The novel coronavirus pandemic, currently holding the global population hostage in their homes, has killed over 150,000 people and infected over 2 million. The US leads all nations in both categories. One only needs to look out the window, or visit the local grocery store, to understand the overwhelming sentiment amongst the people. Afraid. Lonely. … Read more
Introduction Despite advances in health care in the United States (US) maternal morbidity and morbidity remains significantly higher in the US relative to other developed nations with a reported maternal mortality of 14 per 100,000 live births in 20151. Unfortunately, maternal morbidity and mortality rate has steadily increased over the last 2 decades2. The Centers … Read more
Take a trip back down memory lane to your glory days as a happy and shiny nine-year-old. If your childhood was as amazing as I remember mine to be, then you spent your days running outside with friends, making mud pies, and then fabricating methods by which you could trick your little sister into eating … Read more
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the number one cause of mortality for both men and women in the United States1. Although CVD related mortality is decreasing with advanced diagnostic testing and therapies of CVD, the prevalence of this disease remains high including in the younger aged population younger than 55 years of age1. This suggests that … Read more
One of the highly anticipated stories for Scientific Sessions 2018 was the new lipid guidelines. Following the reactions on Twitter during the session, I read a lot of opinions on CAC scoring and the pros and cons of its use to further stratify those at intermediate risk. Also trending – when to target LDL-C, now … Read more
Just as promised, the Joint Hypertension 2018 Scientific Sessions (Hypertension18) was indeed among the most impactful meetings one could have attended. Council on Hypertension Scientific Sessions Planning Committee Vice Chair Dr. Karen Griffin, FAHA was accurate in her statement that it would be “the premier scientific meeting.” There were experts from all parts of the … Read more
Basic Cardiovascular Science 2018 (BCVS18) Scientific Sessions was held in San Antonio this year. I had no initial intention on attending BCVS18, but there was an email notification urging members to participate in a tweeting competition. A Researcher from University of Tennessee Health Science Center challenged me to participate in the competition to try to … Read more
Pharmacological smoking cessation therapies have had their challenges. For example, varenicline previously had a US Food and Drug Administration black box warning regarding neuropsychiatric risks. The EAGLES study, published 2016, was an industry sponsored, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of nicotine, varenicline, and bupropion that sought to address the neuropsychiatric risk profile of these medications.1 They randomized … Read more
The AHA EPI | Lifestyle Specialty Conference will be smaller and more specific than any conference that I have attended. My conference experience has consisted of, for the most part, international meetings that are held in large venues such as Experimental Biology (EB) in the San Diego Conference Center. This center boast 525,701 gross ft2 … Read more
Cardiovascular (CV) imaging plays a crucial role in declining mortality and optimal disease management. Knowledge of various imaging modality is vital for understanding and management of patients of various CV diseases. Since the first A-mode echocardiogram, there have been great revolutional changes. However, the imaging principal is exactly the same. Echocardiogram and nuclear modality were … Read more