Cardiovascular

Getting smokers to quit smoking sometimes requires medical intervention, such as varenicline and bupropion; however, there have been concerns about the safety of these smoking cessation treatments in smokers with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Patients endure heavy medication complexity following hospital discharge for acute coronary syndrome.

The Million Hearts initiative, with its goal of preventing a million cardiovascular events in 5 years, requires sustained efforts by cardiologists in conjunction with public health experts to achieve success, explained Janet Wright, MD, FACC, the program’s executive director.

At the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado, Kevin C. Maki, PhD, CLS, FNLA, FTOS, FACN, of Midwest Biomedical Research/Center for Metabolic and Cardiovascular Health in Chicago, Illinois, discussed methods of quantifying treatment effects in cardiovascular outcomes trials.

During an industry workshop at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado, Cliff Goodman, PhD, of the Lewin Group, moderated a session that provided a health economic case study on cardiovascular outcome data for Repatha (evolocumab), the PCSK9 inhibitor from Amgen.

The study found a "dose effect" in the elderly women who took statins to treat cholesterol.

The drop in mortality was driven by a significant drop in cardiovascular mortality, the leading cause of death among seniors.

Researchers have identified another high associated with marijuana use: the risk of heart failure and cerebrovascular accidents.