March 24th 2024
For Lp(a) Awareness Day, Mary McGowan, MD, FNLA, chief medical officer of the Family Heart Foundation, highlights how most people with elevated Lp(a) are completely unaware that they have this increased risk and calls for increased testing.
Cholesterol-Fighting Drug Evolocumab Also Reduces Cardiovascular Events, Study Finds
March 16th 2015Amgen's cholesterol-fighting PCSK9 inhibitor was shown to reduce the likelihood that patients would suffer cardiovascular events. The question now is whether FDA will grant approval soon and how widely the drug will be used, given speculation about its cost.
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An editorial accompanying the meta-analysis discussed the challenges physicians face when evaluating individual patient needs against guidelines. In the United States, the movement toward reimbursement based on population health measures has raised questions about whether it makes sense for patients to be given multiple medications to achieve small improvements toward targets. Results must be weighed against increased side affects or large out-of-pocket expenditures.
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A Look at the Unhealthiness of Sitting, and a Call for More Research on Its Effects
January 20th 2015The meta-analysis published today and an accompanying editorial should serve as a wake-up call for healthcare organizations about the costs of caring for aging populations that have spent much of their lives behind desks and watching TV.
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ACO Coalition Looks at Managed Care Tools to Help Employers, Promote Patient Engagement
November 26th 2014The ACO and Emerging Healthcare Delivery Coalition, an initiative of The American Journal of Managed Care, held its most recent WebEx session this week. Participants discussed new strategies and technologies that both employers and healthcare organizations can use to get patients to take ownership over their own care.
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Mentally Ill Die Young From Chronic Disease. Can Psychiatrists Fill a Medical Gap?
September 23rd 2014Patients with serious mental illness die 15 to 20 years earlier than those with similar cardiovascular conditions. According to Joseph P. McEvoy, MD, of the Medical College of Georgia, "There's no mystery here." Cognitive deficits, issues, and lack of access can make it hard for these patients to get primary care, and to stick with the instructions they do receive. To help this group, Dr McEvoy believes psychiatrists can gain competency to treat hypertension, diabetes, obesity and to help these patients quit smoking.
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Does CAC Testing Alter Downstream Treatment Patterns for Cardiovascular Disease?
This article provides an assessment of the downstream impact of coronary artery calcium scanning on the subsequent treatment patterns of non—high-risk patients.
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Two recent policy announcements, one from Medicare and another from the US Preventive Services Task Force, signal a shift toward understanding that America's battle with obesity and diabetes is not only a medical but also a behavioral health problem, and must be treated as such.
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Contemporary Use of Dual Antiplatelet Therapy for Preventing Cardiovascular Events
Use of dual antiplatelet therapy was modest for patients with existing cardiovascular disease for whom subgroup analysis from a landmark clinical trial suggested benefit in preventing cardiovascular events, and low for patients with multiple risk factors without established cardiovascular disease, for whom increased cardiovascular events were suggested.
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The Underuse of Carotid Interventions in Veterans With Symptomatic Carotid Stenosis
July 24th 2014For patients with symptomatic severe (>70%) carotid stenosis carotid endarterectomy is highly effective at reducing the risk of subsequent stroke; however few eligible Veterans appear to be receiving this procedure.
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Accountable care is forcing providers to develop new capacities and strategies for managing cost and quality trends. Prospectively managing the health of populations requires shifting the focus of care delivery from episodic interventions to continuous population management. As a result, accountable care organizations (ACOs) are dedicating considerable focus to developing the infrastructure and tools needed to help patients manage their chronic conditions. This is a significant departure from traditional care-delivery models and will require provider organizations to develop new partnerships and embrace new methods.
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Aetna Sees Promise in New Heart Disease Diagnostic
July 9th 2014With spending on diagnostics alone for cardiovascular disease likely to be a major challenge for insurers amid the baby boom wave, Aetna is turning to an emerging option as part of a strategy to avoid invasive tests and treatments.
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A Look at Stress, Diabetes, and the Brain: What Are We Learning, and Can Yoga Offer a Solution?
May 27th 2014Two articles in Evidence-Based Diabetes Management examine the relationships among stress, diabetes and the brain, and the growing body of research into yoga's positive effects on reducing stress and improving health.
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