Cardiology

Compliance with statin therapy in the first two years of use may reduce hospitalization rates and direct medical costs in the subsequent year.

Graduating medical school, "we" all stood and repeated, deep within our private solemnity, a modern version of the Hippocratic oath. Nowhere is a "we" to be seen. Instead, "I swear... I will keep... I will impart... I will follow..." transitions us from students to practitioners.

An online article about overweight and obese patients generates numerous comments.

A study of children living in King County, Washington, found that those who live in socially disadvantaged neighborhoods are more likely to be obese, and that these areas present many obstacles to maintaining a healthy weight.

A roundup of recent articles in the clinical literature that look at the use of smartphones and apps in a variety of healthcare specialties and settings.

Using the Internet during patient visits can be a very useful tool, according to Dr. Pullen. Here, he describes some of his favorite websites to use while seeing patients.

Taking certain nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may increase the risks of dying from heart-related causes, according to a study published in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.

Dr. Pullen's latest blog entry discusses this frequently asked office question, how it can have several different meanings, and how the answer may change, depending on what the question is really asking.

Roughly one-quarter of all hospital patients were readmitted for the same conditions that prompted their initial hospitalization over a 2-year period, according to a report from the AHRQ.

We spoke to Jay Parkinson, MD, recently to catch up on Hello Health, learn what new ventures he's involved in, and discuss his ideas on how to effectively improve the healthcare system.

Dr. Pullen recounts one memorable cross-country flight when he was called on to assist not one, but two patients: a woman who was having an episode of angina and another who was having difficulty breathing due to emphysema.

The past few years, Apple's WWDC conference has been mostly directed at developers. But as Apple fanboys/girls have become increasingly interested in anything Apple-related, and with the anticipation of some iPhone 4G news, consumers have begun to come out in droves along with developers. For those of you who could not make it, we present the Cover It Live platform below, which will extract all conversations on Twitter related to this event, and will also include videos, pictures, and other resources our editors find relating to WWDC announcements and news.

New research from Oregon State University reveals that aspirin may not be as beneficial as previously thought for preventing heart attacks in diabetic patients.

Google may be looking for alternatives to Microsoft and selecting the right EMR requires more than just a checklist of functions.

The Associated Press has released some guidelines pertaining to social media terms and usage in the new AP Stylebook; some changes are long overdue, and others are a bit of a headscratcher.

If we're serious about reducing healthcare expenditures in this country, is reducing physician income an essential and inevitable component of meaningful cost control and healthcare reform?

Recent findings from researchers at the Nationwide Children's Hospital show that not only are infants who are born with complex congenital heart disease at risk for serious heart-related complications, they are also at risk for developing necrotizing enterocolitis

Boston University School of Medicine researchers have shown that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can non-invasively identify dangerous atherosclerotic plaques in the coronary artery and other vessels.

The American healthcare system is finally on the road to a modern national IT infrastructure. Recently, the iMedicalApps team had the opportunity to speak to a small but ambitious group of IT professionals who aim to be at the forefront of this modernization by targeting the physicians with the lowest penetration of electronic health records, those in smaller private practices.

Dr. Lubin got some much-needed rest and relaxation Memorial Day weekend after another long week of dealing with nonadherent patients and haggling with insurance companies to obtain prior approvals.

Intent is to curb perceived and actual conflicts of interest.

The five-year study examined a number of cerebrovascular and cardiovascular disease risk factors in children between 4 and 19 years of age.

Findings from an American Heart Association study indicate that patients who are at a higher risk or mortality from heart failure are also at a higher risk of not receiving evidence-based treatments for the condition.

The ability of this new 5-Lipoxygenase inhibitor, VIA-2291, to reduce leukotriene production may be a new tool for reducing repeat cardiovascular events following ACS.

Many physicians report lost productivity, decreased efficiency, and poor communication when using EMRs in practice. Are all of these shortcomings worth it? Do EMRs lead to better patient care? I'm on the side that says "no."

Researchers at the University of Florida have developed a smart pill that sends notification when it has been swallowed. The pill contains an embedded microchip and has a printed, digestible antenna on the outside made of nontoxic, conductive silver lines.

Preventing complications from diabetes requires more than just good blood sugar control; it also requires patients to control their cholesterol and blood pressure.

Terumo Medical Corporation's OSPREY study involving the Misago self-expanding stent is part of a pilot project under the FDA's Harmonization by Doing initiative.

Physicians face a variety of "perverse" economic incentives that pit their financial self-interests against the well-being of their patients. And our current efforts at healthcare reform are not doing enough to fix these problems.

Val Jones, MD, founder and creator of the blog Better Health, and physician with DocTalker Family Medicine, a pay-as-you-go, time-based practice, discusses what it's like to be a physician in an unconventional practice. Jones, like many physicians at DocTalker, was a patient before asking to come aboard as a member.