Atherosclerosis

Excess variations in sleep duration and timing were associated with an increased risk for CVD independent of sleep quantity and/or quality and traditional CVD risk factors, according to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

As an optometrist interested in the evolution of my profession to include more primary health care, I have my Healio email subscriptions and alerts set to receive the Primary Care News Wire. Although I often just skim these articles, I sometimes find an item of interest that has implications for optometry. Such was the case last month when I read, “New diabetes guideline reflects change in glucose therapy considerations.” Published online on Jan. 22, 2020, this article will affect my doctoring of patients with diabetes as well as those at risk for developing the disease.

Not all fat is bad. In fact, some fat can be very good — even body fat, according to Aaron M. Cypess, MD, PhD, MMSc, acting chief of the translational physiology section of the diabetes, endocrinology and obesity branch of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the NIH. Evidence from the past decade has pointed toward benefit from brown fat, and researchers are exploring its potential for treating obesity, diabetes and other cardiometabolic disorders.

Among healthy, postmenopausal women, hormone therapy with oral conjugated equine estrogens — compared with transdermal estradiol or no hormone therapy — may slow the adverse effects of heart fat accumulation on carotid intima-media thickness , according to an analysis of the KEEPS study published in Menopause.

Secondary prevention of CVD with colchicine is a major focus for the cardiology community, especially after recent presentations of the COLCOT and COLCHICINE-PCI trials at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions in November.

Patients with a genetic predisposition for obesity may have an increased risk for aortic valve stenosis and valve replacement, according to research published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Despite presumably living a physically active lifestyle and eating a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids, three of four Inuit adolescent or young adult mummies who lived approximately 500 years ago had vascular calcification, according to a new case series from the Horus Study Group published in JAMA Network Open.

Adults with diabetes and those with more than 50% carotid stenosis are at greater risks for cancer than those without diabetes and those with less than 50% carotid stenosis, according to findings published in Nutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Diseases.

A potential target for improving residual lipid-related risk for atherosclerotic CVD is reduction in triglyceride levels. Studies have shown eicosapentaenoic acid is effective in lowering triglyceride levels and reducing the risk for ischemic events in patients with elevated triglyceride levels already taking statin therapy.

Healio and Cardiology Today reported live from the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions in Philadelphia, bringing readers the latest research and breaking news in cardiology.