Heart Matters

Patients with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) are at an increased risk of developing coronary heart disease at a young age. So what’s on the horizon for using implementation science strategies in treating patients with FH? Learn more about implementation science as Dr. Mary Katherine Cheeley discusses this with Dr. Laney Jones, Associate Professor at Geisinger’s Department of Genomic Health.

Kids with dyslipidemia don’t have much different nutritional needs than other young kids their age. However, there are a few key things to be aware of. So how can clinicians meet families where they are to improve their diet? Dive into the unique needs of youth with dyslipidemia as Dr. Mary Katherine Cheeley is joined by Lauren Williams, Class II Clinical Dietician at Cook Children’s Health System.

Six commonly used supplements thought to improve patients’ cholesterol may be doing more harm than good. So what do we need to know about these supplements? To walk us through the results of the SPORT trial, Dr. Matthew Sorrentino is joined by Dr. Luke Laffin, Co-Director of the Center for Blood Pressure Disorders at the Cleveland Clinic.

Dapagliflozin in heart failure with mildly reduced or preserved ejection fraction (DELIVER trial) is a study designed to assess the effectiveness of SGLT2 inhibitors in patients with higher left ventricular ejection fraction. To help lead the discussion on the results of this study, Dr. Javed Butler is joined by Dr. Scott Solomon, lead study author and Director of the Clinical Trials Outcomes Center and the Edward D. Frohlich Distinguished Chair at Harvard Medical School.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare, and even fatal, condition that can impair the chest and lungs. But could a new blood test help us better assess disease severity and survivability in patients with PAH? To dive deeper into this topic, Dr. Matthew Sorrentino is joined by Dr. Michael Solomon and Dr. Sean Agbor-Enoh from the National Institutes of Health.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) affects approximately 5 to 13 percent of women in the general population. And although previous research has shown its link to cardiovascular (CV) risk factors later in life, a new study has revealed that PCOS can increase the risk of heart complications during delivery. So what do these findings mean when it comes to caring for pregnant patients with PCOS? Find out with Dr. Hector Chapa as he’s joined by lead author of the study Dr. Erin Michos, who's the Director of Women’s Cardiovascular Health and an Associate Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

As global temperatures continue to rise, experts are calling attention to the devastating effects this can have on human health. Cardiovascular mortality is especially a concern, as two recent studies from the University of Pennsylvania outlined the connection between these two health risks. To learn more about how climate change can impact our cardiovascular health, Dr. Javed Butler is joined by Dr. Sameed Khatana, Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and a physician at the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

There is currently no safe way to get a close-up view of the human heart, which is exactly why a team of Boston University researchers created a device to mimic the human organ. So how does the new device called miniPUMP work, and how was it developed? To discuss this, Dr. Javed Butler is joined by Dr. Alice White and Dr. Christopher Chen from Boston University.

The Pragmatic Trial of Messaging to Providers About Treatment in Heart Failure (PROMPT-HF) was designed to test the hypothesis that tailored and targeted electronic health record alerts recommending guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) for patients with heart failure (HF) would result in greater adherence to medication use. Explore the trial’s findings with Dr. Javed Butler and Dr. Tariq Ahmad, Director of the Heart Transplant and Mechanical Circulatory Support Program and Chief of Heart Failure at the Yale University School of Medicine.

The Study of Dietary Intervention under 100 millimole in Heart Failure (SODIUM-HF) trial was designed to assess the effects of a low-sodium diet on adverse cardiovascular events. So what were the study’s findings, and what do they mean for our patients with heart failure? Dr. Javed Butler is joined by Dr. Justin Ezekowitz, who shared the SODIUM-HF trial results at the 2022 American of Cardiology Annual Scientific Meeting.

Iron deficiency is one of the most frequent comorbidities in patients with heart failure and is estimated to present in up to 50 percent of patients. So what’s the criteria for iron deficiency, and how is it currently defined in cardiology? To discuss this, Dr. Javed Butler is joined by Drs. John Cleland and Fraser Graham from the Institute of Health and Wellbeing at the University of Glasgow.

With the prevalence of heart failure continuing to rise worldwide, recent trials have shown that sodium glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors may improve impairments and decrease the risk of hospitalizations. So based on these recent findings, what exactly is their role in the management of patients with heart failure? Find out with Dr. Javed Butler as he speaks with Dr. Mikhail Kosiborod, Professor of Medicine at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and Vice-President of Research at Saint Luke's Health System.

Some patients who recover from COVID-19 may continue to experience long-term cardiovascular complications. So what symptoms should we be looking out for? Joining Dr. Matthew Sorrentino to discuss the long-term cardiovascular impacts of COVID-19 is Dr. William Li.

Cardiovascular disease is currently the leading cause of death for pregnant and postpartum women in the United States, and from a global perspective, hypertensive complications during pregnancy result in 50,000 maternal deaths each and every year. This, along with the increasing rates of peripartum cardiomyopathy diagnoses, is why a new subspeciality of cardiology is needed. So what exactly is cardio-obstetrics? To learn more about how this emerging subspecialty is helping to provide better care for our pregnant and postpartum patients, Dr. Hector Chapa speaks with Drs. Erin Michos and Anum Minhas.

In a groundbreaking procedure, a 57-year-old man with life-threatening heart disease received a heart from a genetically altered pig. Surgeons at the University of Maryland Medical Center performed the 8-hour operation, making it the first successful transplant of a pig's heart into a human being. And while much is still uncertain, what could this achievement mean for the future of organ transplantation? That’s what ReachMD hosts Dr. Matthew Sorrentino and Dr. Javed Butler explore together.

Please note: Since the date of publication, David Bennet, the patient who received a heart transplant from a pig, died at the age of 57 at the University of Maryland Medical Center on March 8, 2022.

Sudden cardiac death is rare in younger patients, but it remains one of the leading causes of death in young athletes. To learn more about this, Dr. Alan Brown is joined by Dr. Joseph Marek, Clinical Cardiologist and Senior Medical Director of Cardiopulmonary Service at Advocate Medical Group, to share how his foundation, Young Hearts 4 Life, is working to increase awareness for sudden cardiac arrest and provide young athletes resources.

What do we need to know about the relationship between heart failure and ejection fraction? Dr. Javed Butler is joined by Dr. Faiez Zannad, Emeritus Professor of Cardiology at Université of Lorraine, to discuss current updates in ejection fraction and share what we need to know.

Can cardiac rehabilitation programs play a role in the management of breast cancer survivors? Dr. Maryam Lustberg, Chief of Breast Medical Oncology and the Director of The Breast Cancer Center at Smilow Yale Cancer Center, shares the common risk factors between cardiovascular disease and cancer and why these types of programs are beneficial to patient care.

Not all patient subgroups respond to medication the same way, making equal representation in clinical trials essential. Dr. Javed Butler is joined by Dr. Ileana Piña, a Heart Failure Cardiologist and Clinical Professor of Medicine at Central Michigan University, to talk about how we can improve diversity in cardiovascular clinical trials.

Sheng Xu, Professor of Nanoengineering, Bioengineering, Computer and Electrical Engineering at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering, meets with Dr. Alan Brown to discuss his innovative technology to change the way we predict cardiovascular risks.