Cardiology

While estrogen therapy may not be the best option for all women in menopause, there is an effort underway to help educate patients and providers alike as to how best to approach this topic to provide the best results possible.

There are several products on the market designed to help patients manage the symptoms associated with menopause. New research was recently presented on one option which does not include progesterone and what that means for care.

At The North American Menopause Society 27th Annual meeting (NAMS), Holly Thomas, MD, MS, University of Pittsburgh, discussed her program of research mainly focuses on how sex changes for women as they move through midlife and into older age.

At The North American Menopause Society 27th Annual Meeting (NAMS), Rebecca Thurston, PhD, University of Pittsburgh, discussed her research on the relationship between sleep and cardiovascular disease in menopause patients.

As Peter Schnatz, DO, Reading Health System, completes his term as President of NAMS, he reflected on the initial goals he'd had before assuming his position. His primary initiative was to bring the best care they could to menopausal women. Schnatz said they'd been working really hard on reopening the conversation of the use and utilization of hormonal therapy.

Peter Schnatz, DO, Reading Health System, current President of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS), spoke about his presidential address, which discussed breast arterial calcification (BAC) and the association with risk factors and atheroscleratic cardiovascular disease.

The aim of the present meta-analysis was “to estimate the yield of AF detection in patients with stroke due to small and large vessel disease and in stroke patients in whom stroke etiology was not defined,” say the researchers.

The prevalence of vascular cognitive impairment and vascular dementia are increasing among the elderly. This presents a diagnostic problem, as about 40 percent of patients have coincident vascular cognitive disorder and Alzheimer’s disease pathologic processes

Previous research has found that hypertension and cardiovascular health is linked to the age that a woman goes through natural menopause. A study led by researchers from the Netherlands aimed to find if blood pressure has an impact.

As one of the most popular movie franchises in history, Star Wars has reached a wide range of people across the globe. Some have seen ways to apply lessons from the movies to help in the diagnosis of mental health patients.

In a comparison of three non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs), apixaban, dabigatran, and rivaroxaban provided similar levels of stroke prevention, but apixaban was least associated with instances of major bleeding.

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.

Recent research from the Duquesne University School of Nursing has shown that a relatively low-intensity intervention delivered in community settings led to significant improvements in diet, activity and general health among participants. This type of intervention approach can play a key role in promoting aging in place and preventing transition to a higher level of care.

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.

“The reason we are talking about vaccinations is that they are some of the simplest interventions we can provide our patients to reduce heart failure (HF) hospitalizations and HF exacerbations,” says Dr. Orly Vardeny, PharmD.

The use of preconditioned mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) may offer a new, safer alternative to other cellular therapies used for tissue regeneration, according to recent study.

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

In Finland, subarachnoid hemorrhage prevalence decreased by 45 percent and 38 percent among women and men under age 50 years, respectively. Additionally, in women and men over 50, SAH prevalence decreased by 16 percent and 26 percent, respectively. During the same period, smoking among the population aged 15-64 years decreased by about a third.

Researchers in New York have used transcriptional profiling of platelets to identify genetic factors that appear to put some people at higher risk of cardiovascular events.

The issue of physician assisted suicide can cause people to fervently pick one side or another. For some, their belief is so strong that they are moved to do things they may not have done in their career beforehand.

For many psychiatrists one of their biggest challenges in their daily practice is working to show patients that suicide is not the solution to their problems. Changes in the criteria for physician assisted suicide in Europe which include allowing mental illness as a criteria can fly in the face of that mission.

The issue of physician assisted suicide is one that has been debated both in the medical community and in the general population. Recent law changes by some European countries have brought the issue to the forefront perhaps more than ever before.

There have been great strides made in recent years to help treat patients diagnosed with heart disease. As technology improves and new medications are developed it will be important to ensure they can get to the patients who need them most.

While lifestyle modifications and changes in diet can help prevent heart disease in men and women alike there are some distinct differences when it comes to treating these patients once a diagnosis is made.

As more has been learned over the years about heart disease there is also a greater awareness of the impact it can have on women. Because of this increased awareness a greater effort is underway to help catch these conditions before they become fatal.

Technology may be advancing faster than people can keep up with but there are still times when traditional surgical methods are preferred over newer technologies.

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?

“Acute alcohol consumption has long been linked to development of AF. In the Framingham, Copenhagen, and Women's Health Studies, chronic alcohol consumption, especially two or more drinks per day, is associated with up to 30% higher risk for incident AF,” the study authors wrote in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

A two-year-long randomized trial has found that wearable monitors that track activity and vital signs — which are obviously designed to help people achieve their fitness goals — actually hindered weight-loss efforts in young adults with body mass indexes (BMIs) between 25 and 40.