Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes
November 2024
Background: A limited transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE) can be an appropriate, lower-cost substitute for a full TTE. We assessed the impact of an electronic health record alternative alert promoting the adoption of limited TTEs on the ordering practices of cardiology clinicians and primary care providers and captured their perspectives on the initiative.
Methods: The alert was deployed in a cardiology clinic and 4 primary care clinics at an academic medical center.
Purpose And Objectives: The Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), an effective evidence-based strategy to reduce the incidence of type 2 diabetes, has been widely implemented in various locations, including workplaces. However, most people do not remain engaged in the program for the recommended full year. Limited qualitative research exists around participant engagement in the workplace DPP.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFQuality Improvement Success Stories are published by the American Diabetes Association in collaboration with the American College of Physicians and the National Diabetes Education Program. This series is intended to highlight best practices and strategies from programs and clinics that have successfully improved the quality of care for people with diabetes or related conditions. Each article in the series is reviewed and follows a standard format developed by the editors of .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Little is known about which conditions seen in primary care are appropriate for video visits. This study evaluated video visits compared to office visits for six conditions: abdominal pain, joint pain, back pain, headache, chest pain, and dizziness.
Methods: Six hundred charts of adult patients from our institution's same-day outpatient clinic were reviewed in this study.
Objectives: Exercise stress echocardiograms (stress echos) are overused, whereas exercise stress electrocardiograms (stress ECGs) can be an appropriate, lower-cost substitute. In this post hoc, mixed methods evaluation, we assessed an initiative promoting value-based, guideline-concordant ordering practices in primary care (PC) and cardiology clinics.
Methods: Change in percent of stress ECGs ordered of all exercise stress tests (stress ECGs and echos) was calculated between three periods: baseline (January 2019-February 2020); Period 1 with reduced stress ECG report turnaround time + PC-targeted education (began June 2020); and Period 2 with the addition of electronic health record-based alternative alert (AA) providing point-of-care clinical decision support.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of pregnancy mortality. Socioeconomic and racial disparities in pregnancy are well established. Despite this, little is known about the impact of social determinants of health in pregnant patients with heart disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBicuspid aortic valve with ascending aortic aneurysm is a common condition encountered in pregnancy. There are limited data on how to manage these patients. To our knowledge, we report the only case of a bicuspid aortic valve and aortic aneurysm with twin gestations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFemale cardiac patients are at greater risk for mental health disorders than their male counterparts, and these mental health disorders have been associated with increased cardiac morbidity and mortality. However, few studies have closely examined the mental health disorders found among the female cardiac population. The primary aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of psychological distress in a sample of female cardiac outpatients at an academic medical center.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Womens Health (Larchmt)
January 2019
Background: Previous studies have suggested that prolonged breastfeeding has beneficial effects on the health of the mother including the reduction of long-term risk of coronary artery disease (CAD). The mechanism of this association remains unclear.
Methods: We surveyed 643 women aged 40-65 years receiving outpatient care at Stanford University Hospital on their reproductive/lactation history, including 137 women (cases) with clinically confirmed CAD.
Electronic medical records (EMRs) offer a potential opportunity to identify patients at high risk for cardiometabolic disease, which encompasses type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD). The objective of this retrospective cohort study is to use information gathered from EMR to investigate the association between triglyceride to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (TG/HDL-C) and cardiometabolic outcomes in a general population of subjects over 50 years of age during a follow-up period of 8-9 years. TG/HDL-C was recorded for each of 1428 subjects in 2008, and diagnoses of type 2 diabetes and CVD were recorded through chart review until 2017.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: We tested whether providing a genetic risk score (GRS) for coronary artery disease (CAD) would serve as a motivator to improve adherence to risk-reducing strategies.
Methods: We randomized 94 participants with at least moderate risk of CAD to receive standard-of-care with ( = 49) or without ( = 45) their GRS at a subsequent 3-month follow-up visit. Our primary outcome was change in low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) between the 3- and 6-month follow-up visits (ΔLDL-C).
Obesity (Silver Spring)
September 2017
Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the relationships of Cardiometabolic Disease Staging (CMDS), a validated five-stage system for assessing risk for diabetes, cardiovascular mortality, and all-cause mortality, with measures of individual engagement and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in the US adult population.
Methods: Data from the 2011-2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were used to derive the CMDS stages, five participant engagement measures, and four HRQOL measures among adult participants ≥ 40 years of age. Analyses accounted for the complex sampling design and sample weights.
Purpose Of Review: Although pregnancy-related deaths are rare in the USA, they are on the rise and have more than doubled in the last 20 years. A substantial portion of these deaths are related to cardiovascular disease, specifically hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP). In this review, we will discuss the definitions and proposed pathophysiology of HDP as well as its potential role in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFew studies have used nationally representative data to focus specifically on gender differences in weight-related outcomes. This article examines gender differences in weight-related outcomes across the body mass index (BMI) spectrum in overweight and obese adults. Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2009-2010 was analyzed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: The aim of this study was to evaluate recent trends and the adoption of practice recommendations for menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) use from 2001 to 2009 by formulation, dose, woman's age, and characteristics of physicians reporting MHT visits.
Methods: The IMS Health (Plymouth Meeting PA) National Disease and Therapeutic Index physician survey data from 2001 to 2009 were analyzed for visits in which MHT use was reported by US office-based physicians. Estimated national volume of visits for which MHT use was reported.