Forever Young at Heart: Aging and Cardiovascular Risk

One of the hot topics from this year’s AHA21 Scientific Sessions main event was how to promote healthy vascular aging. Age is the strongest predictor for cardiovascular (CV) risk and risk factors such as genetic predisposition and hyperlipidemia increase CV risk. The general recommendations to reduce CV risk were elegantly presented by Dr Roger S. … Read more

Highlighting Sessions at #BCVS21

While AHA Meetings are highly valued for their annually impressive original science presented to conference goers, these annual meetings also provide much sought-after space for highlighting and amplifying voices within cardiovascular research that historically have not been given center-stage. Over the past few years, the “Women In Science” and the “Early Career Networking” sessions have … Read more

Anti-platelet therapy in STEMI

ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is considered a medical emergency globally, where the patient must seek medical help immediately. The treatment plan for this condition involves reperfusion therapy with or without stent placement, controlling the comorbidities and using specific medications to reduce the risk of recurrence and future complications. One of the major drug categories is … Read more

American Heart Association and California Walnut Commission Joint Initiative to Support Walnut Research

Earlier this year, The American Heart Association and the California Walnut Commission (CWC), a non-profit organization funded by mandatory assessments of the growers, announced a special award to support early career scientists pursuing human clinical or epidemiological research on walnut consumption.1 This presents an exciting opportunity to engage early scientists interested in improving public health … Read more

Data Science and Coding for Clinicians – Where to Start

Medicine is seeing an explosion of data science tools in clinical practice and in the research space. Many academic centers have created institutions tailored to integrating machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) into medicine, and major associations including the AHA have created funding opportunities and software tools for clinicians interested in harnessing the promise … Read more

Near the End, and Preparing for a New Beginning

You’ve finally hit that point, where “comps” (comprehensive exams) has been completed. You passed. Now all you have to do is collect data, write it up and present it to your committee. The next challenge is figuring out the time to present the data you collected for the dissertation or thesis. Not to consider the … Read more

Medications to Avoid in patients with Heart Failure

The number of patients being diagnosed with heart failure (HF) is increasing worldwide, and thus we need to know which medications to avoid or be cautious with prescribing that may cause or exacerbate this medical condition. So, we decided to talk about these medications, how they cause these adverse events in these patients, and their … Read more

In pursuit of power productivity: key mindsets for career success from an MD MBA director (part 1)

In Santa Clara County, 75.6% of individuals (12 years+) are currently fully vaccinated. With cases of COVID-19 down and street traffic on the rise, it is clear that the “normal” I once dreamed of is quickly approaching. I am a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University. In the laboratory, most restrictions are gone; there are no … Read more

Bridging the Disparity Gap in Cardiovascular Health in Transgender and Gender Diverse Population: Insight into the Scientific Statement from the American Heart Association

In recent years, there has been increased attention to health-related disparities experienced by the transgender and gender diverse population (TGD).  In fact, it has become a public health priority to improve the health, safety, and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in the U.S. Therefore, one of the Healthy People 2030 goals is … Read more

Goodbye Self-Inflicted Intimidation and Hello Learning: A fellow’s experience working with Dr. Rick Nishimura

“Don’t speak out, you may answer incorrectly and embarrass yourself.” This thought was not uncommon during my first two years of fellowship. Yes, I evolved out of this which is why I am sharing my experience. At the same time, I am here to tell you to not make this mistake early in fellowship. You … Read more