Statin, BP drug slash health risk in those with hypertension

Fixing vitamin D, depression aids the heart: studies

CHICAGO, April 3, (Agencies): Patients with high blood pressure and moderate risk of heart disease slashed their long-term risk of heart attack and stroke 40 percent by taking a blood pressure medication as well as a statin cholesterol fighter, according to a large global study that could change medical practice.

Results from the trial, called HOPE3, could prod far more doctors to add a statin to blood pressure therapy for such patients who have no prior history of heart attack or stroke, researchers said.

The data was presented on Saturday at the annual scientific sessions of the American College of Cardiology in Chicago.

To enroll in the trial, patients had to have at least one risk factor for heart disease such as obesity or smoking, in addition to being over 60 for women and over 55 for men.

“Intermediate-risk people with hypertension had a clear benefit when taking both a statin and an agent that lowers blood pressure,” Dr Salim Yusuf, a professor of cardiology at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada who headed the 12,000-patient global study, said in an interview.

Patients with systolic blood pressure of 140 and higher were deemed in the study to have high blood pressure. They experienced a 40 percent reduced risk of heart attack and stroke over a sixyear period when taking AstraZeneca Plc’s Crestor statin as well as a combination tablet containing blood pressure treatment candesartan and the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide.

Patients with normal or low systolic pressure had the same approximate 25 percent reduction in cardiovascular events as seen among patients in one arm of the study who took only statins.

Yusuf said the trial underscores that if a patient at moderate heart risk has high blood pressure, defined as 140 or higher, “give them both a statin and a blood pressure medication as a matter of course.” He said statins are not automatically given now to patients with hypertension that are at only moderate risk of heart attack or stroke.

Yusuf’s trial included research centers in China, India, Latin America, Africa and Canada, but not the United States because of far greater research costs there. The trial was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and AstraZeneca.

A separate study published in November found that lowering blood pressure to below 120 dramatically reduced heart failure and risk of death in adults aged 50 and older. But the five-year US government-sponsored study of more than 9,300 patients showed a higher rate of adverse side effects, including kidney damage, in the aggressively treated patients.

The first major research of its kind shows that cholesterol-lowering statins can prevent heart attacks and strokes in a globally diverse group of older people who don’t have heart disease.

The results bolster recommendations in recent guidelines on who should consider taking the drugs.

Statin-only patients were about 25 percent less likely to have fatal or nonfatal heart-related problems than those given dummy pills. Those in the combined drug group fared slightly better and the researchers credit the statin for the benefit.

Blood pressure drugs alone worked no better than dummy pills at preventing these events, except in the fraction of patients who had high blood pressure. The drug doses used may have been too low to provide much benefit to low-risk patients, although longer follow-up may be needed, according to a journal editorial published with the research.

Patients on statins had slightly more muscle pain or weakness — known statin side effects, than those on dummy pills. Statin patients also had slightly more cataract surgeries but the researchers said it isn’t known if the drug played a role.

MIAMI:

Taking steps to recover from depression and boost vitamin D levels may improve heart health, according to new research out Saturday.

The findings were contained in two studies presented at the American College of Cardiology conference in Chicago.

The first focused on depression, a known risk factor for heart attack, stroke and even death.

Researchers at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in Salt Lake City studied a registry of more than 7,500 people, and found when depressed patients get effective treatment, they can lower their risk of heart damage to the same level as a person who never suffered from depression.

“Our study shows that prompt, effective treatment of depression appears to improve the risk of poor heart health,” said Heidi May, a cardiovascular epidemiologist with the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute.

However, those who remained depressed had higher rates of heart problems — at a rate of about six percent, compared to around four percent of people without depression.

“The key conclusion of our study is: If depression isn’t treated, the risk of cardiovascular complications increases significantly,” May said.

A second study, also led by May, focused on two measures of vitamin D, which when too low can predict the likelihood of heart attack, stroke, heart failure or death.

Some 4,200 people aged 52 to 76 were studied. Most already had coronary artery disease (70 percent) and one quarter were diabetic.

For doctors who treat these patients, the most important measures of vitamin D are known as total vitamin D and bioavailable vitamin D, since both were “the most accurate in predicting harmful cardiovascular events,” said the findings.

NEW YORK:

The UN on Saturday marked the World Autism Awareness Day, urging an equal participation and active involvement of persons with autism for achieving the inclusive societies envisioned by the Sustainable Development Goals.

As the international community embarks on the challenges of realizing the ambitious and universal 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed in a message that the UN is proud to champion the autism awareness movement.

“The rights, perspectives and wellbeing of people with autism, and all persons with disabilities, are integral to the 2030 Agenda and its commitment to leave no-one behind,” he said in a message released on the occasion.