Cardiology

Isabelle Jeanson, a Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières emergency communications officer, has been with the MSF teams in Port-au-Prince since January 15. Here she describes the situation as of January 17.

Here are some general facts about last week's earthquake in Haiti and the aid that has been given by other countries around the world.

Healthcare professionals looking to donate time or money to disaster relief efforts in Haiti will find information on how to do so through these ten organizations.

Risk factors such as high cholesterol, diabetes and high blood pressure are being found at an earlier age for survivors of pediatric cancer than in the general population.

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières have been working together to treat as many of the people who were injured after the 7.0 earthquake that hit Haiti on Tuesday afternoon.

Patients already have enough to worry about without now having to worry about this.

These past months, we have been discussing reality - we are not doing well compared to other systems of care; we cannot afford to continue what we are doing--it's a veritable shell game.

The 2010 Consumer Electronics Show recently concluded in Las Vegas; but aside from everything transforming into 3D, there were some other advances and introductions in the world of tech gadgets that are worth mentioning.

This CME activity examines the science of atherosclerotic disease development and discusses the cost-effective benefits of primary and secondary prevention of atherosclerotic disease.

"The current health care reform proposal is just a beginning," says Norman Makous, MD. "This legislation addresses health coverage reform. The problem that has not been touched in the current legislation relates to how we provide medical services.

The HOPE4HF trial will evaluate a new type of electrical device designed to stimulate blood-flow sensors in patients with diastolic heart failure.

This 10-part series will expose why consumers and doctors are getting the short shrift in all healthcare reform proposals.

MDNG editorial board member Larry Chu, MD will cover the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show live via this page on HCPLive.com. Sign up below for a reminder to come back after 11:00AM (EST) on January 7.

It looks like 2010 is starting off with some changes in healthcare on the horizon – from a number of angles.

This online CME program is based on a study that appeared online December 11, 2009 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, and is designed for primary care clinicians, cardiologists, endocrinologists, and other specialists who care for obese children.

Several recent studies have demonstrated that text messaging can produce measurable clinical benefits such as improved glucose test rates and a decrease in acute liver rejection episodes.

Researchers have found that so-called "good cholesterol" (high-density lipoprotein, or HDL), has less heart-protective and blood vessel-protective effects in people with type 2 diabetes.

Using a mouse model of atrial fibrillation, researchers at Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan, have discovered that mast cells contribute to atrial fibrosis and atrial fibrillation.

Cardiologists at the Montreal Heart Institute www.icm-mhi.org recently successfully implanted in several patients a new type of cardiac pacemaker, the Accent RF, which uses wireless technology to allow patients to be remotely monitored.

I became a blogger 4 months ago, a gig that I find fascinating and refreshing. A place for me to vent, pontificate, and generally hold forth with a jaundiced view of my profession and the industrial Goliaths that support it.

This CME activity was created to assist physicians who treat atrial fibrillation to appropriately use evidence-based algorithms and treatment recommendations in the formulation of optimal management strategies for their patients.

We spoke with Dr. Kent Willyard about his experience using Epocrates since it was introduced to healthcare professionals.

Recently, there has been some interesting data about stroke that is worth mentioning.

Sen. Joe Lieberman is officially working to block health care reform in the Congress; he especially desires de-postponing any kind of "health care reform" until the economy has recovered.

The American Lung Association created this collection of in-depth educational resources for patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension and their families and caregivers.

The University of Michigan Health System issued guidelines for the clinical care of adults with coronary artery disease in March 2009.

I watched a student reading her text from a hand-held device not too long ago in class, and wondered how she could read print that it fit such a small screen. Soon I'll find out for myself I've just been informed by a family member that a Nook is coming my way after the holidays.

Patients with heart disease should also be tested for COPD, according to new research, as more than one quarter of patients with heart disease may also have COPD and not yet know it.

In addition to promulgating standards of care regarding glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, which were discussed in part 1 of this series, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) has also outlined blood pressure goals. This report will review these blood pressure goals and discuss important components of the physical examination for diabetic patients, including eye and renal evaluations.

The development of clinical medical-practice guidelines is a difficult and arduous process. Experts in various disciplines volunteer many hours of their time for medical research reviews and analyses and meetings with fellow guidelines-panel members, and painstakingly writing and reviewing the final report. However, there are many concerns about the quality of medical research serving as a basis for those guidelines.