Cardiology

Now that congenital heart disease has become manageable for many patients doctors are treating them longer and working to ensure a high quality of life moving forward.

Technology has improved a lot throughout the medical field which has helped patients with a variety of conditions. For those with congenital heart issues that can mean getting advice and help they need even when the doctors are not near their location.

When young patients 20 or 30 years ago were diagnosed with a congenital heart condition they had no way of knowing how long they would live. Now the question is what happens when they live as long as the rest of the patient population.

Two more US senators have signed on to sponsor a bill addressing the rising prices of some generic drugs. The measure would penalize manufacturers when prices rise faster than inflation. The office of the US Inspector General for Health and Human Services also announced last week that it will soon begin a study of those increases.

Lowering lipid levels beyond typical targets by adding ezetimibe (Zetia) to a statin modestly boosted the cardiovascular protection afforded, the IMPROVE-IT trial showed.

A recent study of a medication used to help patients with angina could also help those with diabetes. How much of a benefit it can provide remains to be determined.

With new medications and therapies being developed for a variety of conditions, a consistent message from the medical community can help move treatment forward.

Results from the TECOS trial indicate patients with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease treated with sitagliptin are not at higher risk for cardiovascular events or hospitalization.

A recent study looked at whether metabolic syndrome confers a greater cancer risk than the sum of its individual components and component associations, and whether it is a useful predictor for future cancer risk.

Among severely obese adolescents, research published in JAMA Internal Medicine found those who underwent weight-loss surgery had several traits making them susceptible for cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Compared to gels and patches, testosterone injections resulted in an elevated chance of experiencing cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events

The violent death of Boston, MA cardiac surgeon Michael Davidson Jan. 20 was much on the minds of physicians at the AMA's meeting in Chicago. Davidson was honored in a memorial and the delegates resolved to lobby for ways to protect physicians from such assaults.

Minimally invasive intervention is an effective alternative to current regional anesthetic techniques for the management of post-operative thoracotomy pain.

Although patients with diabetes who were at high risk for cardiovascular events did not benefit from treatment with lixisenatide, results from the ELIXA study showed that the drug is safe in this population.

Although commercial support for continuing medical education has been on the decline since 2008, it nevertheless continues to be a major revenue source for CME providers and a cause for potential concern.

A 25-year-old man with no prior cardiac history presents for evaluation of presyncope. He reports he was shaving when he felt chest pain, shortness of breath and palpitations. He felt dizzy and diaphoretic. Symptoms resolved after 15 minutes.

A study of left atrial appendage ligations in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) found that leaks are common when doctors perform the surgery with a device called the Lariat and that those leaks can lead to neurological events.

Results from a small trial suggest that injections of botulinum toxin, administered after bypass surgery into the fat pads that surround the heart, may reduce the danger of postoperative atrial fibrillation (AF) and virtually eliminate the danger of recurrent AF.

Alogliptin appears to slow the progression of carotid atherosclerosis in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

With multiple factors hurting patients' chances of reaching type 2 diabetes treatment goals – including a lack of timely follow-up appointments and yo-yo blood glucose (A1C) levels – a respected physician recently advised a major shift in treatment, especially early on in the progressive disease.

Empagliflozin, a diabetes drug that controls glucose levels, may also help ameliorate erectile dysfunction in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

When treating elderly patients going under the knife may not always be the ideal solution to a problem. However, in some cases it may be the only option to ensuring a high quality of life for patients.

Changing the way medicine approaches a topic, especially a sensitive one like treating older patients is never easy. However, with more patients living well into their 70s and beyond it is becoming an increasingly important area of care.

Thanks to modern science people are living longer than they ever have before. While that is a positive in many ways it is also presenting new challenges to healthcare professionals in a variety of fields.

Two studies show that stroke patients are more likely to recover when blood flow to the brain is restored by stents that remove the clots that are causing damage.

A meta-analysis of peer-reviewed articles published after 2000 that looked at the economic consequences of type 2 diabetes mellitus treatment intensification produced several interesting findings.

Previous studies have suggested that patients with multiple sclerosis may not be able to handle a high intensity weight training program. One recent work has shown that may not be the case.

Physicians' total annual Medicare part B fee-for-service payment data for 2013 was released by CMS today. The American Medical Association fears a replay of last year's release when many physicians appeared, inaccurately, to be getting very rich from Medicare payments.

Patients with venous thromboembolism (VTE) may require a break from warfarin sodium therapy in order to undergo surgery or other procedures, however, a new study addressed if doing so presents too high of a risk.

Danish researchers conducted a meta-analysis that looked at possible associations between coffee intake and obesity, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes. They reported finding only a low risk of these conditions in coffee drinkers, but no genetic variance to explain the relationships.