Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
N.Y. Ban On Trans Fats Linked To Drop In Heart Attacks, Hinting At Benefits From Nationwide Regulation
Local bans on artery-clogging trans fats in restaurant foods led to fewer heart attacks and strokes in several New York counties, a new study suggests. The study hints at the potential for widespread health benefits from an upcoming nationwide ban, the authors and other experts say. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2015 gave the food industry until next year to eliminate artificial trans fats from American products. (Tanner, 4/12)
Trans fats, or partially hydrogenated oils, have long been tied to heart disease risk. And starting next summer, the Food and Drug Administration will prohibit food manufacturers from adding trans fats to foods like cookies, crackers, and microwave popcorn...Between 2007 and 2011, 11 counties in the state — most of them in the greater New York City area — banned restaurants from preparing food with partially hydrogenated oils. Using population estimates and state department of health data, a research team looked at the number of hospitalizations for heart attack or stroke in counties that implemented these laws compared to counties that didn’t. (Samuel, 4/12)
In other heart health news —
A new Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation study found most major heart attacks happen to people with normal cholesterol levels. Researchers studied more than 1,000 heart attack patients, analyzing their cholesterol, other risk factors, and medical history. Half of them had not seen a doctor in at least two years prior to suffering a heart attack. (Zdechlik, 4/12)
A group of Minneapolis cardiologists is recommending that more people take statin medications after a review of more than 1,000 heart attack victims found a high number who weren’t taking the cholesterol-lowering drugs. Among patients in the study group who suffered their first heart attacks, only one in five were taking statins — meaning that many were defying the latest guidelines about who should be taking the medications, according to the cardiologists’ research, which was published in the latest edition of the Journal of the American Heart Association. (Olson, 4/12)
