Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is not significantly better than a placebo procedure in improving exercise capacity or symptoms even in patients with severe coronary stenosis, according to new UK research. The ORBITA study is the first double blind randomised controlled trial to directly compare stenting with placebo in patients with stable angina who are receiving high quality drug treatment.

A study suggests that high-risk patients are being under-prescribed statins whereas patients in low-risk categories are being overtreated. Researchers have shown that statins are usually prescribed without recording of the QRISK2 cardiovascular risk assessment score recommended by NICE. Even when a score is documented, the majority of high-risk patients do not receive statins

This month’s Back to Basics feature is a useful wallchart showing the five key functions of the kidney which include making balancing salt and water levels, making strong bones, boosting the production of red blood cells, controlling blood pressure and excreting waste from the blood.

This month’s Back to Basics feature is a useful wallchart focusing on the processes involved in glucose metabolism in the body, both in people with normal metabolism and those with types 1 and 2 diabetes. 

This month’s Back to Basics feature is a useful wallchart showing the differences between normal heart rhythm and atrial fibrillation. The chart also includes a list of controllable and non-controllable risk factors for atrial fibrillation.

New research presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress in September has shown for the first time that e-cigarettes with nicotine cause a stiffening of the arteries which is associated with an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes in later life.

A new NHS service to provide a non-surgical reversible weight loss device for people who have both poorly controlled type 2 diabetes and obesity is safe and effective and should be rolled out across the NHS, according to new research presented at the recent EASD annual meeting in Lisbon, Portugal.

A new UK study shows that 37.8% of people with type 2 diabetes do not take their medications as prescribed. Further analysis showed that people who stick to their prescribed treatments have a 10% lower risk of hospital visits and are 28% less likely to die than people who fail to take their medication.

People who complain of myalgia caused by statins may be suffering from a genetic problem, according to a recent paper published in the European Heart Journal.

Anti-inflammatory injections lower the risk of cardiovascular disease in patients with previous myocardial infarction independently of lowering lipid levels, in a recent study reported in the New England Journal of Medicine.