Senators from both parties grilled HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. this week on changes to vaccines recommendations, the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel and HHS priorities, including funding for rural hospitals. Kennedy was confirmed in February to lead the department despite concerns raised by Democrats and Republicans about his history of pushing scientifically disproven claims about vaccines. Since his confirmation, despite assurances to Senators that he would follow science and that the availability of vaccines would not be threatened, Kennedy’s HHS has restricted access to
A new feature from Google can help Healio readers keep up with the latest medical news and trending topics. All you need to do is create a list of your news outlets of choice, including Healio, with the “preferred sources” feature. Google curates a list of news stories that appear at the top of the page when you search for current events. You can easily tailor these top results to your preferences by using the new feature launched in August. “Google’s new ‘preferred sources’ empowers physicians to find reliable content from sources they trust, like Healio,”
Certain low-risk patients with no arrhythmia recurrence 1 year after undergoing catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation may be able to discontinue oral anticoagulation and experience improved outcomes, a speaker reported. The results of the ALONE-AF trial were presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress and simultaneously published in JAMA. “International guidelines suggest oral anticoagulation for lifelong use [in patients with AF] due to their strong risk, even after ablation,” Boyoung Joung, MD, professor of internal medicine in the division of cardiology at Yonsei
Individuals younger than 50 years with COPD faced an elevated risk for premature death and incident hospitalization/death due to chronic lower respiratory disease or heart failure, according to results published in NEJM Evidence. “Clinicians can take away from our article that COPD is not uncommon in younger adults and should be considered as a possible diagnosis in young adults with 10 pack-years of smoking or respiratory symptoms,” Elizabeth C. Oelsner, MD, DrPH, general internist, respiratory epidemiologist, and Herbert Irving Associate Professor of Medicine at Columbia
Medical misinformation and disinformation are running rampant, taking up more time in already jam-packed primary care visits and impacting physicians’ ability to deliver quality patient care, according to an expert. The Physicians Foundation recently released survey responses from more than 1,000 physicians in the U.S. about the impact that misinformation and disinformation have on their ability to offer quality patient care. Misinformation — which refers to inaccurate or false information — and disinformation —which is inaccurate or false information that is
Older age is a major risk factor for atrial and ventricular arrhythmias, low fitness level appears to raise high atrial ectopic burden, according to findings presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress. “These findings are a powerful reminder that the heart often whispers before it shouts,” Amit Moses, MD, internal medicine resident at the Chaim Sheba Medical Center Ramat Gan, Israel, said in a press release. “Subtle signs, such as frequent irregular heartbeats and complex arrhythmias, give us an early warning of future risk before symptoms occur. This could
HHS announced a final rule that will help physicians identify the most appropriate treatments while preventing health insurers from blocking physician-approved care, according to an agency press release. The rule, set to go into effect Oct. 1, will allow health care providers using certified health information technology systems to “submit prior authorizations electronically, select drugs consistent with a patient’s insurance coverage, and exchange electronic prescription information with pharmacies and insurance plans,” the release said. The rule will further allow millions
Adults with severe hidradenitis suppurativa have more cardiometabolic risk markers, including high blood pressure and hyperlipidemia, putting them at greater lifetime risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, data show. “Many patients with HS also have metabolic comorbidities, such as obesity or metabolic syndrome,” Michael S. Garshick, MD, a preventive cardiologist and director of the Cardio-Rheumatology Program at NYU Langone Health and assistant professor of medicine and dermatology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, told Healio. “We wanted to understand the
Zilebesiran, an investigational RNA interference agent subcutaneously administered once, did not significantly lower office BP in patients with CVD or at high CV risk with uncontrolled hypertension; however, a phase 3 trial is planned. The results of the phase 2 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled KARDIA-3 trial of zilebesiran (Alnylam) for BP lowering were presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress. “Among individuals with cardiovascular disease or who have high cardiovascular risk with uncontrolled hypertension on multiple antihypertensives, single doses of
Among patients with severe hypertriglyceridemia, olezarsen reduced triglycerides and acute pancreatitis events, according to topline results of two phase 3 trials. “These data are groundbreaking, demonstrating that olezarsen is the first therapy for [severe hypertriglyceridemia] to significantly reduce acute pancreatitis events,” Sotirios “Sam” Tsimikas, MD, senior vice president of global cardiovascular development at Ionis Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturer of olezarsen, said in a company press release. “Despite current standard of care and lifestyle changes,
A minimalistic approach to anesthesia during transcatheter aortic valve replacement was safe for a majority of patients undergoing the procedure, with only local anesthetic and no sedation, according to results of the DOUBLE-CHOICE trial. The results of DOUBLE-CHOICE, a 2x2 factorial, randomized noninferiority trial of peri-interventional anesthesia strategies during TAVR, were presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress and simultaneously published in Circulation. Researchers reported outcomes from 752 patients with symptomatic aortic stenosis and an indication for TAVR who were
In patients with chronic coronary syndrome on long-term oral anticoagulation, use of aspirin was linked with increased risk for ischemic events, bleeding and death, researchers reported at the European Society of Cardiology Congress. For the AQUATIC trial, simultaneously published in The New England Journal of Medicine, Martine Gilard, MD, PhD, FESC, professor and interventional cardiologist at the University of Brest, Brest, France, and colleagues randomly assigned 822 patients with chronic coronary syndrome who had undergone stent implantation at least 6 months prior to enrollment and were
In patients with chronic HF with reduced ejection fraction, vericiguat reduced risk for all-cause and CV death but not HF hospitalization compared with placebo, according to results of the VICTOR trial. However, in a meta-analysis of VICTOR and the previously reported VICTORIA trial of vericiguat in patients with worsening HFrEF, vericiguat (Verquvo, Merck/Bayer), an oral soluble guanylate cyclase stimulator, was linked with reduced risk for CV death and HF hospitalization compared with placebo. The trial and meta-analysis were presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress and
Two new trials and a meta-analysis presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress put the spotlight on the use of beta-blocker therapy after myocardial infarction in patients with preserved or mildly reduced heart function. One trial reported lower risk for CV outcomes with long-term beta-blocker therapy in patients after MI with left ventricular ejection fraction of at least 40%, while a second trial found no impact on outcomes, and a higher risk among women. “Beta-blockers have been the cornerstone treatment after myocardial infarction for many decades, based on trials
Adding baxdrostat to background antihypertensive therapy led to substantial reductions in seated systolic blood pressure after 12 weeks of treatment among patients with uncontrolled or resistant hypertension. The results of the phase 3, multinational, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled BaxHTN trial of baxdrostat (AstraZeneca), an aldosterone synthase inhibitor, in patients with uncontrolled or resistant hypertension were presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress and simultaneously published in The New England Journal of Medicine. “Hypertension is a huge problem.
Monthly olezarsen reduced triglyceride levels by up to 60% at 6 months among patients with moderate hypertriglyceridemia and elevated cardiovascular risk. Treatment with olezarsen (Tryngolza, Ionis Pharmaceuticals) also lowered levels of remnant cholesterol, non-HDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein B, with no change in LDL cholesterol, according to results from the phase 3 Essence-TIMI 73b trial. “This triglyceride effect was greater than is possible with current standard of care therapies,” Brian A. Bergmark, MD, with the Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) Study Group at
In patients with obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the cardiac myosin inhibitor aficamten was superior to the beta-blocker metoprolol for improving symptoms and peak oxygen uptake, according to results of the MAPLE-HCM trial. For MAPLE-HCM, presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress and simultaneously published in The New England Journal of Medicine, the researchers randomly assigned 175 patients with obstructive HCM (mean age, 58 years; 58.3% men) to receive aficamten (Cytokinetics) 5 mg to 20 mg once daily or metoprolol 50 mg to 200 mg once daily. Aficamten is not yet
Increased potassium intake and dietary guidance reduced risk for adverse events in patients with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator and may be an affordable intervention to reduce overall CV risk. Results of the multicenter, open-label, randomized superiority POTCAST trial were presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress and simultaneously published in The New England Journal of Medicine. “The human body evolved on a potassium-rich, sodium-poor diet. ... Potassium is crucial for cardiac function, and we know from observational studies that low potassium increases the
Our vote is our voice and, as busy physicians, Civic Health Month is the perfect time to ensure we are registered to vote and have all the resources we need to cast our ballot. July and August represent months of significant transition in the medical community, with medical students starting medical school; interns, residents and fellows starting and continuing their training; and attending physicians starting new jobs. These transitions often involve moving to a new state, city or neighborhood. It is critical to ensure all eligible voters are registered to vote at their current address and
A remote screening strategy for asymptomatic atrial fibrillation involving use of an ECG patch for continuous ambulatory monitoring conferred a modest increase in AF diagnoses after 2.5 years among older adults at risk for stroke. The fully remote, randomized AMALFI trial evaluated long-term efficacy of AF screening via use of a 14-day patch-based continuous ambulatory ECG monitor (Zio XT, iRhythm) sent to participants by mail. The patch detected AF in 4.2% of participants, of whom half had an AF burden less than 10%. After 2.5 years, a diagnosis of AF was recorded in 6.8% of patients who wore