The Handoff: Your Week in Cardiology News – 7/7/17

The Handoff is a weekly roundup of cardiology news covering various developments in subspecialties, as well as pharmaceutical industry, association, and society news.

• The stroke rate in the United States has increased, but not in the population you might expect. Millennials — aged 18 to 34 years — are currently bearing the burden of disease. According to a study published in JAMA Neurology, stroke rates increased 32% among women and 15% among men during a 9-year span (from 2003 to 2012).
• Shingles may increase your risk for a heart attack or stroke, according to a report published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The highest risk for stroke was within the first year after the onset of shingles and decreased over time.
• The FDA, along with the American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, and American Academy of Pediatrics, have issued a health policy statement that clinical trials must overcome barriers such as enrollment and ethical issues to conduct more research in children with heart disease.
• In the never-ending debate of the risks vs benefits of alcohol, a $100 million clinical trial may finally provide definitive answers. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, part of the National Institutes of Health, will examine whether a drink per day prevents heart attacks.
• A recent editorial in JAMA Cardiology highlights the challenges of collecting data on off-label use of transcatheter aortic valve replacement.
• Oral anticoagulation use for the prevention of stroke in atrial fibrillation varies widely by geographic region, according to a report published in Stroke. In the South, where stroke rates are unusually high, oral anticoagulation use is lower than any other region in the United States.
• A Cook County judge has granted an injunction on the controversial penny-per-ounce soda tax opposed by the Illinois Retail Merchants Association.