Heart Medications
The development of these medications have helped dramatically decrease death rates from cardiovascular disease in the United States and other developed countries.
Heart Medications Articles
The FDA is warning that over-the-counter antacids with aspirin in them can cause stomach bleeding in rare cases.
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Aspirin is known as a powerful painkiller and fever reducer. In addition, a daily low-dose aspirin (81 mg) dramatically reduces the risk of a second heart attack or certain types of stroke. Research also shows that aspirin might help fight colorectal cancer and possibly inhibit other cancers as well. However, aspirin can cause bleeding that can be dangerous for some people. New guidelines help doctors determine who is a good candidate for daily aspirin therapy.
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When older people start taking a new blood pressure drug or change the dose of their current drug, they may be more prone to a serious fall during the following two weeks. But this increased fall risk doesn’t seem to persist over the long term.
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An 81-milligram aspirin is recommended daily for people ages 50 through 69 who have an increased risk of heart attack or stroke. It might also reduce colon cancer risk. A 325-milligram aspirin tablet can mitigate the effects of heart attack or stroke.
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Doctors may prescribe medications in hopes of helping a patient, but statistics show that at least half of all patients do not follow through with the treatment. Dr. Robert Schmerling explains why some people are choosing to skip taking medications and the possible results of not taking them.
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PCKS9 inhibitors lower cholesterol and don’t have the same types of side effects as statins. However, there is no evidence that they decrease heart attacks and strokes the way statins do. PCSK9 inhibitors come with a very high price tag (about $15,000 per year). Some insurance companies, including Medicare, pay for the drug when treatment with statins is either inadequate or causes adverse effects. But it takes time to prove that a statin isn’t effective for an individual.
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The FDA has withdrawn its approval for two older cholesterol-lowering medications, niacin and fenofibrate, for use in combination with a statin. Several large clinical trials found no heart-related benefits from the drugs.
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More than one in six ischemic strokes can be traced to an abnormal heart rhythm called atrial fibrillation (afib). Blood-thinning drugs are typically used to prevent clot formation, but these carry risks of their own. Doctors now have newer and better drug and device options to help lessen afib stroke risk for more people.
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Statins seem to have long-lasting heart benefits. Men who took a statin for five years during middle age had lower rates of heart attack and hospitalization for heart failure 20 years later compared with men who didn’t take the drugs.
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A mail-order genetic test claims it can identify people at risk of developing muscle pain from taking a cholesterol-lowering statin. Using genetic material from a saliva sample, the test looks for gene variants that affect how statins are transported into the liver. About 25% of people have one of two copies of this variant. But the results apply only to a rare form of statin-induced muscle pain that affects about one in 1,000 people.
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