American Heart Association's Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention
The American Heart Association's (AHA) 47th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention took place in Orlando, Fla., from Feb. 28-March 3. The meeting offered researchers from more than 20 countries the latest epidemiologic information on metabolic syndrome, obesity, sleep, depression and the underlying genetics of cardiovascular risk.
"A large proportion of the meeting was on metabolic syndrome and obesity," said AHA spokesperson Martha L. Daviglus, M.D., Ph.D., of Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. "Obesity is an independent risk factor not only for coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction (MI), but it also plays a big, big role in metabolic syndrome," she said. "If you lower lipids, treat hypertension and lower weight, you could also be treating metabolic syndrome."
Several debates took place at the meeting, she said. For example, "Does depression come before obesity or after? Is it the chicken or the egg, and is depression an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease?" she recounted. Another big debate focused on the use of estrogen to prevent heart disease. "It seems that as a preventive measure it doesn't work, but maybe if it is used for a couple of years to control the symptoms of menopause, it could be OK," she said.
New research presented at the meeting showed that the less sleep a person gets, the greater their risk for hypertension. "One mechanism for the link between sleep and heart disease could be through an increase in blood pressure," she said.
Genetics also garnered a good deal of attention.
"The data show that by knowing the differential of genotyping among groups of people, we can find out what groups have certain characteristics for responding better to treatment," she said. For example, genetics and genotyping can predict which patients will respond best to statin therapy.
Eric Rimm, Sc.D., of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, vice chair of the program committee for the Council, agreed. "I can see down the line that there will be an explosion of research on the genetics of underlying disease and clinical disease because the last day of the meeting gave us the beginning insights into how we will be able to do whole genome scans of individuals to see if we can project who is at risk."
In addition, "there was a fair bit of new research on the epidemiology of subclinical disease, which examines the underlying precursors to clinical events and gives us more of an idea of biological processes that lead to MI," Rimm said.
AHA: Heart Disease Risk Higher in Hispanic Than White Women
FRIDAY, March 2 (HealthDay News) -- Contrary to commonly held assumptions, Hispanic women have a higher risk of heart disease than their non-Hispanic white counterparts, researchers reported at the American Heart Association's 47th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention in Orlando, Fla.
More Information
AHA: Wine Associated with Mortality Reduction in Men
FRIDAY, March 2 (HealthDay News) -- Men who consume a small amount of alcohol daily may have an increased life span compared to men who don't drink, according to a report presented at the American Heart Association's 47th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention.
More Information
AHA: Disasters Present Barriers to Medication Adherence
FRIDAY, March 2 (HealthDay News) -- Hurricane Katrina and other disasters may present substantial barriers to medication adherence, but electronic medical record-keeping and preparation for such events can help, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association's 47th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention in Orlando, Fla.
More Information
AHA: More TV for Young Children Linked to Poorer Diet
THURSDAY, March 1 (HealthDay News) -- Extra television-viewing time by 3-year-old children is associated with unhealthful dietary habits including greater sugary drink, fast food and overall calorie consumption, according to research presented during the American Heart Association's 47th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention.
More Information
AHA: Pharmacists Can Help Curb Metabolic Syndrome
THURSDAY, March 1 (HealthDay News) -- Individual, face-to-face education delivered by a pharmacist can lower the rate of metabolic syndrome, with those at highest risk having the most benefit, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association's 47th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention in Orlando, Fla.
More Information
