OKLAHOMA CITY – A University of Oklahoma study published Sept. 3 in JAMA Surgery reports that acute normovolemic hemodilution (ANH) – a blood-saving method in which a patient’s blood is collected before going on heart-lung bypass and reinfused near the end of cardiac surgery – remains underused in the United States at 14.7%. Yet the study found that ANH lowered the likelihood of a transfusion by 27%, a decrease in blood use that could cut costs substantially while still protecting patient safety and outcomes.

Dual antiplatelet therapy after heart bypass surgery is not more effective than aspirin alone – and it increases the risk of excessive bleeding. This has now been shown in a study of 2,201 patients at 22 Nordic heart surgery units.

As nearly half of the country suffers from some form of cardiovascular disease (CVD), another 1 in 4 adults experience a mental health disorder, signaling a cardiotoxic overlap. Now, a new report from Emory University shows that certain mental health conditions escalate the risk of developing heart disease by 50-100 percent—and the risk of adverse outcomes from existing heart conditions by 60-170 percent.   

The report associated these conditions with these corresponding risks in developing CVD: major depression, 72 percent; PTSD, 57 percent; bipolar disorder, 61 percent; panic disorder, 50 percent; phobic anxiety, 70 percent; and schizophrenia, nearly 100 percent.