Organization

American Heart Association


ESC: Real-life AF management does little more than relieve symptoms

Top Stories | Wednesday, September 01 2010
Control of atrial fibrillation (AF) was not achieved in more than 40 percent of the AF patients included in a 10,000 patient REALISE-AF registry, according to a study presented Sept. 1 at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) congress in Stockholm.
 

AHA statement: CCTA has triage niche in chest pain patients

Top Stories | Thursday, August 26 2010
With the advent of 64-slice CT, coronary CT angiography (CCTA) exams of low-risk patients presenting to the emergency department with chest pain are feasible given the nearly 100 percent negative predictive value of the test, according to a scientific statement from the American Heart Association (AHA) published in the Aug. 17 issue of Circulation.
 

Analog Devices' tech powers Zoll's PocketCPR

New Products | Thursday, August 26 2010
Medical device company Zoll Medical has selected Analog Devices' iMEMS technology to enable PocketCPR, Zoll’s palm-sized CPR device, to measure the rate and depth of chest compressions administered by rescuers.
 

AHA advisory: CV risk in Asian-Americans demands more research

Industry News | Monday, August 23 2010
While the Asian-American population accounts for 25 percent of the total foreign-born individuals in the U.S., targeted research regarding this population and their heart disease risk is limited and more is necessary, according to an American Heart Association (AHA) science advisory published in the Aug. 24 edition of Circulation.
 

UnitedHealthcare dishes out $1.95M to improve physical activity

Industry News | Thursday, August 19 2010
UnitedHealthcare will dole out $1.95 million within the next three years to the American Heart Association (AHA) to help improve and maintain peoples walking and exercises regimens by developing walking paths and online walking resources.
 

Study: Beware the bad attitude, as it may develop into MI, stroke

Clinical Studies | Monday, August 16 2010
Antagonistic people who exhibit competitive and aggressive behavior may be at an increased risk to develop heart attack or stroke, according to a study published online Aug. 16 in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.
 

'Medical necessity' joins RAC review requirements

Industry News | Friday, August 13 2010
To help shrink improper payments, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a list of medical necessity review audits required for its Medicare recovery audit contractor (RAC) program.
 

Study: 25% of stroke patients discontinue therapy after discharge

Clinical Studies | Tuesday, August 10 2010
One-quarter of stroke patients discontinue one or more of their prescribed medications for secondary prevention within three months of a hospitalization. And several factors such as insurance, finances and older age may be the culprit, according to research from the AVAIL registry published online Aug. 9 in the Archives of Neurology.
 

AIM: Physicians fall short of heart failure guidelines

Top Stories | Friday, August 06 2010
Despite the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology guidelines that outline the most appropriate treatment for congestive heart failure, physicians are slacking on prescribing proper drug therapy that would be most beneficial, according to a study published in the Aug. 9/23 edition of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
 

Lancet: IV alteplase for stroke safe after three hours

Clinical Studies | Monday, July 26 2010
Treating stroke patients with intravenous alteplase (Activase, Genentech) beyond the accepted three-hour window is associated with a small increase in adverse events, but overall the benefits of any treatment over no treatment outweigh the risks, according to a substudy of the SITS-ISTR registry in the August edition of Lancet Neurology.
 

Cardiologists Team with Other Specialists to Combat Sleep Apnea

Features | Monday, July 26 2010
Written by Kaitlyn Dmyterko
The ever-increasing evidence linking obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) to cardiovascular conditions has spurred cardiologists to form multidisciplinary teams to better treat their patients suspected of having OSA.
 

Circulation: Most evidence-based strategies can IMPROVE HF

Clinical Studies | Friday, July 23 2010
Five of the seven evidence-based strategies within the IMPROVE HF program improved heart failure care in cardiology practices, according to a study published online July 26 in Circulation.
 

JACC: New guidelines outline proper HF, transplant care

Industry News | Wednesday, July 21 2010
New guidelines published in this week's Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC) outline the specific methods needed to properly manage heart failure (HF) and heart transplant patients, including practicing at an institution with the proper infrastructure to necessitate care, working in a multidisciplinary team-based approach and utilizing a disease management approach to care.
 

N.Y. audit reveals public AEDs in need of better oversight

Industry News | Monday, July 19 2010
An audit of by the city comptroller of Staten Island, N.Y., has shown that many of the automated external defibrillators (AEDs) placed in city parks and recreation centers are not properly maintained.
 

JACC: NCDR’s analysis shows improvement in U.S. MI treatment

Clinical Studies | Wednesday, July 14 2010
Hospitals across the U.S. are making "impressive improvements" in the care of patients who have a heart attack or undergo PCI procedures, according to an analysis of the American College of Cardiology Foundation’s National Cardiovascular Data Registry (NCDR), which appears in the July 20 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
 

AHA statement: Behavioral interventions are best preventive means for heart risk

Industry News | Wednesday, July 14 2010
Combining counseling and extended follow-up with a healthcare provider and self-monitoring of diet and exercise is the most effective way to help patients embrace lifestyle changes that can lower their risk for cardiovascular diseases, according to a scientific statement published in July in Circulation.
 

Lockwood, Sacco to lead AHA

Executive Announcements | Friday, July 09 2010
The American Heart Association (AHA) has selected the national officers for the 2010-2011 fiscal year, including Debra W. Lockwood as chairman and Ralph L. Sacco, MD, as president of the association.
 

AHA selects Boston card as phyisician of the year

Executive Announcements | Friday, July 02 2010
The American Heart Association has awarded its Physician of the Year Award to Gary J. Balady, MD, professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine and director of noninvasive cardiology and preventive Medicine at Boston Medical Center.
 

ACC/AHA elucidate FDA boxed warning on Plavix for practices

Top Stories | Sunday, June 27 2010
Based on new information indicating that some patients vary in their genetic makeup in ways that may affect their response to clopidogrel (Plavix), the FDA has added a warning to the information for this drug. Today, the American College of Cardiology Foundation (ACCF) and the American Heart Association (AHA) released a joint clinical alert for consideration and recommendations for practice.
 

AHA statement: Thoracic aortic disease treatments need more review

Industry News | Friday, June 18 2010
Treating thoracic aortic disease (TAD) is often complex and difficult, but because endovascular treatment options have become more widely used and less invasive, a scientific statement issued by the American Heart Association said that a more comprehensive review of the current state of medical management, open therapy and endovascular treatments of TAD is needed.
 


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Web Exclusives

Feature: Expanded AAA screening algorithm targets 'missed' populations

Current screening recommendations for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) fail to target some people, including women and nonsmokers, in which a large number of ruptures and deaths occur, according to a study published in the September issue of the Journal of Vascular Surgery. Use of a new high-yield screening algorithm can expand the target population for screening and help to increase the detection of AAAs, senior study author Giampaolo Greco, PhD, told Cardiovascular Business News.

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.

Feature: As Maryland stent investigations continue, more oversight is needed

After 585 patients at the St. Joseph Medical Center (SJMC) in Towson, Md., received word that their cardiac stent procedures may have been unwarranted, Maryland attorneys filed a 19-page lawsuit against the facility alleging that Mark G. Midei, MD, director of the SJMC cath lab violated the Maryland Medical Practice Act. The court documents accuse Midei of performing “hundreds, if not thousands, of unnecessary cardiac stent procedures on patients.” Now, this case and others like it have left most wondering what this will mean for the industry.

Contributor: Old cardiac stem cells get boost with new technique

As people age, their stem cells also age, diminishing their functionality. Many studies conducted to determine the efficacy of cardiac stem cell therapy have used donor cells from younger patients. These cells are healthy and readily adopt the cardiogenic phenotype researchers are interested in. The problem with that approach, however, is that in clinical trials, researchers want to use patients' stem cells, but they can't expect to have similar results as with younger donor cells. The answer is to find a way to manipulate autologous cells so they regain their "youthful" function.Author: Atta Behfar, MD

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.