Thursday, September 24, 2009
Saving health and money
Last month, I asked for some data on the cost-effectiveness of preventive care. The American Journal of Public Health has obliged. In a new study reported by HealthDay, researchers evaluated the cost and health benefits to be gained by preventing several chronic diseases. They found that preventing a patient's hypertension would save $13,702 in lifetime medical spending, while prevention of diabetes would save $34,483, and preventing obesity would save $7,168. Unfortunately, those cost arguments for tobacco cessation programs turn out to be wrong: quitting smoking would result in an increase of $15,959 in lifetime medical costs.
Since only the abstract of the study is free, I also didn't get to find out how one would successfully prevent all these conditions. The key to preventing obesity, especially, seems like a secret we would all like to know.
Labels: Diabetes, health care cost, hypertension, obesity, prevention, smoking cessation
posted by Stacey Butterfield at
1:00 PM
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Monday, March 30, 2009
ACC conference: Resistant hypertension
A preliminary study unveiled today at ACC '09 in Orlando shows promise for patients with resistant hypertension. The first-in-man study used renal denervation to lower blood pressure in patients who were on an average of 4.7 medications, but whose blood pressure stubbornly stayed high.
The procedure involved inserting a catheter in the renal artery via the femoral artery, then sending out 5 or 6 radiofrequency signals which denervated the sympathetic nerves. Researchers tested it on 45 patients who had systolic BP of at least 160 mm/Hg, and who were on at least three antihypertensives.
The result? An average reduction of 22 mm/Hg for systolic BP sustained over 12 months, and no safety complications. Such a reduction could have "huge" benefits for mortality, stroke and heart failure, said David Holmes, MD, an interventional cardiologist at Mayo Clinic who moderated a press conference where the study was discussed.
"This procedure turns out to be simple and effective, and results in sustained lowering of blood pressure in a population that clearly needs something in addition to pharmacotherapy," said lead researcher Henry Krum, MBBS, Ph.D, director of the Centre of Cardiovascular Research & Education in Therapeutics at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, at the press conference.
Labels: acc '09, hypertension
posted by Jessica Berthold at
10:25 AM
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