Malaysia
Search
Sign In
Change Password
Points
Sign Out
Top Medical News
Final caffeine metabolites, but not caffeine per se, significantly correlate with a reduced risk of hypertension in adults, reports a US study.
Women who sustain in-hospital cardiac arrests are at greater risk of dying than men, a recent study has found. Women also show a trend toward worse neurologic outcomes.
A large-scale assessment of a smartwatch to identify atrial fibrillation (AF) during typical use, known as the Apple Health Study, has shown that the probability of receiving a digital alert of an irregular pulse is low, although more than four-fifths of the sent notifications are concordant with AF.
Anaemia increases mortality risk in heart failure (HF) patients across the ejection fraction (EF) spectrum, a recent study has found. The effect appears to be stronger in preserved (HFpEF) and midrange (HFmrEF) than in reduced (HFrEF) EF disease.
Previous pre-eclampsia (PE) is associated with increased preclinical carotid atherosclerosis in women with type 1 diabetes (T1D), reports a study.
Prophylactic melatonin does not appear to prevent the occurrence of delirium in older adults after major cardiac surgery, a recent study has found.
Bicuspid and tricuspid aortic valve patients have comparable 30-day and 1-year mortality outcomes after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), reports a recent meta-analysis. Rates of stroke and new pacemaker implants are likewise similar.
Special Reports
At a Menarini-sponsored symposium held during the Asian Pacific Society Congress, renowned cardiologist Prof John Camm provided the latest evidence for chronic stable angina with or without concomitant diseases, with a special focus on the antianginal agent ranolazine and combination therapies. The event was chaired and moderated by Dr Dante Morales from the University of the Philippines College of Medicine.
Hypertension (HPT) is defined as a persistent elevation of systolic blood pressure (BP) of 140 mmHg or greater and/or diastolic BP of 90 mmHg or greater, taken at least twice ontwo separate occasions. The most recent National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2015 that focuses on noncommunicable diseases showed that among adults aged 18 years and older, there was an increase in the prevalence of HPT from 33.6% in 2011 to 35.3%. While the proportion of patients with HPT who have attained good BP control has increased from 34.7% in 2011 to 37.4%, the awareness of the condition among patients remains poor. The prevalence of undiagnosed HPT remains high; hence, it is recommended that every adult aged 18 years and older to check their BP at least once annually, and more frequently in those with risk factors (eg, family history, obese).
At the recent 10th Malaysian Endocrine and Metabolic Society (MEMS) Annual Congress(MAC) held in Hilton Kuala Lumpur, Dr Wong Ming, a consultant endocrinologist from Sunway Medical Centre, spoke on the role of non–high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non–HDL-c) as an emerging marker and treatment target for cardiovascular (CV) disease. Additionally, she also highlighted the role of fenofibrate in delaying and preventing diabetic retinopathy (DR).
Major trials have demonstrated the benefits of beta-blockers in the treatment of hypertension.1 At a recent symposium held during the Asian Pacific Society of Cardiology 2019 Congress in Manila, Philippines, experts discussed the latest guidelines on hypertension treatment, with a focus on the role of the 3rd generation beta-blocker, nebivolol. The symposium was chaired by Dr Dante D. Morales, Clinical Associate Professor at the University of the Philippines College of Medicine, and featured renowned cardiologists Prof Rafael R. Castillo and Dr Hyo Seung Ahn.
Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10, ubiquinone) is a fat-soluble, potent physiological antioxidant that is required for the production of cellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP). CoQ10 can be obtained through tissue synthesis and diet, and it has been widely studied in patients with cardiovascular (CV) risk factors. The effects of oral CoQ10 supplementation in different patient subgroups are presented here.
At the recent 12th IDF-WPR Congress and 10th AASD Scientific Meeting held at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, the importance of glycaemic control and the practical management of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) were highlighted by two international speakers, Dr Sanjay Kalra from India and Professor Jean Claude Mbanya from Cameroon.
At a webinar hosted by Pfizer, leading Malaysian family medicine specialists Professor Chia Yook Chin andProfessor Sherina Mohd Sidik discussed a host of issues commonly encountered in primary care, includingpreventing cardiovascular (CV) disease, pain control in osteoarthritis (OA) and depression management.
Conference Reports
Tolvaptan improves dyspnoea, increases sodium levels and reduces body weight in patients with acute heart failure (HF) with or without hyponatraemia, but no significant effect is seen in mortality or rehospitalization, according to a recent meta-analysis.
A left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) cut-off of 60 percent may identify patients with heart failure (HF) with mid-range or preserved ejection fraction (mrEF or pEF) who could benefit from drug therapy.
The novel selective cardiac myosin activator omecamtiv mecarbil improves diastolic function and pulmonary pressures without adversely affecting diastolic filling in patients with chronic heart failure (HF) and reduced systolic function, the COSMIC-HF* trial has shown.
An invasive strategy, on top of optimal medical therapy (OMT), is no better than OMT alone in preventing cardiovascular (CV) events in patients with stable, moderate-to-severe coronary artery disease (CAD), the largest randomized trial to date of an invasive vs conservative strategy, ISCHAEMIA*, has shown. This, the cardiologist world sees as a monumental achievement that is set to change practice.
Early use of mTOR inhibitors for primary immunosuppression may attenuate the progression of cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) and reduce mortality after heart transplantation (HTX), while noninvasive assessments may become promising alternatives to endomyocardial biopsy for diagnosis of allograft rejection, recent studies have shown.
Icosapent ethyl (IPE), a purified form of the omega-3 fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), slowed the progression of plaque in statin-treated patients with coronary atherosclerosis, according to the interim results of the EVAPORATE* trial presented at AHA 2019.
Multiple analyses of the DAPA-HF* trial have shown that dapagliflozin, in addition to standard therapy, reduces the risk of multiple heart failure (HF) outcomes including cardiovascular (CV) death and hospitalization for HF (HHF) in patients with HF and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), with the effects consistent regardless of age and type 2 diabetes (T2D) status.
Multimedia
