Sept 27, 2017…….Dr. Jeremiah McClure has recommended another article.
Check out this article about the benefits of vascular screenings…..
The text of the article is here….
Older men benefit from vascular screening
Publish date: September 13, 2017
By:
Mitchel L. Zoler
Internal Medicine News
Vitals
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VIVA RESULTS CALL FOR BROADER SCREENING AT THE ESC CONGRESS 2017
BARCELONA – Population screening for abdominal aortic aneurysms, peripheral arterial disease, and hypertension targeted to men aged 65-74 years saved lives in a highly cost-effective way in a Danish randomized study of more than 50,000 men.
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During a median follow-up of 4.4 years, total mortality was 7% lower among men invited for this triple-screening panel, compared with uninvited controls – a statistically significant difference achieved without causing any identified serious adverse effects. The cost ran 2,148 euro (about $2,600) per quality adjusted year, making it very “cost attractive,” Jes S. Lindholt, DMSci, said at the annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology.
Dr. Jes S. Lindholt of Odense University, Denmark
Mitchel L. Zoler/Frontline Medical News
Dr. Jes S. Lindholt
Based on the news results, the Danish Health Authority will soon decide whether to add screening for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) and peripheral arterial disease (PAD) to national screening policies, said Dr. Lindholt, professor of vascular surgery at Odense (Denmark) University Hospital. “They had delayed their decision until our results were published,” he said, adding that he expected a similar decision on expanded screening to happen in Sweden.
Dr. Lindholt also said that ongoing studies are assessing the clinical- and cost- effectiveness of screening for AAA and PAD in women in a targeted age range. But for the time being, “we believe the greatest benefit is in men.”
The Viborg Vascular (VIVA) screening trial (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00662480) randomized all 50,156 men aged 65-74 years living in the central region of Denmark to either receive an invitation to triple disease screening or to receive no invitation and form the control group. Three-quarters of those invited for screening came to screening clinics at 14 regional centers. The examinations identified an AAA in 3%, PAD in 11%, and hypertension in 10%. About a third of people identified with AAA or PAD started treatment with aspirin, a statin, or both, and a small number of those with an AAA underwent surgical repair during the following 5 years. About a third of those newly diagnosed with hypertension began treatment with antihypertensive drugs.
The results showed that for every 169 men invited for screening the program saved one life during follow-up, compared with men in the control arm. “To our knowledge, no prior population-based screening program has shown an impact on overall mortality,” Dr. Lindholt said. Concurrently with his report, the results appeared online (Lancet. 2017 Aug 28. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)32250-X).
Please contact the MCC office with questions or to set up an appointment for your own vascular screening at 478-273-2262.