Heart Failure

For those how enter the field of genetic testing there are many challenges along the way, starting with finding the right training program through using that training in very difficult situations.

Hopes that losmapimod would benefit patients after a STEMI heart attack were not borne out by a study reported today at the American College of Cardiology's meeting in Chicago, IL.

Despite a considerable gap between the number of patients who require a transplant and the number of organs available those patients fortunate enough to receive the lifesaving organs are seeing greater success from the procedure.

There is no shortage of people in need of a kidney transplant but a considerable shortage in the number of organs available to these patients. Despite that health care professionals in nephrology are determined to provide their patients the highest quality of life possible in spite of these challenges.

As with all areas of health care money is an important consideration for hospitals and other medical research institutions. Finding the most effective way to spend money to get the best results can be a difficult balancing act across the board.

As technology improves and more is learned about treatment for various conditions new guidelines are constantly being developed in the medical field. Once the guidelines are updated it becomes even more important to get that information into the field to help the patients who can benefit from them.

In the changing landscape of hospital medicine one of the largest areas of focus has been on readmission rates, this is also true for patients who are discharged from one hospital and then readmitted into another location for further treatment.

From cardiologists to physical therapists to nurses there is a team approach needed to provide cardiac patients the care they need for treatment. Keeping that care going even after a cardiac event has passed has been a growing focus of the field in recent years.

Even in hospital settings patients can suffer fatal cardiac events if they are not properly monitored. This is especially true at night when staffing numbers drop and families are not with their loved ones until morning.

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.

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.

Heart failure may be one of the most common conditions a cardiologist sees on a daily basis but there are also many misconceptions about its treatment and diagnosis. Whether on the football field or running an endurance race there are also other issues doctors are working to address across the scope of the cardiology field.

There are difficult patients, and ideal patients. A cardiologist offers advice on relating to them all.

Researchers have shown that the tendency of atrial fibrillation to impair cognitive function stems, at least in part, from a reduction in blood flow to the brain.

An aging population of hemophilia patients is at risk for various cardiovascular diseases.

More than 13,000 physicians and cardiovascular team members attended the ACC 2015 meeting in San Diego on March 14-16, 2015. In this issue of Cardiology Review, we focus on 6 important studies presented at ACC 2015: LEGACY, OSLER, PEGASUS, EMBRACE-STEMI, MATRIX, and CoreValve.

Analysis of a large patient cohort indicates that "isolated" events of atrial fibrillation precipitated by temporary secondary conditions tend to become chronic long-term cases of atrial fibrillation.

FDA approval of the left atrial appendage closure device after a long review process provides a potentially useful alternative to warfarin.

In this edition of Clinical Forum, we asked three Cardiology Review editorial board members to comment on multivessel versus culprit-vessel-only PCI in patients with acute myocardial infarction, considering perspectives from the PRAMI and CvLPRIT trials.

It is well established that among patients with the clinical syndrome of heart failure, approximately half have preserved systolic function, known commonly as heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Although originally considered to be a syndrome that pathophysiologically involves diastolic dysfunction, ongoing investigation suggests that although diastolic abnormalities may be present in many patients, other aspects of pathophysiology likely also contribute to symptoms. This study examined the association of beta-blockers with mortality in patients with HFpEF.

Physicians may think patients over 80 are too old to benefit from agressive care to treat unstable angina or clogged arteries that caused a heart attack. Think again, a Norwegian researcher said at the American College of Cardiology meeting in San Diego, CA. These patients were 47% more likely to survive and healthier after invasive procedures than a group that got non-invasive care.

AstraZeneca researchers report that a new drug call MED12452 is being developed as an antidote for patients who need to reverse the effects of ticagrelor (Brilinta/AstraZeneca) on an emergency basis. That could be important for patients taking ticagrelor who need emergency surgery or are bleeding from an accident.

Worsening renal function over time is associated with poorer outcomes in patients with acute and chronic HF. Although this association is established in patients with reduced ejection fraction, there are no data about the relationship between WRF and outcomes in HF patients with preserved ejection fraction.