health
Women more likely than men to die from severe heart attacks
The number of women hospitalized for heart attacks between 2011 and 2018 declined at a greater rate compared to men, according to new research published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes that looked at data from six different high-income countries. And yet, in all six countries, women had higher mortality rates and were less likely to receive cardiac interventions like catheterization or treatment to restore blood flow to the heart. In 2018, women in the U.S. hospitalized for severe heart attacks had an 18.4% chance of dying within 90 days, compared to 17.1% for men.
The study, which looked at disparities of outcomes for older adults hospitalized for heart attacks in the U.S., Canada, England, the Netherlands, Israel and Taiwan, offers insights on the impact that sex can have on standards of care, as STAT's Deborah Balthazar explains. The study's authors say the higher mortality rates in women hospitalized for more severe heart attacks could be due to treatment delays or misdiagnosis — either because women present with different symptoms, or because medical professionals evaluate women differently from men.
research
How much focused thinking is the right amount for a concussed kid?
Is your kid hoping to get to the Super Bowl someday? You may want to prepare to nurse them through a concussion or two along the way. Clinicians already understand that exercising earlier in the recovery process can help kids feel better faster, but it's still largely unclear when activities that require more attention or concentration should be re-introduced.
A small new study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, attempted to find out. Researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital followed 83 adolescents with concussions through their recovery. Most recovered within a month, and they spent a daily average of over 3 hours doing low-intensity activities such as listening to music or texting, 2.75 hours on moderate ones like being in the classroom or at work, and 38 minutes on high-intensity activities like homework, tests, or giving a presentation. Throughout recovery, the more time participants spent on moderate or high intensity cognitive activities, the faster their concussion symptoms resolved. Researchers also found that each day a participant didn't return to school was associated with 8% slower symptom resolution.
But it's a tricky balance. While some moderate and intense cognitive activities may be helpful, engaging in such behavior too soon — especially if it involves a screen, like playing video games, in the first week — could make symptoms worse, researchers noted. Despite the association found in the study, it did not prove causality in either direction, so clinical trials are still needed to explore more, the authors wrote.
health care
FTC doubles down on case to limit private equity's physician buyouts
Last September, the FTC sued private equity firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe and U.S. Anesthesia Partners, alleging the two parties conspired to create monopolies for anesthesia services. Both Welsh Carson and USAP have tried to get the case thrown out, but the FTC recently doubled down. The agency asked the judge last month to ignore those companies' pleas, calling their arguments "unavailing" in recent legal filings.
Experts say the agency's meticulous arguments and persistence to put Welsh Carson and USAP's business strategy on ice sends the clearest warning yet: Firms that try to consolidate markets for physician services as a means to jack up prices won't get away without a fight. "It's sending a political signal, at least in this administration, that the legal and regulatory risk of private equity in health care has heightened," Jane Zhu, a physician and professor at Oregon Health & Science University told STAT's Bob Herman. Read more.
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