“We believe that any iatrogenic complication should be reported,” the study's authors wrote. “No patient expects to be discharged from hospital with a new diaphragmatic deficit without being informed."

Cardiology faces one of its most challenging decades ahead, with mounting pressures from workforce shortages, an aging population and declining reimbursements. To remain sustainable, practices are forced to rethink how care is delivered from the ground up.

“It is your responsibility to be the patient’s advocate,” one expert explained. “We, as the nurses and technologists, have to speak up when we see something that isn’t right.”

Transcatheter patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) closure has been a mainstay in congenital interventional cardiology for decades, but changes in the standard of care have resulted in catheter-based treatments overtaking surgical procedures. 

More and more care teams are treating BAV stenosis with TAVR instead of surgical aortic valve replacement. Self-expanding and balloon-expandable valves appear to have their own benefits—as well as their own risks. 

Hemodynamic valve deterioration after one year was more common in patients with a small aortic annulus. In fact, receiving a larger valve was linked to a “protective” quality that appeared to help keep the risk of such complications to a minimum.

New ACC/AHA recommendations encourage clinicians to take a proactive approach when managing patients with elevated or high blood pressure. The inclusion of renal denervation in this document represents clear progress for a relatively new technology.

The Medical Group Management Association shares concerns about the draft fee schedule published in July. A major concern is the government possibly changing how RVUs are set, rather than allowing the medical specialty representatives to have a say.