Risk of rehospitalization or death is slow to decline for older patients after hospital discharge from heart failure, acute MI or pneumonia, according to a study published in the Feb. 6 issue of the BMJ.

A 2011 campaign targeted at reducing rates of stress testing prior to low-risk surgeries may have aimed at the wrong thing. According to a research letter published online Feb. 9 in JAMA: Internal Medicine, even before the Choosing Wisely campaign, few patients were being subjected to unnecessary stress testing.

The American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) announced significant changes to its maintenance of certification (MOC) program, a move that was welcomed by major cardiovascular societies.

Initiating a lean approach into its PCI program allowed a hospital to knock 12 minutes off its average door-to-balloon time, according to a case study prepared for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Physicians trying to improve older patients' adherence to medication may find a verbal reminder another tool in their arsenal, if it is delivered effectively. According to a study published in the January issue of Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, patients remembered best when the medication name was already familiar and repeated more than once.

Medicare might achieve better results by rewarding community-based strategies to reduce 30-day readmissions for heart failure, MI and pneumonia rather than penalize hospitals that don’t meet performance metrics. According to one study, much of the variation in rates boiled down to the county in which a hospital was located.

When it comes to jogging, more may not be better for long-term heart health, according to a study published in the Feb. 10 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Researchers returning to the Copenhagen City Heart Study cohort found that while light or moderate jogging two-to-three times per week had lowered mortality risks, strenuous joggers had risks similar to sedentary individuals. 

It sounds contradictory, but more pacemaker monitoring could lead to longer battery life. An Italian retrospective analysis compared battery life between pacemakers with remote monitoring on vs. off and found that with remote monitoring on, patients went approximately 11 months longer between battery replacements.