Cardiovascular

High dose vitamin D supplementation does not prevent CVD

Gem: To date, randomized clinical trials of vitamin D supplementation have not found an effect, possibly because of using too low a dose of vitamin D.

Webinar: Statins; who, when, where and why

In this webinar Dr Tony Scott, cardiologist talked about the use of statins in primary care and dealt with questions such as 'are all statins equal?' and 'how do you prescribe statins and maintain medication compliance?" 

Also covered was how to approach discussions around the size of the benefit to enable patients to be fully informed (re taking statins) and how to discuss potential harms eg., dementia, diabetes, fatigue and muscle aches.

 

Spironolactone; effective but regular serum potassium checks recommended forever

Spironolactone is effective for NYHA class III and IV heart failure and hypertension (4th or 5th line) but can be a difficult drug to use.

Beta-blockers no longer first line for simple hypertension

Initiating treatment of hypertension with beta-blockers leads to modest CVD reductions and little or no effects on mortality (atenolol mainly studied).

Association between gout and high intakes of fructose – consider reducing it

This meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies investigated the association of fructose consumption with incident gout and hyperuricemia.

Coronary heart disease - Rod Jackson

Rod Jackson talks about “where have all the heart attacks gone”. Rod is a professor of epidemiology in the Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics at the School of Population Health, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland.

Exercise prescriptions

Physical activity is a highly effective treatment for many types of chronic disease.

Nutrition for cardiovascular disease - Jennifer Crowley

Dr Jennifer Crowley talks about nutrition and advice in cardiovascular disease. Jennifer's doctorate in health sciences thesis topic was “New Zealand GPs and nutrition care: perceptions, perceived competence and barriers to provision”. Jennifer is a registered dietitian, registered sports dietitian and secondary teacher with extensive experience in teaching nutrition education.

Webinar: Recognition of vascular emergencies in primary care

Vascular surgeon Mr Venu Bhamidi discusses vascular emergencies including  acute limb ischemia, abdominal vascular emergencies, aortic dissection, and vascular trauma.  He will focus on recognition and initial assessment of these conditions within a primary care setting. 

Nutrition: Brief advice to patients

This course contains some information that you will be familiar with as well as new information in light of emerging scientific evidence in nutrition and changing dietary guidelines for nutrition education.

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