ASPC President-Stephen L. Kopecky, MD is Interviewed on Statin Safety by CORE Journal
ASPC President-Stephen L. Kopecky, MD is interviewed by Japanese-language publication-CORE Journal on Statin Safety.
CORE Journal presents the views and expertise of leading experts on clinical questions posed by the physician editorial board. To read the interview, please click here.
Celebrate 10 years of Going Red with free resources healthcare professionals!
In celebration of the 10th National Wear Red Day, that is Friday, February 1, 2013, the AHA is asking all women and men across
America to join us in making America Go Red to save women's lives! As AHA members and volunteers you can play a significant role in
driving this effort using the tools and resources available at GoRedForWomen.org/WearRedDay. In addition, we have partnered with Krames,
our patient education publishing partner, to develop a limited edition healthcare provider toolkit complete with a cling, poster, flyers,
and more so you can Go Red with us. Best news - it's free with purchase of our Women and Heart Disease brochure. Get it now before we run out!
www.Krames.com/GoRed.
Roger S. Blumenthal Interviewed about Upcoming JNC 8, ATP 4 Guidelines
ASPC member Roger S Blumenthal, MD, was interviewed by theheart.org about the upcoming Managing Blood Pressure in Adults: Report from the Joint National Committee (JNC 8) and Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults: Report from the Adult Treatment Panel (ATP 4) Guidelines.
Click here to read the article, JNC 8, ATP 4 guidelines (still) soon to be released.New Rules for Giving Good Cholesterol a Boost
ASPC President Stephen Kopecky, MD, was interviewed by the Wall Street Journal's Christopher Weaver for an article about the fallout from several recent clinical trials with disappointing results on therapies intended to raise HDL, the "good" cholesterol.
Read the article, New Rules for Giving Cholesterol a Boost, here.Clinical Cardiology, the ASPC Journal, published the debate on Universal Screening of Cholesterol in Children, based on the ASPC annual debate that occurred at the 2012 AHA Epidemiology and Prevention Scientific Sessions on March 16, 2012 in San Diego, CA.
Please click here to read the debate article written by Peter O. Kwiterovich, MD and Samuel S. Gidding, MD on Universal Screening of Cholesterol in Children, which was published in Clinical Cardiology online on August 28, 2012.
Please click here to read the debate article written by Alan R. Schroeder, MD and Rita F. Redberg, MD, MSc on Cholesterol Screening and Management in Children and Young Adults Should Start Early - NO!, which was published in Clinical Cardiology online on November 14, 2012.
Steve Kopecky was interviewed for Liz Szabo's story in USA Today about the TACT trial presented Sunday.
Here is the story: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/
This study got a lot of coverage, in part because of the study itself and also the controversy surrounding it.
As Mayo's co-PI (Gerry Gau was Mayo's PI), he offered some great information and commentary to the story.
ASPC Dinner Symposium-Preventive Cardiology: Update 2012
The ASPC held a dinner symposium - Preventive Cardiology: Update 2012 on Wednesday, September 19, 2012 in Rosemont, IL conjunction with the Pri-Med MidWest 2012 Meeting. The program featured lectures from Laurence Sperling, MD; Seth Baum, MD, Matthew Sorrentino, MD; and Michael Davidson, MD who in addition to lecturing, was the program moderator. The meeting hosted approximately 200 attendees who were eager to hear presentations on the various CVD prevention topics including: office-based risk assessment, controversies related to recent trials in the management of diabetes for CVD prevention, insights on lifestyle and pharmacologic management of patients with dyslipidemia, differences in CVD prevention for men and women and a special lecture on awareness and approach to patients with FH that also included a special patient perspective, presented by Wenter Blair who is living with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH).
If you were not able to attend the program but are interested in the lectures presented, check the ASPC site in early to mid-November. The program was recorded will be made available along with the presentations on the ASPC website.
September 20th is FH Awareness Day!
Seth J. Baum, MD, FACC, FAHA, FACPM, FNLA
September 20th is FH Awareness Day. So you ask yourself; what does this mean to you and your loved ones? FH, or Familial Hypercholesterolemia, is a genetic cholesterol disorder that leads to premature vascular disease. In the most severe circumstances, very young children can experience life-threatening heart attacks and strokes. Typically however, the disease does not wreak havoc until people reach their 40s and 50s. FH is not as rare as you might imagine. It occurs in one out of every 500 people, but in some populations - like French Canadians and South African Ashkenazi Jews - the number can be as high as one in 67! To make matters worse, the disorder often goes undetected.
In an attempt to thwart the dire consequences of FH, organizations like the National Lipid Association and the American Society for Preventive Cardiology are working hard to raise awareness. September 20th was therefore established as National FH Awareness Day. These organizations - and I personally - encourage you to speak to your doctor to see whether you harbor this silent threat. If you do, don't be afraid; treatment is available for you and your family. Remember, as a genetic disease FH can impact all members of your immediate and even extended family. Consequently all relatives of a single FH patient should be screened with simple cholesterol tests. Please don't procrastinate. See your doctor soon to be sure you do not have FH.
ASPC Membership Spotlight: Dr. Fahad Al-Nouri MD, MSc (Imperial College, London)
Dr. Fahad Al-Nouri became a cardiologist at the Prince Sultan Cardiac Centre Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 1996 and an encounter with a patient in 2006 greatly impacted the way he would continue in his practice: a 22-year-old man had suffered a myocardial infarction (MI), beside him his young distressed son was crying as he saw his father ventilated. Dr. Al-Nouri realized that this scene should not be happening in a man of this age with a family to support and this lead him to think deeply about what could be done to prevent the same scenario from occurring again to others.
Dr. Al-Nouri researched that contributing factors in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia were people's genetic disposition, lifestyles, nutritional and exercise habits, and he began to explore what alternatives were available, deciding to undertake a decree course in Cardiovascular Prevention in London in 2008.
Upon completion of his degree and return to Riyadh, Dr. Al-Nouri set up the first ever Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation Unit within his hospital in order to support coronary heart disease (CVD) patients by providing comprehensive, long-term cardiac rehabilitation (CR) services giving medical evaluation, prescribed exercise, cardiac risk factor modification, education, and counseling. This service is also designed to limit the physiologic and psychological effects of cardiac illness, reduce the risk of sudden death or re-infarction, control cardiac symptoms, stabilize or reverse the atherosclerotic process, and overall enhance the psychosocial and vocational status of selected patients.
The unit's outpatient clinic is unique in that it is designed to deal with patients and their families, and each patient is seen by a team headed by Dr. Al-Nouri, a dietician, a physical activity specialist, a clinical pharmacist and a health educator nurse at their initial visit. A smoking cessation clinic was also established separately for patients to receive one-on-one counseling on how to quit smoking and receive the appropriate medicinal agents if necessary.
In September 2010, Dr. Al-Nouri's unit organized the first World Heart Day participation, in collaboration with World Heart Federation, where unit members and volunteers went to one of the largest shopping malls in Riyadh to interact with members of the public by providing a professional troupe of actors to produce a play explaining healthy foods and the need for having five portions of fruit and vegetables daily, as well as doing regular exercise, and giving out free booklets on adopting a healthy lifestyle.
Dr. Al-Nouri is now the head of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation in Prince Sultan Cardiac Center (PSCC) and a member of the National Committee for Prevention of Cardiovascular Diseases in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, an organization dedicated to improving awareness and prevention of cardiovascular disease by embracing a healthy lifestyle and smoke-free environment.
ASPC members publish Clinical Cardiology debate on Evidence Based Medicine
Please click here to read ASPC member Wilbert S. Aronow, MD, FACC, FAHA's debate article, Evidence-based medicine should be practiced for primary prevention and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease, which was published in Clinical Cardiology online on April 26, 2012.
Please click here to read ASPC member Seth J. Baum, MD's debate article, Evidence-Based Medicine: What's the Evidence, which was published in Clinical Cardiology online on April 23, 2012.
ASPC endorses Joint Statement on CETP Inhibition and HDL
The ASPC Board of Directors voted to officially endorse the Joint Statement by EAS, IAS and NLA on CETP Inhibition and HDL. On May 6, 2012, Hoffman-La Roche (Genentech) stopped the development of dalcetrapib, a cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) inhibitor and terminated the dal-OUTCOMES Phase III trial because the drug failed to show a significant reduction in adverse cardiovascular events in acute coronary syndrome patients.
Read the Joint Statement by EAS, IAS and NLA.Stephen L. Kopecky, MD, Named President of the American Society for Preventive Cardiology
Jacksonville - At its recent annual meeting held this year in San Diego, Stephen L. Kopecky, MD was named president of the American Society
for Preventive Cardiology (ASPC). The ASPC is a national educational organization of individuals with a dedicated interest in the prevention of cardiovascular disease.
Dr. Kopecky is a cardiologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. After his training at University of Texas Health Science Center and Mayo Medical School, he joined Mayo Clinic's Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory to perform interventional procedures and the Coronary Care Unit to treat myocardial infarctions.
Over the past decade, he said he has realized that the most effective treatment for cardiovascular disease is prevention; his research interests include cardiovascular prevention clinical trials primarily focused on lifestyle and drug therapy. Dr. Kopecky is a member of Mayo Clinic's Cardiovascular Health Clinic and is director of Mayo Clinic's Statin Intolerance Clinic
.Dr. Kopecky has written numerous articles for peer-reviewed journals and has received multiple "Teacher of the Year" awards from Mayo Clinic's Division of Cardiovascular Diseases and Department of Internal Medicine. In addition, he has lectured nationally and internationally on preventive cardiology.
The ASPC is confident that Dr. Kopecky will help the society achieve its goals in the year ahead, because of his extensive experience and research in the field.
Please click here to view the press release.
ASPC members publish JAMA Viewpoint article advocating Statin Therapy for Healthy Men Identified as "Increased Risk"
Click here to read ASPC members Michael J. Blaha, MD, MPH and Roger S. Blumenthal, MD's JAMA Viewpoint article, Statin Therapy for Healthy Men
Identified as "Increased Risk," which was published on April 11, 2012.
(L-R) Gloria Stamler, Peter Wilson, MD, Stephen Kopecky, MD, Ezra Amsterdam, MD, Jeremiah Stamler, MD (with plaque), Seth Baum, MD and Nathan Wong, PhD
ASPC 2012 Annual Business Meeting
The ASPC Annual Business Meeting convened on Friday March 16, 2012 in San Diego, CA at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina. The Annual Meeting is customarily held in conjunction with the American Heart Association's Council on Epidemiology & Prevention Annual Scientific Sessions. During the ASPC Annual Business, Nathan D. Wong, PhD, MPH, ASPC President, presented the annual Joseph Stokes, III, MD Award for excellence and lifetime achievements in the field of preventive cardiology to Jeremiah Stamler, MD, Professor Emeritus, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine. The meeting also featured keynote speaker Dr. Elizabeth Barrett-Connor who presented on Forty Years of Landmark Research in Women and Heart Disease. Dr. Barrett-Connor is founder and director of the Rancho Bernardo Heart and Chronic Disease Study, begun in 1972, with continuous support (4 MERIT awards) from the NIH.
In addition to the Annual Meeting, President, Nathan D. Wong, PhD, MPH, was the moderator for the ASPC Annual Debate that was also held on Friday, March 16, 2012 on the topic of Cholesterol Screening and Management in Children: How Early to Start. Arguments were presented by Sam Gidding, MD (Pro) and Rita Redberg, MD (Con). A transcript of the debate is being considered for inclusion in the ASPC's journal, Clinical Cardiology. To watch the AHA news conference about the debate, please click here.
ASPC would like to thank the AHA for sharing this video with the ASPC. If you would like more information on this topic, please visit http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/.
Click Below to listen to the audio from the meeting:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
(L-R) Gloria Stamler, Elizabeth Barrett-Connor, MD and Jeremiah Stamler,MD |
(L-R) Gail Laughlin, MD and Elizabeth Barrett-Connor, MD |
(L-R) Stephen Kopecky, MD (Incoming ASPC President) and Nathan Wong, PhD (Immediate Past President) 
(L-R) Stephen Kopecky, MD, Jeremiah Stamler, MD and Nathan Wong, PhD |
(L-R) Rita Redberg, MD- Presenting during the ASPC Annual Debate (Con) 
(L-R) Sam Gidding, MD-Presenting during the ASPC Annual Debate (Pro) |
ASPC member featured in Wall Street Journal Debate on Cholesterol Drugs
Click here to read ASPC member Dr. Roger S. Blumenthal's contribution to the
Wall Street Journal Debate, Should Healthy People Take Cholesterol Drugs to Prevent Heart Disease?, which was published in the January 23, 2012, edition of the Wall Street Journal.
ASPC Debates Now Published
Clinical Cardiology has published a series of debate articles by ASPC members Nathan D. Wong PhD, MPH, Nanette K. Wenger MD, and Ezra A. Amsterdam MD.
The Annual ASPC debate, Coronary Heart Disease in Men and Women - Does One Size Fit All?, includes the following articles:
To read the Annual ASPC debates, please visit Clinical Cardiology Online.
22nd Great Wall International Congress of Cardiology
ASPC was honored with an Award of International Collaboration at the 22nd Great Wall International Congress of Cardiology (GW-ICC) and
Asia Pacific Heart Federation Scientific Congress 2011, which was held October 13-16, 2011 in Beijing, China. Nathan Wong, PhD, and Ezra
Amsterdam, MD, attended the GW-ICC, conducted a Joint Session between ASPC and the Chinese Society of Cardiology, and accepted the Award
of International Collaboration on behalf of ASPC.
Award of International Collaboration - pictured from the left Nathan D. Wong, PhD, President, ASPC, Dayi Hu, MD, President, Chinese Society of Cardiology and Great Wall International Congress of Cardiology, and Ezra Amsterda, MD, Chair, Publications Committee, ASPC.
Nathan D. Wong, PhD and Ezra Amsterdam, MD at Joint Session of ASPC and Chinese Society of Cardiology.
Dr. Wong Honored by the International Academy of Cardiology
ASPC President, Nathan Wong, PhD was awarded the Jan J. Kellerman Memorial Award for distinguished work in the field of Cardiovascular Disease Prevention at 16th World Congress on Heart Disease held in Vancouver, BC, Canada. To read the complete article click here
