Bridging strategies and cardiac replacement outcomes in patients with acute decompensated heart failure-related cardiogenic shock.

Aims: To describe outcomes associated with bridging strategies in patients with acute decompensated heart failure-related cardiogenic shock (ADHF-CS) bridged to durable left ventricular assist device (LVAD) or heart transplantation (HTx).

Methods And Results: Durable LVAD or HTx recipients from 2014 to 2019 with pre-operative ADHF-CS were identified in the Society of Thoracic Surgeons Adult Cardiac Surgery Database and stratified by bridging strategy. The primary outcome was operative or 30-day post-operative mortality.

Management of Type 2 Diabetes in Stage C Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction.

Type 2 diabetes is an increasingly common comorbidity of stage C heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). The two diseases are risk factors for each other and can bidirectionally independently worsen outcomes. The regulatory requirement of cardiovascular outcomes trials for antidiabetic agents has led to an emergence of novel therapies with robust benefits in heart failure, and clinicians must now ensure they are familiar with the management of patients with concurrent diabetes and stage C HFrEF.

Communicating Guideline Recommendations Using Graphic Narrative Versus Text-Based Broadcast Screensavers: Design and Implementation Study.

Background: The use of graphic narratives, defined as stories that use images for narration, is growing in health communication.

Objective: The aim of this study was to describe the design and implementation of a graphic narrative screensaver (GNS) to communicate a guideline recommendation (ie, avoiding low-value acid suppressive therapy [AST] use in hospital inpatients) and examine the comparative effectiveness of the GNS versus a text-based screensaver (TBS) on clinical practice (ie, low-value AST prescriptions) and clinician recall.

Methods: During a 2-year period, the GNS and the TBS were displayed on inpatient clinical workstations.

Virtual optimization of guideline-directed medical therapy in hospitalized patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction: the IMPLEMENT-HF pilot study.

Aims: Implementation of guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) remains incomplete. Non-cardiovascular hospitalization may present opportunities for GDMT optimization. We assessed the efficacy and durability of a virtual, multidisciplinary 'GDMT Team' on medical therapy prescription for HFrEF.

Gender Differences in Publication Authorship During COVID-19: A Bibliometric Analysis of High-Impact Cardiology Journals.

Background The purpose of this study was to examine gender differences in authorship of manuscripts in select high-impact cardiology journals during the early coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods and Results All manuscripts published between March 1, 2019 to June 1, 2019 and March 1, 2020 to June 1, 2020 in 4 high-impact cardiology journals (, , , and ) were identified using bibliometric data. Authors' genders were determined by matching first name with predicted gender using a validated multinational database (Genderize.

Trends in US Heart Transplant Waitlist Activity and Volume During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic.

Importance: Solid organ transplants have declined significantly during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in the US. Limited data exist regarding changes in heart transplant (HT).

Objective: To describe national and regional trends in waitlist inactivations, waitlist additions, donor recovery, and HT volume during COVID-19.

Identification of Racial Inequities in Access to Specialized Inpatient Heart Failure Care at an Academic Medical Center.

Background: Racial inequities for patients with heart failure (HF) have been widely documented. HF patients who receive cardiology care during a hospital admission have better outcomes. It is unknown whether there are differences in admission to a cardiology or general medicine service by race.

Nine contemporary therapeutic directions in heart failure.

The global burden of heart failure has continued to increase dramatically with 26 million people affected and an estimated health expenditure of $31 billion worldwide. Several practice-influencing studies were reported recently, bringing advances along many frontiers in heart failure, particularly heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. In this article, we discuss nine distinct therapeutic areas that were significantly influenced by this scientific progress.

Acute heart failure.

Acute heart failure (AHF) is one of the most common causes for hospital admission and is associated with a high risk of mortality. Compared to chronic heart failure, there is less robust evidence to guide diagnosis, risk stratification and management of AHF. This state-of-the art review aims to summarize new developments in this field.

Content Analysis of Metaphors About Hypertension and Diabetes on Twitter: Exploratory Mixed-Methods Study.

Background: Widespread metaphors contribute to the public's understanding of health. Prior work has characterized the metaphors used to describe cancer and AIDS. Less is known about the metaphors characterizing cardiovascular disease.

What Factors Affect Physicians' Decisions to Prescribe Opioids in Emergency Departments?

With 42% of all emergency department visits in the United States related to pain, physicians who work in this setting are tasked with providing adequate pain management to patients with varying primary complaints and medical histories. Complicating this, the United States is in the midst of an opioid overdose epidemic. State governments and national organizations have developed guidelines and legislation to curtail opioid prescriptions in acute care settings, while also incentivizing providers for patient satisfaction and completeness of pain control.

Twitter as a Tool for Health Research: A Systematic Review.

Background: Researchers have used traditional databases to study public health for decades. Less is known about the use of social media data sources, such as Twitter, for this purpose.

Objectives: To systematically review the use of Twitter in health research, define a taxonomy to describe Twitter use, and characterize the current state of Twitter in health research.

Twitter as a Potential Data Source for Cardiovascular Disease Research.

Importance: As society is increasingly becoming more networked, researchers are beginning to explore how social media can be used to study person-to-person communication about health and health care use. Twitter is an online messaging platform used by more than 300 million people who have generated several billion Tweets, yet little work has focused on the potential applications of these data for studying public attitudes and behaviors associated with cardiovascular health.

Objective: To describe the volume and content of Tweets associated with cardiovascular disease as well as the characteristics of Twitter users.

A Randomized Trial Testing the Effect of Narrative Vignettes Versus Guideline Summaries on Provider Response to a Professional Organization Clinical Policy for Safe Opioid Prescribing.

Study Objective: Clinical guidelines are known to be underused by practitioners. In response to the challenges of treating pain amid a prescription opioid epidemic, the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) published an evidence-based clinical policy for opioid prescribing in 2012. Evidence-based narratives, an effective method of communicating health information in a variety of settings, offer a novel strategy for disseminating guidelines to physicians and engaging providers with clinical evidence.