To improve patients' health, should you pay physicians, patients, or both?

Providing financial incentives to both primary care physicians and patients leads to a greater reduction in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in patients than paying only the physician or only the patient, according to a new study. The study is the first to test physician-only and patient-only incentives compared to incentives shared by patients and physicians.

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Revascularization before exercise program improves walking for patients with PAD

Among patients with peripheral artery disease and intermittent claudication (cramping pain in the legs due to poor circulation in the arteries, aggravated by walking), a combination therapy of endovascular revascularization (an invasive procedure to improve blood flow in an artery) followed by supervised exercise resulted in greater improvement in walking distances and health-related quality-of-life measures at one year compared with supervised exercise only, according to a new study.

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Poor air quality increases patients' risk of heart attack

People with heart disease face an increased risk of a serious heart attack during poor air quality days, according to a major new study.

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Women cardiologists do different work, make less money than men

Despite efforts to increase gender diversity in cardiology, major differences in job characteristics and pay persist between men and women who treat heart patients, according to a new study.

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Video-based CPR training may be as valuable as hands-on approach

Using a video to train family members of patients at risk for cardiac arrest in CPR may be just as effective as using the traditional hands-on method with a manikin, according to new research. The findings suggest simplified and more cost-effective approaches may be useful for disseminating CPR education to families of at-risk patients and the general public.

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Body mass index may be a key to achieving sustained remission in early rheumatoid arthritis

Being overweight or obese can reduce the likelihood of achieving sustained remission of early rheumatoid arthritis, according to new research findings.

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Effectiveness and cost-effectivness of physical therapy for knee osteoarthritis

Spacing exercise-based physical therapy sessions over a 12-month period while using three additional “booster” sessions periodically has been shown to be more cost effective than alternative physical therapy strategies in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis.

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