New Medical Specialty to Focus on Advanced Heart
Failure, Heart Transplantation
Heart problems and associated medical advances are frequent topics when senior
citizens get together
March 6, 2009 Most senior citizens have heart
failure high on their radar screen it impacts so many of us and our
friends that most want to learn everything they can about it. As
technology advances, however, the treatment of heart failure has become
increasingly complicated. But, help is on the way - a new medical subspecialty
of Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology.
Thiazolidinediones medications (including rosiglitazone
(Avandia)
produced a significantly increased risk of heart attack, congestive
heart failure and death
This will lead the way in providing technically
advanced yet cost-effective care for patients with heart failure, says a
perspective article in the March issue of the Journal of Cardiac
Failure, official publication of the Heart Failure Society of
America (HFSA) and the Japanese Heart Failure Society, published by
Elsevier.
"First and foremost, this action represents an
essential advance for patients with heart failure and their families,"
according to "Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology: A
Subspecialty Is Born," written by Dr. Marvin A. Konstam of Tufts Medical
Center, Boston, and other leading U.S. heart failure experts.
The proposal to establish the new subspecialty,
originated and advocated by the HFSA, was approved late last year by the
American Board of Medical Specialties. The first Advanced Heart Failure
and Transplant Cardiologists will be certified in 2010.
The new specialty is needed because of the rapid
progress in treatment options for patients with heart failure, such as
heart transplantation and ventricular assist devices (VADs).
"As a result, a subspecialty has arisen de facto,
with more than 40 cardiology programs in the United States providing
training in the area of advanced heart failure and a growing number of
individual cardiologists offering a varying spectrum of expertise," Dr.
Konstam and colleagues write.
While most heart failure patients will continue to
be managed by general internists or cardiologists, the new
subspecialists will serve as consultants for patients with worsening
heart failure and those who need more advanced care. Advanced Heart
Failure and Transplant Cardiologists will also play a critical role as
leaders of specialized services, such as transplant centers and heart
failure clinics. They will be cardiologists with experience in managing
the entire spectrum of patients with heart failure and proficiency in
the expanding range of treatment techniques.
For the first five years, cardiologists who can
document high-level experience in Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant
Cardiology will be qualified to sit for the certifying examination.
After that, one-year accredited training programs will be available for
physicians after they have earned their board certification in
Cardiovascular Disease through the ABIM.
"This development speaks for the remarkable
advances in the management and outcomes of patients with heart failure,
which just a few decades ago was associated with a very poor prognosis
and for which there were few therapies," comments Barry M. Massie, M.D.,
Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Cardiac Failure. " This perspective,
authored by several of the leaders who developed and shepherded the
certification process to its successful culmination, highlights the
rationale for formalizing training the training process for specialists
in this field and the requirements for certification."
About Heart Diseases
Also called: Cardiac disease
If you're like most
people, you think that heart disease is a problem for other
folks. But heart disease is the number one killer in the U.S. It
is also a major cause of disability.
There are many
different forms of heart disease.
The most common
cause of heart disease is narrowing or blockage of the coronary
arteries, the blood vessels that supply blood to the heart
itself. This is called
coronary
artery disease and happens slowly over time. It's the
major reason people have
heart
attacks.
Other kinds of heart problems may happen
to the
valves
in the heart, or the heart may not pump well and cause
heart
failure. Some people are
born
with heart disease.
You can help reduce your risk of heart
disease by taking steps to control factors that put you at
greater risk:
● Control your
blood
pressure
● Lower your
cholesterol
● Don't smoke
● Get enough exercise
Heart failure is a condition in which the
heart can't pump enough blood throughout the body. Heart failure
does not mean that your heart has stopped or is about to stop
working. It means that your heart is not able to pump blood the
way it should.
The weakening of the heart's pumping
ability causes
● Blood and fluid to back up into the lungs
● The buildup of fluid in the feet, ankles and legs - called
edema
● Tiredness and shortness of breath
Each year over a million people in the
U.S. have a heart attack. About half of them die. Many people
have permanent heart damage or die because they don't get help
immediately. It's important to know the symptoms of a heart
attack and call 9-1-1 if someone is having them.
Those symptoms include
● Chest discomfort - pressure, squeezing, or pain
● Shortness of breath
● Discomfort in the upper body - arms, shoulder, neck, back
● Nausea, vomiting, dizziness, lightheadedness, sweating
These symptoms can sometimes be different
in
women.
What exactly is a heart attack? Most
heart attacks happen when a clot in the coronary artery blocks
the supply of blood and oxygen to the heart. Often this leads to
an irregular heartbeat called an
arrhythmia - that causes a severe decrease in the pumping
function of the heart. A blockage that is not treated within a
few hours causes the affected heart muscle to die.
The full citation of this article is "Advanced
Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology: A Subspecialty is Born", by
Marvin A. Konstam, Mariell Jessup, Gary S. Francis, Douglas L. Mann,
Barry Greenberg. Journal of Cardiac Failure, Volume 15, Issue 2, March
2009, pages 98-100 doi:10.1016/j.cardfail.2008.12.012 The article will
also appear in The Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Volume
53, Issue 10, March 10, 2009, pages 834-836
About Journal of Cardiac Failure
Journal of Cardiac Failure (http://www.onlinejcf.com/)
publishes original, peer-reviewed communications of scientific
excellence and review articles on clinical research, basic human
studies, animal studies, and bench research with potential clinical
applications to heart failurepathogenesis, etiology, epidemiology,
pathophysiological mechanisms, assessment, prevention, and treatment.
Journal of Cardiac Failure is the official journal of the Heart Failure
Society of America and the Japanese Heart Failure Society. It has an
Impact Factor of 3.067 (the highest among journals with a heart failure
focus and 19th among all cardiovascular journals) and an Immediacy
Factor of 1.306, the 7th among all cardiovascular journals.
About the Heart Failure Society of America
The Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA) is a
nonprofit educational organization, founded in 1994 as the first
organized association of heart failure experts. Today HFSA has over
1,700 members and provides a forum for all those interested in heart
function, heart failure research and patient care. The Society also
serves as a resource for governmental agencies (FDA, NIH, NHLBI, CMS).
Additional information on HFSA can be found at
www.hfsa.org.
About Elsevier
Elsevier is a world-leading publisher of
scientific, technical and medical information products and services.
Working in partnership with the global science and health communities,
Elsevier (http://www.elsevier.com/)
is a global business headquartered in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and has
offices worldwide.
Keep up with the latest news for senior citizens, baby
boomers
March 6, 2009 Most senior citizens have heart
failure high on their radar screen it impacts so many of us and our
friends that most want to learn everything they can about it. As
technology advances, however, the treatment of heart failure has become
increasingly complicated. But, help is on the way - a new medical subspecialty
of Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology.