Category Archives: Cardiology

Cardiology

PA Martine Altieri Brings an Obesity Medicine Clinic to Her Cardiology Patients – AAPA

PAs treat people with obesity every dayit affects every specialty

March 5, 2024

By Jennifer Walker

About nine years ago, when she was practicing in family medicine, Martine Altieri, PA-C, FMG, MHS, now a cardiology PA, was struck by how her collaborating physician addressed obesity with patients. He would tell them the long-held advice about treating this disease: They needed to exercise more; they needed to eat healthier food and less of it; they needed to fill half of their plate with greens. The patients really felt apprehensive about having this conversation because of the way he approached it and mostly blamed them for gaining weight, Altieri said. I always felt bad for them. I thought, Theres got to be another way.

During the pandemic, Altieri began to take courses on obesity medicine, completing the Fundamentals of Obesity Treatment course with the Obesity Medicine Association (OMA) and the Obesity Management in Primary Care Training and Certificate Program with AAPA in collaboration with The Obesity Society. In these programs, she learned how to approach an obesity diagnosis and craft comprehensive, evidence-based plans for patients based on the four pillars of clinical obesity treatment: nutrition therapy, physical activity, behavior modifications, and medical interventions.

Then in 2022, Altieri found a way to formally bring obesity medicine into her work. She was applying for a position with MyCardiologist, a group of private practices in Florida, when interviewers asked what new ideas she could bring to their practice. Altieri expressed a desire to start an obesity medicine clinic tailored to cardiology patients. She was hired and has since been making that dream a reality.

Today, Altieri, who is based in Boca Raton, Florida, is focusing on building up the clinic to address obesity, which was classified as a chronic disease by the American Medical Association in 2013. She is also a leader, advocate, and educator in several special-interest groups and AAPA caucuses, including PAs in Obesity Medicine, for which she is director at large. Altieriwho is also the public relations chair for PAs for Women Empowerment and a co-host for the Journal of the American Academy of PAs (JAAPA) podcastvalues this role because she sees the importance of all PAs learning how to approach obesity with their patients.

Every PA should be interested in obesity medicine, she said. It affects every specialty.

Addressing Obesity in a Cardiology Practice Altieri graduated from medical school in Haiti before moving to the United States in 2008 to be with her husband. To become a physician in the U.S., she would have had to go through the lengthy process of taking the three-step United States Medical Licensing Exam and completing at least a three-year residency program. Then she learned about the PA profession through her sister-in-law, and realized that she could practice more quickly if she became a PA.

After graduating from the PA program at Miami Dade College in 2010, Altieri practiced in family medicine, urgent care, and hospital medicine before transitioning to cardiology. At MyCardiologist, about 80% of her patients are age 70 or older. Altieri has a full schedule in this specialty: She does rounds at the hospital, cares for patients in an outpatient setting, and spends a half-day a week doing implants of loop recorders, a device that looks for causes of cardiac symptoms, such as irregular heartbeats and palpitations.

Yet, Altieri still has undertaken additional responsibilities to support her patients who have obesity and other chronic conditions that can increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases. She recently finished developing a template and resources for the obesity medicine clinic, including prioritizing the medication list and working with a dietician to create food plans that are specific for cardiac patients. When creating these resources, she thinks about her patients backgrounds. If you tell a Haitian patient they need to follow a Mediterranean diet, they dont know what that is, she said. We have to be specific. I give patients specific food lists so they know what they can buy and eat.

[For more information on obesity, check out AAPAs Obesity Toolkit]

When treating obesity, Altieri has also stuck to one approach that she learned in the beginning of her courses: She asks permission before starting the conversation. Not everyone is available or willing to talk about obesity, she said. You cant just offer obesity management. They have to be ready. Altieri likes to ask, May I talk to you about obesity? If her patients say no, she knows it is not the right time to address this topic.

Altieri also manages the Ambulatory Patient Monitoring Program to offer earlier interventions for patients who have high blood pressure, heart failure, and/or obesity. This initiative focuses on at-home monitoring of blood pressure, oxygen, pulse, and weight. Patients use a blood pressure device and a digital scale that transfer their readings to their charts via the cloud. Based on these metrics, which Altieri checks monthly, she will schedule virtual visits for patients if changes need to be made to their treatment plans for hypertension or heart failure. Altieri estimates there are more than 170 patients enrolled in the program.

We are looking for opportunities to add patients who have recurrent hospitalizations for heart failure or repeated ED visits with uncontrolled hypertension, and who we feel would benefit from more care at home, she said. Our goal is to prevent hospitalization and reduce ER visits. And patients like the idea of someone looking after them.

Educating Communities About Obesity and More Altieri is involved with several groups and activities that focus on various aspects of medicine. For PAs for Women Empowermentwhich focuses on advocating and promoting leadership roles for women in the PA profession and healthcare in generalAltieri manages the groups social media accounts. She educates the community about initiatives like The Pump Act, which states that mothers in the workplace have a right to break time and a secure spot to express milk for up to one year after their childs birth, and highlights women who hold or have held prominent positions within healthcare.

In 2023, Altieri also became a co-host for the JAAPA podcast. Previously, each episode of this show was focused on summarizing and reviewing JAAPA articles. But Altieri and her fellow co-host, PA Kim Ketchersid, introduced a new concept: They started to interview the authors who published the articles.

And since 2021, Altieriwho is currently working on a certification in cardiometabolic healthhas been a founding member of PAs in Obesity Medicine (PAOM). This group offers periodic information sessions that highlight obesity medicine education programs for PAs. PAOM also hosts webinars on obesity medicine topics throughout the year, such as a recent CME presentation on approaching and treating obesity from the endocrine perspective.

PAOM, whose membership has grown by 32% in three years, also plans to hold a meeting at AAPA 2024 in Houston, Texas, where several board members will present on obesity medicine. The groups goal is to reach as many PAs as possible with education and resources about the growing specialty.

PAs treat people with obesity every day, Altieri said. The more PAs know about obesity as a disease, the more we can help our patients.

Jennifer Walker is a freelance writer in Baltimore, MD. Contact Jennifer at[emailprotected].

You May Also Like Experts Address Pressing Questions Regarding Pharmacologic Obesity Treatment Bilingual PA Ledyenska Ballesteros Has Built an Obesity Medicine Program to Serve Her Primarily Hispanic Patient Population TV Host and Wellness Kitchenista PA Jessica DeLuise Promotes a Food-as-Medicine Philosophy

See original here:

PA Martine Altieri Brings an Obesity Medicine Clinic to Her Cardiology Patients - AAPA

Cardiology

WEGOVY APPROVED FOR HEART RISK: U-Mich cardiology, obesity medicine experts available for interview – Newswise

BYLINE: Noah Fromson

On March 8, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a new indication for the use of semaglutide (brand Wegovy) to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death, heart attack and stroke in adults with cardiovascular disease and either obesity or overweight. The FDA notes it should be used in addition to reduced calorie diet and increased physical activity. As you cover this, University of Michigan has experts in both prevention of cardiovascular disease and weight management/obesity medicine available for interview related to this development: Eric J. Brandt, M.D., M.H.S., is the director of preventive cardiology at the University of Michigan Health Frankel Cardiovascular Center. Brandt is a cardiologist/lipidologist and a clinical lecturer of internal medicine-cardiology at U-M Medical School.

Andrew Kraftson, M.D., is the director of the Weight Navigation Program and the Post-bariatric endocrinology clinic at the University of Michigan. Kraftson is an endocrinologist/obesity medicine specialist and a clinical associate professor of internal medicine-endocrinology at U-M Medical School. I am happy to facilitate an interview if you are interested. Noah Fromson (He/Him/His)Senior Public Relations Specialist & Medical Content ProducerFrankel Cardiovascular Center, Neurosciences, Kahn Pavilion, Broadcast ClipsC: (216) 509-8604

See the original post here:

WEGOVY APPROVED FOR HEART RISK: U-Mich cardiology, obesity medicine experts available for interview - Newswise

Cardiology

AHA Sums Up AI’s Potential in Cardiology, but Also the Hurdles Ahead – TCTMD

Questions about the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on cardiovascular medicine should be qualified with a when rather than if, according to a new American Heart Association (AHA) scientific statement. Much work remains, though, before these tools can be widely trusted to improve patient care, the authors stress.

Outlining the ways AI, machine learning, and deep learning have already been engrained in medical practice as well as the tools in development, the authors express optimism about their potential to improve diagnosis and treatment as well as prevention, but had some words of caution. Despite enormous academic interest and industry financing, AI-based tools, algorithms, and systems of care have yet to improve patient outcomes at scale, the authors state.

As with any technology, we get excited about its impact, but I believe this is a technology where the impact is unknown, writing committee chair Antonis Armoundas, PhD (Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA), told TCTMD.

Armoundas stressed the commitment of physicians to do no harm and pointed out that improper use of AI-based tools has the potential to adversely affect patients.

It feels like an Oppenheimer moment as we are trying to seek out how to improve outcomes for our patients, whether these are healthcare outcomes or quality of life, he explained. The speed at which this technology evolves makes us humble in being able to ground ourselves and think of the implications of what we are trying to accomplish, how we are going to achieve these goals, and being mindful of the potential negative effects that it could have.

The statement, published online last week in Circulation, is the AHAs second addressing AI this year, with the first directed specifically at its role in cardiac imaging.

What we should be seeking in the future is to build trust for these technologies, as with every other use of technology in medicine.Antonis Armoundas

With a wide variety of AI-based algorithms now available, including for reducing cath lab activation time in STEMI, detecting cardiomyopathy in pregnancy, and identifying heart failure or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the impact of these tools is already being felt by cardiologists. In compiling a statement of best practices and associated challenges, Armoundas said the AHA statement aimed to focus both on whats worked as well as identifying gaps and challenges, providing a framework for future efforts.

From clinicians to researchers, IT executives, and government entities, he said all invested stakeholders can take something away from the statement. This manuscript aims to provide a motive: a reason to go deeper and to look for more issues of interest, Armoundas said.

Best Practices and Associated Challenges

The authors identify six main uses and clinical applications of AI within the field of cardiology: cardiac imaging, electrocardiology, continuous bedside monitoring, mobile and wearable technologies, genetics, and electronic health records (EHR). Along with best practices for each of these categories, they list specific gaps and challenges as well. The biggest ones surround patient safety and data protection, bias and fairness, accountability and reliability, regulations and liability, cybersecurity and system upgrades, and clinical decision-making.

With in-hospital monitoring, for example, remote sensors may help improve the accuracy of alarms as well as reduce alarm fatigue. However, the authors point out that while this might sound appealing, limited data exist for these tools and the research that has been done shows that their effect can be altered by patient behavior.

Additionally, they cite the potential for AI to mine EHR data to make diagnoses and predict outcomes like in-hospital mortality. Again, though, challenges around EHR data curation and consistency have been shown to directly affect the potential for AI-based tools in this space, and the authors advise waiting until those issues are corrected before putting any algorithm into routine practice.

As exciting as many of these algorithms sound, Armoundas cautioned that there is a broad shortage of prospective data at this time, and among the studies that do have prospective designs, many are limited by narrow demographics. Increasing the generalizability of these algorithms will give these tools the chance to have a greater impact, he said. What we should be seeking in the future is to build trust for these technologies, as with every other use of technology in medicine.

This can only be done gradually, Armoundas continued, through prospective clinical trials. But the US Food and Drug Administration will also play a role in the way it labels these tools for use. If an algorithm is used as labeled by the FDA, perhaps that would provide the level of security and the level of trust when it is used by clinicians and when it has to be adopted by patients, he said, adding that this will be especially important as these tools start to be used in broader populations of patients than those in the initial studies.

Another issue, he explained, is how physicians can best incorporate their own opinions with the algorithm output when making clinical decisions. We argue that algorithms at this point are more likely to be used in conjunction with expert clinician opinion, albeit we do have evidence today, especially in imaging studies, that an algorithm can perform better than an expert clinician, Armoundas said. Going back to the point of using an algorithm on an as-labeled basis, that provides not only guidance to clinicians, but provides also a level of comfort in terms of liability.

Assigning a level of probability to these algorithms will also be imperative for incorporating them into clinical care so that clinicians can make informed judgements on how to act on the data provided, he added.

Keep an Eye on AI

In a commentary published on the AHAs Professional Heart Daily website, Caroline Marra, PhD, Joseph B. Franklin, JD, PhD, and Amy P. Abernethy, MD, PhD (all from Verily Life Sciences; South San Francisco, CA), write that though there is growing consensus on the need for adequate monitoring of AI tools, agreement on the right level of monitoring is lacking and figuring out how to accomplish monitoring across so many domains is a daunting challenge.

They argue for the creation of infrastructure to be able to simultaneously analyze multiple data sources but also acknowledge that thus far efforts to do this have generated more questions than answers.

Marra et al conclude that AI tools provide an incredible opportunity to enable continuous improvement, innovation, and equity in our healthcare systems and hold the potential to optimize health for all, with the caveat that this will only be possible and responsibly done if the performance of AI tools can be tracked as theyre deployed in practice.

See more here:

AHA Sums Up AI's Potential in Cardiology, but Also the Hurdles Ahead - TCTMD

Cardiology

Houston cardiology-focused tech platform exits to private equity, plans to scale – InnovationMap

A Houston health tech startup founded only last year has exited to a New York private equity firm.

CardioOne, which built a physician enablement platform for independent cardiologists, has been acquired by WindRose Health Investors. The complete terms of the deal were not disclosed, but according to a WindRose news release, the firm will provide up to $100 million of additional capital to go toward supporting CardioOne's growth.

The fresh influx of capital will go toward expanding and enhancing existing service options. The CardioOne leadership team will continue to be at the helm of the startup.

"We are excited for the opportunity to partner with WindRose as CardioOne embarks on its next chapter of growth," Dr. Jasen Gundersen, CardioOne's CEO and co-founder, says in the release. "We believe that working with WindRose, which has a history of successfully partnering with companies to help navigate the transition to value-based care, will empower us to continue supporting independent cardiologists while developing additional solutions that maximize each practice's potential in the shift to VBC arrangements."

Last year, CardioOne raised an $8 million seed round and announced key partnerships at clinics in New Jersey, Florida, and Pennsylvania, in addition to existing relationships in Texas and Maryland. CardioOne also partnered with MedAxiom, an organizational performance solutions provider in the industry.

"CardioOne's unique, physician-aligned model meets the market where it is and positions the Company to take advantage of the growing desire among cardiologists to maintain their independence," Oliver Moses, managing partner with WindRose, adds. "We believe CardioOne delivers a compelling tech-enabled offering to the independent cardiology market and has significant growth potential as the Company builds upon its momentum in 2023. We are excited to join forces with Jasen and his team as they continue to build upon the differentiated platform they have created."

More here:

Houston cardiology-focused tech platform exits to private equity, plans to scale - InnovationMap

Cardiology

The Daylight Saving Time Health Effects You Might Not Be Expecting, According to a Cardiology Specialist (Exclusive) – PEOPLE

As you prepare to spring ahead when Daylight Saving Time starts this weekend, prepare for the various health effects that could come with it as well.

On Sunday, March 10 at 2:00 a.m. local time, clocks across the United States and Canada will turn forward one hour to 3:00 a.m. local time. The biannual temporal event allows for more daylight at night between mid-March to early November.

Some love the extra sunlight in their day, but for those who like to catch their full eight hours of shuteye (or parents who want their kids to stay in bed longer), it's a less popular practice. This is because the Sunday time leap results in one less hour of sleep.

Dr. Rachana Kulkarni, regional Director of Cardiovascular Services for RWJBarnabas Health and Director of its Women's Heart Center, tells PEOPLE that "everyone" is affected by Daylight Saving Time because of circadian rhythm.

Commonly referred to as our internal body clock, a circadian rhythm is "the discipline the body goes by" that dictates multiple processes in the body. When that gets disrupted, Dr. Kulkarni says "the whole body and its basic metabolic function gets affected."

While ackowledging the "wonderful" extra hour of light that comes with Daylight Savings, Dr. Kulkarni who's board certified in cardiology and nuclear cardiology says it also comes with "some health challenges," which she attributes to "the disruption of the circadian rhythm."

Since sleep is "one of life's essential aids," Dr. Kulkarni says, it's among the most essential qualities to maintain good cardiovascular health. When our circadian rhythm is disturbed, our sleep is impacted.

Fortunately, she says "the most vulnerability comes in the first week" of our body's initial response to getting one less hour of sleep.

Read on for the negative and positive health effects associated with Daylight Saving Time and the helpful ways to combat the challenges.

Getty

Because the time change causes everyone to lose one hour of sleep, a disrupted circadian rhythm can result in some difficulty adjusting to the new schedule.

The American Health Association offers several detailed tips to combat this challenge, but Dr. Kulkarni highlighted some of the standouts. She says "we need to start thinking of this and transitioning our own health habits to get better" in the days leading up to Daylight Saving Time.

One easy way to acclimate your body: "getting out and get as much natural light as possible each day" after the time change occurs. And Saturday night before the leap, "wind down a little earlier."

Getty

There are certain cardiovascular risks associated with Daylight Saving Time, according to Dr. Kulkarni, including an increase in risks for stroke and heart attack.

Even during typical weeks, she says, emergency rooms and cardiologists see "a significant increase" in heart attack and strokes on Mondays, though the reason is unclear; "there is lot of debate in cardiology literature as to why this happens," she says.

"Now add that to disruption of the circadian rhythm," Dr. Kulkarni says of Daylight Saving Time and the number goes up furhter.

"There's a marked increase in heart attack and strokes" in the days following the change, she says, and that increase can last for up to a week.

Dr. Kulkarni says those who are "at risk for heart disease" and "risk factors like diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, family history" should be attentive to their health during this time. One particular group she mentions is post-menopausal women, who are "very prone for heart and health risks because of lack of sleep and interruption of the circadian rhythm."

"We have data and research to support that one in four post menopausal women are at risk for having irregular heart rhythm, such as atrial fibrillation," she explains. "Sleep disturbance is very common in perimenopausal and post menopausal women and that increases their risk."

As a result of disrupted sleep or sleep deprivation, cognitive function may be impacted. This is because our bodies need "seven to nine hours of sleep" to rest our bodies, hearts and brains, says Dr. Kulkarni.

Lack of good sleep "can lead to cognitive decline because you are unable to focus," she explains. "If your body is not rested, you are unable to focus that next day."

Getty

"Studies have shown that lack of good sleep, which is our body's reset point for the next day, or irregular sleep, can lead to depression," says Dr. Kulkarni. "Studies have shown that younger people are more likely to face depression and obesity due to lack of sleep."

Dr. Kulkarni says disrupted sleep and poor nighttime habits are correlated with weight issues linked to diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

When we feel tired, she explains we're "less likely to exercise." She says studies have shown sleep loss can "increases the risk of visceral obesity, which increases your cardiovascular risk."

Younger people "are more likely to face depression and obesity due to lack of sleep," while older people "are more likely to have cognitive decline ... and higher cardiovascular risk."

Getty

There also many benefits associated with Daylight Saving Time, including the most obvious: More sunlight!

"If we are prudent about how to transition our body, there are so many positives that we get with more daylight," Dr. Kulkarni says.

"It allows us to get more natural light, which is good for the body... So we need to take advantage of all those positives," she continues. "Exposure to natural light is a wonderful thing to do."

Dr. Kulkarni points out the benefits of natural light. She says it "allows better health" thanks to increased Vitamin D, but also says "it's amazing" for our bodies and our psyche.

Increased daylight and warming temperatures make physical fitness much more enticing during the hibernation-friendly winter months.

"My suggestion is to go outside and start exercising," Dr. Kulkarni says.

"We are going to now have light when we go out [before work] and when we come home," she explains. "So take advantage of the extra light that we have."

Dr. Kulkarni suggests going outside for a walk or a run whatever form of activity will "get yourself some fresh air." She says these are all great benefits to "turn this challenge" of Daylight Saving Time "into opportunity."

Getty

Despite the inevitable circadian rhythm disruption which affects sleep, there are ways to get your health back on track during Daylight Saving Time.

"We should know that these are the challenges and we should prep ourselves in a better way," Dr. Kulkarni says. "Get our bodies adjusted, start sleeping a little early, avoid caffeine, get into a good health hygiene so then, you are going to reap benefits of all the positives of Daylight Saving Time."

"Fear risks, mitigate [them], get into good sleep hygiene, and then it's all good," Dr. Kulkarni continues. "It's up to us. I always say knowledge is power!"

Maintaining good sleep hygiene and cutting back on screen time at night is also "super important to incorporate those good health habits," adds Dr. Kulkarni. "Avoid devices in the bedroom and shut all the devices down an hour before your bedtime to reduce the exposure to blue light."

Dr. Kulkarni's "appeal to all people" during Daylight Saving Time: "Limit use of technology. This is a good time to get out!"

Go here to read the rest:

The Daylight Saving Time Health Effects You Might Not Be Expecting, According to a Cardiology Specialist (Exclusive) - PEOPLE

Cardiology

How a big CMS update on carotid stenting could impact interventional cardiology – Cardiovascular Business

The decision received widespread support from U.S. medical societies, including those in the fields of neurology, radiology and cardiology. More than 800 comments were received during the CMS review process, with the majority expressing support for the expanded coverage.

"There were 14 medical societies or organizations that came out in favor, that includes the American Association of Neurology, and all of the cardiac, radiology and neurology communities entirely coming out in favor," explained Ken Rosenfield, MD, MSCA member and section head of vascular medicine and intervention, and chairman of STEMI and Acute MI Quality Improvement Committee at Massachusetts General Hospital.

He said MSCA worked to show consensus among many of the experts from the various specialties involved in carotid care and submit the request for review that included a clear and referenced outline of the clinical evidence.

The new CMS national coverage determination has greatly broadened the number of patients eligible for reimbursement when they undergo minimally invasive, catheter-based stenting. The biggest thing the CMS change does is lift off the restriction of payment being the deciding factor for care rather than what is best for a patient.

"I don't think it changes the hospital's business model or bottom line, but I think what it really does is improves patient quality outcomes. Because what you have now is the option to do multiple approaches to a patient without restriction by payment. So if medical therapy is the right thing to do, that's what you do. And if I'm a carotid center, but I think the right thing to do is endarterectomy because a patient has a bulky lesion or a type 3 arch or something like that, I'm going to send 'em a surgery and there's no inhibition for crossing over for the therapeutic which is most appropriate for the patient. And in the end, that reduces total mortality and total neurologic complications," Gray explained.

Rosenfield said patients will also benefit from having more informed decision-making.

"One thing that was important in the decision that CMS finally issued was that there should be a shared decision-making process that patients go through with their physician, be it a surgeon, a cardiologist, a radiologist, a neurologist or a neurosurgeon, and that all of the options are required to be presented to the patient so that the patient can make an informed decision. Now, in many instances, it might be the most appropriate thing to do an endarterectomy or to do optimal medical therapy. But in some instances, it will be clear that stenting is the right approach, and then there's going to be this big gray zone where patients will have the option of transcarotid artery revascularization (TCAR) using stenting or endarterectomy. And in that case, now the patient will actually be able to make their own informed decision for elective procedures," Rosenfield explained.

CMS now approves carotid stenting for asymptomatic patients with a stenosis of 70% or more, and symptomatic patients with more than 50% stenosis, Gray said. The decision allows for various catheter vascular access options including transfemoral, transradial or transcarotid.

While many patients may opt for the less invasive procedure if they have a choice, he said there are a lot of good clinical reasons for open surgical procedures, including the presence of comorbidities or anatomic issues that make catheter navigation difficult. Each patient case will have different circumstances, so ideally there should be a team-based approach to CEA or CAS.

"That doesn't necessarily mean that you have to have sign off for carotid procedure by one or another specialty. In fact, CMS rejected that and they agreed that anybody who's managing carotid disease should have full knowledge of all of the different options and their pluses and minuses and should present a balanced approach to the patient. The Multi-Specialty Carotid Alliance is really keen on ensuring that we end up with optimal outcomes for these patients that we think quality should be monitored and assured and that patients deserve that. So we're going to work very intensively on that with all of our colleagues from all different specialties to try to achieve that," Rosenfield said.

Often in medicine, when a solution to a problem is developed, such as a drug or device, the screening for patients with that condition increases and it is often found there is much larger patient population that originally thought. This certainly happened with the development of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) as an alternative to open heart surgery, where much larger population of of aortic stenosis patients came out of the woodwork and surprised cardiology in the past decade. The same thing happened when the FDA cleared use of transcatheter closure devices for patent foramen ovale (PFO), Gray said.

"When you create a therapy for patients, we find those patients and there's more surveillance for that problem. When you have limited options for that, it becomes less attractive. It's not great. I mean, that's not the way medicine should be practiced, but that's the reality of it," Gray explained.

Rosenfield said if CAS procedure volume goes up, it also will likely spur new investment to develop better interventional therapies. Keep in mind that the currently available stents, catheters and embolic protection systems for CAS were developed 15-20 years ago with little new innovation since. Rosenfield said the lack of innovation is mainly due to the lack of reimbursement and resulting lower numbers of CAS patients.

"I think that one of the things that happened as a result of the lack of coverage for CAS is a complete absence of investment in the carotid innovation space. There are a couple of notable exceptions, but by and large, there hasn't been a lot of innovation in this space," he said. I firmly believe we're going to get there."

Excerpt from:

How a big CMS update on carotid stenting could impact interventional cardiology - Cardiovascular Business

Cardiology

Global Cardiology Medical Imaging Informatics Market – Cloud-powered Telecardiology to Improve Access to Healthcare – PR Newswire

DUBLIN, March 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The"Global Cardiology Medical Imaging Informatics Market Growth Opportunities" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Cardiology is the second-largest generator of patient image data and reports, which need to be stored/archived, analyzed, and managed. This, coupled with hospitals' need to provide timely, high-quality care to patients, given the urgency of cardiology cases, necessitates a holistic view of cardiac patient data and a well-connected, enterprise-wide hospital informatics infrastructure, propelling the growth of efficient enterprise imaging informatics solutions in the cardiology specialty.

Hospitals face various challenges, such as radiologist/cardiologist burnout, rising costs, huge data silos, decentralized work environments, and the substantial time cardiologists spend on manual reporting. These factors create demand for robust cardiology image and data management, such as cardiology workflow solutions and structured reporting covering the unique needs of cardiology imaging.

Increased disease detection and diagnosis requirements also advance technology innovations across all modalities of cardiology imaging procedures, such as hybrid imaging and fusion imaging. These procedures create highly advanced images in large volumes and require appropriate cardiology diagnosis/interpretation solutions to decode/read and interpret images quickly.

As cardiology datasets increase, on-premises storage solutions will no longer be enough to manage the growing volume of cardiology data. This will drive the adoption of cloud-based cardiology image storage solutions, which are scalable and easily accessible from anywhere. Cardiology picture archive communication systems (PACS) are shifting toward cardiovascular information systems (CVIS) to meet the demand for a comprehensive, 360-degree view of patient health data from multiple disparate systems. CVIS enables a holistic view of a patient's health parameters and reduces the turnaround time for physicians to examine each patient.

Through this report, the analyst seeks to provide stakeholders with insights into the market and enable them to capture the opportunities available over the forecast period.

The report provides an overview of the global cardiology medical imaging informatics market, with a 5-year revenue forecast from 2024-2028. Cardiology informatics is an interdisciplinary field that uses data, information, and knowledge from cardiology health systems with information and communication systems for patient care with operational and financial efficiency for the enterprise. The geographical scope of this study covers 4 main regions: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the rest of the world (Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East).

The study forecast is categorized into 4 segments:

Other vital information:

Key Growth Opportunities

Key Topics Covered:

Growth Opportunity Analysis

Cardiology Imaging Informatics

Cardiovascular PACS

Cardiology Image Analysis and Visualization

Cardiology Workflow Solutions

Cardiology Enterprise Imaging

Competitive Landscape

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/hfjx2s

About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

Media Contact:

Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [emailprotected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Research and Markets

Link:

Global Cardiology Medical Imaging Informatics Market - Cloud-powered Telecardiology to Improve Access to Healthcare - PR Newswire

Cardiology

Valley Health cardiologist talks regional heart health | Nvdaily | nvdaily.com – Northern Virginia Daily

As the leading cause of death for Americans, one person dies from heart disease every 33 seconds in the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

With American Heart Month recently coming to a close in February, Dr. Saif Al-Najafi from Winchester Medical Center shared what area residents should know about caring for their blood-pumping muscle year-round.

In the past 10 to 20 years, we advanced from a prognosis of heart failure being similar to cancer to almost people living a normal life on medications, Al-Najafi said.

Despite treatment improvements, it is still crucial for folks to stay away from smoking, poor diet choices and other causes of high blood pressure and high cholesterol, which can lead to developing a weak heart, he said.

Smoking and obesity both seem to be highly prevalent in the community treated at Winchester Medical Center, according to the observations of Al-Najafi and his cardiologist colleagues.

Once you have a weak heart, we want to prevent hospitalizations. And that's easily preventable as well with a good education, he said. For example, with heart failure, they come again and get admitted and many times it's just lack of education when it comes to salt intake.

One diet misconception the doctor often sees is overconsumption of canned soups, which are sometimes perceived as healthy, but usually contain high amounts of sodium. Instead, one should aim to consume less than 2 grams of salt per day, especially in cases of a weak heart, he said.

His recommended diet is intermittent fasting, which consists of restricted eating during certain periods of time. Contrary to popular belief, the keto diet raises cholesterol due to increased consumption of foods such as red meat, he said. If one chooses to go the keto route, Al-Najafi advises attempting a modified version that eliminates or lessens food high in cholesterol.

An estimated 80% of the hospitals cardiac patients are elderly, with much fewer being young. One reason Al-Najafi suggested to explain this is that the surrounding community seems to be a place where people settle down after retirement.

Older people tend to experience more heart issues, he said. But placing an emphasis on healthy lifestyles as a young person is an extremely helpful heart disease prevention tactic, he expressed.

You don't just suddenly get morbidly obese because there's stages to get there, he said. And I think discussions happen relatively later than sooner and that's a problem.

Coronary artery disease (CAD), the most common type of heart disease, is almost entirely preventable based on lifestyle choices, he said. However, genetics can certainly play a role and he recommends being screened for a family history of premature CAD.

CAD is the primary cause of heart attacks, according to the CDC.

We have actually one of the fastest or shortest response times when it comes to heart attacks in the state of Virginia, Al-Najafi said. I think last year we were number one.

Al-Najafi, who specializes in advanced cardiac imaging, reported that Winchester Medical Center has roughly 90% of the most advanced imaging technologies, such as the ability to perform cardiac CT and MRI scans.

Other specializations at the center are electrophysiology, which focuses on patients who need pacemakers or have an irregular heartbeat, as well as interventional cardiology and heart failure specialists.

In the cases where Winchester Medical Center is unable to provide the help a patient needs, it connects with nearby institutions with which it has a working relationship, Al-Najafi explained.

I think the community is lucky to have such a hospital here that, at least from the cardiology standpoint, I would say provides 90% of what is needed by the community, he said.

The good fortune goes both ways, the doctor expressed.

We're very lucky to work in a community such as Winchester where most people are extremely nice and appreciative, Al-Najafi said.

Visit link:

Valley Health cardiologist talks regional heart health | Nvdaily | nvdaily.com - Northern Virginia Daily

Cardiology

With the correct research, AI in pediatric cardiology has great potential – Contemporary Pediatrics

Scott Ceresnak, MD, cardiac electrophysiologist, director, of the Pediatric Electrophysiology Program, Stanford Medicine Childrens Health, Palo Alto, California, shared his excitement regarding the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) technology in the pediatric cardiology space, including wearable technology, in this video interview with Contemporary Pediatrics.

Ceresnak noted mass research is needed to figure out how AI can further be used in health care, but explained trials are underway in various health care spaces.

Transcript (edited for clarity):

Contemporary Pediatrics:

Dr. Ceresnak, when it comes to AI, it's dominating the headlines in the medical field for a varying number of reasons, but we have seen in some indications and populations, that technology trickle into the pediatric space. From a cardiology perspective, what are some of those findings and what are you starting to see be rolled out, or tested if nothing else?

Scott Ceresnak, MD:

You know, AI is such a hot topic now. And, really, there's so much promise with the technology going forward. I would say a couple of things with AI, first of all, as you mentioned, so much of the AI data that's being generated, and algorithms that are being generated are adult centric, right?

So I think we have to be a bit careful. And just because these algorithms work well, on adults, we don't know if that's going to trickle down if those specific algorithms are going to work in children. So I think the first step is, for most AI algorithms, you need big data, right? So you need a big data sets to understand how can you distinguish normal or abnormal. Then you need a good big group to validate that algorithm. Does it work? So, we need big datasets in children that can really, A.) Provide good machine learning algorithms, and then B.) validate them and see do they work or not.

I think that's a big step for us is really getting a lot of big data to generate these algorithms and generate specific pediatric level algorithms. So I think the first steps that are coming is do these algorithms work in children? Do the adult algorithms working children? And then can we develop our own pediatric specific elements? And I think there's a lot of work in CG space, electrocardiograms, and that there's a lot of work that a bunch of groups are doing here at Stanford and a bunch of other groups across the country, great centers are doing a lot of machine learning work on ECGs.

As I mentioned before, echocardiography, looking sonograms of the heart, one of my colleagues at Stanford Charitha Reddy is doing great work looking at, can we create artificial intelligence-based readings of these echocardiograms? Can we distinguish normal from abnormal and take away the human part of the reading. And really, I think amazing work is being done. I feel like we're sort of at the tip of the iceberg and what we can do and what we're starting to see in the pediatric space and I'm super excited about what's to come, really on the electrophysiology side and ECG algorithms and other arrhythmia detection algorithms. But then also, looking at in hospital infection of arrhythmias and early detection of potential events in the hospital, and imaging wise. I think, on the imaging side, this is going to revolutionize the way we sort of see echocardiograms and other imaging modalities in children.

I'm excited about this space, especially wearables, and I think they carry great promise and I think they carry a lot of hope for arrhythmia detection in children. I would caution people too to say that, as I mentioned before, all these algorithms are built for adults.

I think we have to be careful how we interpret the data and the combination of using the watch and using the data that we can get from these smartwatches, but also using the clinical judgment of important people who are experts in the field, is going to be really important to strike that balance between not raising anxiety too much in terms of families, but also, truly picking up the arrhythmias that we can treat and we can help kids going forward.

Follow this link:

With the correct research, AI in pediatric cardiology has great potential - Contemporary Pediatrics