Heart Matters

Childhood obesity is a significant health concern in the US and worldwide. How does obesity impact a child's cardiovascular function and influence future risk of heart disease? Dr. Nathalie Farpour-Lambert, head of the Pediatric Exercise Medicine and Obesity Care Program in the department of pediatrics at the University Hospitals of Geneva in Switzerland, discusses new findings about the effect of a modest amount of physical activity in improving blood pressure, arterial function and arterial wall thickness in obese children. How can clinicians overcome the biggest challenges in encouraging a healthy lifestyle for their pediatric patients?

It's widely believed that modern behaviors of inactivity, stress and poor diet are primary causes of the development of cardiovascular disease, but history may suggest otherwise. What is new evidence from ancient Egyptian mummies teaching us about heart disease? Dr. Randy Thompson, cardiologist at St. Luke's Hospital Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, Missouri, shares the exciting findings of his research team in Cairo that found calcification using CT scans to study ancient Egyptian mummies. How likely is it that these mummies died from cardiovascular causes? What do these findings suggest about the etiology of heart disease? Tune in to take a historic look back at cardiovascular disease. Hosted by Dr. Janet Wright.

Electronic management of health information will someday replace the pen and paper chart. How significant a role will health information technology, or HIT, play in the newly-reformed healthcare system? What incentives are the federal government offering to foster the widespread, meaningful use of or HIT, and more importantly, what qualifies as meaningful use? Dr. David Blumenthal, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology under President Barack Obama, weighs in on the value of the National Cardiovascular Data Registry and explains meaningful use criteria. How can your practice implement an electronic system that will comply with federal meaningful use guidelines? Hosted by Dr. Jack Lewin.

Although the Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program may conjure up unpleasant testing jitters, its value to both patients and the medical professional community should not be underestimated. How does MOC improve clinical performance, increase physician accountability and ultimately improve quality of care for patients? How will the MOC program evolve in the future? Dr. Kevin Weiss, president and CEO of the American Board of Medical Specialties, joins host Dr. Jack Lewin to discuss the MOC program's areas of competency as well as plans to integrate MOC with health information technology.

How will the recently-passed health reform legislation impact cardiologists and other physicians in the next year? What can physicians do to prepare for the changes ahead? Dr. Ralph Brindis, senior advisor for cardiovascular disease for Northern California Kaiser Permanente, clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and president of the American College of Cardiology, joins host Dr. Jack Lewin to discuss various elements of health reform, including the further needs for tort reform as well as the sustainable growth rate formula (or SGR) and the need for payment reform. Dr. Brindis also weighs in on the role of registries in measuring success, ensuring quality of care, reducing disparities and decreasing healthcare costs.

How do physicians play a particularly crucial role in the development of medical devices, and how does the device innovation model differ from the drug development model? How can we encourage transparent, ethical relationships between healthcare professionals and the medical device industry, as collaborations between these parties are vital to the development process? Mr. Stephen Ubl, president and CEO of AdvaMed, the Advanced Medical Technology Association, provides an overview of the medical device industry landscape, and stresses the need to reward innovation in order to create the environment for new technologies to thrive. Dr. Jack Lewin hosts.

How can cardiologists and our internal medicine colleagues work together to promote the patient-centered medical home as an efficient strategy for re-organizing care that will reduce costs and improve quality of care? How can we improve communication between specialist and subspecialist providers? Dr. John Tooker, executive vice president and CEO of the American College of Physicians, joins host Dr. Jack Lewin to outline some of the best practices and lessons learned from current integrated health systems, and emphasizes the importance of accountable care organizations. Can some of these lessons even apply to more fragmented delivery of care models?

How do physicians play a particularly crucial role in the development of medical devices, and how does the device innovation model differ from the drug development model? How can we encourage transparent, ethical relationships between healthcare professionals and the medical device industry, as collaborations between these parties are vital to the development process? Mr. Stephen Ubl, president and CEO of AdvaMed, the Advanced Medical Technology Association, provides an overview of the medical device industry landscape, and stresses the need to reward innovation in order to create the environment for new technologies to thrive. Dr. Jack Lewin hosts.

How can cardiologists and our internal medicine colleagues work together to promote the patient-centered medical home as an efficient strategy for re-organizing care that will reduce costs and improve quality of care? How can we improve communication between specialist and subspecialist providers? Dr. John Tooker, executive vice president and CEO of the American College of Physicians, joins host Dr. Jack Lewin to outline some of the best practices and lessons learned from current integrated health systems, and emphasizes the importance of accountable care organizations. Can some of these lessons even apply to more fragmented delivery of care models?

Options for patients with advanced heart failure used to be limited to heart transplantation, but ventricular assist devices have rapidly evolved into viable treatment options for these patients. How is the newest generation of continuous-flow devices impacting the way we care for patients with advanced heart failure? Which patients are the best candidates for ventricular assist devices, or VADs, and are many patients with VADs now undergoing the procedure as destination therapy, rather than a bridge to transplant? Dr. Leslie Miller, professor and chief of the Integrated Cardiology Programs at Washington Hospital Center and Georgetown University Hospital and School of Medicine, as well as the Walters Chair in Cardiovascular Medicine at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, tells host Dr. Alfred Bove about the evolution of VADs from pulsatile pumps to continuous flow design, and the various applications for these technologies. Will these devices play a more significant role in the treatment of patients with advanced heart failure in years to come?