In patients with coronary artery disease, angioplasty isn’t a cost-effective treatment, according to a U.S. study that assessed the costs of hospitalization and medication among 2,287 patients treated between 1999 and 2004.
The researchers analyzed data from the COURAGE trial and concluded that angioplasty may add $10,000 to treatment costs “without significant gain in life years or quality-adjusted life years.”
Some of the patients received balloon angioplasty (percutaneous coronary intervention — PCI) plus optimal medical therapy, while others received optimal medical therapy alone. The study found that 4.6 years after treatment, there was no difference in the two groups’ rates of death or heart attack, but patients who received PCI did have an improved quality of life.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Babies who gain weight rapidly in the first months after birth may have an increased risk of developing high blood pressure as adults, British researchers said on Tuesday.
Researchers have been trying to understand more of the causes of high blood pressure, also called hypertension. Low birth weights also have been associated with an increased risk for high blood pressure later in life.
The new study sought to determine if growth patterns in the first five years of life also were associated with a risk of high blood pressure in adulthood. The researchers tracked 679 young adults around age 25 in Britain.
Managing a chronic illness, such as diabetes or high blood pressure, may seem overwhelming.
Here are helpful suggestions for people with a chronic illness, courtesy of the American Academy of Family Physicians:
- Take a look at your unhealthy behaviors, and choose one or several that you want to work on and improve.
- Come up with a specific plan and goals for dealing with each unhealthy behavior.
- Devise alternate plans to help you stick to your goals — for example, how to handle weather that affects your exercise plans.
- Make sure your goals are realistic, and that you feel confident that you can reach them.
- Talk to your doctor about your goals, and discuss your progress. Read more
