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News / Headlines
Controversy over CVD Screening Debated in Op-Ed, Blog
and Symposia Heart Attack Eradication Advocates Challenge Critics in
the Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine
The Society for Heart Attack Prevention and Eradication (SHAPE)
announced several public education efforts to further the cause of
preventive heart attack screening. The efforts include a new blog
and a symposia on the groundbreaking SHAPE Guideline. The blog is
intended to allow cardiovascular specialist to dialogue with each
other on atherosclerotic plaque, vulnerable patients and the fight
against heart attack. The first symposia will be held in Orlando,
Florida as a satellite event to the American Heart Association's
convention and is titled, Coronary Heart Disease Risk
Stratification: Dealing with the Vulnerable Patient. The
announcements coincide with an op-ed published in the esteemed
Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine entitled: Vulnerable patients
are between a 'ROC and a hard place': Yes, it's time to screen for
coronary artery disease.
Houston, TX (PRWEB) October 2, 2007 -- The Society for Heart Attack
Prevention and Eradication (SHAPE) announced today several public
education efforts to further the cause of preventive heart attack
screening. The announcement coincides with an op-ed piece published
in the prestigious Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine entitled:
Vulnerable patients are between a 'ROC and a hard place'.
"We welcome frank and open discussion of the facts, but reject the
efforts of those who would delay the implementation of the most
powerful screening tools for coronary artery disease currently
available," said Dr. Morteza Naghavi, co-author of the editorial and
Founder of SHAPE. "We look forward to honest scientific debates
during our upcoming symposia at the American Heart Association and
the American College of Cardiology conventions. Heart attack is not
an earthquake; it can be predicted and thereby prevented."
We welcome frank and open discussion of the facts, but reject the
efforts of those who would delay the implementation of the most
powerful screening tools for coronary artery disease currently
available
We look forward to honest scientific debates during our upcoming
symposia at the American Heart Association and the American College
of Cardiology conventions. Heart attack is not an earthquake; it can
be predicted and thereby prevented.
The ongoing debate on which apparently healthy adults should be
considered for atherosclerosis imaging or measurement of biomarkers
is moving the medical community in the right direction
Traditional risk assessment ignores family history of heart disease,
triglyceride levels, dietary and exercise habits. The SHAPE
Guideline allows clinicians to better identify 'vulnerable
patients,' individuals who are at very high risk of a near future
heart attack.
The editorial is the latest in the vibrant and at times hot debate
sparked by the publication of the SHAPE Guideline. The SHAPE
Guideline calls for all apparently healthy men 45-75y and women
55-75y (except those with a very low risk factor profile) to be
screened for atherosclerosis (plaque buildup in the heart and
arteries).
The organization also launched, The SHAPE Blog, an online forum
dedicated to discussion of atherosclerotic plaque, vulnerable
patients and the fight against heart attack.
"The ongoing debate on which apparently healthy adults should be
considered for atherosclerosis imaging or measurement of biomarkers
is moving the medical community in the right direction," said Dr.
Roger Blumenthal of the Cardiology Division of Johns Hopkins
Hospital. "Traditional risk assessment ignores family history of
heart disease, triglyceride levels, dietary and exercise habits. The
SHAPE Guideline allows clinicians to better identify 'vulnerable
patients,' individuals who are at very high risk of a near future
heart attack."
Heart attack and stroke account for more death and disability than
all cancers combined. Unlike cancers, heart attack strikes more than
half of its victims by sudden death. More than 600,000 Americans
unexpectedly suffer heart attacks each year, over 200,000 of which
die in the span of an hour.
Multiple screening tests are approved for sub-clinical
(asymptomatic) cancers such as mammography and colonoscopy. However,
none are approved for sub-clinical atherosclerosis, which underlies
both heart attack and stroke. This void leaves many individuals -
even those with severe atherosclerosis - totally unaware of their
risk because they have no symptoms.
A common objection to mass screening of pre-symptomatic individuals
is cost effectiveness. However Dr. Alan Boyar's recent calculations,
published in the American Journal of Cardiology, estimate that the
National Cholesterol Education Program's annual gross cost is
estimated at $12 .3 billion, preventing some 250,000 cardiac events
and 15,000 deaths. His analysis determined that SHAPE Guideline's
estimated annual gross cost is $13.3 billion. His analysis
determined that the SHAPE Guideline could prevent as many as 400,000
cardiac events and 24,000 deaths per year.
About SHAPE:
SHAPE's mission is to eradicate heart attack by promoting effective
tools for prevention while advancing the scientific quest for a
cure. Additional information is available on the organization's
website: www.shapesociety.org or call 1-877-SHAPE11. |
