Culture

Experts have sounded a call to action for policy makers at local, national, and international levels to promote heart failure prevention, improve heart failure awareness among healthcare professionals, ensure equity of care for all patients with heart failure, support and empower patients and their caregivers, and promote heart failure research.

Being subjected to abuse during childhood entails a markedly increased risk of developing obesity as an adult. This is the conclusion of a meta-analysis carried out on previous studies, which included a total of 112,000 participants. The analysis was conducted by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, and has been published in the journal Obesity Reviews.

The current use of written care plans and care planning in the management of patients with long-term conditions by GPs in the UK is rare, a new study shows. This is just one of several findings of a new study published today by researchers at the Universities of Manchester, Cambridge, Keele and York.

New research shows a novel polypill increases patient adherence to treatment following a myocardial infarction (MI) or heart attack, according to new study results reported at the European Society of Cardiology's ESC Congress 2014 in Barcelona, Spain.

Most nurses in their work care for patients who are dying. A study of more than 200 students has shown that many nurses in training feel unprepared and anxious when faced with the prospect of meeting patients during end-of-life care.

BARCELONA, Spain – Monday 1 September: The administration of an experimental agent known as TRO40303 to patients who have had a heart attack, with the hope of preventing tissue damage when impaired blood flow is corrected (reperfusion), was disappointingly ineffective according to results of a European study of patients with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) presented today as a Hot Line the ESC Congress 2014 with simultaneous publication in the European Heart Journal.

Barcelona, Spain – Tuesday 2 September 2014: Coffee increases the risk of prediabetes in young adults with hypertension who are slow caffeine metabolisers, according to results from the HARVEST study presented at ESC Congress today by Dr Lucio Mos from Italy. People who drank more than three cups of coffee per day doubled their risk of prediabetes.

The Lancet is pleased to announce that the following papers will be published to coincide with presentation at the ESC Congress 2014, taking place in Barcelona, Spain, 30 August – 3 September 2014:

Ultrathin strut biodegradable polymer sirolimus-eluting stent versus durable polymer everolimus-eluting stent for percutaneous coronary revascularisation (BIOSCIENCE): a randomised, single-blind, non-inferiority trial, Windecker et al

Growing public support for marijuana legalization in the U.S. has led to public debate about whether marijuana is "safer" than other substances, such as alcohol. In January, President Obama also publically stated he is not convinced that marijuana is more dangerous than alcohol. Despite the recent shift in views toward marijuana, the harms of use as compared to alcohol use are not well understood.

Barcelona, Spain – Tuesday 2 September 2014: A simple awareness campaign in general practice identifies new cases of atrial fibrillation (AF), according to research presented at ESC Congress today by Professor Jean-Marc Davy from France.

Barcelona, Spain – Tuesday 2 September 2014: Digoxin may increase the risk of death in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) by approximately 20%, according to results from the ROCKET AF trial presented at ESC Congress today by Dr Manesh Patel, director of interventional cardiology and catheterisation labs at Duke University Health System in Durham, North Carolina, US. The findings suggest that caution may be needed when using digoxin in complex AF patients but further studies are needed to confirm the observations.

Barcelona, Spain – Tuesday 2 September 2014: Health structures explain nearly 20% of the non-adherence to heart failure guidelines, according to the results of a joint ESC-OECD study presented today at ESC Congress by Professor Aldo Maggioni. Clinical variables explained more than 80% of non-adherence.

Professor Maggioni said: "This is a unique evaluation which combines clinical data and health structure characteristics of different countries. It provides a fuller picture of the reasons some patients with heart failure do not receive treatment according to ESC guidelines."

1. Low-carb trumps low-fat for weight loss and cardiovascular risk

Free Summary for Patients http://www.annals.org/article.aspx?doi=10.7326/P14-9029

The keyword term a consumer uses in their search engine query can predict the likelihood that they will click on an organic or paid advertisement, according to Columbia Business School surveys of behavior between the keyword search and the point-of-click. The new information may give marketers the edge in converting even more consumer clicks on their sites.

Television shows filled with action and sound may be bad for your waistline. TV viewers ate more M&Ms, cookies, carrots and grapes while watching an excerpt from a Hollywood action film than those watching an interview program.