Lifestyle, cardiovascular risk knowledge and patient counselling among selected sub-Saharan African family physicians and trainees

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD)-related deaths in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are on the rise, and primary care physicians could facilitate the reversal of this trend through treatment and prevention strategies. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between physician lifestyle practices, CVD prevention knowledge and patient CVD counselling practices among family physicians (FPs) and family medicine (FM) trainees affiliated to FM colleges and organisations in SSA. Setting: FPs and FM trainees affiliated to FM colleges and organisations in Anglophone SSA. Methods: A web-based cross-sectional analytical study was conducted using validated, self-administered questionnaires. Following collation of responses, the relationship between the participants' CVD prevention knowledge, lifestyle practices and CVD counselling rates was assessed.Results: Of the 174 participants (53% response rate), 83% were married, 51% were females and the mean age was 39.2 (standard deviation [SD] 7.6) years. Most of the participants responded accurately to the CVD prevention knowledge items, but few had accurate responses on prioritising care by 10-year risk. Most participants had less than optimal lifestyle practices except for smoking, vegetable or fruit ingestion and sleep habits. Most participants (65%) usually counselled patients on nutrition, but less frequently on weight management, exercise, smoking and alcohol. The region of practice and physicians with poor lifestyle were predictive of patient counselling rates.Conclusion: Training on patient counselling and self-awareness for CVD prevention may influence patient counselling practice. Promoting quality training on patient counselling among FPs as well as a healthy self-awareness for CVD prevention is thus needed. The complex relationship between physician lifestyle and patient counselling warrants further study

Profil lipidique des patients traités par statines en service de cardiologie, CNHU, Bénin. Les objectifs cibles de LDL-C sont-ils atteints ?

Introduction : Les maladies cardiovasculaires sont une cause majeure d'incapacité et de décès prématurés à l'échelle mondiale et les dyslipidémies représentent un facteur de risque majeur d'athérosclérose. Le but est d'évaluer l'atteinte des objectifs de LDL-C chez les patients traités par statines dans le service de cardiologie du CNHU-HKM de Cotonou.Méthode : Il s'agit d'une étude rétrospective, portant sur la période du 1er juin 2013 au 31 décembre 2014, nous avons inclus de façon exhaustive les patients de plus 18 ans, hospitalisés et traités par statines. Les données cliniques, biologiques, thérapeutiques et évolutives ont été révisées et une stratification de risque basée les tables SCORE (Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation) a été faite à postériori.Les taux de LDL-C des patients ont été comparés aux cibles de LDL-C retenues par les recommandations de l'European Society of Cardiology (ESC) 2011. La valeur de p<0,05 est retenu comme seuil de significative.Résultats : Sur 551 patients hospitalisés, 130 patients étaient traités par statines. L'âge moyen est de 60,01 ±12,78 ans, le sex ratio H/F est de 1,65. Chez 53,8% des patients on retrouvait une dyslipidémie avec 40% d'hypercholestérolémie. Les autres facteurs de risque athéromateux étaient dominés par l'HTA (72,3%). Le niveau de RCV était élevé chez 93,8% des patients à l'instauration des statines. La prescription des statines était principalement faite en prévention secondaire. L'objectif de LDL-C cible n'était pas atteint chez 61% des patients. La valeur seuil du LDL-C initiale ≥ 1,6 g/l était prédictive de non atteinte de l'objectif LDL-C. Conclusion : Les objectifs cibles de LDL-C sont atteints chez moins de 4 patients sur 10 dans notre série. Notre étude suggère la nécessité de mettre en place des stratégies appropriées pour l'atteinte des objectifs de LDL-C au cours du traitement par statines

From Bench to Bedside: Seeing the Future of Ischaemic Post-Conditioning as a Novel Cardioprotective Therapy

In order to improve the survival of patients suffering from an acute myocardial infarction; it is crucial to limit the size of strategies have been developed; but very few of these have been successfully translated from bench to bedside. This review aims to evaluate the translation of a novel therapy; ischaemic post-conditioning that can reduce infarct size and salvage myocardial function after acute myocardial ischaemia; from bench to bedside. The phenomenon of postconditioning refers to staccato bouts of ischaemia at the onset of reperfusion. By elucidating the signalling mechanisms involved in the post-conditioning process; it has been possible to determine several pharmacological agents that deliver an equivalent level of protection. Following a large number of successful initial laboratory testis; small clinical the breakthroughs required for this effective laboratory phenomenon to translate into meaningful clinical therapies can only be achieved by careful application of data obtained in basic research and controlled trials