Supporters News
PCNA strives to keep you up to date on current industry trends and late breaking news by bringing you news from our sponsors.
diaDexus: Recent clinical guidelines have included recommendations for using Lp-PLA2 testing. The ACCF/AHA 2010 Guideline for Assessment of Cardiovascular Risk in Asymptomatic Adults recommends that Lp-PLA2 testing may be used as an adjunct to traditional risk factor assessment for intermediate-risk, asymptomatic adults. The AHA/ASA 2011 Guidelines for the Primary Prevention of Stroke recommends that testing of inflammatory markers such as Lp-PLA2 and hs-CRP in patients without cardiovascular disease may be considered to identify patients who may be at increased risk of stroke. Both studies assigned Class IIb, Level of Evidence B to Lp-PLA2 testing.
These guidelines underscore the positive clinical utility of adding Lp-PLA2 testing to your standard of care for improved risk prediction of your intermediate-risk patients, those in that difficult decision zone.
The PLAC® Test for Lp-PLA2 is the only FDA-cleared blood test that helps identify hidden risk for both heart attack and ischemic stroke associated with atherosclerosis. Early detection and more aggressive treatment can help prevent these cardiovascular events.
Please visit http://www.plactest.com/news/ to learn more.
AstraZeneca is proud to announce a partnership with Food UniversityTM, a culinary education and entertainment platform, to help educate people about the importance of maintaining a healthy diet as one way to manage cholesterol and will provide them with simple, low-cholesterol recipes. To encourage healthier cooking at home, the partnership includes a video series in which Food University chef personalities Sara Moulton and Curtis Aikens demonstrate healthy cooking and offer simple tips and recipes for making well-balanced meals. In addition to step-by-step cooking videos, a variety of recipes that fit within a low-saturated-fat, low-cholesterol diet are available at MyFoodU.com.
AFib Support Team™ On-demand Webcast and FREE Patient Education Toolkit for HCPs who manage and educate patients with AFib is NOW available at www.afibsupportteam.com. It’s easy to receive a FREE Patient Toolkit – view the entire 90-minute webcast in its entirety or stop and return to complete the webcast at your convenience. Complete the pre- and post-surveys and the Toolkit will be mailed to you. This webcast provides up-to-date information on AFib to improve patient understanding that AFib is a serious, chronic disease and highlights strategies for a productive dialogue with AFib patients to improve outcomes. Webcast topics: Understanding Atrial Fibrillation, Managing Atrial Fibrillation, Translating the Patient Experience. www.afibsupportteam.com
The Study of Heart and Renal Protection (SHARP) concluded in a recent study that about ¼ of all heart attacks, strokes, and operations to open blocked arteries could be avoided in people with chronic kidney disease by using the combination of ezetimibe and simvastatin to lower blood cholesterol levels. The SHARP results are also relevant to people who don’t have chronic kidney disease.
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As a sponsor of the PCNA, General Mills is sharing a summary of the 2010 General Mills Corporate Social Responsibility report. It provides a quick snapshot of the progress General Mills has made over the past year to live their mission of Nourishing Lives – to make our food more nutritious, our communities more vibrant and our environment more sustainable. In the report summary, you will see how General Mills is trimming the sodium and sugar from many products, how programs like Box Tops for Education are providing needed money for cash-strapped schools, and how they use the wind, sun and leftover oat hulls to power facilities. If you would like to learn more about how General Mills is becoming a more sustainable company please see the full report.
CardioDx: Findings from the PREDICT (Personalized Risk Evaluation and Diagnosis In the Coronary Tree) study validate the ability of Corus™ CAD, CardioDx’s blood-based gene expression test, to help clinicians confidently identify which of their stable symptomatic patients are likely to need further assessment for obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD), according to results published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Corus CAD involves a routine blood draw administered in the clinician’s office and does not expose patients to risks of radiation or imaging agent intolerance. “I see broad potential for a test like Corus CAD to transform the way obstructive coronary artery disease is diagnosed, to the benefit of both clinician and patient,” said Alexandra Lansky, M.D., a cardiologist at New York-Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia University Medical Center and Director of Clinical Services at its Center for Interventional Vascular Therapy. Dr. Lansky was also an investigator for the PREDICT study. For more information go to http://annals.org/ and http://cardiodx.com/.
Speak from the Heart: Are the patients in your practice telling their cardiologist everything about their chronic angina? In a recent in-depth survey* of 500 patients with chronic angina,
-69% of patients agreed with the statement, " I avoid activities that may trigger an angina attack."
-30% of patients agreed with the statement, "My doctor isn't aware that I avoid activities that might trigger an angina attacks"
-37% of patients agreed with the statement, "My doctor thinks that my angina is better controlled than it actually is."
Speak From the Heart is dedicated to educating and empowering patients with chronic angina who continue to experience attacks despite treatment to talk openly and honestly with their cardiologists so they can improve their health and get back to life. In October, PCNA members will be receiving an introductory letter and sample brochure in the mail. The letter will include information on how to order a Speak From the Heart Healthcare Professional Kit.
The kit includes the following specialized communication and education tools:
(25) Speak From the Heart patient education brochures and a brochure holder
(1) Chronic angina checklist tear pad
These resources are only available to PCNA members. For more tools and to view patient stories, visit www.SpeakFromTheHeart.com.
*Data on file. Chronic Angina Patient Segmentation Study of 500 patients with chronic angina between the ages of 45 and 80. Prepared by Return on Focus, LLC. January 4, 2010.
Genzyme: Familial Hypercholesterolemia (FH) is the most common inherited disease and those affected are at risk of aggressive atherosclerosis early in life, with one study showing 50% cardiovascular mortality by age 50 if left untreated. Changes begin early, as seen in CIMT studies that documented differences in artery wall thickness in children as young as 12 yrs of age. FH can be treatable, but early detection is critical. Help your patients educate themselves and their families with a new booklet made available through the Foundation of the National Lipid Association and Genzyme: Familial Hypercholesterolemia booklet.
Forest Pharmaceuticals, Inc: New Data Demonstrate Efficacy and Tolerabilty of Bystolic(R) (Nebivolol) Tablets among Hispanics with Hypertension -
Forest Laboratories presents Phase IV late-breaking results at American Society of Hypertension Annual Meeting.
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