Where are you with wearable devices? Sporting an Apple Watch or a Fitbit right now? When was the last time you looked at it? When patients ask you about a new device they saw on the internet, do you do some intel?

Where I live in Pennsylvania, not far from the “Heroin Highway,” the local news delivers frequent but superficial glimpses of the impact of the opioid epidemic on families and our communities. Statistics underscore such stories: More than 70,000 drug over-dose deaths just in 2017 with an associated “economic burden” exceeding $78 billion per year. 

Cardiologists want solid proof of AI’s efficacy and value. And even then, obstacles to acceptance may remain.

I don’t need to tell you that social determinants of health (SDoH) present challenges for your patients. You’ve seen the data indicating that as much as 80 percent of an individual’s health comes from factors other than the clinical care he or she receives. You know the impact of disparities. 

ACC.19 will feature 36 late-breaking clinical trials and clinical research studies, starting with the Apple Heart Study’s findings on the ability of a smartwatch to help identify atrial fibrillation. That question is just one of many the conference will address, says ACC.19 Program Chair Andrew Kates, MD, professor of medicine and director of the cardiology fellowship program at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. During a conversation with Cardiovascular Business, Kates predicted trial highlights and previewed some ACC.19 program innovations. 

Is Interactive Virtual Reality Poised to Deliver a ‘Eureka Moment’ for Cardiology?

In this magazine’s cover story, we examine the work that still needs to be done to improve women’s heart health. Despite significant progress, too many women aren’t even aware that heart disease is relevant to them, let alone their gender’s leading cause of death.

Smart technologies are often touted as the answer to some of cardiology’s greatest challenges. But where does hyperbole end and reality begin?