While it is commonly thought that cardiovascular disease is a man’s disease, CVD is the number one killer of women with the same number of deaths per year as cancer, diabetes and respiratory disease combined (according to 2015 statistical data from AHA). In addition, women exhibit different and more silent symptoms of heart attacks. There … Read more
The 26th-29th of May I went to the Heart Failure Congress 2018, Including the World Congress on Acute Heart Failure in Vienna, Austria. The congress had over 5,750 participants from over 80 countries. To see all the tweets during this congress, search for the #HeartFailure2018. This year there were a lot of interesting talks and … Read more
A topic that is lately much discussed on cardiac congresses is the discussion of prognosis and end-of-life with patients with heart failure. Who is responsible to discuss these difficult topics? When should these topics be discussed and how do patients like to discuss this in their heart failure care? In a recent doctoral thesis, Lisa … Read more
Today I attended an impressive defense of Christina Andrea (@C_Andreae) of her PhD dissertation on appetite in patients with heart failure. She highlighted the importance of a symptom in patients with heart failure, that is rarely assessed: Appetite. Appetite, or the desire to eat, is a common problem in patients with heart failure. Appetite is … Read more
In most rehabilitation programs, sexual counseling is not given to cardiac patients. This while the cardiac disease could influence the sex life of patients. There are physiological and pharmacological causes that can influence sex life of patients. Also, the disease can increase fear, anxiety & depression and relationships could change. If the disease negatively influences … Read more
Recently, I was reminded of one of my unique roles as an advanced heart failure cardiologist. As a physician in such a highly specialized field, I often have the opportunity to offer patients life-saving measures that can only be performed at highly trained qualified quaternary medical centers. This may span the gamut from a wireless … Read more
“Realists do not fear the results of their study” Fyodor Dostoevsky Heart failure is a problem. In fact, it is a massive problem1. Over five million adults in the United States live with heart failure2. Mozzafarian et al reported in their 2016 update on heart disease and stroke statistics that nearly half the patients … Read more
“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop” – Confucius Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia in the world1. This potentially malignant condition can dramatically raise the risk for stroke. Many patients are symptomatic, and those with congestive heart failure may suffer worse outcomes when … Read more
Next to the great talks, there are also great posters at the American Heart Association. Some of these posters I would like to highlight in this blog. Muna Hammash presented that interventions such as psychoeducational before and after ICD insertion may improve perceived control and, in turn, quality of life. Dr. Misook Chung … Read more