American Heart Association updates heart attack, stroke prevention ...( says Pearson. The update integ...),Health

The update integrates recommendations from other clinical guidelines and consensus statements developed over the past five years for example, the American Diabetes Association recommendation for managing high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels in diabetic patients and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendations for routine health care examinations. Consolidating these various guidelines means that health care providers and patients can use a single source of information to evaluate individual risk for heart disease and stroke and to obtain the latest information about disease prevention.

The panel carefully reviewed the recommendations in each of these statements or guidelines to ensure the consistency.

Notable updates to the guidelines include:

• low-dose aspirin for people who have an increased risk for coronary heart disease; and
• blood-thinning drugs to reduce stroke risk in people who have atrial fibrillation an abnormal heart rhythm that can propel blood clots from the heart toward the brain and increase the risk of stroke.

"The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has always recommended aspirin for secondary prevention in people who already have heart disease but now recommends low-dose aspirin for primary prevention, as well," says Pearson. "Aspirin can cause gastrointestinal bleeding and may increase the risk of hemorrhagic stroke (bleeding into the brain). But if a person has a 10-year risk of heart disease that exceeds 10 percent, the benefits of aspirin therapy greatly outweigh the risks."

Similarly, Pearson says studies have clearly shown that using blood-thinners to prevent clot formation, or treatment to eliminate abnormal heartbeats, substantially reduces the risk of stroke associated with atrial fibrillation.

The panel challenges healthcare providers to make prevention a high priority for all patients.

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Contact: Bridgette Mc Neill
bridgette.mcneill@heart.org
214-706-1135
American Heart Association
15-Jul-2002