The Cleveland Clinic Heart Advisor

Volume 13
Number 8
August 2010

Many of the charts & tables found on this site are PDFs.

August 2010

Coronary Stent Implantation Should Mean Delay in Non-Cardiac Surgeries
If you have a coronary stent put in you should delay non-cardiac surgery for at least six weeks, due to increased bleeding risks. A study published in the May issue of Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions, an American Heart Association journal, found that patients who wait six weeks or longer for scheduled surgeries have a lower risk of suffering reduced blood flow to the heart, heart attack and death.

Even Minor Plaque Build-Up Can Be Dangerous for the Heart
Just a small increase in the plaque that builds up on artery walls in the heart can lead to a higher risk of heart attacks, bypass surgery, angioplasty and death, according to a Cleveland Clinic study published in the May 25 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Researchers, led by Steven Nissen, MD, Cleveland Clinic’s chief of cardiovascular medicine, found that plaque growth of less than one percent over an 18- to 24-month period predicted poor outcomes for patients.

Cardiovascular Risks Mount with Certain Anti-Inflammatory Drugs
A recent analysis of data from more than a million users of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) underscores the importance of careful selection and use of the medications, because they can vary widely in the risks they pose to patients. In the cohort study out of Denmark, the use of diclofenac (Cataflam, Voltaren) was associated with a 91 percent increase in the relative risk of a fatal heart attack or stroke in healthy adults.

Prostate Cancer Drugs Could Pose Risk to Heart Health
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that it is investigating the safety of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists, a class of drugs used to treat prostate cancer, after evidence linking them with a rise in the risk of heart disease and diabetes. It’s not the first time concerns have been raised about the use of hormone therapy to treat prostate cancer—a 2009 study suggested it raises the risk of heart disease by as much as 25 percent

Tighter Aspirin Control Urged For Patients with Diabetes
The American Diabetes Association, American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology issued a joint statement in June calling for tighter criteria in the use of aspirin as a primary prevention strategy against cardiovascular disease (CVD) for patients with diabetes. This represents a change from the recommendations issued in 2007. "The 2007 joint statement recommended that acetylsalicylic acid, commonly known as aspirin, be used as a primary prevention strategy in patients with diabetes mellitus over 40 years of age or with one or more additional cardiovascular risk factors," explains Leslie Cho, MD, editor-in-chief of Heart Advisor and director of the Women’s Cardiovascular Center at Cleveland Clinic.

24-Hour Blood Pressure Monitoring Presents True Hypertension Picture
You take your blood pressure at home and it seems well within the target range established by you and your doctor. But then you go to his office and the numbers climb considerably. Or perhaps, you find that your blood pressure at home varies widely throughout the day, despite your best efforts to follow your physician’s diet, exercise and medication recommendations. As a result, your cardiologist may recommend you wear a 24-hour blood pressure monitor, which may take 70 to 80 readings during a 24-hour period.