HCI's Monthly Review of the Healthcare Industry
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Robert J. Stilley
President, CEO
HeartCare Imaging, Inc.
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Dear Colleagues,
Ahh, the 'Holiday Season' is upon us! I have to admit, my favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. Why?....well first, it falls on the day one of a four day weekend and is family focused. Second, there are great football games all weekend (Go Gators!!), third...don't forget about the amazing amount of food and drink involved, and finally...there is no pressure of getting the perfect present for anyone!
That bliss doesn't last long though...I mean Thanksgiving is followed by 'Black Friday' and 'Cyber Monday'...names that should have been saved for a Stephen King novel! It's not just the excessive holiday marketing as we balance all that fun with closing out a strong year for our businesses. We go from one of the most laid back holidays known to man to what has become the most intense few weeks of the year.
But, that doesn't mean anything to me today, right now I'm staying clearly focused on Thanksgiving and all of the great things in my life to be thankful for. Next month, we'll get into that wonderful holiday pressure cooker, and discuss the rest of the year!
Enjoy the newsletter!
Best regards,
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Taking Hypertension Medication at Bedtime Improves CVD Risk
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patients who routinely took their prescribed BP-lowering medications at bedtime, rather than on awakening, had improved ABP control (significantly enhanced decrease in asleep BP and increased sleep-time relative BP decline).
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Omega-3 fatty acids with statin therapy reduce major adverse CV events
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Eicosapentaenoic acid, or EPA, combined with statin therapy significantly reduced the incidence of major adverse CV events, according to a meta-analysis published in The American Journal of Cardiology.
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Onsite FFR-CT tops CCTA in detecting coronary stenosis
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An onsite fractional flow reserve CT (FFR-CT) algorithm detected functionally significant stenosis in patients suspected of having coronary artery disease with greater accuracy than radiologists reading coronary CT angiography (CCTA) scans in a study, recently published online in Radiology: Cardiothoracic Imaging.
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Heart disease and cancer risk may be linked
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Heart attack survivors may have an increased risk of developing cancer compared to people without cardiovascular disease, according to research to be presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2019
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Upfront Imaging Reduces Invasive Angiography in Patients With Unclear NSTEMI Diagnosis
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An imaging-guided strategy with CT angiography (CTA) and cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) reduces the rate of invasive angiography compared with usual care in patients who have acute chest pain, elevated levels of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT), and inconclusive findings on electrocardiography, a new study shows.
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Risks Mount for Lonely Hearts After Cardiac Surgery
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Loneliness can take a heavy toll on heart patients -- including a higher risk of death in the year after hospitalization, researchers found.
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Diagnosis of Treatment-Resistant Hypertension Predicts Mortality Outcomes in T2D
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For patients with type 2 diabetes, apparent treatment-resistant hypertension increases risk for cardiovascular events and mortality, according to study results published in Diabetes Care.
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Post-AF ablation death most common during 30-day readmission
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Early mortality after catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation affected nearly 1 in 200 patients, with most deaths occurring during readmissions within 30 days of discharge.
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Marijuana Use Linked to Stroke, Arrhythmia in Young People
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Use of marijuana is linked to a higher risk of stroke and hospitalization for cardiac arrhythmia in young people, two new studies suggest.
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Obesity in Childhood Linked to Reduced Cortical Thickness, Executive Functioning
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Reduced cortical thickness in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) related to childhood obesity may result in compromised executive function, according to study results published in Cerebral Cortex.
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Atrophy in Thalamus Linked to More Severe Non-motor Problems in Parkinson’s Patients
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People with severe non-motor symptoms related to Parkinson’s disease (PD) have a smaller thalamus compared to those with similar but mild to moderate symptoms, a brain imaging study suggests.
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Dementia Risk and Blood Pressure Tx Re-examined
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Blood pressure treatment, regardless of medication class, was tied to lower dementia and Alzheimer's disease risk in hypertensive people, a meta-analysis showed.
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Sugar-coating proteins can help us understand brain disease
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Researchers, led by Professor Daan van Aalten in the University's School of Life Sciences, have developed a new way to tag proteins in human cells with a small sugar molecule called O-GlcNAc. There are over 20,000 proteins in every human cell and approximately 20% of these contain O-GlcNAc.
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Weight-loss surgery may lower breast cancer risk
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Weight-loss surgery may do more than shrink one's waistline: New research suggests it lowers the chances of breast cancer among women with genes that make them vulnerable to the disease.
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Japanese researchers pave way for early diagnosis of Alzheimer's using blood test
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A team of researchers from Nagoya City University and other institutions have discovered a method that may pave the way for early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease using a blood test.
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Antifungals Go Head-to-Head in Pediatric Leukemia Trial
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Upending an interim analysis that suggested futility, caspofungin (Cancidas) proved superior to fluconazole (Diflucan) as antifungal prophylaxis for children and young adults with leukemia, a randomized trial indicated.
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Cognition Mostly Normal in Infants With Prenatal Zika Exposure but Without Microcephaly
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Cognitive development of infants with prenatal exposure to Zika virus but without microcephaly is similar to that of unexposed infants, according to a study of Puerto Rican infants.
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The New Frontier in HIV Care
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Individuals living with HIV have about 1.5 to 2 times higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) than those who do not have HIV, and they may develop earlier and more aggressive manifestations. To better manage these risks scientists are searching for HIV-specific CVD biomarkers that might better identify patients at risk and help monitor treatment effects.
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Cleveland Clinic develops tool to determine patients' risk of developing complications
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"The calculator can be a useful tool for physicians and patients with type 2 diabetes and obesity. It shows a patient's risk of heart disease, stroke, heart failure, diabetic kidney disease and death over the next 10 years with usual care. It also shows how a patients' risk of those adverse events could change after metabolic surgery," said Ali Aminian, MD, a bariatric surgeon at Cleveland Clinic.
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LEAPFROG RELEASES BI-ANNUAL HOSPITAL SAFETY GRADES
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Leapfrog grades are based upon process and structural measures such as hand hygiene, risk mitigation, and discharge communication, as well as outcome measures such as falls, pressure ulcers, and infections.
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Hospitals fall short of patient safety goals 20 years after 'To Err is Human'
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Signature’s example is a call to action for the healthcare industry, which has been far too complacent in the 20 years since the Institute of Medicine attempted to spark action on improving patient safety by reporting that at least 44,000 and perhaps as many as 98,000 people die in U.S. hospitals each year as a result of preventable medical errors. It estimated the cost in additional care, lost income and disability at $17 billion to $29 billion a year.
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Most patients with access to electronic medical records not using it
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Only about one in 10 discharged hospital patients given access to their electronic medical records go online to take a look, a U.S. study suggests.
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Supply chain tweaks could help average hospital hire up to 165 more nurses
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The gap between the most efficient supply chain operators and their peers has widened, revealing that hospitals have a $25.7 billion cost savings opportunity, according to an updated study.
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Politics that Affect Medicine
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CMS Releases Medicaid Data to Boost Medical Research, Care Quality
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The agency has publicly released Medicaid and CHIP data that should help providers and medical researchers understand Medicaid spending in an effort to boost care quality.
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Hospital price transparency rule could come before year's end, White House adviser says
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CMS could release a rule by the end of 2019 on a proposal that hospitals disclose payer-specific negotiated rates, a White House adviser said.
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Final 2020 CMS Outpatient, ASC Payment Rules Broaden Patient Access To Medtech
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The US Medicare agency is allowing more device procedures to be conducted at outpatient hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers (ASC), while approving several new devices for passthrough payments for three years under its Outpatient Prospective Payment System and ASC payment system final rule for 2020, released on 1 November.
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CMS wants to crack down on supplemental Medicaid payments
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The CMS on Tuesday proposed a new rule that would increase transparency for Medicaid state supplemental payments and financing arrangements to help hold states more accountable for Medicaid spending.
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For over 25 years, HRSI has provided Authorized User (AU) classroom and laboratory training to physicians. HRSI's training is recognized by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and fulfills the didactic training required by law.
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Save the date for RSNA 2019
Join us for our 105th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting, December 1–6, 2019, at McCormick Place in Chicago, IL.
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September 24-27, 2020
Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington, D.C.
We invite you to the 25th Annual Scientific Session of the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology to be held in Washington, DC. Join physicians, scientists, technologists, nurses, colleagues in industry and many others from around the world in this educational event and celebration.This year’s program highlights many exciting developments in the field of nuclear cardiology, and is designed to offer value to attendees of all levels of expertise and seniority.
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HeartCare Imaging, Inc. | Phone: 561-746-6125 | Fax: 561-741-2036 | info@heartcareimaging.com
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