In episode 237, James and Mike, your PREMIUM podcasters bring you two new cardiovascular studies which show no benefit on cardiovascular outcomes and then we quickly finish off with great data on how long do colds and coughs last. The results may surprise you or maybe not.

Show notes

1) DESCARTES – A 52-Week Placebo-Controlled Trial of Evolocumab in Hyperlipidemia

NEJM 2014; DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1316222

2) TOPCAT – Spironolactone for Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction

N Engl J Med 2014; 370:1383-1392

3) How long does a URTI last in kids

BMJ 2013;347:f7027 doi: 10.1136/bmj.f7027 

4) How long does an acute cough illness last?

Ann Fam Med 2013;11:5-13

In episode 237, James and Mike discuss even more listener questions. We cover issues around the SSRI withdrawal problem, warfarin, strep throat, NSAIDs, spironolactone, colchicine and a lot, lot more with less, less skill.

Show notes

 1) SSRI discontinuation syndrome

Front Pharmacol. 2013;4:45

In episode 236, Mike and James discuss the latest listener questions. We cover the flu shot, cardiovascular calculations and as always we deal with the never-ending questions about statins. At the end Mike, who has a cold decides to take a statin for his cold and the results will astound you.

Show notes

1) The best CVD risk calculator

2) What proportion of symptomatic side effects in patients taking statins are genuinely caused by the drug? Systematic review of randomized placebo-controlled trials to aid individual patient choice

European Journal of Preventive Cardiology 2014;21:464