Cardiology

At AHA 2016, Poushali Mukherjea, PhD, Bristol-Myers Squibb, discusses 12 abstracts on new real-world data and subanalyses from the pivotal trial ARISTOTLE.

It is reportedly safe to use tissue plasminogen activator, the clot busting medication, on patients who wake up with symptoms of stroke, according to a new study. Generally, tPA should be administered within 4.5 hours of symptom onset to be considered effective.

The first study using a national inpatient database finds PAH-related costs, comorbidities are increasing.

The MD Magazine editors rounded up the 10 best stories from November – did you read them all?

As the field of medical ethics continues to expand, its use can be seen in everything from general medical conditions to end of life considerations.

Following a stroke, the sooner a patient undergoes clot-busting endovascular thrombectomy, the better their outcomes are, in terms of severity of disability.

For men afflicted with type 2 diabetes and at high risk for heart attacks; however, relief might be found in an unlikely source – the erectile dysfunction drug Viagra (sildenafil).

By the time patients need a left ventricular assist device their condition has already worsened considerably. With the help of a combination of technology and medication there is some research to show that improvement is possible in many patients.

Pending further research a new powerful pharmaceutical combination could make a significant difference in the treatment of patients with a left ventricular assist device.

For patients who receive left ventricular assist device implants there is no assurance that the device will work enough for them to have a high quality of life. New research has shown a potential treatment which could make a significant improvement in this area.

Researchers in Denmark recently reported that hospital-diagnosed atopic dermatitis is associated with a greater risk of myocardial infarction.

As more men and women who served their country come home their skills can be put to good use in the medical community. Finding those veterans and reservists and getting them the training they need can make all the difference in their life out of uniform.

While medics and corpsmen in the military do similar jobs to what nurses do in civilian practice, those skills do not translate into certification when they leave the service.

When veterans, including medics and corpsmen come back from serving overseas their medical skills do not automatically translate into certification. Colleges and Universities are developing programs to help them and also reservists earn their bachelor of science in nursing degrees.

Analysis of data from a large survey has identified a number of factors that predict depression in women with diabetes and could help physicians provide better care for such patients.

Since they were first approved for patient care more than a year ago PCSK9 inhibitors have shown to be a powerful tool in the fight against dangerously high cholesterol levels. However, there are still challenges standing in the way of them being made more widely available.

The annual American Heart Association Scientific Sessions were filled with a wide range of presentations made in New Orleans. It was the late breaking news that made the most impact for those in attendance as they look to the future of cardiac care.

As the American Heart Association wrapped up another successful conference in New Orleans, each of the approximately 18,000 providers in attendance was bringing home something new to their practices or optimism for new treatments to come in the future.

Novel oral anticoagulants have made treatment of many patients considerably easier over the past few years. Finding ways to apply that to veterans can help a patient population deserving of high quality health care.

Much like civilians, military veterans have trouble maintaining safe levels with warfarin treatment.

Among a large sample of Veterans Affairs health care patients with peripheral artery disease, researchers found African Americans were 43% more likely to lose a limb to amputation--and it is likely not because of socioeconomic or behavioral factors.

When patients leave the waiting room of their provider, their concerns can go with them. With the help of social media channels like Facebook and Twitter, those concerns can be addressed while information is shared in a new and effective manner.

Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans 11 years ago. A physician and colleagues documented "Post Katrina Stress Disorder" tells how he came to do the study, and what the disaster was like for him.

If statins are good and PCSK9 inhibitors are better, how good will a combination be? Researchers reported today in a study called GLAGOV.

With more than 10,000 providers from around the world converging on the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions, lessons from the event can be implemented as soon as the next day or show promise of work to come in the future.

The treatment of cardiovascular disease for men may be ahead of where it is for women, but there is a concerted effort to bring the two into a more balanced measure.

A lot is yet to be determined about the potential benefits of precision medicine in cardiology. As that field develops, there will also be questions about the varying benefits for men and women.

A PCSK9 inhibitor that reduces cholesterol by RNA interference instead of the monoclonal antibody approach appears effective and holds the promise of fewer injections and lower cost, researchers said today.

Praluent has been studied at a variety of levels and, now that it's been approved, there has been more insight on its benefits and risks.

With statins being a common treatment option to help patients reduce their cholesterol levels, the still relatively newly approved PCSK9 inhibitors have proven a valuable tool. However, they are not enough to help eliminate concerns about cardiac care and cholesterol.