Aug 19, 2019 06:59 PM
Prescription omega-3 fatty acid medications effectively lower high triglycerides
https://newsroom.heart.org/news/prescrip...eview=d7d3
SUMMARY: Four grams per day of prescription omega-3 fatty acid medication effectively lower high triglyceride levels, but identification of secondary causes of high triglycerides, such as hypothyroidism and poorly managed type 2 diabetes as well as lifestyle changes should be addressed before prescribing drugs. Prescription omega-3 fatty acid medications come in two different formulations: a combination DHA and EPA or EPA alone. Since there have been no head-to-head comparisons of the two different formulations, the panel does not recommend one over the other. People should not try to treat the condition themselves with non-prescription fish oil supplements, since they are not reviewed or approved by the Food and Drug Administration. (MORE - detailed elaboration)
Why Do Women Get Statins Less Frequently Than Men?
https://consumer.healthday.com/cardiovas...49447.html
EXCERPT: Women are less likely than men to be treated with cholesterol-lowering statins – or get them prescribed at guideline-recommended intensity levels when they do, according to a new study that also looked at reasons behind the discrepancies. [...] Researchers explored potential causes for the differences in a study published Friday in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. [...] While previous research suggests women are less likely than men to use statins, the new study found underlying factors from both patient and provider that contributed to the problem.
"If you can better understand reasons behind sex differences in care, you can target those issues to help decrease the sex differences in the future," she [Dr. Prateeti Khazanie] said. "Understanding how therapies affect patients and how patients make decisions – and how providers make decisions – are going to be critical in future research." Khazanie was not involved in the study but co-authored an accompanying perspective piece that discussed ways a value-based health care system – one in which hospitals and physicians are given incentives based on patient results could be used to address sex differences in care. Treatment discrepancies between men and women in a range of cardiovascular care has been getting more attention, she said. But the reasons remain poorly understood.
"Some theorize that women present with symptoms that are different from men, and maybe they're not being recognized early enough," said Khazanie. "Many women tend to discount their own symptoms and also have a harder time trusting medical therapies. And unfortunately, that could be a big piece of it," she said. "This is a really complex and multifactorial topic and future interventions to reduce sex differences in care will require a multipronged approach addressing issues with both clinicians and patients." (MORE - details)
https://newsroom.heart.org/news/prescrip...eview=d7d3
SUMMARY: Four grams per day of prescription omega-3 fatty acid medication effectively lower high triglyceride levels, but identification of secondary causes of high triglycerides, such as hypothyroidism and poorly managed type 2 diabetes as well as lifestyle changes should be addressed before prescribing drugs. Prescription omega-3 fatty acid medications come in two different formulations: a combination DHA and EPA or EPA alone. Since there have been no head-to-head comparisons of the two different formulations, the panel does not recommend one over the other. People should not try to treat the condition themselves with non-prescription fish oil supplements, since they are not reviewed or approved by the Food and Drug Administration. (MORE - detailed elaboration)
Why Do Women Get Statins Less Frequently Than Men?
https://consumer.healthday.com/cardiovas...49447.html
EXCERPT: Women are less likely than men to be treated with cholesterol-lowering statins – or get them prescribed at guideline-recommended intensity levels when they do, according to a new study that also looked at reasons behind the discrepancies. [...] Researchers explored potential causes for the differences in a study published Friday in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. [...] While previous research suggests women are less likely than men to use statins, the new study found underlying factors from both patient and provider that contributed to the problem.
"If you can better understand reasons behind sex differences in care, you can target those issues to help decrease the sex differences in the future," she [Dr. Prateeti Khazanie] said. "Understanding how therapies affect patients and how patients make decisions – and how providers make decisions – are going to be critical in future research." Khazanie was not involved in the study but co-authored an accompanying perspective piece that discussed ways a value-based health care system – one in which hospitals and physicians are given incentives based on patient results could be used to address sex differences in care. Treatment discrepancies between men and women in a range of cardiovascular care has been getting more attention, she said. But the reasons remain poorly understood.
"Some theorize that women present with symptoms that are different from men, and maybe they're not being recognized early enough," said Khazanie. "Many women tend to discount their own symptoms and also have a harder time trusting medical therapies. And unfortunately, that could be a big piece of it," she said. "This is a really complex and multifactorial topic and future interventions to reduce sex differences in care will require a multipronged approach addressing issues with both clinicians and patients." (MORE - details)