The American Heart Association (AHA) will kick off its 2014 scientific sessions this weekend in Chicago. The lineup of clinical trials is intriguing.

Guidelines and appropriate use criteria (AUC) are only effective if physicians use them. Cardiovascular societies now turn to apps to give physicians the information they need in a quick and user-friendly format. 

Three out of four specialists received a referral in the last year they considered “completely inappropriate,” according to a survey that included cardiologists and 10 other medical specialists.

Truven Health Analytics published its list of the top 50 cardiovascular hospitals based on its analysis of clinical outcomes.

In patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), consistency in taking prescribed ACE inhibitors (ACEIs) may result in slowing disease progression.

Many patients with ischemic stroke and atrial fibrillation may not be receiving optimal care. A prospective study showed 60 percent of atrial fibrillation patients with recent acute ischemic stroke were either not discharged with oral anticoagulation or were discharged with a combination of oral anticoagulation and antiplatelet therapy.

When patients and providers work together on performance goals, everyone can win. A report published online Nov. 3 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology recommended patients and clinicians share accountability for performance measures to ultimately bring about the best outcomes. 

An EHR search could help hospitals improve how they spot venous thromboembolism (VTE) cases. Using a bag-of-words approach, a model accurately and swiftly identified deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) cases from radiology reports.