People with multiple risk factors for heart disease include men older than 45 and women older than 55 who also smoke, have high blood pressure, and have high LDL cholesterol readings. 

The latest recommendations for lowering LDL cholesterol indicate that these people should reduce their LDL readings to 100. High-risk patients who have already had a heart attack should have readings below 70 mg/dL.

Statin drugs are effective at reducing LDL levels, but only about half of high-risk patients can even reach the 100 level with maximal doses of statins. 

Pills that combine a second cholesterol fighter with a statin can do the job. Advicor combines lovastatin with extended release niacin. Vytorin puts Zocor together with a drug that blocks intestinal absorption of cholesterol. Doctors at Johns Hopkins say if a statin isn't enough, they recommend a combo drug. 

Diagostic tool for appendicitis
Accurate diagnosis of appendicitis has been a problem. Many cases lack the usual symptoms of fever and pain in the abdomen. And up to 40 percent of appendectomies prove to be unnecessary when the appendix is found to be normal. 
Now, the FDA has approved NeutroSpec, a technique that makes diagnosis easier. A radioactive tracer binds to an infection-fighting white blood cell and can be located using an imaging device called a gamma camera. The technique correctly diagnoses appendicitis within an hour. 

Better treatment for fibroids
The Food and Drug Administration has granted approval for a non-invasive procedure to treat uterine fibroids.
The outpatient procedure by Insightec and General Electric takes about three hours. A magnetic resonance scanner maps the fibroid tissue as Insightec's ExAblate 2000 focuses beams of high-frequency, high-energy sound waves into the fibroid to destroy it.