CARDIOPROGRESS
Foundation for the advancement of cardiology

CMS Reminds Physicians of Meaningful Use Hardship Exception Deadline Ken Terry The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is reminding physicians who did not attest to meaningful use (MU) of electronic health records (EHR) in 2013 that they have until July 1 of this year to apply for a hardship exception so they can avoid a financial penalty in 2015.

Flu Vaccine More Effective Than Last Year’s, CDC Says Robert Lowes The seasonal influenza vaccine for 2013-2014 so far is outperforming its predecessor from last season in protecting Americans from the flu bug, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced today

Lack of Vitamin D Linked to CVD Biomarkers, Inflammation Marlene Busko COLERAINE, UK — Older, healthy individuals who were deficient in 25-hydroxy vitamin D (vitamin D) tended to have higher levels of biomarkers linked with CVD and inflammatory conditions such as multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis, in an observational study.

SSRI May Negatively Affect Male Fertility Fran Lowry The selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) sertraline (Zoloft, Pfizer Inc) may have a negative impact on some semen parameters, a finding that may have implications for male fertility, new research suggests.

Autism Rates Jump 30%, CDC Reports Megan Brooks More children in the United States have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) than previously thought, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports today.

FDA Panel Recommends 2 New Anti-MRSA Agents Larry Hand The Anti-Infective Drugs Advisory Committee of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has voted unanimously to recommend approval of 2 new antibacterial agents for the treatment of skin and skin structure infections caused by gram-positive pathogens, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

Newspaper “Cardiology today” Quarterly scientific newspaper "Cardiology Today" is published in conjunction with the Publishing House "ABC-press".

Informational bulletin “Cardioprogress” Bulletin is published four times a year in both Russian and English (special issues) languages.

ED Drugs Linked to Increased Melanoma Risk Larry Hand Use of sildenafil (Viagra, Pfizer) is associated with an increased risk for melanoma, according to an article published online April 7 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Green Tea’s Impact on Cognitive Function Now Visible Megan Brooks Green tea appears to boost memory by enhancing functional brain connectivity, a new imaging study suggests. A study led by Stefan Borgwardt, MD, PhD, from the Department of Psychiatry, University of Basel, Switzerland, shows that drinking a green tea extract enhances memory performance, a finding that researchers suggest may have important clinical implications for the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders, including cognitive impairment.

New AHA/ACC Performance, Quality Metrics for Coronary Revascularization The American Heart Association (AHA) and American College of Cardiology (ACC), in collaboration with several other professional organizations, have published the first comprehensive set of performance and quality measures specific for coronary artery revascularization.

US News Ranks Top Cardiology, Heart Surgery Hospitals Cleveland Clinic in Ohio is once again the number-one hospital for cardiology and heart surgery, according to US News & World Report latest rankings. In the magazine's 2023-2024 list, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California, takes over the number-two spot from Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, which drops to No. 3. Cedars-Sinai held the number-three spot on last year's rankings.

Three or more eggs a week increase your risk of heart disease and early death, study says It's been debated for years: Are eggs good or bad for you? People who eat an added three or four eggs a week or 300 milligrams of dietary cholesterol per day, have a higher risk of both heart disease and early death compared with those who eat fewer eggs, new research finds.

e-Cigarettes Linked to Increased Stroke, MI Risk Use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) is linked to a significantly increased risk for "hard" adverse outcomes, such as stroke and myocardial infarction (MI), new research suggests. Among more than 400,000 respondents older than 18 years from the 2016 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey, almost 66,800 reported having ever used e-cigarettes.

INTERNATIONAL YOUNG ACADEMY OF CARDIOLOGY CONGRESS INTERNATIONAL YOUNG ACADEMY OF CARDIOLOGY CONGRESS

Personal income may increase risk of heart disease Income levels, if they are unstable, can easily turn into a stressor. However, the volatility of personal income could be having a more serious effect on people's heart health. It is often expected that a person's income will constantly rise until they reach retirement age.

Weight-Adjusted Aspirin Dosing: Evidence Builds in Primary Prevention Low-dose aspirin intended for primary prevention, typically 75 to 100 mg once daily, doesn"t protect against cardiovascular events in persons who weigh at least 70 kg (about 154 pounds), suggests a patient-level analysis of randomized trials that included more than 100,000 patients. But daily aspirin at higher dosages, usually at least 300 mg, was cardioprotective in that group, as was low-dose aspirin in people who weighed less than 70 kg.

New ADA/EASD Guidance on Diabetes: Assess CV Status First The treatment approach to type 2 diabetes should begin with an assessment of cardiovascular disease (CVD) status, other comorbidities, and patient preferences, according to a draft of the upcoming 2018 joint consensus statement from the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD). The final version of the 2018 update to the current 2015 ADA/EASDManagement of Hyperglycemia in Type 2 Diabetes statement (Diabetes Care.2015;38:140-149) will be presented on October 5, 2018 at the EASD annual meeting in Berlin and will be published in Diabetes Care and Diabetologia.

The Asian and the Commonwealth of Independent States Congress of Cardiologists and Therapeutics

Expert opinion. Double antiplatelet therapy after ACS: "de-escalation" In medical practice, cases in which patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and received a combination of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) with prasugrel or ticagrelor are often used, a combination of ASA with clopidogrel is started. This transition from more active platelet-derived P2Y12 blockers to less active clopidogrel has been termed "de-escalation." The possibility of "de-escalation" is considered in documents prepared by various expert groups. Among them, an updated version of the recommendations of the European Society of Cardiology and the European Association of Cardio Thoracic Surgeons for double antiplatelet therapy for coronary heart disease, where a similar transition is proposed to be discussed with side effects or intolerance of prasugrel / ticagrelor. There is also an agreement of experts from Europe and the USA, in which practical approaches to the replacement of the P2Y12 blocker of the platelet receptor are analyzed in detail. However, it should be borne in mind that these proposals are basically based on common sense and representations of the pharmacological properties of various P2Y12 receptor blockers of the platelet, while the evidence base for "de-escalation" is small.