Topic

Hypertension


AHRQ: Diabetes accounts for one-fifth of U.S hospitalizations, costs $83B

Top Stories | Monday, August 16 2010
In 2008, nearly one in five hospitalizations were diabetes-related, totaling more than 7.7 million stays and $83 billion in hospitalization costs--or 23 percent of total hospital costs in the U.S., according to a statistical brief released this month from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project.
 

HIMSS Analytics: Data analysis challenges ahead for hospitals

Industry News | Tuesday, July 13 2010
“The challenges that organizations face today with regard to clinical analytics are only going to be amplified in the future, as is evident in the later stages of meaningful use criteria,” according to a report from Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Analytics.
 

Health Affairs: Patient-physician email improves diabetes, hypertension care

Clinical Studies | Friday, July 09 2010
The use of secure patient-physician email in context of a comprehensive EHR is associated with the improved care for patients with diabetes and hypertension, according to Kaiser Permanente research published in the July issue of Health Affairs.
 

JACC: Can SPECT perfusion imaging predict sudden cardiac death?

Clinical Studies | Thursday, July 08 2010
Among patients with coronary artery disease and left ventricular ejection fraction greater than 35 percent, the extent of stress myocardial perfusion imaging perfusion defects is associated with an increased risk of sudden cardiac death, according to a study published in the July 13 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. However, an accompanying editorial questions whether the study's design is equipped to make this conclusion.
 

About 450K patients affected by security breaches in 2010

Industry News | Tuesday, June 15 2010

Since February, 24 security breaches affecting 500 or more individuals have been reported to the Office for Civil Rights. For the year, a total of 54 breaches have been reported, affecting about 449,008 individuals.

 

AJR: Reporting of extracardiac findings on CCTA not clear cut

Clinical Studies | Friday, June 04 2010
Coronary CT angiography (CCTA) often reveals incidental extracardiac abnormalities, including many pulmonary nodules. But more studies need to be conducted to determine the cost effectiveness of downstream tests for these incidental findings, according to a study published in the June issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.
 

VisEn introduces multi-species fluorescence tomography module

New Products | Monday, April 19 2010
VisEn Medical launched a new fluorescence molecular tomography (FMT) multi-species imaging module, to extend FMT imaging and related applications into larger preclinical animal models at the 101st American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting, being held this week in Washington, D.C.
 

JACC: Repeat scanning unnecessary for those with zero CAC score

Clinical Studies | Monday, March 22 2010
For patients with a coronary artery calcium (CAC) score of zero, repeat scanning is unnecessary, and for those with positive scores, CAC scoring becomes a “robust predictor" of its progression," according to a study published March 16 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
 

ACC: PINNACLE Registry aims to improve outpatient cardiac care

Conference News | Tuesday, March 16 2010
Written by Gina Narcisi
QATLANTA - Originally piloted two years ago as the Improving Continuous Cardiac Care IC3 registry, the recently rebranded PINNACLE registry is the first and only ambulatory registry for cardiovascular conditions in this country, noted William Oetgen, MD, clinical associate professor of medicine at Georgetown University, at the 59th annual American College of Cardiology (ACC) annual conference on March 16.
 

ACC: Multi-detector CT has high predictive value for obstructive CAD detection

Conference News | Monday, March 15 2010
Written by Gina Narcisi
ATLANTA -- The presence of obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) was found to be a significant predictor of adverse cardiac events, and multi-detector CT may be able to predict cardiac events in known or suspected CAD, according to researchers from the Division of Cardiology at Daegu Catholic University in Daegu, South Korea.
 

Cleveland Clinic, Microsoft project: Home health tracks chronic conditions better

Industry News | Wednesday, March 03 2010
The use of at-home medical devices to connect doctors and patients via the internet can help patients and their physicians work more efficiently together to manage chronic conditions, according to research at Cleveland Clinic.
 

AJC: Women less likely than men to have calcified plaque

Top Stories | Friday, February 12 2010
In a trial to assess gender differences in coronary plaque composition, researchers found that women presented less coronary segments with calcified and mixed plaque than men and had exhibited lower rates of coronary segments with stenosis equal to or fewer than 70 percent. The study was published in the Feb. 15 issue of the American Journal of Cardiology.
 

Study: Doppler ultrasound in pregnancy reduces threat in high-risk groups

Top Stories | Wednesday, January 20 2010
Current evidence suggests that using Doppler ultrasound in high-risk pregnancies to monitor a fetus' health may reduce Caesarean sections and the number of babies who die, according to research published today in the Cochrane Systematic Review.
 

EHJ: 11%-plus patients suffer acute kidney injury after TAVI

Clinical Studies | Saturday, January 16 2010
Acute kidney injury occurred in 11.7 percent of patients following transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), and was associated with a greater than fourfold increase in the risk of postoperative mortality, according to a Canadian study published online Dec. 27 in the European Heart Journal.
 

GE, Intel deal crosses the pond

Partnerships & Alliances | Tuesday, January 05 2010
GE Healthcare and Intel have expanded their sales and marketing agreement for the Intel Health Guide to include the U.K. GE already markets the Intel Health Guide in the U.S.
 

JNM: FDG uptake may predict subsequent vascular events

Clinical Studies | Wednesday, October 14 2009
Increased FDG uptake in major arteries emerged as a strong predictor of a subsequent vascular event, according to a study in this month’s Journal of Nuclear Medicine.
 

Mayo, Microsoft add Health Manager features

New Products | Friday, September 25 2009
The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. and Microsoft have enhanced Mayo Clinic's Health Manager application with features to help users manage hypertension and high cholesterol.
 

Study: Noninsurance means an extra 45,000 deaths annually

Tuesday, September 15 2009
A study in today's online edition of the American Journal of Public Health has found that nearly 45,000 deaths annually are associated with a lack of health insurance.
 

HFSA: Echo may not accurately assess PAH progression

Conference News | Tuesday, September 15 2009
BOSTON—Repeated echocardiogram assessments are not sufficiently accurate to monitor progression of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), according to results of the Registry to Evaluate Early And Long-term PAH disease management (REVEAL) presented Monday at the 2009 Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA) conference.
 

NEJM: Do benefits outweigh radiation risk in medical imaging?

Top Stories | Wednesday, August 26 2009
Written by Justine Cadet
In a retrospective analysis of nearly 700,000 non-elderly Americans who underwent at least one medical imaging procedure over a three-year period, approximately 20 percent received a moderate to very high dose of radiation, according to data in the Aug. 27 New England Journal of Medicine. Michael S. Lauer, MD, who wrote the accompanying perspective, stated that most imaging tests haven’t yet proven their benefit compared with the potential risks and costs.
 
Web Exclusives

Feature: U.S. needs national strategy to curb imaging overutilization

Medical imaging overutilization--a growing concern in the U.S.--exposes patients to unnecessary radiation, while also adding to rising healthcare costs, according to a study published online Aug. 24 in Radiology. In an interview, William R. Hendee, PhD, lead author, reviewed various methods by which medical imaging could be curtailed.

Radiology: Prelim study shows CE breast CT outperforms CT, mammo

Dedicated contrast-enhanced (CE) breast CT delivered significantly improved conspicuity of malignant breast lesions, including ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), compared with unenhanced breast CT and mammography, according to a study published in the September issue of Radiology.

Radiology: Rad role may evolve as image-guided biopsies trend up

CT, ultrasound and MRI have helped shift biopsy techniques away from more invasive approaches toward image-guided percutaneous techniques, according to a study published in the September issue of Radiology. The trend toward less-invasive approaches translates into enhanced safety and efficiency and could lead to more interaction between patients and radiologists.

CMS Webinar: Incentive payments to offset EHR adoption, not reimburse

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) EHR incentive payments are not considered reimbursement for money expended on EHR technology, but are intended to offset the cost associated with adoption and ongoing meaningful use, according to CMS during an Aug. 12 webinar.

CMS webinar: Eligible professionals can expect EHR incentives in 2011

Funding incentives for EHR use is the main goal of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) meaningful use initiative, and there are incentive programs for both hospitals and eligible professionals, according to Elizabeth Holland, health insurance specialist at the Department of Health and Human Services, who spoke during a CMS-sponsored webinar Aug. 8.

Webinar: Stage 1 of meaningful use is for quality reporting acclimation

Stage 1 requirements for meaningful use incentives aim to strike a balance between the overall goal of EHR use and widespread adoption, while avoiding added work, said Jonathan Teich, MD, PhD, chief medical informatics officer at Elsevier Health Services, during a HIMSS webinar titled “Meaningful Use: Safety and Quality of Care.”

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