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Prescribe exercise for ‘dramatic impact’ on mortality, heart disease risk

Photo by Arek Adeoye on Unsplash
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By Regina Shaffer

ARLINGTON, Texas — Physical fitness is a vital sign for overall health, and prescribing even small amounts of exercise to increase cardiorespiratory fitness can reduce mortality and CVD risk, according to a speaker.

The 2018 federal physical activity guidelines suggest 150 to 300 minutes per week of moderate physical activity or 75 minutes per week of vigorous physical activity, Carl “Chip” Lavie Jr., MD, FACC, FACP, FCCP, professor of medicine, medical director of cardiac rehabilitation and preventive cardiology, director of the Exercise Testing Laboratory and staff cardiologist in the Echocardiographic Laboratory at the John Ochsner Heart and Vascular Institute, Ochsner Clinical School–The University of Queensland School of Medicine, said during a presentation at the American Society for Preventive Cardiology Congress on CVD Prevention. Read the full article in Healio.

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AI Can Play a Role in Reducing Stroke Disparities

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— But concerns remain about the potential for bias and differential access

By Mill Etienne, MD, MPH 

I recently evaluated one of my patients who had a stroke 2 years ago. After his stroke, we did an extensive workup, including prolonged cardiac monitoring, but could not determine what caused it. Then, a few months ago, his smart watch detected that he was in atrial fibrillation. Subsequent testing confirmed that diagnosis, and he was placed on anticoagulation to prevent additional strokes. Read the full article in MedPage Today.

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Donating a kidney can be safe for people living with HIV, study shows

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Reviewed by Lily Ramsey, LLM

Based on findings from a study published today in the journal The Lancet Regional Health – Americas, researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine and three collaborating medical institutions suggest that people living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) who donate a kidney to other people living with HIV (PLWH) have a low risk of developing end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) or other kidney problems in the years following the donation. Read the full article in News Medical Life Sciences.

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Have a heart, gallant youth survives two transplants

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By Sylvester Brown Jr.

Imagine having a four-year-old son who seemed healthy and normal. Suddenly, your child has trouble keeping food down and then loses his appetite completely. You take him to the hospital, and he’s diagnosed with a bowel obstruction. You then find out it’s a misdiagnosis; your child’s heart is failing, and he’s been placed on the donor list for an immediate heart transplant.

“The news hit us like a ton of bricks,” said Makiyah Mosley-Flye. She and her husband, Antonio, live in Cape Girardeau, Mo. They have two children: 12-year-old daughter, Adrianna and Kyndric who’s now 8-years-old. Read the full story in The St. Louis American.

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Join the fight for patient rights!

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You may already be aware of a recent Medicare change that limits coverage for non-invasive transplant blood tests such as AlloSure and AlloMap which could put patients at risk.

A patient-focused coalition, Honor the Gift, has created a way for you to get involved to protect patient access to care by sending a letter directly to your congressman voicing your concern. Honor the Gift is dedicated to advocating for greater access and coverage for the care and services that help to ensure the long-term health of transplant patients. 

Help make sure every transplant patient continues to receive the critical innovations they deserve.

Click on the link below to learn more about Honor the Gift and to write your member of Congress today.

Act now—the voices of transplant patients can make a difference!

Click here to send your congressman a letter now.

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Experts Demand Overhaul of Organ Transplant System During Senate Hearing

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— Patient representative has “zero confidence” in change if UNOS remains involved

By Shannon Firth

Patients, advocates, and one rogue organ procurement organization (OPO) executive, among others, pledged support for legislation that aims to disrupt a decades-long monopoly over the U.S. transplant system during a hearing opens in a new tab or window of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Health Care on Thursday.

“Every day 17 people die while on organ transplant waiting lists and another 13 are removed from the waiting list because they’ve become too sick to receive a transplant,” said Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.). Read the full story in MedPage Today.

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Black, Hispanic Liver Disease Patients Face Transplant Disparities, Study Says

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By Matthew Griffin

(Bloomberg) — Black and Hispanic patients with a serious liver-scarring condition are less likely to receive transplants than their White peers in the US, according to researchers arguing for greater equity in providing the life-saving procedure.

Even after improvements from 2009 to 2018, Black people hospitalized for the liver ailment, cirrhosis, were only about two-thirds as likely to get transplants as White patients, according to the analysis of a national database of hospital stays. Read more in BNN Bloomberg.

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12-year-old kidney transplant recipient goes to ‘medical school’ through Make-A-Wish Illinois

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By Karen Jordan

CHICAGO (WLS) — It’s the first day of medical school for Melanie Romo, a 12-year old girl shadowing a nurse at Lurie Children’s Hospital.

First up for Melanie was evaluating Bella, who volunteered to act as a patient with gall stones.

This is the experience Melanie was hoping for. She was once a patient at Lurie, diagnosed two years ago with chronic kidney disease and in need of a transplant. Read and watch the full story from ABC 7 Chicago.

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