paused until the person is ready to go back to bed (he or she con- trols its operation). Besides improving the qual-


ity of a person’s sleep and reduc- ing daytime fatigue, neuromod- ulation or neurostimulation therapy can improve cognitive function and reduce “cardio- vascular risks that are associ- ated with untreated sleep apnea such as atherosclerosis, strokes, heart disease, hypertension, hy- perlipidemia, diabetes, and ar- rhythmias,” Dr. Chio says. “It’s a revolutionary way of addressing obstructive sleep apnea.”


NEXT-GENERATION CHOLESTEROL- LOWERING DRUGS Low-density lipoprotein


(LDL) cholesterol is a primary target for reducing the risk of atherosclerosis and cardiovas- cular disease, including heart attacks, strokes, and peripheral artery disease. In the past, statins have been


the go-to drugs for lowering high LDL levels, but they don’t always decrease LDL enough. What’s more, some people fi nd them hard to tolerate because they can cause muscle pain and other unpleasant side eff ects. To the rescue: a new class


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of cholesterol-lowering drugs called PCSK9 inhibitors, which can be taken with statins or on their own. “High-intensity statins typi-


cally lower LDL cholesterol by greater than 50 percent; adding a PCSK9 inhibitor will lower LDL cholesterol by an addition- al 50 percent,” explains Luke Laffi n, M.D., a cardiologist in the section of preventive cardi-


60 NEWSMAX | JANUARY 2019


“ High-intensity statins typically lower LDL cholesterol by greater than 50 percent.”


— Cardiologist Luke Laffi n, M.D.


ology at the Cleveland Clinic. For those who can’t tolerate


statins, the new drugs, which are given as a self-administered injection every two weeks, or in some cases just once a month, off er an eff ective way to lower cholesterol and reduce their risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Talk to your doctor about


PCSK9 inhibitors if cholesterol abnormalities run in your fam- ily and you continue to have elevated LDL cholesterol while taking statins; if you’ve already had a stroke or heart attack and your LDL remains above 70 mg/ dL; or if you have a high risk of developing cardiovascular dis- ease and your LDL cholesterol is elevated (whether or not you are taking a statin), Dr. Laffi n advises.


REMOTE PATIENT MONITORING Thanks to technological


innovations and mounting healthcare costs, increasing numbers of patients are being diagnosed and treated by medi- cal professionals they don’t ever see face-to-face. This can be done through


various forms of virtual medi- cal care (a.k.a. telemedicine)


such as the Mercy Virtual mod- el (where doctors, nurses, and other specialists monitor hos- pitalized patients’ vital signs, analyze test results, and even answer their questions from a remote location) or a tele- medicine program that links stroke specialists to emergency departments that don’t have a stroke team on the premises. Now there are even remote


patient monitoring programs that are designed to help pa- tients with chronic diseases such as heart failure, diabetes, or advanced pulmonary disease take good care of themselves and stay out of the hospital. In fact, in a study involv-


ing patients with chronic heart failure, researchers at Harvard Medical School found that those who used a remote medi- cation monitoring system had an 80 percent reduced risk of being readmitted to the hospi- tal for any reason over a 90-day period, compared to those were given the usual care. “In a world where hospital


10


stays are ever shorter and more expensive, there is a huge, un- met need for expert guidance for complex hospital stays and in particular for what happens after,” says David Katz, M.D., M.P.H., director of the Yale- Griffi n Prevention Research Center and author of Disease- Proof: The Remarkable Truth About What Makes Us Well. “By improving care, avoid-


ing lapses and errors, manag- ing medications, answering questions, and so much more, the availability of expert over- sight via telemedicine can save lives and money,” he says.


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