Cardiology

The Fat Fibre Sodium Score was created using the top three most predictable cardiovascular risk-reducing food categories and offers a quick, easy way to evaluate nutrition changes during post-cardiac rehabilitation.

The significant others of patients undergoing implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICDs) have long been concerned about continuing sexual activity following the implantation.

Caloric restriction among mammals whose body mass index is normal, defined as eating about 25% fewer calories than one would during ad libitum intake, increases life span in many species.

A 35-year-old man presents to the emergency department complaining of syncope. He denies any preceding chest pain, palpitations or trouble breathing, and states he did not injure himself other than a bump on his forehead.

With the federal government leaving it to state and local entities to determine the age at which tobacco products can be purchased, an effort is underway to advance the age limit three years to 21.

A new tool for assessing the risk of thromboembolic events in patients with atrial fibrillation performed better than the existing standard in a large retrospective analysis. ATRIA risk scores were less likely than CHA2DS2-VASc scores to mistakenly characterize patients as "high risk" and, therefore, to lead to the overuse of anticoagulation.

While the days of the solo practitioner hanging a shingle in their hometown winds to an end the healthcare community is now turning its attention to how teams can provide the best level of care to patients.

The evidence indicates resistant starches improve glucose metabolism beyond what would be expected from its reduced glycemic index.

Drug kills parasites but too late to prevent heart myopathy in Chagas Disease.

At the annual CHEST conference in Montreal one of the sessions looked at new guidelines for treating patients with sepsis in emergency medical care.

Hyperkalemia can be fatal and there is a serious need to provide improved treatment options.

Patients who are morbidly obese need a revised dosing protocol when getting vancomycin.

Even in the absence of coronary artery disease, patients with depression appear to experience more frequent chest pain than patients without depression.

Heart disease is a growing problem in the country and work has been done to improve the overall public health through a number of steps including cardiac imaging. That work is also focused on the proper blood pressure for patients of all ages.

The link between testosterone therapy and cardiovascular risks has been a hot topic of debate, with researchers offering competing evidence and statements supporting or refuting the existence of link between testosterone supplementation and increased cardiovascular risk. Now, physicians from the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) have publicly stated their position on the issue.

A large retrospective analysis from Canada suggests that dabigatran is about as safe and effective as warfarin in elderly patients with atrial fibrillation.

Patients in the emergency room for a recent heart attack may be prescribed ticagrelor by the attending physician. A recent study showed getting patients the treatment as early as in the ambulance can provide additional benefits.

PCSK9 inhibitors have been the focus of the cardiology community and with the approval of two medications in the past few months these drugs could soon make their way to a large number of patients needing help managing their cholesterol levels using more than just statins.

Congestive heart failure is a serious condition facing people around the world. Early trials of a gene therapy have showed promise to not only help these patients with the condition but also make their hearts healthier.

Just because researchers go into a study with a hypothesis they hope to prove, it does not mean the results will be what they were hoping for.

Researchers from the University of Washington in Seattle reported that the use of avatars (digital representations of a coach, buddy, or teacher) improved user satisfaction in interactive, online weight management programs for obese teens.

Cardiovascular patients are the focus of the recent drug approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Branded under the name Durlaza, the 24-hour extended-release aspirin is the first of its kind and is expected to become available before the end of the year.

A general practitioner can gain a better understanding of a patient’s underlying cardiac ailments by focusing on the fundamentals of pacemakers and automated implantable cardioverter defibrillators (AICDs).In the first part of this 3-part article (“Pacemakers and AICDs: The ABCs”), we discussed distinguishing between pacemakers and AICDs. The second part (“Pacemakers and AICDs: Nomenclature and Malfunction”) addressed pacemaker nomenclature and device function, malfunction, and pseudomalfunction. Here we cover interrogation reports and interpretation of EKGs.

Several large groups combined data to look at results of a study on heart failure patients to see whether age and gender affected treatment options prescribed by patients.

Treating one patient for an illness can answer some questions for doctors. However, in many cases looking at the larger patient population can answer not only why the patients got sick, but what can be done to keep them healthy in the long run.