SSRI/SNRI Therapy is Associated With a Higher Risk of Gastrointestinal Bleeding in LVAD Patients.

Background: Gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) is common in left ventricular assist device (LVAD) patients. Serotonin release from platelets promotes platelet aggregation, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor/serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SSRI/SNRI) therapy inhibits the transporter responsible for re-uptake.

Methods: We reviewed the records of LVAD (HeartMateII™, Abbott Medical, Lake Bluff, IL, USA and Heartware™, Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN, USA) patients at the Medical University of South Carolina and Johns Hopkins Hospital between January 2009 and January 2016.

Patient perception of obesity versus physician documentation of obesity: A quality improvement study.

As the prevalence of obesity increases, the prevalence of associated comorbid diseases, obesity-related mortality rates and healthcare costs rise concordantly. Two main factors that hinder efforts to treat obesity include a lack of recognition by patients and documentation by physicians. This study evaluates the relationship between patient perception of obese weight and physician documentation of obesity.

Severe Stenosis of an Anomalous Circumflex Artery Mimicking a Chronic Total Occlusion.

The prevalence of anomalous circumflex coronary arteries is rare. Identifying the presence of an anomalous coronary is quite easy when there is no severe stenosis. However, in the presence of severe stenosis, there is limited anterograde flow, which makes it challenging to visualize the course of the stenotic artery, and it can be assumed to be a chronic total occlusion (CTO).