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Query: UMLS:C0038454 (stroke)
 147,016 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The Annual Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association is the leading scientific conference in the cardiovascular field, both for basic and clinical research in cardiology and related disclipines. This report covers the outcome of major clinical trials that were presented in the 'late-breaking' clinical trial sessions. The Valsartan in Acute Myocardial Infarction Trial (VALIANT) investigated the angiotensin receptor blocker valsartan, the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor captopril, and their combination in 14,703 survivors of an acute myocardial infarction with a reduced left ventricular ejection fraction on clinical outcome. The study demonstrated that valsartan and captopril where equally effective, whereas the combination was associated with an increased risk of side effects without further benefit. VALIANT is a landmark trial because it was the first large study that compared the combination of an angiotensin receptor blocker with an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor in the setting of acute myocardial infarction. Other trials that will be summarised in this report are the Na + /H + Exchange Inhibition to Prevent Coronary Events in Acute Cardiac Conditions Trial (EXPEDITION; cariporide in coronary artery bypass graft surgery), the Reversal of Atherosclerosis with Aggressive Lipid Lowering Trial (REVERSAL; atorvastatin and pravastatin for atherosclerosis reversal), the Stroke Prevention Using an Oral Thrombin Inhibitor in Atrial Fibrillation V (SPORTIF V; ximelagatran and warfarin for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation), the Prophylactic Amiodarone for the Prevention of Arrhythmias that Begin Early After Revascularisation (PAPABEAR; amiodarone for the prevention of postoperative atrial fibrillation), the Acute and Chronic Therapeutic Impact of a Vasopressin 2 Antagonist in Congestive Heart Failure (ACTIV in CHF; vasopressin 2 antagonist tolvaptan in congestive heart failure) and Prevention of Renal and Vascular Endstage Disease Intervention Trial (PREVEND IT; fosinopril and pravastatin in microalbuminuric subjects without hypertension or hypercholesterolemia).
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PMID:American Heart Association scientific sessions. 1510 93

Diabetes mellitus and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) are common disorders, and their prevalence is predicted to increase over the next several decades. The major serious complication of these disorders is large vessel atherosclerosis leading to myocardial infarction and stroke. Aggressive control of hypertension and dyslipidemia can significantly reduce risk for cardiovascular events, but a large amount of residual cardiovascular disease remains. A major remaining question is the potential role of aggressive glucose control for reducing macrovascular event rates in patients with diabetes. An ongoing trial addresses this issue, and a large number of other concurrent trials address several novel therapeutic strategies to reduce further the cardiovascular complications of diabetes or IGT. Many of these strategies test approaches that may directly target the vessel wall. Therapeutic modalities currently being evaluated include thiazolidinediones, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, and angiotensin II receptor blockers. Most of these trials will report their findings in the next 5 years. It is likely that the results of ongoing trials will significantly improve our approach to managing cardiovascular risk in patients with diabetes and IGT.
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PMID:Strategies in ongoing clinical trials to reduce cardiovascular disease in patients with diabetes mellitus and insulin resistance. 1517 14

The article's objective is to review the key advances in the scientific literature related to the association of stroke with diabetes mellitus and to summarize the current approaches to stroke prevention in diabetic patients. The key findings from the literature regarding stroke incidence in patients with diabetes, specific and nonspecific risk factors of stroke in the diabetic population, such as arterial hypertension, dyslipidemia, hyperglycemia, diabetes duration, diabetic complications, insulin resistance/hyperinsulinemia, course and outcome of stroke in subjects with diabetes and/or hyperglycemia, and the peculiarities of type, site and size of stroke in diabetic patients are discussed. The results of recent clinical trials aimed at correcting hyperglycemia, hypertension, and dyslipidemia, to prevent stroke in people with diabetes, are reviewed. The medical database Medline along with original articles from peer-reviewed journals were used for analysis. There is convincing evidence suggesting that diabetes mellitus represents a strong independent risk factor of stroke. The contribution of hyperglycemia to increased stroke risk is not proven. Data suggest an association of the full cluster of the insulin resistance syndrome and stroke. Diabetes is a risk factor mainly for ischemic stroke, while its association with hemorrhagic stroke remains controversial. Hyperglycemia is common in stroke patients, but it is not known whether it independently influences the course and outcome of stroke or merely reflects stroke severity and location. Aggressive control of arterial hypertension and dyslipidemia allows to decrease the risk of stroke in diabetic patients substantially, while the importance of glucose control for stroke prevention remains unproven.
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PMID:Stroke in patients with diabetes mellitus. 1525 30

Cardiovascular disease and its clinical sequelae remain the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in many regions of the world. Dyslipidemia is a critical risk factor to intercept in both the primary and secondary prevention of acute cardiovascular events. The prospective, placebo-controlled clinical trials conducted with statins over the course of the past 15 years have conclusively demonstrated that these drugs significantly reduce risk for fatal and nonfatal myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, unstable angina, and frequency of myocardial ischemia, as well as cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. Of considerable interest is the fact that, even under the exquisitely controlled circumstances of a clinical trial, endpoint reductions in these trials typically occur in the range of 20% to 35%. Understandably, much attention is now being focused on deriving the pharmacologic means by which to further increase the magnitude of endpoint reduction. Epidemiologic investigation has demonstrated that the relationship between cholesterol and risk for atherosclerotic disease is a continuous one. Consequently, it is reasonable to assume that more aggressive reductions of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol might result in even greater reductions of cardiovascular event rates and atheromatous plaque progression than heretofore observed. Two recent clinical trials, Reversal of Atherosclerosis with Aggressive Lipid Lowering (REVERSAL) and Pravastatin or Atorvastatin Evaluation and Infection Therapy (PROVE IT), prospectively tested and confirmed the validity of more aggressive LDL cholesterol lowering in high-risk patients with established coronary artery disease.
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PMID:Low-density lipoprotein reduction in high-risk patients: how low do you go? 1529

This is a retrospective review of all carotid endarterectomies (CEA) (n=91) done from 1993 to 2002 at an inner-city hospital (Group I). This group was compared to a randomly selected group of patients (n=445) treated at a private hospital (Group II). The same high-volume surgeons performed CEAs at both hospitals. The majority of Group I patients (71.4%) were members of racial minority groups. They were also more likely to be younger (p<0.001), hypertensive (p<0.03), diabetic (p<0.001), and current smokers (p<0.001); have contralateral carotid artery occlusion (p=0.04); and present with stroke (p<0.001) than Group II patients. Despite this, the incidence of postoperative myocardial infarction (2.2% vs 0.2%, p=0.08), stroke (1.1% vs 1.6%, NS), and death (1.1% vs 0%, NS) was comparable between the 2 groups. Aggressive preoperative workup for occult cardiac disease in Group I revealed an incidence of 25.9% (n=15). Of these, 5 (33.3%) were found to have coronary artery disease severe enough to warrant intervention before CEA. In an inner-city population with increased medical comorbidities, more severe cerebrovascular disease, and relatively low volume of carotid surgery, the results of CEA were comparable to those in patients treated at a high-volume private hospital. The presence of high-volume surgeons, operating at the low-volume municipal hospital, may contribute to the low complication rate. Finally, aggressive preoperative cardiac workup in this underserved population revealed a meaningful incidence of occult coronary artery disease requiring intervention before CEA.
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PMID:Successful management of carotid stenosis in a high-risk population at an inner-city hospital. 1559 31

Platelet activation is a pivotal event in the pathophysiology of acute coronary syndromes (ACS) and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and has a substantial impact on the outcomes in these settings. Aggressive implementation of antiplatelet therapy has significantly decreased adverse cardiovascular events, such as death, myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, and repeat revascularization. Although the widespread use of aspirin has contributed to this improvement, many patients continue to have a significant risk of recurrent events during the ensuing months to years. The advent of other antiplatelet agents, notably the thienopyridine clopidogrel bisulfate has heralded a new era of combined antiplatelet blockade, offering the hope of better outcomes. Recently, clinical trials have tested the use of dual oral antiplatelet blockade and have shown impressive results. Notably, the Clopidogrel in Unstable Angina to Prevent Recurrent Events (CURE) trial found that dual therapy with clopidogrel and aspirin in ACS reduced adverse cardiovascular events by 20% at 1 year (p < 0.001). The PCI-CURE substudy of CURE and the Clopidogrel for the Reduction of Events During Observation (CREDO) trial demonstrated that these benefits extend to patients undergoing both urgent and elective PCI. This article will explore the current role of and controversies in oral antiplatelet therapy after ACS and PCI.
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PMID:Controversies of oral antiplatelet therapy in acute coronary syndromes and percutaneous coronary intervention. 1563 Jun 71

Recent Canadian lipid guidelines recommend that all high-risk patients receive medication to reduce low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) below 2.5 mmol/L. The recently published Reversal of Atherosclerosis with Aggressive Lipid Lowering (REVERSAL) and Pravastatin or Atorvastatin Evaluation and Infection Therapy (PROVE IT) studies compared strategies of cholesterol lowering with atorvastatin 80 mg versus pravastatin 40 mg. Atorvastatin halted the progression of atherosclerosis (whereas atherosclerosis progressed in the patients receiving pravastatin), and resulted in a 16% reduction in the primary composite end point (all-cause death, myocardial infarction, unstable angina, revascularization and stroke) compared with the pravastatin-treated group. In the PROVE IT trial, LDL-C was reduced by atorvastatin to 1.6 mmol/L and by pravastatin to 2.46 mmol/L. Although lower LDL-C levels are one explanation for the improved outcomes with atorvastatin, pleiotropic differences of the two statins, such as their effects on inflammation and coagulation, cannot be excluded. Until trials are completed that compare outcomes from LDL-C lowering to different targets with the same statin, it is premature to recommend changes to the current Canadian guidelines. However, future recommendations may suggest much lower LDL-C targets than those currently recommended.
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PMID:Are Canadian guidelines for cholesterol lowering in high-risk patients optimal? 1568 8

Cerebrovascular disease is a major cause of mortality world-wide, and the prevalence is expected to increase as a result of projected demographic trends. Aggressive antihypertensive therapy is one intervention that has proven highly effective in reducing the risk of stroke, with relatively small blood pressure reductions affording measurable benefit even in patients not conventionally considered hypertensive. Comparative clinical trials are revealing evidence of differential impacts of antihypertensive classes on the incidence of cerebrovascular disease that will probably be important for therapeutic choice in patients with risk factors for stroke. In particular, the role of the renin-angiotensin system in cerebrovascular disease has come under scrutiny as a result of evidence that angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs), but perhaps not angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, can reduce the risk of a first stroke to a greater degree than might be expected from their effects on blood pressure alone. Although preclinical evidence suggests that there are differential effects of the type 1 and type 2 receptor activation, the clinical relevance of this is not yet known. Furthermore, the effect on the incidence of stroke conferred by blood pressure control in the early morning hours - the time when the incidence of strokes peaks--has not been tested. Some evidence for the beneficial effect of an ARB on secondary stroke prevention comes from the MOrbidity and mortality after Stroke --Eprosartan compared with nitrendipine in Secondary prevention study (MOSES), which showed that the ARB protected against cerebro- and cardiovascular events in hypertensive patients with a previous stroke over and above the protection offered by blood pressure control. These hypotheses are among those being examined in two current large-scale trials: the Prevention Regimen For Effectively avoiding Second Strokes (PRoFESS), and The ONgoing Telmisartan Alone and in combination with Ramipril Global Endpoint Trial (ONTARGET) Trial Programme.
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PMID:Managing the patient at risk for a second stroke. 1582 51

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is underdiagnosed and undertreated. This is despite the high vascular morbidity and mortality rates associated with PAD. There is also evidence that quitting smoking, improving the lipid profile, lowering the blood pressure, and administering antiplatelet drugs reduce the risk of vascular events in these patients. Secondary prevention for patients with PAD is yet to meet the standard of care for those with ischemic heart disease. The authors surveyed 200 claudicants attending a vascular clinic with additional follow-up in a risk modification clinic. After a median follow-up of 28 months (range: 6-65) there was a significant (p = 0.001) improvement in walking distance; 34 patients (17%) had a vascular ischemic event. Of those, 11 patients (5.5%) had worsening intermittent claudication and 9 had a stroke/transient ischemic attack; 9 events (4.5%) were fatal. The lipid targets were met in 76% the patients. Half the smokers quit smoking and 94% of the patients were taking antiplatelet drugs or anticoagulants. Blood pressure reached the accepted target in 87% of the patients. Secondary prevention in patients with PAD may reduce the risk of vascular events. Aggressive risk modification is therefore recommended.
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PMID:Risk modification in patients with peripheral arterial disease: a retrospective survey. 1588 95

Data from studies on the benefits of statins in coronary artery disease patients in preventing recurrent primary and secondary cardiac endpoints, as well as ischemic strokes, imply the potential value of statins in recurrent ischemic stroke prevention without coronary artery disease symptoms or, by extension, primary ischemic stroke prevention. However, data on the latter are lacking, although the ongoing Stroke Prevention by Aggressive Reduction in Cholesterol Levels (SPARCL) study is designed to answer that question. Until these data become available, clinicians are justified in using statins to avert recurrent ischemic strokes due to atherosclerosis, especially if elevated total cholesterol, increased low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and/or reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, as specified in the National Cholesterol Education Program Third Adult Treatment Panel, are present. This article reviews the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis, particularly the major components of atheromas of cholesterol, smooth muscle cells, inflammation, "foam cells," and connective tissue elements. Emphasis is placed on the first three and the results of statin trials in coronary artery disease, as well as the beneficial pleiotrophic effects of statins in ischemic strokes.
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PMID:Statins and stroke prevention. 1597 25


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