10623
0
Posted on Aug 28, 2008, 8 p.m.
By Jeanelle Topping
British health experts have questioned whether screening patients at high risk of cardiovascular problems will demonstrate large benefits, it has been noted.
British health experts have questioned whether screening patients at high risk of cardiovascular problems will demonstrate large benefits, it has been noted.
In news that may be of interest to anti-aging physicians, the UK government has now closed its consultation into the effectiveness of vascular checks for those aged between 40 and 74.
The new policy is now set to be rolled-out between 2009 and 2010 after it was claimed between 9,500 heart attacks and strokes and 2,000 deaths could annually be prevented through screening, Eurekalert notes.
In a debate on BMJ.com, Professor Rod Jackson and colleagues from the University of Auckland in New Zealand voiced their agreement with the scheme, saying that it will be economical and result in "significant" health improvements.
However, Professor Simon Capewell from the University of Liverpool argues that drug treatment alone will not eliminate the underlying disease.
In related news, the University of Edinburgh has announced that heart attack patients with partially blocked arteries may be at a higher risk of a repeat incident than previously believed.
