Heart(y) news, May 11

I have compiled some heart(y) news for you last weekend, which unfortunately, couldn’t be posted due to the hassles of intercontinnetal travel. Here they are now….

Almost half of US adults have diabetes, hypertension, or hypercholesterolemia
Almost 50% of the American population are suffering from at least 1 of the following chronic conditions: hypertension, hypercholesterolemia or diabetes. According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 45% of individuals 20 years of age and older have hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, or diabetes. of these, 3% of adults had all three conditions and 13% had two conditions. hypertension and hypercholesterolemia were present in 9% of adults, and 3% of adults had high blood pressure and diabetes.

Court rejects Boston Scientific/Guidant plea deal
The US District Court in Minnesota did not accept the plea bargain deal between Boston Scientific and the US Department of Justice. The case involved Boston Scientific’s subsidiary Guidant and the failure of some of its implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) in 2005. According to heartwire, the plea agreement would have required Boston Scientific to pay a penalty of more than $296 million, which would be the largest criminal penalty ever imposed on a device manufacturer for violating the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

Obesity in America
These audiocasts from the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).news series Healthcare 411 cover topics from current US obesity rates and obesity-related healthcare costs as well as prevention and treatment.

New kid on the ARB block presented
Takeda Pharmaceuticals presented its  new angiotensin-receptor blocker (ARB) azilsartan medoxomil at the Society of Hypertension (ASH) 2010 Scientific Meeting in New York earlier this month. The ARB has been submitted for approval for the US market at the end of April.

According to Nancy Joseph-Ridge, M.D., general manager of Takeda’s Pharmaceutical Development Division:

“The NDA submission for azilsartan medoxomil is built upon a robust data package and is a significant milestone for Takeda. We are proud to build upon our global expertise in the cardiovascular therapeutic area with this filing, and believe this compound, once approved, will provide an important treatment option for hypertensive patients and the health care providers who manage them.”

Cleveland Clinic Health Chats for May

• May 11, 2010 Understanding Stroke Risk Factors, Symptoms and Treatment Options with James Gebel, MD
• May 19, 2010 Valve Surgery with A. Marc Gillinov, MD
• May 26. 2010 Pediatric Stroke: Treatment and Care with Neil Friedman, MBChB

Planes, trains, and automobiles (or, ISHLT vs the volcano)
Nature does not give allowances for naybody, including doctors and scientists. Which is why the orgnaizers International Society for Heart & Lung Transplantation Conference last April had to face the fact that the European delegates couldn’t make it to the Chicago venue. But with technology and creativity, Europeans were still able present and participate through satellite sessions. One delegate who was on an trip to the North Pole did not know that the homeward bound trip would be more troublesome than the expedition itself. Dr Heather Ross of Toronto General Hospital summarized her trip home, just in time for the conference

“In all, from leaving the Pole, it was six days, seven countries, two ferries, the bus ride, the car drive, and six or seven separate flight bookings that I was bumped from” plus many other back up reservations.