Experts Defend New Heart Attack Prevention Advice
DALLAS (AP) - Heart experts who wrote new guidelines for preventing heart attacks and strokes are defending a formula that some doctors say overestimates risk for certain groups.
The American Heart Association experts say that any flaws in the formula are small and should not delay implementing the new advice, which greatly expands how many people should consider taking cholesterol-lowering statin drugs.
The Heart Association held a news briefing at its annual conference in Dallas to discuss the guidelines after a newspaper story featured criticism by several prominent cardiologists.
Even the critics say the guidelines are a big improvement. For the first time, they aim to prevent strokes as well as heart attacks and customize risk assessment for women versus men and blacks versus whites. Heart disease is the leading killer worldwide.
(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
Latest News:
Top Trending:
- Woman Forced To Strip And Serve Jail Time For Overdue Ticket
- Veteran Wants Flag Vandals To Take Responsibility For Crime
- Lightning Strikes Man Twice At Rednecks With Paychecks
- Sleepy Driver Crashes Into Mattress Store
- Jerry Jones: 'London Could Be An Expansion'
- PHOTOS: Your Pet Pictures
