Publications by authors named "Birju Rao"

High out-of-pocket costs and financial toxicity related to heart failure treatment are substantial concerns. Two of 4 pillars of guideline-directed medical therapy for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, for example, carry high costs that may attenuate their uptake. Furthermore, heart failure rarely occurs in isolation.

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Background: Guideline-directed medical therapy for heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction can entail high out-of-pocket (OOP) costs, prompting concerns about financial toxicity and access. OOP costs are generally unavailable during encounters. This trial assessed the impact of providing patient-specific OOP costs to patients and clinicians.

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Background: Because of differences in chest wall anatomy, female patients may have higher rates of subcutaneous implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (S-ICD) pocket-related complications.

Objective: We sought to evaluate sex-based outcomes after S-ICD implantation.

Methods: Patients implanted with an S-ICD at Emory Healthcare between 2010 and 2023 were included in the analysis.

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Background: Evidence-based medical therapy for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) often entails substantial out-of-pocket costs that can vary appreciably between patients. This has raised concerns regarding financial toxicity, equity, and adherence to medical therapy. In spite of these concerns, cost discussions in the HFrEF population appear to be rare, partly because out-of-pocket costs are generally unavailable during clinical encounters.

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Background: Shared decision-making is mandated for patients receiving primary prevention implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs). Less attention has been paid to generator exchange decisions, although at the time of generator exchange, patients' risk of sudden cardiac death, risk of procedural complications, quality of life, or prognosis may have changed. This study was designed to explore how patients make ICD generator exchange decisions.

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Background Out-of-pocket costs have significant implications for patients with heart failure and should ideally be incorporated into shared decision-making for clinical care. High out-of-pocket cost is one potential reason for the slow uptake of newer guideline-directed medical therapies for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. This study aims to characterize patient-cardiologist discussions involving out-of-pocket costs associated with sacubitril/valsartan during the early postapproval period.

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Background Sacubitril/valsartan improves health outcomes for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction relative to angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers, but it carries higher out-of-pocket costs. Neither the impact of cost nor how to integrate cost into medical decisions is well studied. Methods and Results To evaluate the impact of out-of-pocket costs and a novel cost-priming intervention on willingness to take sacubitril/valsartan for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, participants with self-reported heart disease were surveyed using the online Ipsos Knowledge Panel.

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Background: Shared decision-making using a decision aid is required for patients undergoing implantation of primary prevention implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICD). It is unknown how much this process has impacted patients' experiences or choices. Effective shared decision-making requires an understanding of how patients make ICD decisions.

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Shared decision-making has become a new focus of health policy. Though its core elements are largely agreed upon, there is little consensus regarding which outcomes to prioritize for policy-mandated shared decision-making.

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Background: In 2018, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) mandated that patients considering implantation of an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) for primary prevention of sudden cardiac death undergo shared decision-making (SDM) using a decision-aid.

Objective: To observe the impact of the CMS's mandate on core measures of SDM using a natural experiment.

Research Design, Subjects, And Measures: Patients who underwent implantation of a primary prevention ICD within the Emory Healthcare system between 2017-2019 (pre and post SDM mandate) were surveyed.

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Article Synopsis
  • Presenting numeric data alone may lead patients to underestimate the benefits of a heart failure medication, which was highlighted in the development of a decision aid for sacubitril-valsartan, associated with a small absolute mortality reduction but high out-of-pocket costs.
  • The study aimed to explore how different contextualizing statements about the medication affected patients' likelihood of choosing to take it, with participants receiving various versions of the decision aid framed from neutral to positive.
  • Results indicated that most participants were willing to take the medication, but different framing statements did not significantly influence their decision; instead, factors like income, health status, and age played a more critical role in their willingness.
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Article Synopsis
  • Patients with heart failure often don't discuss medication costs with clinicians, leading to suboptimal conversations about this important topic.
  • Many patients expressed a positive outlook on previous cost discussions but nearly half had never engaged in such talks with their healthcare providers.
  • There is a strong desire among patients for these discussions to be initiated by clinicians, regardless of their financial burden, highlighting the need for more integrated and patient-centered approaches in clinical care.
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Premature atherosclerotic peripheral artery disease (PAD) of the lower extremities is characterized by disease diagnosis before the age of 50 years. The global prevalence of premature PAD has increased, and the disease is often underdiagnosed given heterogenous patient symptoms. Traditional cardiovascular risk factors like smoking, diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia as well as non-traditional risk factors like elevated lipoprotein(a), family history of PAD, hypercoagulability, and systemic inflammation are associated with premature PAD.

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Objectives: The aim of this study was to define risk factors and develop a predictive risk score for new pacemaker implantation (PMI) after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR).

Background: TAVR has become an accepted treatment alternative for patients with severe aortic stenosis at elevated surgical risk. New PMI is a common occurrence after TAVR and is associated with poorer outcomes.

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Background: Data suggests that same day discharge after implantation of trans-venous pacemakers is safe and feasible. We sought to determine whether same day discharge was feasible and safe following implantation of Medtronic MICRA leadless pacemakers.

Methods: We retrospectively identified all patients undergoing MICRA placement at our institution between April 2014 to August 2018 (n=167).

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Background: Implantation of the MICRA Leadless pacemaker requires the use of a 27 French introducer, blunt delivery system and device fixation to the myocardium via nitinol tines. While prior studies have proven its safety, it is unclear whether performing this procedure with uninterrupted anticoagulation exposes patients to increased risks. We sought to investigate the feasibility and safety of continuing therapeutic anticoagulation during the periprocedural period.

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Background: The performance of Abbott/St. Jude Medical (Sylmar CA) Tendril pacing leads has not been well characterized.

Objective: We sought to assess the performance of Tendril leads as compared with that of different pacing leads.

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BACKGROUND Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) is an increasingly recognized cause of lobar intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) and cognitive impairment in the aging population. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of cerebral microbleeds is the most reliable option for clinical diagnosis of suspected CAA. The pathophysiology of microbleeds and ICH in CAA is not well understood, but it is thought to be the result of vessel weakening and rupture secondary to amyloid deposition.

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This report presents information on the state of the U.S. health system in 2012 and early 2013, specifically the period prior to the implementation of the individual mandate and full rollout of the Affordable Care Act's online health exchanges.

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