Challenging treatment thresholds

September 4, 2015Academic PublicationsAmerican College of Cardiology (ACC), American Heart Association (AHA), Challenging treatment thresholds, Lifestyle interventions, NICE, Theoretical benefits of risk-factor modificationdam_admin

James McCormack PharmD, Aseem Malhotra MRCP and David Newman MD

National organisations such as NICE or American College of Cardiology (ACC)/American Heart Association (AHA) regularly release cardiovascular disease (CVD) guidelines that recommend lifestyle and medication interventions along with treatment thresholds based either on risk factors or calculated CVD risks. The release of these recommendations predictably leads to intense debate from healthcare organisations, government, industry, and clinicians on whether or not the recommendations are reasonable. At one extreme the recommendations are typically pilloried as being sufficiently weak to cost lives, while others insist the guidelines have threatened public health through over-medication.
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It is time to stop counting calories

August 26, 2015Academic PublicationsAseem Malhotra, It is time to stop counting calories, James J DiNicolantonio, Simon Capewelldam_admin

Correspondence to Dr Aseem Malhotra

Right care and high-value cardiology

August 8, 2015Academic Publicationsdam_admin

Right care and high-value cardiology: doctors’ responsibilities to the patient and the population.

Healthy eating: an NHS priority A sure way to improve health outcomes for NHS staff and the public

July 17, 2015Academic Publicationshealthy eating, improve health outcome, NHSdam_admin

Aseem Malhotra1&2, Mahiben Maruthappu3, Terence Stephenson4

Tackling the obesity epidemic and its asso- ciated adverse health consequences is one of today’s important public health chal- lenges. Obesity directly costs the National Health Service (NHS) about £6 billion per year. Direct and indirect costs of diabetes are estimated to be £24 billion and are likely to double over the next 20 years.1 Some fundamental among the medical and healthcare com- munity and lay public inhibit the imple- mentation of effective interventions. Our decisions about the food we buy and what we eat are often automatic and made without full conscious awareness.2For example, despite wanting to lose weight, we’re still tempted to buy the brightly packaged chocolate bar at the checkout till.

It is time to bust the myth of physical inactivity and obesity

May 16, 2015Academic Publicationsyou cannot outrun a bad diet.dam_admin

A recent report from the UK’s Academy of Medical Royal Colleges described ‘the miracle cure’ of performing 30?min of moderate exercise, five times a week, as more powerful than many drugs administered for chronic disease prevention and management.1 Regular physical activity reduces the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, dementia and some cancers by at least 30%. However, physical activity does not promote weight loss.

Choosing Wisely in the UK

May 16, 2015Academic PublicationsA Henderson, A Malhotra, Choosing Wisely in the UK, D Maughan, J Ansell, M Gray, R Lehman, T Stephensondam_admin

Choosing Wisely in the UK: reducing the harms of too much medicine Aseem Malhotra and colleagues explain how and why the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges is bringing to the UK a US initiative to get doctors to stop using interventions with no benefit.

Exercise: The miracle cure and the role of the doctor in promoting it

February 1, 2015Academic PublicationsAcademy of Medical Royal Colleges, Professor Dame Sue Baileydam_admin

Being active has enormous health and well-being benefits. Physical activity is important in the management of long-term diseases, but, it is even more important in the prevention of many other common diseases. I believe that if physical activity was a drug it would be classed as a wonder drug, which is why I would encourage everyone to get up and be active.

International HSMRs Academy Working Group Report to Professor Sir Bruce Keogh

February 1, 2015Academic PublicationsInternational HSMRs Academy Working Group, Professor Sir Bruce Keoghdam_admin

Background
At the end of 2013 Professor Sir Bruce Keogh asked for an independent view from the Academy on behalf of the medical profession on how they see the data on UK and USA hospital death rates based on HSMRs produced by Professor Sir Brian Jarman.

Maximising the benefits and minimising the harms of statins

January 19, 2015Academic Publicationsdam_admin

Maximum dose statin therapy irrespective of total cholesterol is well established for the secondary prevention of cardiovascular events. After acute coronary syndrome (ACS) such therapy is shown to reduce all-cause mortality by an apparently impressive 22 per cent in two years.1 The European Society of Cardiology thus recommends that all patients presenting with acute myocardial infarction receive high-intensity statins early during admission unless contraindicated.2

The Whole Truth About Coronary StentsThe Elephant in the Room

August 1, 2014Academic Publicationsdam_admin

Given its cost and commonality, the appropriate application of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in treating coronary artery disease is justifiably a health care policy priority.