Weekend Edition: Blood clots & COVID-19 | Stark Law updates | Aortic stenosis & AFib | Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

A moment of silence has been planned to celebrate the late cardiologist's memory. 

Blood clots are unusually common—and quite fatal—among patients hospitalized with COVID-19.

“The clinical implications of this discovery are significant,” one researcher said. 

CMS has been considering such changes for years, hoping to reduce paperwork and encourage collaboration. 

Patients who were evaluated by a cardiologist were much more likely to undergo stress testing, transthoracic echocardiography and coronary angiography.

The clearance includes multiple algorithms capable of identifying key findings in a 30-second ECG.

The analysis, published in the American Journal of Cardiology, included data from more than 741,000 adult patients with aortic stenosis. 

The study, published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, included data from nearly 374,000 adult patients. 

The two groups emphasized the importance of shared decision-making and detailed when patients can consider competitive sports.