Newswise — BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The annual American Heart Association Scientific Sessions begin Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012. The University of Alabama at Birmingham has a number of experts available to weigh in on the news coming out of the scientific sessions, as well as newsworthy presentations and moderators.
UAB experts available on site at the Scientific Sessions:
• Donna Arnett, Ph.D. – Arnett is president of the American Heart Association. She is professor and chair of the Department of Epidemiology in the UAB School of Public Health.• George Howard, Dr.P.H. – Howard is a biostatistician in the Department of Biostatistics in the UAB SOPH and is presenting the Ancel Keys Lecture on Tuesday, Nov. 6. Howard’s lecture will cover the examination of why racial disparities in stroke mortality risk exist, along with efforts to study how to reduce these disparities.• Suzanne Judd, Ph.D. – Judd is a biostatistician in the Department of Biostatistics. She will be presenting a study on the increase in stroke risk in those who follow a Southern diet pattern.• Suzanne Oparil, M.D. – Oparil is a former president of the American Heart Association and director of the UAB Vascular Biology and Hypertension Program.
In all, UAB faculty are moderating or giving more than 40 presentations at this year’s American Heart Association Scientific Sessions, including the following three examples.
Facebook used to aid resuscitation study - (Embargoed until 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012)Clinical advances in out-of-hospital resuscitation following cardiac arrest or trauma are slowed by issues of obtaining informed consent before enrolling a patient in a trial. Paramedics don’t have the time or luxury to enroll a patient in a clinical trial at the scene of a car wreck, for example. UAB researchers in the Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium have turned to Facebook to achieve community consultation and public disclosure in these instances, as required by federal guidelines.
Can Vitamin D serve as a neuroprotectant? - (Embargoed until 9:00 a.m. Monday, Nov. 5, 2012)Vitamin D is both a nutrient and a hormone, and its effects on circulatory and neurological functioning have become a matter of increasing interest. Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, stroke and dementia. It has also been related to hypertension and diabetes. Suzanne Judd, Ph.D., is able to discuss an examination of the role of vitamin D intake on incident stroke and incident cognitive impairment in a cohort of middle-aged and older adults.
Statin use varies by demographics - (Embargoed until 9:00 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2012)To meet LDL-cholesterol treatment goals, patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) often need lipid-lowering drugs such as statins. With Medicare Part D, prescription drug insurance is available for older individuals, but it is not known if statin use varies by income, region and race/ethnicity in older adults with CHD. Emily Levitan, Ph.D., from the UAB Department of Epidemiology, will discuss the examination of calculated prevalence of statin use in individuals 65 and older with CHD by income, region and race/ethnicity, along with prevalence ratios from log-binomial models including age, sex, income, region and race/ethnicity.
About UABKnown for its innovative and interdisciplinary approach to education at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, the University of Alabama at Birmingham is the state of Alabama’s largest employer and an internationally renowned research university and academic health center; its professional schools and specialty patient-care programs are consistently ranked among the nation’s top 50. Find more information at www.uab.edu and www.uabmedicine.org.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a separate, independent institution from the University of Alabama, which is located in Tuscaloosa. Please use University of Alabama at Birmingham on first reference and UAB on all consecutive references.
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