CARDIOVASCULAR HORIZON SCANNING VOLUME 1 ISSUE 11

Worksite wellness programs for cardiovascular disease prevention

Source: Circulation, 2009, 120 (17) p. 1725-1741

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Date of publication: October, 2009

Publication type: Policies

In a nutshell: Wellness programmes in the workplace are an opportunity to prevent cardiovascular disease and stroke in a large segment of the population. The American Heart Association has a long history of participating in worksite wellness programmes and is committed to updating recommendations on these schemes, based on current knowledge of effective programmes and strategies.

Length of publication: 17 page article

Some important notes: Please contact your local NHS library if you cannot access the full text. Follow this link to find your local NHS library.

Acknowledgement: American Heart Association

Telemonitoring in heart failure

Source: Heart, 2009, 95 (23) p. 1964-1968

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Date of publication: December, 2009

Publication type: Journal article

In a nutshell: An increasingly elderly population living with heart failure requires high quality disease management programmes which can reach out to patients in their normal living environment. Telemonitoring enables the patient and the healthcare professional to recognise problems and resolve issues together, and reduces unnecessary travel to hospital.

Length of publication: 6 page article

Some important notes: You will need an NHS Athens username and password to access this article. Please contact your local NHS library if you cannot access the full text. Follow this link to find your local NHS library.

Acknowledgement: Education in Heart

Active club grants: a practical way to support more Victorians to get active

Source: Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth), Australia 

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Date of publication: October 2009

Publication type: Case study

In a nutshell: VicHealth has made over 8000 grants to local sports and recreational organisations over the past 20 years, aiming to significantly increase participation levels, and improve safety and training for both participants and volunteers.  This survey and case study evaluation demonstrates the highly positive impact of the grants on local physical activity participation. 

Length of publication: 16 pages

Some important notes: Please contact your local NHS library if you cannot access the full text. Follow this link to find your local NHS library.

Acknowledgement: National Heart Forum weekly e-News briefing 18 November 2009

Effect of tailored practice and patient care plans on secondary prevention of heart disease in general practice: cluster randomized controlled trial

Source: BMJ, 29 October 2009, 339, b4220

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Date of publication: 29 October 2009

Publication type: Journal article, research

In a nutshell: Research carried out over 18 months in 48 general practices across Northern Ireland and Ireland, with 903 patients already known to have coronary heart disease.   The use of tailored care plans with general practice-led 4-monthly reviews, resulted in significantly reduced admissions to hospital.

Length of publication: 1 page

Some important notes: You will need an NHS Athens username and password to access this article. Please contact your local NHS library if you cannot access the full text. Follow this link to find your local NHS library.

Acknowledgement: National Heart Forum e-News Briefing 2.12.2009

Delivering the NHS health check: a practical guide to point-of-care testing

Source: NHS Improvement: heart

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Date of publication: 2009

Publication type: Best practice

In a nutshell: A practical guide, covering the pros and cons of using point-of-care testing (POCT), the issues and challenges, along with possible solutions. Includes useful case studies from PCTs around the UK.

Length of publication: 20 pages

Some important notes: Please contact your local NHS library if you cannot access the full text. Follow this link to find your local NHS library.

Acknowledgement:  Heart Improvement e-bulletin 16 November 2009

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CARDIOVASCULAR HORIZON SCANNING VOLUME 1 ISSUE 10

Strategies to screen and reduce vascular risk

Source: Heart Online First, 26 October 2009

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Date of publication: October, 2009

Publication type: Editorial

In a nutshell: This editorial compares mass and targeted screening strategies, and argues that population-wide health protection measures need supplementation with targeted screening programmes for those at particular risk.

Length of publication: 5 pages

Some important notes: You will need an NHS Athens username and password to access this article. Please contact your local NHS library if you cannot access the full text. Follow this link to find your local NHS library.

Acknowledgement: Heart and Education in Heart

Homocysteine lowering interventions for preventing cardiovascular events

Source: The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews

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Date of publication: October, 2009

Publication type: Systematic review

In a nutshell: Elevated circulating total homocysteine (tHcy) levels are thought to be a risk factor in cardiovascular disease. These levels are influenced by blood levels of vitamins B12, B9 and B6. This review examined the clinical effectiveness of homocysteine – lowering interventions, and concluded that there was no evidence to support their use for the prevention of cardiovascular events.

Length of publication: 66 pages

Some important notes: Please contact your local NHS library if you cannot access the full text. Follow this link to find your local NHS library.

Acknowledgement: Cochrane Library