April 17th 2024
Tirzepatide reduced OSA symptoms and body weight in study participants with severe OSA and obesity, regardless of use of positive airway pressure therapy.
Weakness: Guidelines for a Cost-Effective Workup
December 1st 2007The differential diagnosis of generalized weakness is enormous; it includes disorders at all levels of the neur-axis. A variety of electrophysiological, pathological, radiographic, and other laboratory studies may be indicated depending on the specific diagnostic possibilities; costs can be controlled if such investigations are selected judiciously.
ACG: Sleep and Quality of Life Suffer with Nighttime GERD
October 17th 2007PHILADELPHIA -- Half of all patients with nighttime symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease have sleep problems and such patients also score lower on quality of life measures, including mental and physical function, according to studies reported here.
Frequent Nocturnal Dialysis Offers Cardiac and Other Benefits
September 18th 2007CALGARY, Alberta -- Nocturnal dialysis at home six times a week markedly reduced left ventricular hypertrophy in patients with end-stage renal disease compared with conventional treatment, according to a preliminary study.
New Blood Pressure Measurement Technologies: What Role in Your Practice?
September 1st 2007Current evidence suggests that out-of-office blood pressure measurements and 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring are better predictors of cardiovascular risk than routine office measurements. Is it time to make greater use of automated devices in my practice?
Heart Failure: Part 2, Update on Therapeutic Options
August 1st 2007ABSTRACT: Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and ß-blockers are the cornerstone of heart failure medical therapy; unless contraindicated, start these agents as soon as possible after volume status has been optimized. Aldosterone receptor antagonists, angiotensin-receptor blockers, and a fixed-dose combination of hydralazine and isosorbide dinitrate (the last recommended especially for African Americans) can be used as add-on therapy. Prophylactic implantable cardioverter defibrillators reduce long-term mortality in symptomatic patients with a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of 35% or less. Cardiac resynchronization therapy improves symptoms and ventricular remodeling in some patients; indications include wide (more than 20 milliseconds) QRS complex on ECG, impaired LVEF (35% or less), and advanced heart failure symptoms (NYHA classes III and IV) despite optimal drug therapy. Measurement of natriuretic peptides and impedance cardiography both show promise for monitoring patients with heart failure and for guiding therapy, but definitive data to justify their routine use are still lacking.