Cardiovascular Risk Report: “Stem Cell Factor” as Predictive as Cholesterol Levels

Posted on by Kurt Jensen

With a proliferation of guidelines designed to reduce costs based on the risk profiles of patients, and a more general trend towards a preventative care framework, it's important to stay on top of the latest research into these risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

What constitutes a high-risk patient? What's new in risk assessment? Stay tuned, ACVP blog will bring you more on the latest in cardiovascular disease risk factors.

Stem Cell Factor as predictive as cholesterol

"Stem Cell Factor" Linked to Cardiovascular Disease Risk

A new study published in the Journal of Internal Medicine identified a risk factor with a similar predictive value to established cardiovascular risk factors such as LDL and HDL cholesterol.

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Are you “Choosing Wisely” with Cardiac Imaging?

Posted on by Kurt Jensen

Results are in from the Choosing Wisely initiative - a campaign designed to reduce the use of frequent tests deemed "low value" - like cardiac imaging.

A recently published study from JAMA Internal Medicine examining the frequency and trends of services from 2012 Choosing Wisely recommendations across 25 million Anthem health plan members found statistically significant reductions in cardiac imaging and other "low value" services.

Some context: many uses of cardiac imaging were deemed "low value" by the ACC in 2012.

The American College of Cardiology contributed to some of the earliest Choosing Wisely recommendations from 2012 - the recommendations that this study tracked. One of these recommendations has since been withdrawn due to new science, but the four that remain relate to cardiac imaging.

They are:

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Staffing the Echo-EKG Lab

Posted on by Kurt Jensen
teamwork in the echo/ekg lab

Adjusting Echo-EKG Lab Staffing to Variable Volumes

When hospital occupancy determines volume in your Echo-EKG lab, staffing the right number and mix of professionals for variable demand can be a challenge.

Adjusting staff to volume is the name of the game for Cardiology Supervisor Joyce Ukleja of the Rush Oak Park Hospital and Rush University Medical Center.

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Taylor Swift in the Cath Lab? Music in the Cath Lab Debate

Posted on by Kurt Jensen

Does music play during procedures in your lab? Who chooses the music?

A recent study published in the Aesthetic Surgery Journal found that "when plastic surgeons listen to music they prefer, their surgical technique and efficiency when closing incisions is improved," says a University of Texas Medical Branch press release.

While many studies have been conducted supporting the idea that music reduces stress and promotes efficiency for operating room staff, this study adds to a more limited evidence base that suggests music can improve technical performance and speed of a procedure.

Why does it matter? Reducing the time of a procedure can lead to significant cost savings, of course, and in cardiac emergencies where "time is muscle," promoting procedure efficiency is key to providing quality care.

But should the cardiologist control music in the cath lab?

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