Cardio-rheumatology clinics: The next logical progression in our field
March 24 ,2025
Overview:This month, our featured roundtable explores the evolution and progress of a rapidly emerging interdisciplinary clinical model — the cardio-rheumatology clinic. In these collaborative settings, rheumatologists, cardiologists and other cardiovascular specialists work together to deliver integrated care, advance research and foster education.I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to our contributors — Luigi Adamo, MD; Joshua F. Baker, MD; Julie J. Paik, MD, MHS; Heba Wassif, MD, MPH; and Brittany Nicole Weber, MD, PhD — who have generously shared their insights and more
Emerging cardio-rheumatology clinics manage ‘broad and vast’ crossover population
March 24 ,2025
Overview:Rheumatologists and cardiologists have long co-managed patients out of necessity and without much formal collaboration or guidance.However, in recent years, cardio-rheumatology clinics have begun to proliferate, offering more evidence-based algorithms for physicians who treat this crossover patient population.“To understand the rise of cardio-rheumatology, we need to look at the rise of cardio-immunology, which is the research field investigating the relationship between the immune system and the heart,” Luigi Adamo, MD, director for cardiac immunology at the Johns Hopkins more
Exposure to certain essential elements, vitamins during pregnancy may improve midlife BP
March 24 ,2025
Overview:Levels of copper, manganese and vitamin B12 during pregnancy were associated with reduced blood pressure at midlife, according to new data.There was a trend tying elevated levels of cesium and selenium with elevated BP, but the confidence intervals were wide, according to the study presented at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology, Prevention, Lifestyle & Cardiometabolic Health Scientific Sessions and simultaneously published in Hypertension.“The motivation for this study stems from our group’s interest in how environmental exposures impact cardiovascular (CV) more
FDA approves vutrisiran for ATTR amyloidosis with cardiomyopathy
March 21 ,2025
Overview:Alnylam announced the FDA approval of its supplemental new drug application for vutrisiran, an RNA interfering small molecule transthyretin stabilizer, for the treatment of transthyretin amyloidosis with cardiomyopathy.Vutrisiran was previously FDA-approved for treatment of the polyneuropathy of hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis.Vutrisiran (Amvuttra) is now approved for the prevention of CV mortality, CV hospitalizations and urgent HF hospitalization in adult patients with wild-type or hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis with cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM), according to a more
Q&A: AMA president discusses fifth straight year of Medicare physician payment cuts
March 20 ,2025
Overview:Physicians treating Medicare patients are staring down the barrel of five consecutive years of cuts to their reimbursement rates.In January, CMS proposed the 2026 reimbursement rates for Medicare Advantage (MA) insurers. From 2025 to 2026, MA plans will likely receive a 4.33% average payment increase — higher than the expected health care inflation rate — but physicians treating Medicare patients will have their pay cut by 2.8%. According to the Medicare Economic Index, practice costs have risen by 3.5%.Over the last 20 years, Medicare physician pay has dropped 33%, according to more
For many patients, ‘a major bleed is any bleed that happens to me’
March 20 ,2025
Overview:Despite advances in anticoagulant therapies, bleeding remains a critical concern.Traditionally, the definition of major bleeding has focused on standardizing clinical outcomes, with life-threatening events such as intracranial hemorrhage, significant hemoglobin drops or the need for transfusion flagged as major, according to guidelines from the Bleeding Academic Research Consortium.However, these clinical definitions often overlook the real-world impact on patients. For many, any bleeding, regardless of clinical classification, feels “major” rather than a nuisance. This growing more
Subclinical cardiac damage evident among cigarette smokers, even quitters
March 19 ,2025
Overview:Markers of subclinical heart damage were observed among individuals who smoke cigarettes, even decades after quitting, according to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.New data from the Cross-Cohort Collaboration-Tobacco Work Group showed that cigarette smoking was associated with elevated markers of inflammation, thrombosis and atherosclerosis, all of which decreased after cessation, except for coronary calcium, which remained elevated 30 years later.“Understanding the mechanisms of smoking-related injury and the most sensitive biomarkers of more
‘Medicine is in crisis’: Future of dermatology relies on telehealth
March 19 ,2025
Overview:It has been 5 years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced many providers to embrace telehealth.In the fall of 2019, Rachel Day, MD, FAAD, chief medical officer of Zest Health and founder of OneSkin Integrative Dermatology, decided to open her own brick-and-mortar clinic after building a dermatology practice within a small community hospital. Little did she know that the world would go into lockdown a few months later and that the experience would lead her to the career she has today.“In March 2020, I first recognized telemedicine as a potential career path. I saw how it more
Q&A: Novel drug may replace ‘watchful waiting’ approach to aortic stenosis care
March 18 ,2025
Overview:A novel therapeutic showed significant promise in slowing aortic valve calcification, potentially extending time until or eliminating need for transcatheter or surgical intervention for stenosis, researchers reported.Jordan D. Miller, PhD, associate professor, cardiovascular disease researcher and co-vice chair of basic science research in the department of cardiovascular surgery at Mayo Clinic, and colleagues conducted a phase randomized controlled trial designed to test whether changes in nitric oxide signaling could slow aortic calcification in patients with meaningful aortic valve more
Newborns with congenital heart disease may face elevated cancer risk; their mothers too
March 17 ,2025
Overview:Newborns with congenital heart disease and their mothers may both face elevated risk for cancer compared with their counterparts not affected by congenital heart disease, according to study findings in Circulation.Researchers in South Korea conducted a nationwide retrospective study using the Korean National Health Insurance Service database to better understand risk for cancer in newborns with congenital heart disease as well as their mothers.“Our research highlights the importance of maternal factors and genetic traits and understanding how they may be connected,” June Huh, MD, more
Oz faces senators’ questions on cuts, calls CMS nomination a ‘monumental opportunity’
March 14 ,2025
Overview:Senators questioned Mehmet Oz, MD, MBA, on Medicaid budget cuts, nursing shortages and his prior claims about miracle drugs during a committee hearing to be the next administrator of CMS.“Dr. Oz,” a surgeon, professor emeritus of cardiothoracic surgery at Columbia University and former television personality, has been nominated by President Donald J. Trump to head the agency.“All great societies protect their most vulnerable,” Oz said to the members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance. “Education has prepared me for this precise moment in time, which I more
Sleep duration a predictor of high blood pressure in teens regardless of insomnia
March 14 ,2025
Overview:Short sleep duration, with and without self-reported insomnia, was predictive of elevated blood pressure and hypertension among adolescents, a speaker reported.At the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology, Prevention, Lifestyle & Cardiometabolic Health Scientific Sessions, Julio Fernandez-Mendoza, PhD, CBSM, DBSM, Edward O. Bixler, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, professor of public health sciences and neural and behavioral sciences at Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, presented a study demonstrating a significant association between more
Semaglutide, tirzepatide not deemed cost-effective obesity therapies despite benefits
March 14 ,2025
Overview:Semaglutide and tirzepatide confer greater improvements in life expectancy than naltrexone/bupropion and phentermine/topiramate, but their estimated net price is too high for them to be cost-effective, researchers reported.In findings from a microsimulation model published in JAMA Health Forum, semaglutide (Wegovy, Novo Nordisk) had the highest incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of four obesity medications assessed in the study, and tirzepatide (Zepbound, Eli Lilly) had the second-highest ICER. The two medications were the only ones deemed not to be cost-effective for patients. more
Self-perceived stress linked to cryptogenic ischemic stroke in young women
March 14 ,2025
Overview:Self-perceived stress among young women was significantly associated with increased risk for early-onset cryptogenic ischemic stroke, even after adjustment for traditional risk factors, according to a study published in Neurology.The prevalence of early-onset ischemic stroke has increased recently among young people, but researchers cannot fully explain this trend using traditional vascular risk factors. Some evidence suggests that habitual risk factors, such as stress, may play a role.“Younger people often experience stress due to the demands and pressures associated with work, more
Senate committee advances NIH, FDA leaders' nominations
March 13 ,2025
Overview:The United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions voted to advance the nominations of probable new NIH and FDA leaders to the full senate.In last week’s hearings, committee members questioned Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, who was nominated to be NIH director, and Martin Makary, MD, MPH, who was nominated to be the next FDA commissioner.In his opening statement, Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy, MD, a Republican from Louisiana, supported the selections and cited the recent measles outbreak as evidence that “the American people's trust in public health more
White House pulls Weldon’s nomination for CDC director before hearing
March 13 ,2025
Overview:The White House withdrew the nomination of David Weldon, MD, to be CDC director hours before he was to appear before a Senate committee on Thursday morning.Weldon, a physician and former congressman, was scheduled to speak in front of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), but the hearing was canceled shortly before it was supposed to begin and his nomination was withdrawn, an HHS official confirmed to Healio. Axios was the first outlet to report that Weldon’s nomination was withdrawn, and Weldon himself later confirmed the move in a statement to more
Intentional weight loss of 5% or more cuts risk for death among postmenopausal women
March 13 ,2025
Overview:Intentional weight loss of 5% or more, coupled with reduced waist circumference was associated with lower risk for death from cancer, CVD or any cause among postmenopausal women followed for more than 18 years, data show.In a prospective analysis of more than 58,000 women, researchers also found that intentional weight loss without a reduction in waist circumference was associated only with a reduction in cardiovascular (CV) risk, whereas unintentional weight loss or weight gain were each associated with increased mortality risk.“Older women who have overweight or obesity should be more
Q&A: ‘An exciting breakthrough’: Gene transfer therapy promising in Danon disease
March 13 ,2025
Overview:Danon disease is a rare but serious cardiomyopathy that drastically reduces life expectancy.Male patients infrequently live past age 20 years and female patients infrequently live past age 50 years. Therapies for cardiovascular disease other than heart transplantation don’t improve outcomes.But, as evidenced by a presentation at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions and a paper simultaneously published in The New England Journal of Medicine in November, a treatment other than heart transplantation or a defibrillator may be on the horizon.The results of a phase 1 study of a more
Celebrating World Sleep Day across specialties: OSA ‘touches every organ’
March 13 ,2025
Overview:Across the globe, health care professionals are celebrating World Sleep Day, an event created by the World Sleep Society, on March 14.For 2025, “make sleep health a priority” is the theme of the day, according to the World Sleep Day webpage.“I love this idea of World Sleep Day because it’s not just about sleep apnea; it’s all things sleep,” Seema Khosla, MD, FCCP, FAASM, medical director of the North Dakota Center for Sleep and American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) spokesperson, told Healio.Healio spoke with clinicians from pulmonology, neurology and more
This month on Community: Mobile app, mentoring, Book Club happenings
March 12 ,2025
Overview:It’s been a busy first quarter here at Healio Community.Since our launch in January, the team has been working hard to plan events for 2025, set up our mobile app and put the finishing touches on our mentoring program. We’ve also launched multiple groups, including our latest: Book Club.Here’s a closer look at what’s new this month.The Healio Community mobile app provides instant access to our platform in real time so you can stay connected to colleagues, check out the latest discussions and RSVP for exciting events from the convenience of your mobile device. Be sure 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
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