The “Top Tens” for Heart and Stroke in 2010

Every January, we try to look back to the year that was and the months to come. This is what I am doing just now, bringing you what the experts have to say about 2010.

The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association voted the following as the “Top Ten Advances in Cardiovascular Research in 2010”:

1. Tailoring treatment for people with diabetes to reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease
2. New advances for patients who aren’t candidates for conventional valve surgery
3. Improving the way we reverse sudden cardiac arrest
4. More options for reducing stroke risk in atrial fibrillation
5. Adjusting pacing therapies can improve outcomes for heart failure patients
6. Hopeful new procedure for infants with congenital heart disease
7. Finding the right anti-clotting (anti-platelet) therapy
8. Basic science findings offer insight into future progress
9. Using science to support healthy lifestyle behaviors
10. Get With The Guidelines participation eliminates disparity gaps in care

The following have been voted as the “Top Ten Advances in Stroke Research in 2010”:

1. “Time is brain”: Clot-dissolving treatment for acute ischemic stroke found beneficial in the first 4.5 hours after onset, potentially harmful later
2. New mechanism of emboli clearance from the brain vasculature discovered
3. Carotid endarterectomy and carotid artery stenting directly compared
4. Million person milestone, emerging research shows quality initiatives improve outcomes
5. International study identifies the ten major risk factors for stroke
6. Ultrasound detection of silent emboli identifies patients at high risk of stroke
7. Robot-assisted therapy beneficial for long-term arm impairment after stroke
8. Genetic findings important in understanding, treating aneurysms
9. Lowering blood pressure early reduces brain hemorrhage growth
10. Physical activity, even moderate in degree, reduces stroke risk

I won’t go much into detail regarding each item because some are too technical to be discussed here. I would like to point out, however, that some of these advances have been discussed and posted here. The details can be found by following the link to the AHA/ASA sites. Others are on my list of potential topics for 2011. Check the following posts:

• INTERSTROKE study identifies 10 stroke risk factors that we can do something about
• Eat, sleep and walk to prevent cancer
• Good education does not always translate into a healthy lifestyle

The heart.org listed the following as the top 10 most popular “hearty” stories:

1. Dabigatran Q+A: The who, when, and how for switching, starting, and stopping the new oral anticoagulant
2. JUPITER gets a battering, but Ridker fights back
3. FDA approves dabigatran for stroke prevention, embolism, in AF patients
4. Off orbit? ROCKET AF: Rivaroxaban noninferior to warfarin, but superiority analyses at odds
5. FDA approves expanded rosuvastatin label
6. SHARP: Ezetimibe/simvastatin combo cuts atherosclerotic and vascular events in kidney-disease patients
7. DEFINE: Large effects on LDL and HDL cholesterol with CETP inhibitor anacetrapib
8. New studies cast doubt on clopidogrel-PPI interaction
9. AVERROES: Apixaban in atrial fibrillation study stopped early for benefit
10. Prasugrel: Different mortality trends in STEMI and non-STEMI patients in TRITON

We have covered many of these stories as the heart.org is among my main sources for “hearty” news in 2010 and will continue to be in 2011.
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