DRUG VIEWS - FOCUS ON PREVENTION

Stroke…prevention for people with diabetes.

At Rainbow Medical Centers, our focus is to discuss prevention, education and treatment options on common medical issues that impact your daily life. While it is not our nature to promote medical studies, recently there was a medical study that is worth calling to your attention. An important advancement for people who are at risk of developing stroke, heart conditions, cardiovascular disease or diabetes was the HOPE Trial published in The New England Journal of Medicine, a leading medical publication.

As reported in the January 2000 issue, the Heart Outcomes Prevention Evaluation (HOPE Trial), studied patients whose blood pressures were already controlled by current treatment measures and found significant benefits beyond baseline medications already used to treat stroke, MI and cardiovascular disease.

"New study reveals new treatment regimens that significantly reduce the risk of Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke in patients with Diabetes!"

The patient group which may benefit the most from the findings of this landmark study involving 9300 patients worldwide, are those people who are diabetic with a previous cardiovascular event with at least one other cardiovascular risk factor. In these cases, the HOPE Trial reported a risk reduction of MI by 22%, Cardiovascular Death by 37% and stroke by 33% with the ACE inhibitor Altace 10 mg by Monarch Pharmaceuticals and Wyeth-Ayerst. In addition, the American Heart Association has also added Altace to their list of recommended treatment regimens for stroke prevention in diabetics in the January 2001 statement on the Primary Prevention of Ischemic Stroke noting a reduction in complications affecting kidney function (overt nephropathy, dialysis) and vision (laser therapy).

To find out if this treatment is appropriate to help reduce your risk of stroke, heart conditions or cardiovascular disease, consult your Rainbow Medical Centers healthcare professional for this and other advances in preventative medicine.