Cardio Round-up: Statins and Mortality, Physical Activity Post-Ablation, and More

Statins Linked with Lower Risk of Death in Elderly Patients

This study included data on patients aged 75 years or older from the Veterans Health Administration who were free of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, and who had a clinical visit between 2002 and 2012. There were 53,296 reported cardiovascular deaths, with 22.6 and 25.7 cardiovascular deaths per 1,000 person-years, respectively, among users vs. non-users. For the composite atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease outcome, there were 66.3 and 70.4 events per 1,000 person-years, respectively, for users versus non-users. “Smoking cessation after myocardial infarction was associated with a clinically significant reduction in all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in a cohort of patients who experienced an myocardial infarction at a young age,” the authors wrote.

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https://www.docwirenews.com/docwire-pick/cardiology-picks/statin-use-among-elderly-reduced-mortality-risk/

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Physical Activity Post-Ablation Lowers Recurrent Arrhythmia Risk

When compared with patients with low levels of activity, those with moderate or high levels of activity were reported to have lower risk of recurrence of atrial tachyarrhythmia (OR=0.44; 95% CI, 0.25 to 0.80; P=0.01 for moderate activity, and OR=0.43; 95% CI, 0.21 to 0.85; P=0.02 for high physical activity). Patients with active activity had a lower risk for recurrent atrial tachyarrhythmia compared to those who did not have active activity (OR=0.44; 95% CI, 0.27 to 0.70; P<0.01). “Moderate and high physical activity are associated with a lower risk of atrial tachyarrhythmia recurrence after AFib ablation,” the authors concluded. “Active physical activity during follow‐up is also associated with a significantly lower risk of atrial tachycardia recurrence in the post‐ablation AF population.”

https://www.docwirenews.com/docwire-pick/cardiology-picks/physical-activity-atrial-fibrillation-ablation-risk-of-tachyarrhythmia/

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Do ACE Inhibitors Reduce the Risk for Colorectal Cancer?

“The roles of ACE inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers on cancer development are controversial and, in some cases, study findings are conflicting. Results of previous studies have been limited by several factors including a small number of patients and data only on short-term follow-ups. Our results provide new insights on a potential role of these medications for colorectal cancer prevention,” said researcher Wai K. Leung, MD, clinical professor of medicine at the University of Hong Kong in Hong Kong, China, said in a press release about this paper. “This is the first study to show the potential beneficial effects of ACE inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers on colorectal cancer development, based on a large group of patients who were colorectal cancer-free at the beginning of the study.”

https://www.docwirenews.com/docwire-pick/cardiology-picks/colorectal-cancer-risk-lowered-by-ace-inhibitors-arbs/

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Stopping Smoking after a Heart Attack Improves Survival

Data for this retrospective cohort analysis were drawn from the Partners YOUNG-MI registry, determining smoking status at time of presentation and at one year from participant electronic medical records. The study population included 2,072 individuals who had a myocardial infarction at 50 years of age or  younger between January 2000 and April 2016. A cohort of 910 of the more than 1,600 participants was broken down into a persistent smoking (n=343) group and a cessation group (n=567) after one year following myocardial infarction. Those who quite smoking showed a statistically significant reduction in the rate of all-cause mortality (HR=0.35; 95% CI, 0.19 to 0.63; P <0.001) and cardiovascular mortality (HR=0.29; 95% CI, 0.11 to 0.79; P=0.02).

https://www.docwirenews.com/docwire-pick/cardiology-picks/young-heart-attack-smoking-cessation-mortality-risk/