Speakers at the recent CardioVascular Clinical Trialists forum cited a need to use more real-world evidence in clinical trials of cardiology devices and feedback on clinical practice guidelines for their use. High costs, requirements for sham controls and low participation slow research on medical devices, speakers said.

An analysis found more Americans have been dying at home, often their preferred location, since 2017, with home deaths more likely among men, white patients, older people and those with cancer. The findings, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, showed 30.7% of Americans died at home in 2017, while 29.8% died at hospitals and 20.8% died at nursing facilities.

Having pharmacists educate patients about medications as they transition out of hospital care and follow up with them after discharge was associated with higher patient satisfaction, according to a study presented at an American Society of Health-System Pharmacists conference. Data also showed a 5% reduction in 30-day readmission rates when patients received a post-discharge phone call from a pharmacist.

Value-based compensation is growing but remains 6.2% of total compensation for all physician specialties studied, according to a study by SullivanCotter. Primary care physicians lead in value-based incentives at 7% of total cash compensation.

Primary care physicians in the US and other high-income countries reported problems with care coordination, with US physicians citing failure to receive timely notifications or information from specialists or other care sites as factors, researchers reported in Health Affairs. Primary care practices in the US and some other countries did not regularly share data electronically outside of the practice.

A study published in The Lancet found that near-infrared spectroscopy intravascular ultrasound imaging detects lipid-rich plaques, which can lead to myocardial infarction or acute coronary syndromes. Using data from 1,563 patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease, researchers found that NIRS intravascular ultrasound imaging can detect nonculprit major adverse cardiovascular events among patients undergoing possible percutaneous coronary intervention and cardiac catheterization.

Targeted virtual behavioral therapy improved comorbidity symptoms as well as signs of depression in patients with heart failure, researchers reported in Circulation. The intervention included eight weeks of virtual behavior therapy geared to heart failure and improved patients' self-care habits and awareness of physician recommendations among a subset of Humana Medicare Advantage plan subscribers with stage B or C heart failure.

A study presented at the European Society of Cardiology meeting found that the annual mortality rate related to heart disease was about four times higher in women who had poor exercise capacity, compared with women who had good exercise capacity. Using data from more than 4,700 women with an average age of 64, the researchers also found that women with good exercise capacity had a lower annual rate of cancer deaths and deaths related to other causes.

Researchers who used PET found that individuals with coronary heart disease who practiced transcendental meditation in addition to cardiac rehabilitation and those who practiced meditation alone had a 20.7% and 12.8% increase in myocardial blood flow, respectively, compared with a 5.8% increase among those who received cardiac rehab alone and a 10.3% decline among those who received standard treatment. The findings in a nuclear cardiology journal suggest that meditation be considered in heart health programs, but more studies are needed, said study co-author Dr. Robert Schneider.

In a new Leadership Page published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, George A. Stouffer, MD, FACC; William B. Abernethy, MD, FACC; James P. Zidar, MD, FACC; and B. Hadley Wilson, MD, FACC, discuss a collaboration between the North Carolina Chapter of the American College of Cardiology and the ACC Prevention Section in partnership with the North Carolina Association of Free and Charitable Clinics, which was designed to improve the cardiovascular health of North Carolina's most vulnerable patients by providing free lipid-lowering medications and clopidogrel. Over two years, there was an increase in patients receiving medications and significant decreases in total cholesterol and LDL levels in the clinics that provided free medications. Programs like this may improve adherence and medical costs and are also a way to reach society's most vulnerable patients. Read more.

Beginning in 2020, NCDR is changing its Research & Publications cycle to offer one annual research proposal deadline and one annual review meeting for all NCDR Registries except the STS/ACC TVT Registry. Under the new process, all research proposal applications will be scored by the same R&P Committee member and will receive the same consideration. The research proposal deadline is Feb. 3, 2020. Learn more.