Cardiothoracic surgeons are studying the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to improve risk prediction in the hopes that patient outcomes also will improve.
Understanding a patient’s frailty index is an important part of assessing the risks and benefits of a surgical procedure for a cardiothoracic surgery patient. Frailty sometimes is measured by a patient’s grip strength, weight, and walking test results, but standards for evaluating and treating frailty before surgery do not exist.
Cardiovascular disease is the #1 killer of people around the world, with approximately 18 million deaths annually, according to the World Health Organization. Treatment options for heart disease include lifestyle changes, stenting, and surgery. But which option is best and for which patients? Thomas E. MacGillivray, MD (Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX), moderates a panel discussion with Jennifer S. Lawton, MD (Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, MD), John D.
More than 100,000 people in the United States currently are waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant, including 5,000 people on the transplant list for a heart and/or lungs, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing.
Cardiothoracic surgeons are at significant risk of burnout because of long work hours, delayed career gratification, complex health care, intense personality, and poor work-life balance. In fact, recent data show that more than half of cardiothoracic surgeons reported feeling burned out. In this important roundtable discussion, Thomas K. Varghese Jr., MD, MS, gathers tips to avoid burnout from Oliver S. Chow, MD, Michal Hubka, MD, and Susan D. Moffatt-Bruce, MD, PhD, MBA.
Understanding a patient’s frailty index is an important part of assessing the risks and benefits of a surgical procedure for a cardiothoracic surgery patient.
The biggest threat to lung health in the current era is vaping. Shanda H. Blackmon, MD, MPH, moderates a discussion about the changing landscape of tobacco use, which includes vaping as the new gateway to smoking. She and colleagues, J. Robert Headrick, MD, MBA, Matthew A. Steliga, MD, and Keith S. Naunheim, MD, describe the “terrifying” statistics about vaping, why patients are oftentimes afraid to seek help, the use of graphics warnings, and why bringing smoking cessation resources to patients may become more necessary.
Cardiothoracic surgeons are at significant risk of burnout because of long work hours, delayed career gratification, complex health care, intense personality, and poor work-life balance. In fact, recent data show that more than half of cardiothoracic surgeons reported feeling burned out. In this important roundtable discussion, Thomas K. Varghese Jr., MD, MS, gathers tips to avoid burnout from Oliver S. Chow, MD, Michal Hubka, MD, and Susan D. Moffatt-Bruce, MD, PhD, MBA.
The FDA recently expanded the indications for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) to include patients at low surgical risk. But experts are urging caution about which low-risk patients should undergo TAVR until more information is gathered. At the STS Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Joseph E. Bavaria, MD, explored recent clinical trials with Tsuyoshi Kaneko, MD, Michael J. Reardon, MD, and Vinod Thourani, MD.
The biggest threat to lung health in the current era is vaping. Shanda H. Blackmon, MD, MPH, moderates a discussion about the changing landscape of tobacco use, which includes vaping as the new gateway to smoking.
