Clinical

This channel newsfeed includes clinical content on treating patients or the clinical implications in a variety of cardiac subspecialties and disease states. The channel includes news on cardiac surgery, interventional cardiology, heart failure, electrophysiology, hypertension, structural heart disease, use of pharmaceuticals, and COVID-19.

Doctor arrested for $5.2M fraud linked to using medical ozone gas on patients
Jawad Bhatti, MD is facing a 26-count indictment from the U.S. Department of Justice after he allegedly advertised the use of ozone gas as a treatment for pain, then billed Medicare and Medicaid for the unapproved procedures.
FDA grants breakthrough therapy designation to new drug candidate for FA cardiomyopathy
The new drug, LX2006, has already received the FDA's fast track designation. This latest distinction was based on early data from two separate clinical trials.
Low-intensity focused ultrasound a noninvasive treatment option for lingering COVID symptoms
New research suggests the technique can effectively break down amyloid fibrinogen microclots, which are believed to interfere with perfusion and cause inflammation.
With MPFS proposal on the way, electrophysiology groups outline their priorities
The Heart Rhythm Society and its new advocacy arm plan on pushing CMS to include certain policy improvements in the 2026 MPFS.
HHS, RFK sued by medical associations over COVID policy shift
Multiple professional groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Physicians, challenge recent policy changes to vaccine recommendations for COVID-19, which end routine inoculations for minors and pregnant women.

Does telestroke participation improve hospitals’ clinical outcomes?

Participating in telemedicine for ischemic stroke care could modestly lower a hospital’s rate of tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA)-related complications and in-hospital mortality, researchers reported in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.

Study: 4% of childhood cancer survivors develop heart failure within 40 years

Although childhood cancer survival has improved markedly over the past few decades, a new study out of the Netherlands suggests a greater proportion of those survivors are at risk of developing heart failure at young ages, due in part to cardiotoxic treatments.

Clinicians underestimate severity of ischemic stroke next to ICH

Research published in Stroke Jan. 10 suggests clinicians overestimate the severity of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) and underestimate the severity of acute ischemic stroke (AIS), resulting in a bias that could influence patients’ outcomes and treatment plans.

Guideline-recommended statin treatment ‘hampered’ by clinician beliefs

Clinicians’ personal beliefs about the safety and efficacy of statins play a larger role in their likelihood of prescribing the medications than their knowledge of cholesterol guidelines, according to a study published Jan. 4 in the American Journal of Cardiology.

Unhappily married men 86% more likely to suffer sudden cardiac death

Men who are dissatisfied with their marriages are around 86 percent more likely to experience sudden cardiac death (SCD) than those who are very satisfied, according to research published in the Jan. 1 edition of the American Journal of Cardiology.

Psychosocial evaluation predicts readmission risk for LVAD patients

A tool designed to assess the psychosocial status of heart transplant candidates may also be able to predict which left ventricular assist device (LVAD) recipients are at the highest risk of being readmitted to the hospital, Cleveland Clinic researchers reported Jan. 9 in Circulation: Heart Failure.

Smoking hookah raises risk of diabetes, obesity

Smoking hookah could raise users’ risk of developing diabetes or becoming obese, the Telegraph has reported of a study out of Brighton and Sussex Medical School.

Even moderate alcohol consumption could spell trouble for AFib patients

A high-density electroanatomic mapping study of 75 patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) has concluded that even a regular alcohol intake—up to 14 standard drinks per week—is associated with impairments in electrical signaling and more electrical evidence of scarring, signaling worse outcomes.

Clinical

Doctor arrested for $5.2M fraud linked to using medical ozone gas on patients

FDA grants breakthrough therapy designation to new drug candidate for FA cardiomyopathy

Low-intensity focused ultrasound a noninvasive treatment option for lingering COVID symptoms

With MPFS proposal on the way, electrophysiology groups outline their priorities

HHS, RFK sued by medical associations over COVID policy shift