The composite rate of inpatient death, stroke, recurrent myocardial infarction or repeat unplanned revascularization among patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction was 36% for patients with COVID-19, compared with 13% for patients without COVID-19 and 5% for those in a control group, according to data from the North American Cardiovascular COVID-19 Myocardial Infarction Registry, which includes the American College of Cardiology Interventional Council, the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions and the Canadian Association of Interventional Cardiology. The study, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, found the composite outcome was driven by very high in-hospital mortality rates for patients with COVID-19.

Hospital readmission rates for heart failure at 90 days increased from 14.8% in 2010 to 16% in 2017 even though the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program was implemented in late 2012, researchers reported in the journal Circulation: Heart Failure. Readmission rates at 90 days for any cause increased from 30.9% to 34.6% during the same time period.

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center data showed risk-adjusted mortality, successful discharge and ICU admissions were only slightly different after adhering to the federally required SEP-1 treatment protocol for sepsis, compared with what would have been expected without the mandate. The study, reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine, found that throughout the 11-hospital system, ICU admission was 22.4% after the protocols were implemented, compared with a 20.4% expected rate.

Liz Fowler, the new director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, said the agency's commitment to value-based care remains strong and it won't pull back on development of new alternative payment models amid the recent withdrawal or delay of several payment models. Speaking at a conference of the National Association of ACOs, Fowler said she plans to refresh the CMMI's value-based care strategy by focusing on health equity, improving multipayer alignment, and expanding the agency's reach beyond Medicaid and Medicare.

Sixty-one organizations in 35 states received almost $13 million from HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration as part of its Rural Health Care Services Outreach Program effort to support "innovative and evidence-based approaches tailored to the specific needs of local communities." Acting HRSA Administrator Diana Espinosa said the program aims to "improve the health of the nation's underserved and vulnerable rural populations and expand access to comprehensive, culturally competent, quality primary health care services."

A 10-member multidisciplinary team of health information and informatics specialists that collected and prioritized EHR optimization requests was able to get some problems fixed immediately through additional training. The team was able to get other problems solved quickly by updating order sets, adding documentation templates and creating autotext, and a majority of clinicians said the team improved their EHR proficiency.

Data show a quarter of US adults have nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, which can lead to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, but most people with NAFLD die of cardiovascular disease, not liver disease, medical experts said. Dr. Christos Mantzoros at Harvard Medical School called the intersection of liver and cardiovascular disease a "rapidly evolving field" and Dr. Laurence Sperling at Emory University said fatty liver disease should be considered part of the greater cardiometabolic risk profile.

A study in BMC Public Health found adults with severe obesity had more socioeconomic disadvantages and three times the risk of heart failure or all-cause and cardiovascular disease-related mortality, when compared with those who were overweight. "More effective policies and weight-management interventions are needed urgently to address this increasing burden and associated adverse health outcomes," said researcher Barbara Iyen.

A draft recommendation issued by the US Preventive Services Task Force said there's not enough evidence to recommend for or against atrial fibrillation screening for stroke prevention among asymptomatic adults ages 50 and older. The group reviewed screening via ECG or through smart or wearable devices such as the Apple Watch and called for more research.

ACC Accreditation Services recently posted two on-demand webinars on disparities in cardiovascular care. "Addressing Disparities in Cardiac Care For Diverse Populations" covers the challenges of meeting the needs of diverse populations and how to bridge gaps in care. In the second webinar, "Reaching the Underserved," Richard Gordon, MD, FACC, community outreach cardiologist at Stern Cardiovascular in Memphis, TN, discusses how Stern provides care to underserved populations through satellite offices in Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas. View the webinars.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is one of the most common genetic cardiovascular diseases. As part of the Accelerating Innovation for Medical Excellence in HCM initiative, the ACC has created a collection of educational resources and activities to accelerate guideline-driven care. Access resources and education to address knowledge gaps in the identification and appropriate management of HCM to reduce the burden of disease progression; sharpen your diagnostic skills with the Symptomatic HCM: Diagnostic Challenge and Left Ventricular Hypertrophy: Diagnostic Challenge patient case quizzes; and stay up to date on new guidelines on the HCM: Accelerating Guideline-Driven Care Hub.