Hypertension

After 6 months, an intervention program based on the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet increased the proportion of participants with uncontrolled asthma who achieved minimal clinically important improvement in asthma control.

Public health issues are nothing new in the medical community, but for issues like high sodium levels the pressing issue can be what to do to help bring the levels to healthier levels.

The intake of sodium is becoming a greater problem across the world, but especially in the United States. While people for the most part are not adding sodium to the food themselves the processed foods they are eating contain more sodium than they did in the past.

It was just three years ago that the American College of Cardiology approved new guidelines regarding lowering cholesterol levels. However, in that time new treatments have been approved necessitating the implementation of new potential methods to help this patient population.

The approval of medications like statins and PCSK9 inhibitors to help lower cholesterol levels have proven helpful but a recent study looked at whether patients were getting not only the treatments they needed but whether they were getting the right dosage levels to help improve their health.

For many years, warfarin has been the primary option for anticoagulation, but recently newer medications have been approved that may provide better options for this patient population. While the clinical trials of the novel oral anticoagulant drugs showed positive results, there were still lingering questions about how they would fare in the field.

In a very short period of time a lot has been learned that can help people diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. For as much work has been done in the field it is only useful if it reaches patients in need which can be an issue no matter where they live.

There have been several guidelines published in recent years about the proper blood pressure levels for patients with hypertension and how best to avoid the condition altogether. Weighing these guidelines in practice can be a challenge for physicians and patients alike.

The FDA approved a device that delivers an anticholesterol drug evolucumab, a PCSK9 inhibitor, just one a month.

A lot has changed in the field of cardiology over the past few years even disproving ideas that had been held by doctors a decade ago or less. As a result there is hope that patients with a variety of conditions can receive better care than those of the past.

When the American College of Cardiology held its annual meeting in Chicago it was a chance for some of the leading experts around the world to meet and share their knowledge in the field with their peers.

Recognizing the connection between stress and cardiovascular disease is one issue, figuring out what to do with this issue to help patients is proving to be a more difficult question to answer.

Studies have long shown the connection between stress and the risk of cardiovascular disease, a recent study used imaging to take a deeper look at this field of research.

People in the United States may not be as aware as others around the world about the need or ability to be an organ donor. While this is different depending the country the common thread is that there is a great need for donors until artificial organs become widely available.

For patients eligible for a heart transplant getting on the list is just the first of many steps that need to happen before the procedure can be done.

While patients needing heart donations still drastically outnumbers the available organs for transplants recent changes in guidelines for transplantation have made the procedure available for an even wider patient population.

There are many factors to consider when looking at a patient's overall cardiac health. When doctors are reading charts with blood pressure, LDL, and others it can make finding the right course of treatment a challenge when looking to find the right medication. Sometimes, especially when it comes to triglycerides alternative medicine can be a valuable option to consider.

It has been several years since Eliquis was approved as an oral anticoagulant but still more research is being done to show its benefits in helping patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation.

It was just one year ago when doctors were excited about being able to offer PCSK9 inhibitors to patients in the hopes of helping them lower their cholesterol. Since that time one considerable challenge they have faced is overcoming the cost of this new class of medication.

At the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology a debate was held looking at how coronary artery calcium should affect patient care.

Patient has a history of hypertension; symptoms present x1 day; what's your read of the ECG?

The most common cause of hypomagnesemia is a diuretic; it may be present even when potassium level is normal.

Across the spectrum of medicine machines are being trained to play a larger role in the diagnosis and treatment process. A recent study looked at whether machines are better at predicting the future for a patient and their overall care.

To say that a patient has been diagnosed with myocardial infarction may not paint the full picture of the diagnosis. Recent research has shown there is a second type of the condition which not as much is known about across the spectrum.