Articles related to Family Medicine/General Practice

The USPSTF comes to the conclusion that statin use has at least a moderate net benefit for adults aged 40 to 75 who have no prior history of CVD, at least one CVD risk factor, and an estimated 10-year CVD event risk of 10% or greater. There is at least a marginal net benefit from using statins to prevent CVD events and all-cause mortality in adults aged 40 to 75 who have no prior history of CVD, at least one of these risk factors, and an estimated 10-year CVD event risk of 7.5% to less than 10%. Still, is the evidence enough?

The founding editor of Comprehensive Clinical Nephrology teases out for us our physiologic response to salt, sugar, fat, and water that creates a recipe for obesity – a recipe being used daily by many Americans with obvious results. His recommendation? “Drinking more water and reducing salt intake offer cheap, easy and healthy strategies that may prevent or treat obesity.” Click to see the evidence behind the conclusion.

This review with case example explores pericarditis and myocarditis and implications on limiting exercise. The authors summarize relevant guidelines and provide their own conclusion and guidance. They offer a helpful algorithm combining the ESC, ACC, and AHA guidelines and suggest an additional element around limiting heart rate during an acute inflammatory episode.

This summary of a study from Johns Hopkins University says it might just matter how you take your pills – with special implications for bedridden or sedentary patients.

What is the best strategy for preventing stroke in patients with non-valvular AF: anticoagulants or left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO)? The answer depends on the individual patient’s combination of stroke and bleeding risks. In this study, combined risks favored LAAO for higher bleeding risk, but that benefit became less certain at higher stroke risks.

One of the most prevalent neurological symptoms in COVID-19 patients is anosmia, which may be brought on by extensive olfactory receptor downregulation. Doctors may prescribe antibiotics, antihistamines, and other drugs to treat a patient’s anosmia, depending on the underlying reasons of the condition.