A telephone survey of participants in the Get With the Guidelines Heart Failure Registry (GWTG-HF) found no correspondence between the improvement processes the hospitals implemented and rates of unplanned readmission for heart failure (HF) within 30 days post-discharge.

With the prevalence of metabolic syndrome increasing, the cardiovascular field has been challenged with educational and research opportunities to build awareness and learn more about this growing health problem.

Among chronic heart failure (CHF) patients who have previously been admitted to the hospital for this condition there is now good evidence that case management type interventions led by a HF specialist nurse reduces CHF related readmissions after one year of follow-up, all-cause readmissions and all-cause mortality, according to a large study published online Sept. 12 in The Cochrane Library.

Women with invasive breast cancer treated with two chemotherapy drugs had a sevenfold increase in the risk of heart failure (HF) or cardiomyopathy, according to results published online Sept. 4 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The risk was higher than that found in clinical trials, suggesting that trials may have underestimated the cardiotoxicity risk.

The increased use of advanced supportive technologies, both cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular, requires specialized expertise that is not in the realm of common experience for the general clinical cardiologist, stated several American Heart Association councils. This transformation necessitates innovative approaches to the staffing, structure and training behind the contemporary cardiac ICU, wrote the authors.

Robert G. Hauser, MD, the Minneapolis Heart Institute cardiologist whose previous research focused on high-voltage failures in St. Jude Medicals Riata and Riata ST implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) leads, has identified another potential flaw: a proprietary coating designed to prevent insulation abrasion in Riata ST Optim and Durata ICD leads. The findings were published online Aug. 21 in EP Europace.

The incidence of heart failure (HF) in Ontario dropped 32.7 percent in a 10-year period, according to an analysis that included inpatient and outpatient settings, but researchers found only modest improvement in the prognosis for HF patients. The study was published online Aug. 20 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Alert fatigue diminishes the effectiveness of EHRs that warn physicians when they have prescribed a medication that interferes with another drug such as warfarin. Sending alerts to a patient management team rather than the prescribing physician increased the percentage of patients who were subsequently monitored, according to one study, suggesting that a stealth alert approach could be used to manage a variety of chronic diseases.