Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Cardiology for September 2018. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal articles, as well as the FDA approvals and regulatory changes that are the most likely to affect clinical practice.
Increased Cardiovascular Risk for Diclofenac Initiators
FRIDAY, Sept. 28, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Diclofenac initiators have increased cardiovascular risk compared with non-initiators, according to a study published online Sept. 4 in The BMJ.
Handheld Device Inspired by Star Trek May Allow Rapid Diagnosis
FRIDAY, Sept. 28, 2018 (HealthDay News) — A device inspired by the Star Trek famous tricorder device pairs a handheld sensor with a smartphone app to measure the levels of various metabolites associated with multiple diseases in fluid samples from patients, according to a report published in an upcoming issue of Biosensors and Bioelectronics.
Physicians Often Don’t Address Their Burnout
FRIDAY, Sept. 28, 2018 (HealthDay News) — More than half of physicians experience burnout, and many do not seek treatment for burnout, according to a report published in the American Medical Association’s AMA Wire.
Implementing EMRs Affects Time Spent With Patients in Clinic
FRIDAY, Sept. 28, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Following a six-month learning period to implement an electronic medical record (EMR) system, outpatient orthopedic clinics return to pre-implementation efficiency, but there may be other lasting effects on productivity, according to a study published in the Sept. 19 issue of The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery.
Cardioverter-Defibrillator Vests Do Not Cut Sudden Death Post MI
FRIDAY, Sept. 28, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Wearing a cardioverter-defibrillator does not reduce arrhythmic death in patients with acute myocardial infarction and an ejection fraction of 35 percent or less, according to a study published in the Sept. 27 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Strategies to Cut Cardiovascular Risk Factors Show Mixed Results
FRIDAY, Sept. 28, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors remain prevalent despite known, proven strategies to reduce risk, according to research published in the Sept. 7 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Business Degree Increasingly Useful for Doctors
THURSDAY, Sept. 27, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Having a Master of Business Administration degree (M.B.A.) can help doctors with important, practice-related decisions, according to a report published recently in Physician Practice.
Guidelines Updated for Adult Congenital Heart Disease
THURSDAY, Sept. 27, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Updated guidelines have been developed for management of adult congenital heart disease (ACHD), according to a report published online Aug. 16 in Circulation.
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Practices Should Set Rules for Staff Social Media Use
THURSDAY, Sept. 27, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Medical practices can take steps to avoid problems related to use of social media by staff members, according to an article published in Medical Economics.
Time to Defib Not Linked to Survival in Pediatric IHCA
THURSDAY, Sept. 27, 2018 (HealthDay News) — For pediatric patients with in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA), time to first defibrillation attempt is not associated with survival, according to a study published online Sept. 21 in JAMA Network Open.
Burnout, Career Choice Regret Prevalent in U.S. Residents
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 26, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Symptoms of burnout and career choice regret are prevalent among U.S. resident physicians, according to a study published in the Sept. 18 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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PCI, CABG Both Acceptable for CKD Patients With LMCAD
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 26, 2018 (HealthDay News) — For patients with left main coronary artery disease (LMCAD), those with and without chronic kidney disease (CKD) undergoing revascularization have similar long-term outcomes with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), according to a study published in the Aug. 14 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
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Policies Should Encourage Healthy Food Consumption
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 26, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Diet is an important component that impacts cardiovascular risk, and policies should be implemented to improve dietary composition, according to an article published in the Aug. 21 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
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Enlarged Kidneys in Neonates With Congenital Heart Disease
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 26, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Neonates with congenital heart disease (CHD) have enlarged kidneys on average, according to a study published online Sept. 11 in Pediatric Research.
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Many Countries Failing on Non-Communicable Dz Death Targets
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 26, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Many countries are falling short on targets to reduce mortality from non-communicable diseases (NCDs), according to a study published in the Sept. 22 issue of The Lancet.
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Lorcaserin Facilitates Weight Loss in Overweight, Obese
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 26, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Lorcaserin facilitates sustained weight loss without increasing the rate of major cardiovascular events among overweight or obese patients, according to a study published in the Sept. 20 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Lack of CHD4 Leads to Abnormal Myofibrils, Heart Defects
TUESDAY, Sept. 25, 2018 (HealthDay News) — The absence of CHD4 in heart cells results in inappropriate production of non-cardiac muscle proteins, which subsequently leads to heart defects, according to an animal study published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Physician-Group ACOs Generate Medicare Savings
TUESDAY, Sept. 25, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Physician-group accountable care organizations (ACOs) participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) generated significantly more savings for Medicare that grew from 2012 to 2015 compared with hospital-integrated ACOs, according to research published in the Sept. 20 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
In 2016, Proportion of Uninsured Americans Down to 10 Percent
TUESDAY, Sept. 25, 2018 (HealthDay News) — From 2013 to 2016 there was a reduction in uninsurance among Americans from 17 to 10 percent, according to a report published in September by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the Urban Institute.
Total Diabetes at 14 Percent in U.S. Adults for 2013-2016
TUESDAY, Sept. 25, 2018 (HealthDay News) — The prevalence of diabetes was 14.0 percent among U.S. adults in 2013 to 2016, with prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes 4.3 percent, according to a September data brief published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics.
New Risk Factors Identified for Varicose Vein Disease
MONDAY, Sept. 24, 2018 (HealthDay News) — New risk factors have been identified for varicose vein disease, including height, according to a study published online Sept. 24 in Circulation.
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Net Benefit of Anticoagulants for A-Fib Varies With Stroke Rate
MONDAY, Sept. 24, 2018 (HealthDay News) — There is variation in the net clinical benefit of anticoagulants based on variation in published atrial fibrillation (AF) stroke rates, according to a study published online Sept. 25 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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Heart Failure Patients Enrolled in Hospice Use Less Health Care
MONDAY, Sept. 24, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Patients with advanced heart failure enrolled in hospice have fewer emergency department visits, hospital days, and intensive care unit (ICU) stays, according to a study published in the September issue of JACC: Heart Failure.
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Some Clinicians, Patients Record Clinic Visits for Patient Use
FRIDAY, Sept. 21, 2018 (HealthDay News) — A considerable proportion of clinicians and patients report having recorded a clinic visit for the patient’s personal use, according to a study published in the September issue of the Journal of Medical Internet Research.
Mortality Rate From Heart Failure Higher in Women Than Men
FRIDAY, Sept. 21, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Despite decreases in overall heart failure incidence and mortality in ambulatory patients from 2009 to 2014, mortality rates remain higher in women than in men, according to a study recently published in CMAJ, the journal of the Canadian Medical Association.
Dozens of Medical Groups Join Forces to Improve Diagnoses
FRIDAY, Sept. 21, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Every nine minutes, a patient in a U.S. hospital dies because a diagnosis was wrong or delayed — resulting in 80,000 deaths a year. That sobering estimate comes from the Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine (SIDM).
Study Provides Estimates of U.S. Prevalence of Type 1, 2 Diabetes
THURSDAY, Sept. 20, 2018 (HealthDay News) — The prevalence of type 1 and type 2 diabetes is 0.5 and 8.5 percent, respectively, among U.S. adults, according to a study published online Sept. 4 in The BMJ.
Research Links Doctor Burnout to Patient Safety Incidents
THURSDAY, Sept. 20, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Physician burnout is associated with increased risk of patient safety incidents, poorer quality of care due to low professionalism, and reduced patient satisfaction, according to a review published online Sept. 4 in JAMA Internal Medicine.
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Allopurinol Dose Escalation for Gout Doesn’t Improve Mortality
THURSDAY, Sept. 20, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Allopurinol dose escalation is not associated with reductions in mortality risk among patients with gout, according to a study published in the August issue of Arthritis & Rheumatology.
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Cardiac Monitoring Needed for High-Risk Breast Cancer Patients
THURSDAY, Sept. 20, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Risk of cardiotoxicity is higher for patients receiving trastuzumab and/or anthracyclines for the treatment of breast cancer, according to a study published in the Aug. 1 issue of JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging.
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Hospitals Charge 479 Percent of Cost of Drugs on Average
THURSDAY, Sept. 20, 2018 (HealthDay News) — On average, hospitals mark up drugs by 479 percent of their cost, according to a report from The Moran Company, commissioned by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA).
Statins Improve Long-Term Survival After AAA Repair
THURSDAY, Sept. 20, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Preoperative statin therapy is associated with higher long-term survival following abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair, according to a study published in the August issue of the Journal of Vascular Surgery.
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Residents Should Take Advantage of Paid Time Off
THURSDAY, Sept. 20, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Although there are many demands on residents, taking advantage of paid vacation time is one of the perks and should be maximized, according to an article published in the American Medical Association’s AMA Wire.
No Clear Benefit for Rivaroxaban After Hospital Discharge
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 19, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Rivaroxaban does not lower risk of symptomatic venous thromboembolism and related death in medical patients after hospital discharge, compared to placebo, according to a study published in the Sept. 20 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Global Prevalence of Insufficient Activity 27.5 Percent
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 19, 2018 (HealthDay News) — In 2016 the age-standardized prevalence of insufficient physical activity was 27.5 percent, according to a study published in the October issue of The Lancet Global Health.
HTN Tx Intensification Common Upon Discharge in U.S. Vets
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 19, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Fourteen percent of older adults hospitalized with non-cardiac conditions are discharged with intensified antihypertensive treatment, of whom more than half had previously well-controlled outpatient blood pressure, according to a study published online Sept. 12 in The BMJ.
Cardiac MR With Contrast Feasible in Developing World
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 19, 2018 (HealthDay News) — A cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) with contrast protocol is feasible for implementation in the developing world and can impact management, according to a study published in the Sept. 4 issue of the Journal of the American Heart Association.
EPA Plan Will Maintain Carbon Emissions From Power Plants
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 19, 2018 (HealthDay News) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has formally released its proposal to replace the Clean Power Plan with the Affordable Clean Energy Rule, which will keep carbon emissions from power plants constant, according to a report published by the American Thoracic Society.
20% of Children, Adolescents Use Prescription Medications
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 19, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Almost 20 percent of children and adolescents used prescription medications in 2013 to 2014, and 8.2 percent of concurrent users of prescription medications in 2009 to 2014 were at risk for a potentially major drug-drug interactions (DDIs), according to a study published in the September issue of Pediatrics.
Patient Health Information Often Shared Electronically
Poor Mental Health Tied to Premature Heart Disease 
Autism Tied to Higher Risk for Developing Cardiometabolic Disease 
Cardiovascular Hospitalization Increased After Sepsis Hospitalization 
Risk for Cardiovascular Disease Increased for Patients With Celiac Disease 
Emergency Diagnosis Linked to Worse Outcomes for Range of Conditions 
Non-Celiac Gluten/Wheat Sensitivity Self-Reported by 10.3 Percent 
Gluten-Stimulated Interleukin-2 Secretion Useful for Diagnosing Celiac Disease 
Gluten-Free Diet for Celiac Disease Increases Arsenic Exposure in Children 
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