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Cardiovascular-related conditions and risk factors in primary care for deprived communities before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: an observational study in Northern England
Conclusion Recorded CVD-related risk factors and conditions remained comparable before and during COVID-19. These are higher in the Deep End than in England and similar or lower than the non-Deep End, with a higher optimal statin prescribing rate. However, it was not possible to control for age and sex. More work is needed to estimate the consequences of the pandemic on disadvantaged communities and to compare whether the findings are replicated in other areas of deprivation.
Source: BMJ Open - November 22, 2022 Category: General Medicine Authors: Fu, Y., Price, C., Haining, S., Gaffney, B., Julien, D., Whitty, P., Newton, J. L. Tags: Open access, Public health, COVID-19 Source Type: research

What to Know About High Cholesterol in Kids
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S., but it’s not something we usually associate with kids. In many cases, however, the seeds of heart attacks and strokes may be sown in childhood. That’s because high or abnormal cholesterol levels, which are a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke, are not uncommon in kids. “People may feel that cholesterol is mostly an adult issue, which is not correct,” says Dr. Nivedita Patni, a pediatric endocrinologist at Children’s Health in Dallas and an assistant professor of pediatrics at UT Southwestern Medical Center. About 1 in 5 child...
Source: TIME: Health - July 13, 2022 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Sandeep Ravindran Tags: Uncategorized freelance healthscienceclimate heart health Source Type: news

Prevalence of and Factors Associated With the Prescription of Fibrates Among Patients Receiving Lipid-Lowering Drugs in Germany
Abstract: Little recent data are available about the patterns of prescription for fibrates in patients followed in primary care practices. Therefore, the goal of this study was to analyze the prevalence of and the factors associated with the use of fibrates among patients receiving lipid-lowering drugs in Germany. The study included patients aged ≥18 years with at least 1 visit to 1 of 1070 general practices in Germany between January and December 2019. Lipid-lowering drugs included statins (without and with ezetimibe) and fibrates. The prevalence of the prescription of fibrates corresponded to the number of patients...
Source: Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology - December 1, 2021 Category: Cardiology Tags: Original Article Source Type: research

High-risk patients being underprescribed statins, study finds
Cholesterol-lowering drugs are also being overprescribed to people at low risk of having a heart attack or stroke, researchers findStatins are being overprescribed to low-risk groups and underprescribed to high-risk groups, research by the British Journal of General Practice (BJGP) has shown.The report found potential “undertreatment” among people who have at least a 20% chance of cardiovascular disease (CVD) within a decade, who are considered high-risk patients.Continue reading...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - October 24, 2017 Category: Science Authors: Mattha Busby Tags: Statins Society Heart attack Medical research Stroke UK news Science Source Type: news

Statin prescribing for people with severe mental illnesses: a staggered cohort study of 'real-world impacts
Conclusions We found that statin prescribing to people with SMI in UK primary care was effective for lipid modification but not CVD events. The latter finding may reflect insufficient power to detect a smaller effect size than that observed in randomised controlled trials of statins in people without SMI.
Source: BMJ Open - March 6, 2017 Category: Journals (General) Authors: Blackburn, R., Osborn, D., Walters, K., Falcaro, M., Nazareth, I., Petersen, I. Tags: Open access, Cardiovascular medicine, Epidemiology, General practice / Family practice, Mental health Research Source Type: research

Evaluating quality and its determinants in lipid control for secondary prevention of heart disease and stroke in primary care: a study in an inner London Borough
Conclusions In this study, the key factor that explained poor lipid control in people with CVD was having no current prescription record of a statin. Women were more likely to have poorly controlled cholesterol (independent of comorbid risk factors and after adjusting for age, ethnicity, deprivation index and practice-level variation). Women with CVD should be offered statin prescription and may require higher statin dosage for improved control.
Source: BMJ Open - December 9, 2015 Category: Journals (General) Authors: Dodhia, H., Kun, L., Logan Ellis, H., Crompton, J., Wierzbicki, A. S., Williams, H., Hodgkinson, A., Balazs, J. Tags: Open access, Cardiovascular medicine, General practice / Family practice, Health services research Source Type: research

Improving cardiovascular disease using managed networks in general practice: an observational study in inner London.
CONCLUSION: Managed geographical practice networks delivered a step-change in key CVD performance indicators in comparison with England, London, or similar PCT/CCGs. PMID: 24771840 [PubMed - in process]
Source: The British Journal of General Practice - May 1, 2014 Category: Primary Care Authors: Robson J, Hull S, Mathur R, Boomla K Tags: Br J Gen Pract Source Type: research

RApid Primary care Initiation of Drug treatment for Transient Ischaemic Attack (RAPID-TIA): study protocol for a pilot randomised controlled trial
DiscussionThis pilot study will be used to estimate key parameters that are needed to design the main study and to estimate the accuracy of primary care diagnosis of TIA. The planned follow-on trial will have important implications for the initial management of people with suspected TIA.Trial registration: ISRCTN62019087
Source: Trials - July 2, 2013 Category: Journals (General) Authors: Duncan EdwardsKate FletcherRachel DellerRichard McManusDaniel LassersonMatthew GilesDon SimsJohn NorrieGraham McGuireSimon CohnFiona WhittleVicky HobbsChristopher WeirJonathan Mant Source Type: research