Cardiology

Even after the implantation of a left ventricular assist device there is no guarantee that patients will live much past the procedure. Planning for life after the implant can be as important as the time beforehand.

The extremely robust connection between AF and ischemic stroke is well-established, but the strength of the connection between AF and TIA had not been quantified to nearly the same degree.

While minimally invasive surgery is not a new concept the rapid advances in technology are helping to treat patients with more wide ranging conditions than ever before.

ECG of the Month: The 28-year-old presents with worsening midsternal chest pain x24 hours. What does the ECG tell you?

For many, cardiovascular disease can be seen as mostly an issue facing men. However, work has been done to raise the education of women to help ensure their health as well.

At the Heart Failure Society of America's 20th Annual Scientific Meeting, Pieter Muntendam, MD, scPharmaceuticals, discussed his work in developing a hospital strength treatment option for patients with fluid overload using the well known drug furosemide, now for subcutaneous administration.

While there's no yet proven treatment for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, the team is really aiming to understand the pathophysiology to design better targeted treatments.

Study results presented at the 2016 Heart Failure Society of America Scientific Meeting show that treatment with omecantiv mecarbil improved cardiac function and quality of life in patients with heart failure.

There is a known connection between atrial fibrillation and stroke risk. Finding the best way to handle this connection can determine the success of care and the quality of life for patients.

Patients diagnosed with atrial fibrillation will often need treatment extending over a long period of time. In many cases ablation can be the best way to manage their symptoms requiring the work of an electrophysiologist.

At The European Society of Cardiology Congress 2016 (ESC), Ibrahim Danad, MD, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands, explained the results from his team's PACIFIC trial, which assessed two non-invasive coronary artery imaging tools: positon emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT).

At the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2016 (ESC) in Rome, Italy, Anselm Gitt, MD discussed the DYSIS program, which was designed to get an idea to see how patients were treated for secondary prevention, focusing on dyslipidemia patients.

Renato Delascio Lopes, MD, Duke University Medical Center, discussed at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2016 (ESC), the progress of anticoagulant therapies for patients.

Christopher Granger, MD, Duke University Medical Center also spoke at the European Society of Cardiology COngress 2016 about the issues surrounding patients' tolerability of anticoagulants and other drugs.

Statins should not be physicians' first option in treating all patients at high risk of cardiovascular disease, according to new European treatment guidelines.

An international team looked at oral anticoagulants and decided dabigatran is the best for stroke prevention in non-valvular atrial fibrillation.

Lung cancer patients who develop sinus tachycardia due to some treatments for their cancer can successfully reduce their heart rates with ivabradine, researchers in Romania report.

Pope Francis plans to appear at the ESC Congress 2016 to endorse the group's healthy lifestyle campaign.

Poushali Mukherjea, PhD, Executive Director, Global Medical Affairs, Bristol-Myers Squibb, noted some key takeaways from her team's 19 abstracts slated to be presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2016 (ESC).

While some patients may need procedures like gastric bypass surgery to lose weight others may be able to achieve their goals by taking smaller steps.

If peripheral artery disease is not caught soon enough patients risk losing toes, feet, or legs to amputation. Going from the beginning of the treatment process through potential amputation is a delicate balancing act for doctors.

Diagnosing peripheral artery disease can be a simple process if doctors know what they are looking for and patients follow medical directions.

A new analysis finds that patients taking warfarin for their atrial fibrillation are more likely to develop dementia than those taking the drug for treatment of other conditions.

There are many patients around the world suffering from various degrees of heart failure. With such potentially fatal consequences there has been a push to make the condition only treated by specialists.

When most people think of palliative care their first thought is likely to hospice and end of life oncology care, but experts in the field are working to change and expand that perception to other areas of health care as well.