Cardiology

While the changes President Obama and Democratic leaders in Congress are proposing are considerable (they could reduce the deficit within two decades), they aren't a government takeover.

I think I'm rather opinionated, ok, very opinionated and also think that medicine, as noble a profession as it is, is in dire trouble. I offer my viewpoints and hope that others will read and agree with me, although I guess you get more popular if people disagree.

The condition of patients with chronic diseases improves significantly with the use of at-home tools like blood pressure and glucose monitors.

Although previous research has been conducted about the relationship between tobacco smoke and atherosclerosis in adults, a new study is one of the first about the correlation in children.

This advisory finds that data are inconclusive on heart risks associated with diabetes medications, but also notes that patients taking these drugs should be closely monitored by their healthcare providers.

Ted Eytan, MD, and Holly Potter, discussed the power of health IT and social media to improve the quality of healthcare.

Kathryn Kern-Stout, MD, MBA, discussed some of the challenges her institution had to overcome during the EHR selection and implementation process.

Allison Connelly-Flores, Urban Health Care, Inc, told her story about despair, faith, hope, frustration, jubilation, and, through all of these things, success.

Many physicians have already taken the step to implement an EHR, and some have not failed at it... yet, anyway.

One of the ongoing sessions is the panelist of healthcare bloggers, and each day presents a different panel of recognizable voices.

Mrunal Shah, MD, ABFM, discussed his large integrated health system's experiences with implementing a system-wide electronic record.

We've entered a new arena of horror where our Richter scale, for the first time, doesn't seem to reach high enough, and adjectives are crumbling under the impact. "Devastation" or "catastrophe"? None of the usual descriptors feel powerful enough.

A new study reveals that individuals on low-carbohydrate diets do not lose more weight than people on high-carbohydrate diets.

New research from Northwestern Medical Center reveals that a woman's risk for heart disease increases significantly after menopause.

Fewer than half of individuals who have non-specific chest pain experience relief from symptoms following standard medical care.

Dr. Croke had a short interview with a young Haitian doctor about the earthquake.

New research from scientists at the Mayo Clinic reveals that African Americans are significantly less likely to know that they have atrial fibrillation, or to use warfarin for treating the condition.

View a demo of a We Care Solar Suitcase here. This tool was used by many healthcare professionals who spent time in Haiti

Follow live Twitter updates from the American College of Cardiology 2010 meeting.

A new report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) claims that hypertension could be thought of as a "neglected disease" due to the lack of attention it receives from public health officials and healthcare providers relative to the magnitude of hypertension-associated morbidity and mortality.

Intracranial stents that keep brain arteries open and the delivery of tPA directly to the brain are the most effective treatment options for ischemic stroke, new research shows.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 designated $87 billion for state Medicaid programs, enacting major increases in federal matching rates. Despite the boost from ARRA, state budgets have been groaning under the weight of the economic downturn, with 29 of them planning to make Medicaid cuts in 2010.

How quickly we humans normalize even the most extreme scenario - as long as we see it over and over. By now, it seems perfectly normal for our fringed-draped bus to 4-wheel it over piles of rubble.

These CME programs explore key concepts in the clinical presentation, diagnosis, and management of heart failure in children and adults.

Even the predawn day began a little differently. The shrill distant stadium cheers of hundreds of Haitian roosters sounded oddly synchronized, as though perhaps they were doing the wave.

After six hours of unaccustomed sleep, I awoke like a mad pirate, with one red eye, hair askew, lurching and croaking.

Direct patients to this site to learn more about the anatomy and function of the heart and circulatory system, the causes and symptoms of heart failure, and treatment options.

There's something about the constant drone of a generator – the relentless, unremitting growl that hangs in the air. It's like the smell and the dust and the fear of the rainy season, the way it creeps under your skin so quickly, and then sinks so deepely that you're not even aware that you're aware of it. All the time.

Chocolate is good. And, in small quantities, it has properties which may promote health and treat disease. One hypothesis is that the antioxidants, largely flavonoids, are responsible for these positive effects.

Immediately after crossing from the DR into Haiti, you can see the visible downshift into a worse level of poverty.