Group items tagged

Researchers analyzed data from almost 43,000 men in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study and found that those who drank one 12-oz. sugar-sweetened beverage a day had a 20 percent higher risk of heart disease than those who didn't drink any sugar-sweetened beverages. Another article: http://vitals.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/12/10656108-soda-drinking-men-at-higher-risk-for-heart-attack "Two sugary drinks a day was linked to a 42 percent increase in risk, while three was associated with a 69 percent increase."

The review, which appears this week in the Archives of Internal Medicine, covers 14 clinical trials that included more than 20,000 people with a history of cardiovascular disease. After pooling and re-analyzing the trial data, the researchers found no differences in the risk of new cardiac events or heart-related death in people taking fish oil supplements versus placebo.

Offit gives Vioxx as a case in point. Vioxx, approved in 1999, was a huge hit for treating arthritis pain. It's a more refined version of the drugs in the same class as aspirin and ibuprofen, without causing the stomach bleeding that can make them dangerous. Tests showed it could raise the risk of heart attacks and Vioxx's maker pulled it off the market. "So which is more dangerous: Vioxx or vitamins? Indeed, both have dangers," Offit writes. "The better question is, why does everybody know that Vioxx can cause heart disease and nobody knows that megavitamins can cause cancer? The answer is that we have chosen not to know."

Another possible public health policy topic.

New guidelines for preventing stroke in women. 

Full article is here: http://dx.doi.org/10.1161/01.str.0000442009.06663.48 FAQ: http://blog.heart.org/preventing-stroke-in-women-frequently-asked-questions/

Statin guidelines changing