Grace Halsey

The 100 000 drug overdose deaths in the US recorded for the period ended April 2021 paint a dire behind-the-scenes picture of life during COVID-19.

Primary care physicians noted increased stress among patients during the pandemic and worry that telehealth visits may have hidden signs of drug misuse.

Patients taking either of the 2 anticoagulants showed no large differences on 4 cognitive test scores at 2 years, according to authors of the GIRAF trial.

Smoking was associated with earlier onset of cardiovascular disease, by 5.1 years for men and 3.8 years for women, the new study found.

AHA 2021. Heart failure patients, across ejection fraction and diabetes status, reported improved QOL as early as 3 months in CHIEF-HF trial.

AHA 2021: Marcus, lead author of CRAVE, says it found little effect of caffeine on atrial arrhythmias, a significant effect on PVCs, a negative effect on sleep, and a boosting effect on physical activity.

AHA 2021. Coffee increased PVCs by 54% in regular coffee drinkers and decreased sleep by more than 30 minutes; it also significantly increased daily step count and slightly improved SVT.

EHR-integrated remote BP monitoring was evaluated in a primary care Medicare population to assess uptake and initial effects on hypertension management.

Mothers vaccinated against COVID-19 produced robust IgG antibodies in breast milk that actively neutralized the SARS-CoV-2 virus, according to investigators.

Chest pain evaluation requires timely and accurate distinction between serious and benign causes. The 2021 ACC/AHA guideline authors provide 10 important reminders.

Pfizer-BioNTech included data in its FDA submission showing the 3rd mRNA shot restores protection against symptomatic COVDI-19 to about 95%.

AHA Scientific Sessions 2021. Statin-associated muscle symptoms complicate treatment initiation and adherence; a new mHealth tool shows promise in reducing treatment cessation.

AHA Scientific Sessions 2021: Blood pressure reductions to clinical targets were achieved by patients with sustained hypertension through a remote health care delivery program during the COVID-19 pandemic.

AHA 2021: E-cigarette users were found to have a 15% higher risk of a cerebrovascular accident at a younger age than those who smoked combustible tobacco cigarettes.

Finerenone was associated with a 20% lower risk of end-stage kidney disease among patients with T2D and CKD, according to authors of the FIDELITY analysis.

Efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna, and J&J fell between 35% and 85% among nearly 800 000 US veterans, found a consortium of investigators.

The Pfizer study was stopped early for efficacy and the company plans to submit data to the US FDA for Emergency Use Authorization as soon as possible, according to a statement.

The evidence that obesity is pathophysiologic dysfunction in the human body places it squarely in the realm of chronic disease, according to obesity specialist Kaplan. Let’s treat it accordingly.

Primary care leadership is essential to the future of obesity medicine, says Kaplan, but treatment needs to be within the normal scope of primary care practice. Hear him explain.

Recognizing obesity as chronic pathophysiologic dysfunction and explaining that to a patient will make them remarkably more receptive to all other discussions about treatment, says obesity specialist Kaplan.

ObesityWeek 2021. Weight loss with semaglutide was more than 2 times greater than with liraglutide in the 68-week placebo-controlled trial of the 2 GLP-1 RAs.

A clinical psychologist from the Mayo Clinic Bariatric Center in Jacksonville, FL, explains and corrects key misperceptions that inhibit open discussion of the therapy.

Alexis Beatty, MD, MAS, highlights findings from the first peer-reviewed published study to report long-term experience with a digital health app for hypertension.

ObesityWeek 2021. Liraglutide helped patients who regained weight after successful gastric bypass surgery re-achieve their lowest weight with an acceptable safety profile.

ObesityWeek 2021: Weight loss support delivered via pandemic-driven telehealth resulted in clinically significant weight loss, report 2 different research teams.

Primary nonadherence with anticoagulant therapy may be influenced by which DOAC is prescribed, age, and diagnosis of several chronic diseases, a new study found.

For individuals with A1c of 6.4-6.5%, just below the threshold for diabetes, risk of MACE was higher than for any other subgroup with A1c values ranging from 5.8-6.8%.

Results of a GALACTIC-HF post-hoc analysis suggest a role for omecamtiv mecarbil in an HF population that remains difficult to treat effectively.

Approximately three-quarters of asthma patients who began multiple-inhaler triple therapy had stopped using it 6 months later, according to a new study.

CHEST 2021: Among >7000 veterans diagnosed with lung cancer and scheduled for surgery, seeing a primary care doctor was linked to pre-operative quitting.