Cardiology

Accurate documentation and coding is essential for efficient billing and reimbursement.

Accurate documentation and coding is essential for efficient billing and reimbursement.

CardioBrief reported that "the Texas legislature is about to reconsider a controversial bill that would mandate insurance company reimbursement for heart attack screening tests."

When selecting an EHR for your practice, using an EHR consultant can save you time, money, and headaches.

A recent meta-analysis suggests that bevacizumab (Avastin) is significantly associated with increased risk for VTE.

Researchers found that "high-fat diets, even if consumed for a short amount of time, can inflame fat tissue surrounding blood vessels, possibly contributing to cardiovascular disease."

A 45-year-old woman presented to our institution for cardiovascular risk assessment. The patient had no personal or family history of cardiovascular disease (CVD), but reported smoking 1 pack of cigarettes daily. She noted exercising occasionally without symptomatic limitations.

The last 2 decades have seen enormous strides in the identifi cation and modification of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. Many large, population-based studies, led by the Framingham Heart Study, have been invaluable in identifying these risk factors.

While reviewing the American Heart Association (AHA) 2008 Clinical Perspectives in the January 2009 issue of Cardiology Review, especially the article by Dr Ferdinand regarding African American beliefs and adherence to antihypertensive medications, it dawned upon me that a review of articles and data on hypertension in Asian Indians is also warranted, as this population is often overlooked.

Reforming healthcare often took center stage during the presidential campaign. Having won the election, President Obama continues to tout healthcare reform as one of the top issues he wants addressed his first year in office.

Nonadherence to beta blockers, statins, or angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors is common (21%-29%) among patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Patients who do not adhere to their medication regimens are at increased risk of mortality, cardiovascular hospitalizations, and revascularization procedures; thus, medication nonadherence should be a target for quality improvement interventions to maximize the outcomes of CAD patients.

In a well-done recent study, Dr P. Michael Ho and colleagues confirm previous data and clinical observations that many patients are nonadherent to their cardiac medications, and, importantly, this nonadherence adversely impacts outcomes, including cardiovascular mortality.

We found sex differences in the pattern of relative strength when riskfactor associations with death from cardiovascular disease (CVD) were evaluated across different periods of follow-up. In women, an increased risk in CVD-related death was associated with diabetes mellitus and smoking; this risk was most prominent in the early follow-up period. Our finding illustrates that clinicians should employ more intense preventive measures in women who are smokers or have diabetes.

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have created heart muscle cells from "induced" stem cells.

New research indicates that "men who experience erectile dysfunction between the ages of 40 and 49 are twice as likely to develop heart disease than men without dysfunction."

A 64-year-old woman with a history of atrial fibrillation, hypertension, and sarcoidosis presented to the emergency department with chest pain. After a positive stress test, a coronary angiogram was performed, which showed normal coronary arteries except for an anomalous take-off of the left circumflex artery from the right coronary cusp.

A 48-year-old man with a history of type 2 diabetes was referred to our outpatient clinic for preoperative evaluation before undergoing intrabdominal surgery. He reported recently aggravated chest discomfort at rest.

Researchers have discovered that ion channel disorders may account for one-third of unexplainable sudden cardiac death in young people.

Researchers have found that "coronary bypass surgery may carry less risk of serious complications if stents coated with a drug that suppresses cell growth are used in the procedure rather than bare-metal stents."