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Biomedical subjects

I U Haq

Publications and source records attributed to I U Haq.

30 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Sheffield risk and treatment table for cholesterol lowering for primary prevention of coronary heart disease.

When used for the secondary prevention of coronary heart disease, treatment with an inhibitor of hydroxymethylglutaryl-coenzyme-A reductase results in worthwhile benefit that clearly exceeds any risk in patients whose risk of coronary death is 1.5% or more per year. This evidence can be extrapolated logically to primary prevention of coronary disease provided that treatment is targeted at those with similar or higher risk. We present a table that refines previously proposed methods of risk prediction. The table identifies subjects who have the specified degree of coronary risk; shows the serum cholesterol concentration that confers that degree or risk in the individual; and identifies subjects who will not have this degree of risk, irrespective of their cholesterol concentration. It is simple enough for use in ordinary practice. The table highlights the predominant effect of age on coronary risk; a person who is free of vascular disease and younger than 52 years is unlikely to have the specified degree of risk. Even in older people (60-70 years) several risk factors are generally required to attain this degree of risk. Some people are candidates for lipid- lowering drug treatment with serum cholesterol as low as 5.5 mmol/L, whereas others with cholesterol as high as 9.0 mmol/L are not. Although cholesterol lowering is a powerful method for preventing coronary events in people at high risk, cholesterol measurement by itself is not a good way to identify those with high coronary risk. The method can be adapted readily to target a different level of coronary risk as new evidence on the benefit and risk of treatment becomes available.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Should cholesterol be measured in all hypertensives?

Guidelines for the management of hypertension, and those for hyperlipidaemia, advocate measurement of cholesterol in all hypertensive subjects. It is suggested that knowledge of serum cholesterol should influence the choice of anti-hypertensive agent because thiazides and beta-blockers may influence lipids adversely. However, the changes in lipids associated with low-dose thiazides and beta-blockers are small, not sustained and do not appear to affect prognosis adversely. Some believe that knowledge of serum cholesterol may help target the treatment of mild hypertension more accurately by predicting an increased risk of vascular complications of hypertension. However, serum cholesterol does not predict the risk of cardiovascular complications in hypertensive women. It does predict coronary heart disease (but not stroke) in men, but coronary risk can be estimated satisfactorily without knowledge of serum cholesterol. Suggestions that cholesterol should be lowered in hypercholesterolaemic hypertensive patients to reduce the incidence of coronary heart disease are understandable. However, the diet recommended for this has no useful effect on serum cholesterol, and the benefit of lipid-lowering drugs for cholesterol reduction only exceeds the risk in patients at very high risk of coronary mortality, for example those who have had a myocardial infarction. Hypertension alone will not place individuals at high enough risk to warrant drug therapy for cholesterol reduction. We conclude that the current guidelines are incorrect, and that routine measurement of cholesterol in all hypertensive patients is not justified.

Antihypertensive Agents↗
PubMed1995

Might non-pharmacological treatment disadvantage patients with hypertension?

Weight reduction, moderate salt restriction and alcohol reduction are effective in lowering blood pressure (BP), and are feasible interventions for long-term management of hypertension. When used in combination these non-pharmacological measures are significantly inferior to drug therapy in anti-hypertensive effect. When they are implemented as a first step in the treatment of mild hypertension, resorting to drug therapy only if non-pharmacological measures fail, anti-hypertensive drugs can be avoided in about 40% of patients. However, BP control is again significantly inferior with this strategy compared with drug therapy without non-pharmacological advice. Those given advice on non-pharmacological measures may therefore have suboptimal protection against cardiovascular complications. This is particularly so when the threshold for drug treatment is set at a DBP of > or = 100 mmHg, as many patients will be left untreated with DBPs between 90 and 99 mm Hg as a result of non-pharmacological measures. Non-pharmacological treatment may thus stand between patients and anti-hypertensive drug therapy, which nowadays is simple, well-tolerated, safe and proven effective in preventing cardiovascular disease. The role of non-pharmacological therapy needs to be reconsidered.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1973

Cryodestruction of haemorrhoids.

Thirty-seven cases of second and third degree haemorrhoids have been treated by cryosurgery. Although the number of cases treated is small and the follow-up is short, we are greatly encouraged by the early excellent results. It is a simple and effective procedure with minimal complications, and it is especially recommended for those patients who are medically unfit for general anaesthesia. The rapidity of this procedure combined with the painless operative and postoperative course enables the patient to leave hospital the next day. More cases with long-term follow-up are needed before adequate evaluation of this form of treatment can be made.

Adult↗