Prevention of Coronary Heart Disease: A Translational Clinical Challenge

Introduction: Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is a dysmetabolic medical condition resulting in the #1 cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Coronary Artery Calcium (CAC) CT non-invasively identifies atherosclerosis in asymptomatic individuals. This translational study tested the hypothesis that clinically overtcardiovascular disease can be prevented in asymptomatic individuals in a medical clinic. Methods: Two hundred and six asymptomatic adults requested a CAC scan to identify subclinical heart disease. Individuals with a positive CAC score > 1 (n = 125) were prescribed targeted medical therapy to reverse their atherosclerosis. The goal was to achieve an LDL Cholesterol (LDL-C) ≤ 60 mg/dl. One hundred and ten individuals reached this goal (67 male, 43 female) receiving 10 mg/d of rosuvastatin and 10 mg/d of ezetimibe plus a low cholesterol diet. Other fifteen individuals with positive CAC scores did not achieve this LDL-C goal. Results: In the group following medical therapy and achieving an LDL-C ≤ 60 mg/dl, no cardiovascular events were observed during a maximum observation period of 5 years (mean observation time = 3.6 years). Based on previously published CVD outcome data in individuals with similar CAC scores, 12.6 cardiovascular events were expected. Two of fifteen individuals with positive CAC scores not following medical therapy had a cardiovascular event. None of the 81 individuals with a zero score had a cardiovascular event during follow-up. No adverse effects of therapy occurred. Conclusion: In a medical clinic, adult population with positive CAC scores and an LDL-C ≤ 60 mg/dl, targeted medical therapy prevented overt cardiovascular disease. These results should encourage other physicians to aggressively treat atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in their clinic populations.

Call for Papers International Symposium on Toxicology Jointly Sponsored by the China Preventive Medical Association and the Chinese Pharmacological Society

The scientific program will consist of symposia and poster sessions. Topics related to theoretical and applied research in the domain of toxicology and toxicological studies on chemicals of public concern will be welcome. The presenter’s name, address, and telephone and FAX numbers should be submitted along with the title of the presentation and whether it is oral or poster. Deadline: April 15, 1990. Papers should be submitted to:

Exploration on the Implementation of the Integration of Medical and Preventive Model in China’s Primary Health Care Institutions

Objective To explore the different modes and approaches of medical and preventive integration in current primary health care institutions in China.Methods Through literature analysis,field research,telephone interviews,and other methods the implementation status was evaluated to systematically study the main experience and effect of implementing medical and preventive integration services in pilot areas.Results and Conclusion At present,there are three implementation modes of medical-prevention integration,namely,vertical mode based on the medical community,internal mode with optimized service process,and internal mode with great service capabilities.The three medical-prevention integration modes have their respective focuses,but they need to be further improved in terms of policy support,technical staffing,information system construction,and drug use.

上海市试点推进医疗机构疾控监督员制度创新探索与实践

上海市推进医疗机构疾控监督员制度试点工作,以系统集成理念探索试点制度创新,推动打造预防、治疗、管理一体化的医疗服务模式。选取浦东、长宁、嘉定作为试点区,开展多元路径实践,推出多项创新举措,探索疾控监督员驻点模式,形成了行之有效的经验做法,提高重大传染病疫情早发现、早报告、早处置能力,建立了可借鉴、可复制的工作样板。同时,也指出了当前面临能力建设、激励机制等问题和挑战,提出了未来高质量推进疾控监督员制度建设的工作举措。

Preventing Heart Disease via Coronary Artery Calcium Scoring to Make a Definitive Diagnosis of Atherosclerosis

Purpose: Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death in the Western world. The purpose of this manuscript is to compare the benefits and deficiencies of coronary artery calcium scanning versus computer generated risk equations in identifying atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. These two approaches provide significantly different cardiovascular risk assessments and often lead to therapeutic differences in recommendations from the physician to the patient. Methods: Pertinent medical literature is reviewed concerning both risk assessment approaches (i.e., coronary artery scanning and computer generated risk equations). The strengths and weaknesses of both approaches are discussed, and recommendations are provided based upon available data. Results: Cardiovascular risk equations are simple and readily obtained at no charge by physicians. However, their drawbacks are several, including non-applicability to specific populations, disagreements among different cardiovascular society risk equations, wide ranges of risk outputs (e.g., intermediate 10-year risk is between 5% and 20%), inability to definitively identify coronary artery plaques, and lack of definitive anatomical coronary disease. Alternatively, coronary artery calcium scanning costs approximately $100/scan (if not covered by insurance), requires time and effort by the patient, and exposes the patient to a minimal amount of radiation. However, coronary calcium scanning identifies specific atherosclerotic coronary disease and provides additional information about the anatomical location (i.e., coronary artery) of the atherosclerotic plaque. Conclusion: Based on the published literature, coronary artery calcium scanning is the preferred approach for identifying atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Although there are minor drawbacks, overall it provides superior clinical information compared with computer generated risk equations.

Poor adherence to P2Y12 antagonists increased cardiovascular risks in Chinese PCI-treated patients

Low adherence to secondary prevention medications （ATM） of patients after acute coronary syndrome （ACS） is associated with poor clinical outcomes. However, literature provides limited data on assessment of ATM and risks associated with poor in Chinese patients with ACS. In the current work, ATM was assessed in consecutively recruited patients with ACS in Tongji Hospital from November 5, 2013 to December 31, 2014. A total of 2126 patients were classified under low adherence （proportion of days covered （PDC）〈 50%） and high adherence （PDC〉50%） groups based on their performance after discharge. All patients were followed up at the 1st, 6th, and 12th month of discharge while recording ATM and major adverse cardiac events （MACE）. Bivariate logistic regression was used to identify the factors associated with ATM. Cox regression was used to analyze the association between ATM and MACE within one year after discharge. Results showed that coronary artery bypass grafting （CABG） alone had significantly lower proportion of high adherence to P2Y12 antagonists （83.0% vs. 90.7%, P 〈 0.01） than patients treated with percutaneous coronary intervention （PCI） only. Moreover, in patients undergoing PCI, high adherence to P2Y12 antagonists decreased the risk of MACE （hazard ratio = 0.172, 95% confidence interval： 0.039-0.763; P= 0.021）. In conclusion, PCI-treated patients are more prone to remaining adherent to medications than CABG-treated patients. High adherence to P2Y12 antagonists was associated with lower risk of MACE.