April 24, 2012
OSU CARDIOLOGISTS REVISIT EXERCISE STRESS TESTS
OSU cardiologists have updated guidelines for exercise stress tests. Traditionally, exercise stress tests look at the appearance for stress test depressions, which may indicate coronary artery diseases, on the electrocardiogram. Exercise stress tests are an extremely useful and cost-effective way to detect heart disease, yet many doctors opt for high-tech imaging and high-cost testing. According to Dr. Martha Gulati, director of preventive cardiology and women’s cardiovascular health, other variables need to be considered so that the appropriate test is ordered and healthcare professionals are being accountable for the cost of tests. Looking at exercise capacity, chronotropic response, heart rate recovery, blood pressure response, and the Duke Treadmill Score are additional variables which can help identify both men and women with coronary artery disease and even help predict risk of death. “An Update on Exercise Stress Testing,” is published in the May 2012 issue of Current Problems in Cardiology
OHIO STATE CREATES NEW GUIDELINES FOR PRETERM PREGNANCIES
Ohio State’s Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine has developed guidelines for obstetrics and gynecologists with patients at risk for spontaneous preterm births. Supplemental progesterone has been used for several years to prevent early delivery in women with a history of a prior spontaneous preterm birth. However, many women do not have a known history, but have other risk factors for spontaneous preterm delivery. The new guidelines help identify these women mid-pregnancy, increasing the use of cervical sonography and allowing physicians to begin progesterone supplementation to prevent preterm birth in the hopes up decreasing preterm birth rates in the United States. The new guidelines are being made available to physicians in Ohio.