Montefiore | Strategic Alliance Partners

A lot has been done to bolster the treatment of congenital heart disease and managing the risks of this patient population. Because of that these patients are able to live a longer and fuller life including pregnancy and childbirth like other people.

Even the most severe cases of congenital heart disease can be treated to a level where they can safely navigate high risk pregnancies.

It was not that long ago that women with congenital heart disease were discouraged from becoming pregnant. Thanks to advances in diagnosis and treatment that is no longer the case.

Children and teens admitted to the hospital with pneumonia had a shorter length of stay with ibuprofen treatment than with acetaminophen, a Bronx team reported.

The field of obstetrics and gynecology is constantly moving forward including new treatments for conditions like fibroids as well as work on new surgical treatments like uterine transplants. All these changes can present a wide range of challenges for health care professionals who work in this area of medicine.

As fibroids become a more common problem facing doctors and patients new treatment methods are being developed to address it. From new medications to various procedures these can allow patients to get the care they needed without affecting their quality of life as much as previous choices may have.

With fibroids being a fairly common condition in the United States doctors are becoming more adept at the diagnosis process and finding treatment methods for these patients.

Patients with various forms of dementia, including alzheimer's disease face a variety of challenges in their daily lives including depression. As a result it is important for their health care providers to monitor their mental health and inquire about their ownership of firearms as a potential risk to themselves and others.

There may not be disease modifying treatments for Alzheimer's Disease yet but there are treatments in the pipeline which could help patients with this condition.

Treating neurological conditions like dementia and Alzheimer's Disease can be a delicate process. The Montefiore Health Network has developed a special center to help treat these patients and help the people who take care of them.

With an aging population of people from all over the world treating various conditions can be a challenge. This is especially true for conditions like dementia and alzheimer's disease where health care professionals interact not only with patients but their caregivers as well.

For patients who may be at risk of contracting HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis could be a way to minimize their risk of becoming ill themselves. However many patients either believe they are not at risk or do not know about the treatment option.

While hepatitis C is a largely treatable condition one of the biggest challenges remains identifying patients who may have the condition without even realizing it. As a result work is being done to improve testing rates to better treat this population.

Many patients treated in the emergency department refuse the offer of HIV testing. The offer is required in New York. In the Bronx, Uriel Felsen, MD, of Montefiore Health System offers some tips on how to get patients to says yes. In a study, Felsen and colleagues found patients are more amenable to the test after they are admitted.

It has been more than 5 years since New York State mandated that HIV tests be offered to patients between the ages of 13 and 64 be offered HIV tests in hospital emergency settings. Despite this offer many are refusing to be tested for a variety of reasons.

Women who get frequent migraines are likely to see these headaches increase as hormones fluctuate during the perimenopausal period.

The US Food and Drug Administration last night announced it has approved evolocumab (Repatha/Amgen), an injectable drug for some patients who are unable to get their LDL cholesterol under control. Statins are a cheaper and generally effective treatment, but the new class of drugs is expected to help people who cannot tolerate them, for whom they do not work, and for people with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia.

There should be a "clarion call to action for universal health coverage. But expanded coverage needs to be coupled with comprehensive change in how health care is provided and how it is reimbursed," said Dr. Steven Safyer.