CVD News Watch, February 6

Don’t forget! Today, February 6, is US National Wear Red Day.

Join thousands of people and show your solidarity against heart disease by wearing anything that’s red.

Andie MacDowell joins the fight against heart disease
Actress Andie MacDowell joins other women celebrities in support of Go for Red Women. It seems that Andie has her own heart story to tell, too.

Macy’s Wear Red Sale!
From February 5 to 8, Macy’s is supporting the National Wear Red campaign with a Wear Red Sale by giving those wearing red a 15 to 20% discount in-store. You can also avail the discount online by using the promo code WEARRED.

CVD diabetes watch

New Survey Results Show Huge Burden of Diabetes
A new national survey showed that the burden of diabetes may be higher than previously thought. In the US, “nearly 13 percent of adults age 20 and older have diabetes, but 40 percent of them have not been diagnosed“, according to epidemiologists from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In addition, nearly one third of those aged 65 and above also have diabetes while 30% of adults have pre-diabetic symptoms.

CVD health care watch

Obama Signs Children’s Health Insurance Bill
US President Barack Obama signed the Children’s Health Insurance Bill which is an extension of State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The bill entitles all children, citizens and legal immigrants alike to free health care, including dental care as well as equal coverage for mental and physical illnesses. The enrolment in SCHIP has risen by 4% in 2008, according to recent figures from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This is equivalent to 7.4 million American children. The increase in SCHIP enrollment has been attributed to the economic crisis and increased unemployment.

CVD fun watch

CDC health e-cards
You can now send electronic greeting cards to friends and family. The colourful e-cards contain health reminders from recalls to traffic safety to unintentional injuries and can be personalized. They are also available in Spanish.

CVD drug watch

FDA advisory panel votes unanimously in favor of prasugrel
A US FDA advisory panel recommended the approval of prasugrel for the treatment of acute coronary. Prasugrel is an anti-platelet agent manufactured by Lilly/Daiichi Sankyo. The vote by the nine panel members of the Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee was unanimous. The data on prasugrel was based on the pivotal study Trial to Assess Improvement in Therapeutic Outcomes by Optimizing Platelet Inhibition with Prasugrel (TRITON-TIMI 38).

Photo credit: Go Red for Women