Potassium cardioprotective in people with an ICD
August 29 ,2025
Overview:Increased potassium intake and dietary guidance reduced risk for adverse events in patients with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator and may be an affordable intervention to reduce overall CV risk.Results of the multicenter, open-label, randomized superiority POTCAST trial were presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress and simultaneously published in The New England Journal of Medicine.“The human body evolved on a potassium-rich, sodium-poor diet. ... Potassium is crucial for cardiac function, and we know from observational studies that low potassium increases the more
August is Civic Health Month: Let’s check our voter registration and register to vote
August 29 ,2025
Overview:Our vote is our voice and, as busy physicians, Civic Health Month is the perfect time to ensure we are registered to vote and have all the resources we need to cast our ballot.July and August represent months of significant transition in the medical community, with medical students starting medical school; interns, residents and fellows starting and continuing their training; and attending physicians starting new jobs. These transitions often involve moving to a new state, city or neighborhood. It is critical to ensure all eligible voters are registered to vote at their current address and more
Remote atrial fibrillation screening confers ‘modest’ benefits
August 29 ,2025
Overview:A remote screening strategy for asymptomatic atrial fibrillation involving use of an ECG patch for continuous ambulatory monitoring conferred a modest increase in AF diagnoses after 2.5 years among older adults at risk for stroke.The fully remote, randomized AMALFI trial evaluated long-term efficacy of AF screening via use of a 14-day patch-based continuous ambulatory ECG monitor (Zio XT, iRhythm) sent to participants by mail.The patch detected AF in 4.2% of participants, of whom half had an AF burden less than 10%. After 2.5 years, a diagnosis of AF was recorded in 6.8% of patients who wore more
Digitoxin improves outcomes in some patients with heart failure
August 29 ,2025
Overview:In patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction on guideline-directed medical therapy, digitoxin conferred lower rates of death or worsening HF compared with placebo, according to results of the DIGIT-HF trial.For DIGIT-HF, presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress and simultaneously published in The New England Journal of Medicine, Udo Bavendiek, MD, professor in the department of cardiology and angiology at Hannover Medical School, Germany, and colleagues randomly assigned 1,212 patients with symptomatic HFrEF (mean age, 66 years; 20% women; 65% on implantable more
Risk for Parkinson’s disease increased with presence of metabolic syndrome components
August 29 ,2025
Overview:In a large cohort of U.K.-based adults, the risk for Parkinson’s disease was elevated depending on the presence of a higher number of components of metabolic syndrome, according to research published in Neurology.“Metabolic syndrome represents a cluster of modifiable risk factors,” Weili Xu, PhD, professor in the department of neurobiology, care sciences and society at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, told Healio. “Managing our metabolic health in midlife could be a potential avenue for reducing the risk of Parkinson's in older age.”As the associations between more
Cardiovascular event risk differs in high, low risk OSA with CPAP
August 29 ,2025
Overview:Among patients with obstructive sleep apnea and cardiovascular disease, a certain OSA phenotype impacted whether CPAP use lowered or heightened the risk for adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events, according to study results.These findings were published in the European Heart Journal.“CPAP is mainly prescribed to relieve the daytime symptoms of sleep apnea,” Ali Azarbarzin, PhD, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and lead investigator in the division of sleep and circadian disorders at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, told Healio. “For more
Health risks after childhood cancer persist past age 50
August 29 ,2025
Overview:Older survivors of childhood cancer remain at risk for poor health outcomes well into middle age, according to study results.Survivors aged 50 years or older exhibited elevated risk for premature mortality or new incident cancers compared with cancer-free controls.They also had higher prevalence of chronic health conditions and frailty than their siblings.Risk for comorbidities correlated with radiation exposure but no other form of treatment.“Thanks to more effective treatments and supportive care strategies, childhood cancer survivors are living much longer than those who were more
White House says Monarez fired as CDC director
August 28 ,2025
Overview:HHS announced Wednesday afternoon that Susan Monarez, PhD, is no longer the director of the CDC, touching off a series of high-level resignations at the agency — and pushback from her lawyers, who insist she remains director.HHS made the surprise announcement on X, thanking Monarez “for her dedicated service to the American people” and adding that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has “full confidence in his team at CDC who will continue to be vigilant in protecting Americans against infectious diseases at home and abroad.”Monarez was nominated by President more
Lp(a) predictive of ‘extracoronary’ vascular disease
August 28 ,2025
Overview:Elevated lipoprotein(a) was a significant marker of risk for atherosclerotic vascular disease beyond coronary heart disease, including peripheral artery disease and major adverse limb events, researchers reported.Although elevated Lp(a) was prevalent among people with carotid stenosis, the link between Lp(a) and stroke was not significant, according to study findings published in Circulation.“Despite research examining the role of Lp(a) in the development of atherosclerotic disease, key gaps remain in understanding its role in extracoronary vascular outcomes,” Tiffany R. Bellomo, more
Embrace your expertise: Fight misinformation with social media
August 27 ,2025
Overview:AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. — Although many medical specialists may be afraid to embrace social media, it is an essential tool for fostering positive change within the health care system, according to two speakers.At the Women in Ophthalmology Summer Symposium, Kristin Flanary and William Flanary, MD, also known as the Glaucomfleckens, said that since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a shift in where most of the public look for information, with 76% of adults relying on social media.“Rates of medical misinformation and social media posts can reach up to 87%,” William Flanary more
Energy-reduced Mediterranean diet shows effectiveness at lowering diabetes risk
August 27 ,2025
Overview:An energy-reduced Mediterranean diet combined with physical activity greatly lowered the risk for diabetes in adults with overweight or obesity vs. a normal Mediterranean diet, a study showed.“Clinicians should consider recommending this multidomain intervention approach for patients with overweight or obesity, particularly when conventional Mediterranean dietary advice alone has proven insufficient,” Jordi Salas-Salvadó, MD, PhD, a professor of nutrition at the University of Rovira i Virgili in Spain, told Healio. “We think that this multicomponent lifestyle more
PREVENT calculator may alter statin eligibility
August 27 ,2025
Overview:Adopting 10-year atherosclerotic CVD risk thresholds based on the PREVENT equations may help guide statin initiation for the prevention of ASCVD events, according to a research letter published in JAMA Cardiology.Prior research published in Circulation showed that Pooled Cohort Equations may overestimate CVD risk by approximately twofold.“Therefore, the Predicting Risk of Cardiovascular Disease Events (PREVENT) equations were developed to more accurately estimate risk, prompting the need to define PREVENT-specific risk thresholds that consider risk of adverse effects of therapy, which more
Cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease in cystic fibrosis
August 27 ,2025
Overview:Adults with vs. without cystic fibrosis and no lung transplant have higher rates of cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, kidney stones and cancer, according to results published in Annals of the American Thoracic Society.Further, each of these complications happened at a younger age in those with cystic fibrosis (CF), according to researchers.“This study has clinical implications highlighting the need for CF care models to identify and address these emerging non-pulmonary comorbidities early to improve care for [people with] CF,” Rigya Arya, MD, of the division of more
‘Cardiologists can help’ address vaccination rates
August 26 ,2025
Overview:The American College of Cardiology issued clinical recommendations for influenza, pneumococcal, COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus and zoster vaccination as part of routine cardiology care.A report from the ACC Solution Set Oversight Committee overviewing benefits and recommendations for primary respiratory vaccination for people with heart disease was published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.The committee stated its endorsement of vaccine recommendations made by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the CDC as of May.“The ACC has recognized the more
Tool identifies 1-year mortality risk in chronic lung disease, PH
August 26 ,2025
Overview:A risk assessment tool including five factors identified whether patients with chronic lung disease and pulmonary hypertension face a high, intermediate or low risk for 1-year mortality, according to study results.These findings were published in BMC Pulmonary Medicine.“For frontline clinicians, the score offers several practical benefits: improved prognostication at the point of diagnosis; a framework to guide decisions regarding referral for lung transplantation, palliative care discussions or therapeutic escalation; and enhanced clarity in shared decision-making with patients and more
Abdominal fat can pose heart-related risk in people with HIV
August 25 ,2025
Overview:In the mid-1990s, clinicians treating people with HIV began to notice a syndrome characterized by loss of limb fat, facial wasting and accumulation of abdominal fat in individuals on early combination antiretroviral therapy regimens.Initially known as lipohypertrophy, the phenomenon eventually assumed the broader definition of clinically apparent lipodystrophy, which, at its height, affected roughly half of people with HIV (PWH) on combination antiretroviral therapy (ART). With the incorporation of thymidine analogs and first-generation protease inhibitors into early combination ART regimens, more
Alcohol withdrawal syndrome linked to post-surgery complications
August 25 ,2025
Overview:Alcohol withdrawal syndrome can greatly complicate a person’s recovery after surgery, according to retrospective study results.Individuals diagnosed with the condition exhibited elevated risk for postoperative complications. They also required longer hospital stays and incurred higher hospitalization costs.“We want to do everything we can to minimize morbidity and mortality, so screening for alcohol use preoperatively and early identification of alcohol withdrawal syndrome are very important,” researcher Timothy W. Pawlik, MD, PhD, MPH, MTS, MBA, chair of the department of more
Low sedentary time, not 10,000 steps for heart health
August 22 ,2025
Overview:Daily physical activity is effective in reducing risk for heart disease, but a dogmatic 10,000 steps per day goal is not based on evidence, and other lifestyle factors should be considered.A recent meta-analysis of 31 studies designed to examine how daily steps impact health challenged the 10,000 steps notion and was published in The Lancet Public Health.As Healio previously reported, just 7,000 steps per day was enough to significantly reduce risk for death, CVD, cancer mortality dementia and more.Similarly, another recent study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology more
Although rare, GLP-1s tied to higher risk for eye complications
August 22 ,2025
Overview:People with type 2 diabetes treated with GLP-1 receptor agonists may face a slightly higher risk for eye complications compared with those who receive other antidiabetic medications, two studies show.The findings, published simultaneously in JAMA Network Open, indicate a need for patient-provider discussions about possible risks and for more studies to better understand the associations, according to researchers.Healio previously reported that semaglutide (Novo Nordisk) use was tied to a higher risk for nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), though past literature on this more
Q&A: Early detection of heart trouble key to treating Duchenne muscular dystrophy
August 22 ,2025
Overview:Echocardiography may be at the vanguard for early and rapid detection of heart issues indicative of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, according to a study published in the Journal of Cardiovascular Development and Disease.Healio spoke to Takeshi Tsuda, MD, senior pediatric cardiologist at Nemours Cardiac Center, Nemours Children’s Health Delaware, who discussed how this non-invasive imaging technology, along with the concept of integrated wall stress as a positive biomarker, may hold positive implications in treating the rare neurodegenerative condition.Healio: How common are heart muscle more
Optimal Antiplatelet Therapy In NSTE-ACS: Results From A Novel Crowdsourcing Survey
July 07 ,2021
Overview:The choice and duration of antiplatelet therapy in NSTE-ACS undergoing PCI is complex and is a hotly debated topic – particularly amongst patients at high bleeding risk. To gain insight […] more
Results of an international crowdsourcing survey on the utilisation of antiplatelet therapy in NSTE-ACS
June 09 ,2021
Overview:Choosing an antiplatelet strategy in patients with non-ST segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) at high bleeding risk (HBR), undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), is complex given that one must […] more
Hello world!
February 04 ,2021
Overview:Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start writing! The post Hello world! appeared first on World Heart Federation. more
ACC.20/WCC Virtual continues!
April 05 ,2020
Overview:The World Heart Federation and American College of Cardiology held their first ever virtual congress March 28-30. But it’s not over. All of the ACC.20/WCC Virtual live sessions are now available […] more
2020 ISCP Annual Meeting cancelled
February 26 ,2020
Overview:Notice of Cancellation We regret to have to inform our colleagues and friends that the 2020 ISCP Annual Scientific Meeting in Miami will now be cancelled. The Board of Directors […] more
European Cardiology Review (ECR) now on PubMed and PubMed Central
October 30 ,2018
Overview: European Cardiology Review (ECR) confirms that it has been accepted for indexing on PubMed Central and PubMed. All ECR articles starting from the first issue in July 2014, […] more
WHF to attend the WHO Executive Board meeting in January 2017
January 23 ,2017
Overview:From 23 January to 01 February 2017, the World Health Organization(WHO) will host the 140th session. From 23 January to 01 February 2017, the World Health Organization(WHO) will host the […] more