Ian Gregory McDonald September 23, 1933-September 24, 2020 Professor Ian McDonald, a cardiologist and world-recognised pioneer in echocardiography, mentor and thinking physician, has died in Melbourne at the age of 87. Ian was a precocious child who attended ONeill College, Elsternwick, as a primary student and St Kevins College, Toorak, for his secondary schooling Continue reading →

The American College of Cardiology (ACC) has released a new Expert Consensus Decision Pathway (ECDP) on the use of anticoagulant and antiplatelet therapy in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) or venous thromboembolism (VTE) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). "Its estimated that about 10%-15% of patients undergoing PCI have concomitant AF or VTE and need both anticoagulants and antiplatelets, so this is a very common clinical scenario," said committee chair Dharam J Continue reading →

In fact, the ACC guidelines include a recommendation against the use of triple antithrombotictherapy for most patients and urges physicians to consider dual antithrombotictherapy consisting of an anticoagulant and a P2Y12 inhibitor when patients require both an anticoagulant and antiplatelet therapy following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Much of the guidance focusses on four clinical scenarios: This is a complex topic, and we have attempted to cite the literature to offer direct guidance when possible and to highlight areas in which clinical judgement is needed, wrote writing committee chair Dharam J. Continue reading →

Thanks to celebrity fans like Gwyneth Paltrow, Lady Gaga, and Jennifer Anniston, infrared saunas have become one of the hottest wellness accessories in recent years. The Instagrammable wooden saunas, which get cranked up to around 60 degrees celsius, come with a laundry list of benefits, but theres just one problem: you can only access them at swanky urban spas, or if you have the money and space to install one in your home. Continue reading →

At the end of March, George Hripcsak, MD, had expected to attend a symposium in England for a global interdisciplinary research collaborative whose coordinating center operates out of VP&S. Instead, on March 26, Hripcsak and fellow members of the leadership committee of the Observational Health Data Sciences and Informatics (or OHDSI, pronounced Odyssey) launched an 88-hour virtual study-a-thon with more than 300 investigators from dozens of countries in attendance. This is how we shifted our efforts to COVID, says Hripcsak, co-PI of the international OHDSI, an around-the-clock, four-day meeting of researchers from North America, Europe, and Asia, coming together to kick off our COVID study. Continue reading →