Heart Matters

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Ralph Brindis, MD, MPH How will the recently-passed health reform legislation impact cardiologists and other physicians in the next year? What can physicians do to prepare for the changes ahead? Dr. Ralph Brindis, senior advisor for cardiovascular disease for Northern California Kaiser Permanente, clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, San Franc...

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Ralph Brindis, MD, MPH How will the recently-passed health reform legislation impact cardiologists and other physicians in the next year? What can physicians do to prepare for the changes ahead? Dr. Ralph Brindis, senior advisor for cardiovascular disease for Northern California Kaiser Permanente, clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, San Franc...

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Stephen Ubl How do physicians play a particularly crucial role in the development of medical devices, and how does the device innovation model differ from the drug development model? How can we encourage transparent, ethical relationships between healthcare professionals and the medical device industry, as collaborations between these parties are vital to the developmen...

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Stephen Ubl How do physicians play a particularly crucial role in the development of medical devices, and how does the device innovation model differ from the drug development model? How can we encourage transparent, ethical relationships between healthcare professionals and the medical device industry, as collaborations between these parties are vital to the developmen...

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: John Tooker, MD, MBA, FACP How can cardiologists and our internal medicine colleagues work together to promote the patient-centered medical home as an efficient strategy for re-organizing care that will reduce costs and improve quality of care? How can we improve communication between specialist and subspecialist providers? Dr. John Tooker, executive vice president and...

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: John Tooker, MD, MBA, FACP How can cardiologists and our internal medicine colleagues work together to promote the patient-centered medical home as an efficient strategy for re-organizing care that will reduce costs and improve quality of care? How can we improve communication between specialist and subspecialist providers? Dr. John Tooker, executive vice president and...

Host: Alfred Bove, MD Guest: Leslie Miller, MD Options for patients with advanced heart failure used to be limited to heart transplantation, but ventricular assist devices have rapidly evolved into viable treatment options for these patients. How is the newest generation of continuous-flow devices impacting the way we care for patients with advanced heart failure? Which patients are the best candi...

Host: Alfred Bove, MD Guest: Leslie Miller, MD Options for patients with advanced heart failure used to be limited to heart transplantation, but ventricular assist devices have rapidly evolved into viable treatment options for these patients. How is the newest generation of continuous-flow devices impacting the way we care for patients with advanced heart failure? Which patients are the best candi...

Host: Alfred Bove, MD Guest: Gregg Stone, MD Results of a recent study may change the standard of care for patients with acute coronary syndromes. Although clopidogrel is generally the antiplatelet therapy of choice for patients for whom an invasive strategy is planned for treating their acute coronary syndromes, bleeding can be of concern. Prasugrel often presents the same dilemma. Enter, ticagre...

Host: Alfred Bove, MD Guest: Gregg Stone, MD Results of a recent study may change the standard of care for patients with acute coronary syndromes. Although clopidogrel is generally the antiplatelet therapy of choice for patients for whom an invasive strategy is planned for treating their acute coronary syndromes, bleeding can be of concern. Prasugrel often presents the same dilemma. Enter, ticagre...

Host: Janet Wright, MD Guest: Mikhail Kosiborod, MD Elevated blood sugar levels are quite common among even non-diabetic patients presenting with acute myocardial infarction (or AMI). Does lowering a patient's glucose level actually improve outcomes, and if so, what glucose-control therapies are most effective for these patients? Dr. Mikhail Kosiborod, associate professor of medicine at the Univer...

Host: Janet Wright, MD Guest: Mikhail Kosiborod, MD Elevated blood sugar levels are quite common among even non-diabetic patients presenting with acute myocardial infarction (or AMI). Does lowering a patient's glucose level actually improve outcomes, and if so, what glucose-control therapies are most effective for these patients? Dr. Mikhail Kosiborod, associate professor of medicine at the Univer...

Host: Janet Wright, MD Guest: Eduardo Marbán, MD, PhD Stem cell therapies across multiple disciplines continue to demonstrate promising results. How successful are autologous cardiac stem cell treatments proving to be at regenerating cardiac tissue after a heart attack? Which patients would be the best candidates for this procedure, and when might this treatment move from clinical trials into the...

Host: Janet Wright, MD Guest: Eduardo Marbán, MD, PhD Stem cell therapies across multiple disciplines continue to demonstrate promising results. How successful are autologous cardiac stem cell treatments proving to be at regenerating cardiac tissue after a heart attack? Which patients would be the best candidates for this procedure, and when might this treatment move from clinical trials into the...

Host: Janet Wright, MD Guest: Glenn Chertow, MD, MPH Guest: Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, MD, PhD We are well aware that the overabundance of processed, frozen and fast foods contribute to many Americans exceeding the recommended daily allowance of sodium. But there are potentially enormous cardiovascular benefits to cutting down on salt intake by even a very modest amount. How can we quantify the actu...

Host: Janet Wright, MD Guest: Glenn Chertow, MD, MPH Guest: Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, MD, PhD We are well aware that the overabundance of processed, frozen and fast foods contribute to many Americans exceeding the recommended daily allowance of sodium. But there are potentially enormous cardiovascular benefits to cutting down on salt intake by even a very modest amount. How can we quantify the actu...

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Richard Katz, MD Use of electronic medical records (EMRs) and personal health records (PHRs) can improve adherence, increase efficiency and better coordinate patient care. What role are health information exchanges playing in the integration of EMRs and PHRs, and how effective are disease management software programs? How can we meet the challenges of integrating health...

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Richard Katz, MD Use of electronic medical records (EMRs) and personal health records (PHRs) can improve adherence, increase efficiency and better coordinate patient care. What role are health information exchanges playing in the integration of EMRs and PHRs, and how effective are disease management software programs? How can we meet the challenges of integrating health...

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Chris Kaiser What payment cuts does the 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule include for cardiology? How will these lower reimbursements affect cardiology practices and impact patients' access to care? Chris Kaiser, editor of Cardiovascular Business , joins host Dr. Jack Lewin to discuss ways cardiology practices can try to adapt to payment cuts by increasing practice e...

Host: Jack Lewin, MD Guest: Chris Kaiser What payment cuts does the 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule include for cardiology? How will these lower reimbursements affect cardiology practices and impact patients' access to care? Chris Kaiser, editor of Cardiovascular Business , joins host Dr. Jack Lewin to discuss ways cardiology practices can try to adapt to payment cuts by increasing practice e...

Host: Janet Wright, MD Guest: Michael Ho, MD, PhD Medication adherence is a significant problem in the US. Patients with chronic conditions such as hypertension or high cholesterol can be particularly susceptible to non-adherence, because patients may not experience symptoms that would seem to justify taking medication, and thus may not notice any immediate benefits from their medications. What ar...

Host: Janet Wright, MD Guest: Michael Ho, MD, PhD Medication adherence is a significant problem in the US. Patients with chronic conditions such as hypertension or high cholesterol can be particularly susceptible to non-adherence, because patients may not experience symptoms that would seem to justify taking medication, and thus may not notice any immediate benefits from their medications. What ar...

Host: Janet Wright, MD Guest: Michael Mooney, MD Therapeutic hypothermia is a relatively new treatment option for patients who suffer cardiac arrest, that can significantly improve neurologic outcomes. What factors determine the success of cooling therapy for cardiac arrest, and what resources does the procedure require? Dr. Michael Mooney, Director of Interventional Cardiology, Minneapolis Cardio...

Host: Janet Wright, MD Guest: Michael Mooney, MD Therapeutic hypothermia is a relatively new treatment option for patients who suffer cardiac arrest, that can significantly improve neurologic outcomes. What factors determine the success of cooling therapy for cardiac arrest, and what resources does the procedure require? Dr. Michael Mooney, Director of Interventional Cardiology, Minneapolis Cardio...

Host: Alfred Bove, MD Guest: Howard Eisen, MD There are many potential options for treating left ventricular dysfunction, from medical to device therapies. Dr. Howard Eisen, Thomas J. Vischer Professor of Medicine and chief of the division of cardiology at Drexel University College of Medicine and Hahnemann University Hospital, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, outlines the roles of bypass surgery, p...