September/October 2013

The cardiology profession, like healthcare, is in a state of flux. With large numbers of physicians at or near retirement age, there could be an exodus of talent. Today's newly trained specialists are finding that their career path bears little resemblance to that of their elders.

Who should prepare the next generation of cardiologists to succeed in the increasingly complex milieu of medicine? Physicians, medical schools or the societies designed to meet their professional needs? Perhaps all.

In the assessment of peripheral artery disease (PAD), the initial test requires only a blood pressure cuff and CT angiography (CTA) to noninvasively image small vessels. This would seem to leave MRI to play a bit part, but as techniques improve, MR’s role in both clinical use and research grows more important.

As co-chair of the Stroke Imaging Research group, Max Wintermark, MD, is spearheading an initiative to build a database of imaging facilities’ capabilities to facilitate image-guided stroke clinical trials. Wintermark, chief of neuroradiology at the University of Virginia Medical School in Charlottesville, recently discussed with Cardiovascular Business.

University of California San Diego Medical Center

Sometimes breaking off the rear view mirror and starting down a new path is the way to go. That’s what Daniel Davis, MD, advocates when it comes to improving survival of cardiac arrest patients, preventing events and enabling better neurological outcomes. A unique resuscitative training program at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) has helped increase the survival rate of cardiac arrest to 47 percent—more than triple the national average—as well as decreasing the overall incidence of arrests through surveillance and a rapid response team. 

One pro football team’s decision to screen team members for heart disease has elevated awareness of cardiovascular health and sports, but it also raises questions about the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of such approaches.

Effectively managing CRM device leads, lead failure and infection were highly discussed topics at the recent Heart Rhythm Society annual meeting in Denver. More than 35 sessions were dedicated to the topic.

Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics, the annual scientific symposium of the Cardiovascular Research Foundation, will celebrate its 25th anniversary this year in San Francisco, Oct. 27 – Nov. 1.

Bundled payments are gaining momentum as providers and payers begin exploring how to implement these models. Yet some policy analysts urge caution as they look beyond “how-to” aspects to longer-term consequences.   

Heart failure and acute myocardial infarction are two of three conditions at the center of the Medicare pay for performance bull’s eye. As the penalties expand to include other conditions, there’s much to learn from foibles and successes from hospitals across the country. How do you reduce 30-day all-cause readmission? It’s a complex challenge but one that Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles has met.

Multiple radiopharmaceuticals in the development pipeline are showing promise in cardiology. One expert shared some of the radiopharmaceuticals that inspire the most enthusiasm.

Curt Daniels, MD, FACC

Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) is the No. 1 birth defect in the U.S., affecting nearly 40,000 of the nearly 4 million live births each year (J Am Coll Cardiol 2002;39[12]:1890-1900).

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