Blog

2022 AHA/ACC/HFSA Guideline for the Management of Heart Failure

The 2022 American College of Cardiology (ACC) meeting was held in Washington DC. It was the first ACC meeting offering both in-person and virtual participation. After two years of uncertainty about the future of scientific meetings, hopefully, the COVID-19 pandemic was under control, and the cardiovascular community had the opportunity to meet colleagues, friends, and … Read more

ACE-2 and Immune System Changes in Smokers May Underlie COVID-19 Vulnerability

Clinicians report that people with pre-existing conditions such as cardiac disease, hypertension, and diabetes are at higher risk of mortality from COVID-19. With tobacco smoking being the leading cause of preventable death worldwide, it is surprising that smokers are underrepresented in hospital records1. While hospital record data gives insight into the risk factors that influence … Read more

Preparing for the AHA Predoctoral Fellowship Application

In the second year of my Ph.D., I began applying for predoctoral fellowships. There are only a limited number of fellowship programs that I am eligible for as an international student, as I was ineligible for most federally funded research fellowships. My advisor suggested that I apply to the American Heart Association predoctoral fellowship, which … Read more

Bypass Surgery – Reducing Risk for Stroke in Moyamoya Patients

In our previous blog, we discussed the diagnosis of Moyamoya disease using medical imaging such as CT and MRI. Patients with Moyamoya disease often have a higher risk for stroke due to their abnormal blood vessels in the brain. Once the diagnosis is confirmed, several treatment strategies are available to prevent strokes from happening. One … Read more

How Poster Presentations Are Vital to the Conference

The poster presentation provides an excellent platform to communicate research findings and promote networking visually. Poster presentation helps make clever use of time and space for scientific discussion among conference attendees, thus are beneficially for both presenter and the conference organizer1,2. The outbreak of COVID-19 dramatically changed our lives, especially traveling and gatherings. With most … Read more

Blood Pressure and Hypertension Control Matter for Young Adults

Many young adults (18-39 year-olds) view themselves as physically healthy and may wonder why their doctor is concerned about their blood pressure. However, being young does not prevent you from developing elevated or high blood pressure. Uncontrolled blood pressure in young adults is a significant public health concern. In the U.S., 1 in 5 young … Read more

Atherosclerosis in Prehistorical Times

Since some of the risk factors for atherosclerosis such as eating fast food, lacking physical activity, and developing diabetes appeared with the modernization of our societies, it is natural to think that atherosclerosis is a disease of the modern world. However, atherosclerosis also existed in the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Peru, the American Southwest, and … Read more

Gender Disparity in the Guideline Authorship, More Work Needs to Be Done on the International Level

Women have been widely underrepresented in cardiology over the past decades. Lately, over the last decade, the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) has made active efforts to bridge this gap. Other international societies such as the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS) have also made similar efforts. However, … Read more

Fast Forward to Spring, Slowly Fall Back to the Normal Heart

As the days become longer and the weather gets warmer, it’s that time of year again. Daylight saving time has been observed in most parts of the United States, and it’s time to manually set the clock one hour forward. When the clocks go forward, we ‘lose’ one hour of sleep. Even you try to … Read more

Taking the Guesswork out of HFpEF

With an aging population and a higher burden of comorbidities, the proportion of heart failure patients with a preserved ejection fraction, i.e. ejection fraction ≥ 50% is increasing.1 Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) now accounts for more than half of all heart failure hospitalizations. Despite the increasing prevalence, HFpEF remains a nebulous entity. … Read more