The Handoff: Your Week in Cardiology News – 6/23/17

The Handoff is a weekly roundup of cardiology news covering various developments in subspecialties, as well as pharmaceutical industry, association, and society news.

• Ideal cardiovascular health status is not just for the young. According to a recent study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, even elderly patients benefit from having at least 5 out of 7 metrics of ideal cardiovascular health in terms of mortality and morbidity (BMI, diet, exercise, blood pressure, cholesterol, and lack of smoking and diabetes).
• Exercise may be the key to surviving a stroke, according to research to be published in the Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism. AHA News reported that collaterals – a network of blood vessels – are essential to brain health, and regular physical activity may help maintain them.
• Timmy Morrison, otherwise known as “the littlest lobbyist,” is advocating against lifetime coverage limits, ahead of the Senate vote on the American Health Care Act. Timmy accrued more than $2 million in medical bills during the first 6 months of his life.
• For childhood survivors of congenital heart disease, finding the right health care as an adult can be challenging. NPR reports on a patient who continues to see a pediatrician at the age of 24 because she has trouble finding the right care in adult medicine.
• A recent scientific statement from the American Heart Association examined various approaches to implementing therapeutic patient education for self-management of cardiovascular conditions in clinical practice.
• An automated home blood pressure device (Microlife WatchBP Home A; Microlife; Widnau, Switzerland) effectively screened patients for atrial fibrillation, according to a recent article published in BMJ.
• Researchers at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center are testing a high-tech vest in patients with heart failure. The vest uses radar technology to detect fluid in the lungs and potentially prevent rehospitalization.
• Strides in controlling cardiovascular risk factors in the United States have not been equal. Research published in JAMA Cardiology revealed that more effort is needed to reduce income disparities across 4 risk factors: systolic blood pressure, smoking status, diabetes, and total cholesterol.