family history of heart disease.

"It's very sensitive in the female population," says Dr. Davidson. "If women tend to have low good cholesterol levels they have a much higher risk of heart disease than that of the male population."

Health experts say knowing your blood pressure number can be important, too. Untreated high blood pressure can lead to health problems such as stroke, heart attack, damage to the eyes, kidney failure, and hardening of the arteries.

"So optimal blood pressure is under 120 and under 80 and if you can achieve that, there is a very small likelihood that you will have a heart attack or a stroke as a result of high blood pressure," says Dr. Davidson.

Dr. Davidson says it's important to know your numbers, and have them checked regularly, because they're measurements that can help you live a longer, healthier life.

"You need to participate in your care," says Dr. Davidson. "You know 911, that's the one number that will save your life, and so will your cholesterol numbers, your HDL or triglycerides, your LDL, your blood pressure, those are numbers that will save your life."

For more information on 'knowing your numbers,' visit the websites below:
American Heart Association
National Cholesterol Education Program
National Institute of Health

CME Teaching Brief® - MedPage Today - Strokes Stop Essential Brain Crosstalk

ST. LOUIS, March 14 -- Spatial neglect -- a common attention-deficit sequel to stroke -- appears to be caused by a lack of communication between two regions of the brain, according to researchers here.

The finding contradicts the traditional explanation that spatial neglect is caused by damage to a specific brain region, said Maurizio Corbetta, M.D., of Washington University.

Instead, magnetic resonance imaging showed that patients with neglect -- in which patients have difficulty paying attention to one side of their bodies or the visual field -- have disrupted connections between dorsal and ventral frontoparietal attention networks, reported Dr. Corbetta and colleagues in the March 15 issue of Neuron.

"For more than a century, we have linked neurological deficits and their recovery to the damage done to neurons directly affected by a stroke or other injury," Dr. Corbetta said in a statement. ...[MORE]

CME Teaching Brief® - MedPage Today - FDA Warns of Sedative-Aided Sleep Driving and Anaphylaxis

ROCKVILLE, Md., March 14 -- The FDA has taken steps to ensure that clinicians and patients are aware of rare bizarre effects associated with sedative hypnotics, including driving or eating while sleeping.

The agency has ordered makers of all sedative-hypnotic drugs to strengthen label warnings about the risk of "complex sleep-related behaviors" and also severe allergic reactions. The FDA defined sleep driving as "driving while not fully awake after ingestion of a sedative-hypnotic product, with no memory of the event."

Last December, the FDA sent letters to manufacturers of products approved for the treatment of sleep disorders requesting that the whole class of drugs revise product labeling to include warnings about the following potential adverse events:

Anaphylaxis and severe facial angioedema, which can occur the first time the product is taken. Complex sleep-related behaviors which may include sleep-driving, making phone calls, and preparing and eating food while asleep.

"There are a number of prescription sleep aids available that are well-tolerated and effective for many people," said Steven Galson, M.D., MPH, director of FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. "However, after reviewing the available post-marketing adverse event information for these products, the FDA concluded that labeling changes are necessary to inform health care providers and consumers about risks."

Russell Katz, M.D., director of the FDA's division of neurology products at the center, said the new label will warn that a number of complex-sleep related behaviors "including cooking and eating, using the telephone, having sex, and driving" have been reported by persons using the drugs. Typically, the patient has no memory of these actions.

At a press briefing today, Dr. Katz repeatedly emphasized that the allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis and angioedema, and the complex sleep-related behaviors,"are rare by any definition" and he said the FDA has not received any reports of death associated with either side effect....[MORE]

USA Today: Stay calm, or you may calcify your arteries: CLICK HERE FOR MORE

Older adults with explosive tempers are more likely than mellow people the same age to have calcium deposits in their coronary arteries, a key sign of high risk for heart attack, a study reported Wednesday.

The more likely someone over 50 expresses anger by lashing out, the more calcification shows up in his coronary arteries, researchers from Washington State University say. They reported their findings at the American Psychosomatic Society meeting in Budapest.

At the start, 185 participants filled out questionnaires on how they dealt with anger. Researchers used electron beam computerized tomography (EBCT) to measure the calcium deposits in arteries. Nine years later, everyone's arteries were scanned again....

Radiation for breast cancer ups heart disease risk: CLICK HERE FOR MORE
POSTED: 9:27 p.m. EST, March 7, 2007


NEW YORK (Reuters) -- As a treatment for breast cancer, radiation, even modern regimens, appears to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, according to a report in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Earlier reports have indicated that radiotherapy regimens used in the 1970s elevate heart disease risk, but it has been less clear whether more recent regimens also increase the risk.
Apart from the "clear benefits" of radiotherapy, doctors should still be aware of the potentially increased risk of cardiovascular disease following specific radiotherapy regimens in long-term breast cancer survivors, Dr. Flora E. van Leeuwen, from the Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam, and colleagues note in the report....

Should Everyone Be on a Statin? CLICK HERE FOR MORE
Posted 03/06/2007
Charles P. Vega, MD, FAAFP

Summary and Viewpoint
Statins have become some of the most popular medications prescribed in primary care offices, and for good reason. In a meta-analysis involving 25 studies enrolling 69,511 individuals with a history of coronary heart disease, statin therapy reduced the rate of coronary heart disease mortality or nonfatal myocardial infarction by 25% and reduced all-cause mortality by 16%.[1] The beneficial effects of statins in this meta-analysis were evident in both sexes and among older adults, and statins improved outcomes regardless of baseline levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol.

The record of cholesterol-lowering therapy in improving outcomes among patients without a prior history of cardiovascular disease is less strong. A previous meta-analysis examining all cholesterol-lowering medications in the primary prevention of cardiovascular events and death found a reduction in the rate of coronary heart disease events of 30%.[2] However, the mortality rate was unaffected by the use of cholesterol-lowering medications, and when the authors examined trials of statins alone, these medications failed to reduce rates of coronary heart disease or mortality....

Pfizer's Lipitor OKd for expanded uses: CLICK HERE FOR MORE
From Reuters March 8, 2007

The Food and Drug Administration has approved expanded use of Pfizer Inc.'s blockbuster cholesterol-lowering medicine Lipitor by five new categories, including one to reduce the risk of non-fatal heart attacks and strokes, the company said Wednesday.

The expanded label for the world's top-selling prescription drug will also include its approval for use in reducing the risks of certain types of heart surgery, hospitalization for heart failure and chest pain in patients with heart disease.

Pfizer said Lipitor was the first cholesterol-lowering drug to win approval for reducing risk of hospitalization for heart failure.

The expanded label may provide Pfizer sales representatives with new ammunition in the battle to stem market erosion as health plans turn up the pressure to switch patients to much less expensive generic versions of Merck & Co.'s Zocor....

t2cure Founders Honored for Medical Top Science: CLICK HERE FOR MORE

FRANKFURT, Germany, March 8 /PRNewswire/ -- The founding team of t2cure GmbH, the two clinicians and scientists from the university clinics,
Frankfurt, Professor Dr. med. Andreas Zeiher, Director of the department of
internal medicine/cardiology, and Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Stefanie Dimmeler,
Head of the department of Molecular Cardiology, have been awarded the Ernst
Jung Prize for Medicine 2007 together with Professor Dr. med Josef M.
Penninger, Vienna. The prize is being awarded by the Jung-Foundation for
Science and Research. With an allocated 250,000 Euro it is among the
highest European prizes for research.

Professor Zeiher und Professor Dimmeler have jointly translated
research on the regenerative potential of bone marrow-derived precursor
cells from bench to bedside. In a recently published double blind, placebo
controlled clinical phase II study they could show that the administration
of such progenitor cells has a significant benefit on top of standard of
care in patients that have suffered from a severe acute myocardial
infarction. Pump function of the affected heart recovered significantly
better and even longer-term the therapy seems to have a beneficial effect
on morbidity and mortality of patients that have suffered from a severe
acute myocardial infarction.

Prof. Penninger contributed to the better understanding of the role of
certain genes in the organism or in disease by changing or suppressing the
expression of those genes. With his research he elucidated basic mechanisms
and elaborated on the development of certain diseases....

Basketball Legend Walt Frazier Teams with Association to Fight Diabetes, Heart Disease: CLICK HERE FOR MORE
The Heart Of Diabetes Encourages People to Control Type 2 Diabetes

HOUSTON, March 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Walt "Clyde" Frazier knows the
importance of good health goes beyond the basketball court. At the peak of
his professional basketball career in the 1970s, he kept a work-out
routine, had regular check-ups and paid close attention to his overall
health. Now, almost 40 years later, Frazier continues to maintain a healthy
lifestyle because a healthy future means more to him than ever.

It is also important to Frazier that others learn how to have a healthy
future, which is why he is teaming up with the American Heart Association's
The Heart Of Diabetes(SM): Understanding Insulin Resistance national
campaign. The goal of the program is to educate people who live with type 2
diabetes about their increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) because
adults with diabetes have heart disease death rates that are approximately
two to four times higher than adults without diabetes. In fact, at least 65
percent of people with diabetes die from some form of heart disease and
stroke.

Frazier has a family history of type 2 diabetes, obesity and CVD. The
Heart Of Diabetes program offers participants a family history tool that
helps them track blood relatives who have or had diabetes or associated
cardiovascular diseases....

Kidney Disease Opens Door to Heart Disease, Other Leading Killers, Says National Survey: CLICK HERE FOR MORE
National Kidney Foundation program demonstrates value of simple tests to
diagnose kidney disease in people who are most at risk

NEW YORK, March 8 /PRNewswire/ -- People with chronic kidney disease are significantly more likely to have other, life-threatening conditions
such as heart disease, according to new findings from a nationwide
screening program by the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) published in the
March issue of the American Journal of Kidney Diseases. The report is
released today in conjunction with the 2nd annual "World Kidney Day"
observance in recognition of the worldwide significance of kidney disease
as a public health problem.

In the survey of people at risk of developing kidney problems, those
who were already diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Disease, or CKD, were also
at increased risk of having poorly controlled blood sugar, a hallmark of
diabetes. Compared to the general population, people at risk of CKD were
more likely to be overweight, and have high blood pressure. The survey was
conducted through NKF's Kidney Early Evaluation Program (KEEP), a free
kidney health detection program designed to help people at risk for chronic
kidney disease (CKD) receive early diagnosis and treatment.

"People at risk of CKD are more than twice as likely as people who are
not at risk to have high blood pressure," says Allan Collins, MD, president
of the NKF. "Among people at risk, 27% of those already diagnosed with CKD
have heart disease, the nation's top killer, relative to only 15% of people
at risk of, but not yet diagnosed with, kidney problems," he adds. "These
findings suggest that CKD can multiply the risk of other devastating
illnesses, demonstrating the importance of diagnosing and managing the
disease in those who are most vulnerable."...