Forming Cardi-OH: A Statewide Collaborative to Improve Cardiovascular Health in Ohio.

Background Cardiovascular risk factor control is challenging, especially in disadvantaged populations. However, few statewide efforts exist to tackle this challenge. Therefore, our objective is to describe the formation of a unique statewide cardiovascular health collaborative so others may learn from this approach. Methodology With funding from the Ohio Department of Medicaid's Ohio Medicaid Technical Assistance and Policy Program, we used a collective impact model to link the seven medical schools in Ohio, primary care clinics across the state, the Ohio Department of Medicaid, and Ohio's Medicaid Managed Care Plans in a statewide health improvement collaborative for expanding primary care capacity to improve cardiovascular health in Ohio. Results Initial dissemination activities for primary care teams included a virtual case-based learning series focused on hypertension and social determinants of health, website resources, a monthly newsletter with clinical tips, webinars, and in-person conferences. The collaborative is aligned with a separately funded hypertension quality improvement project for paired implementation. Conclusions The collective impact model is a useful framework for developing a statewide collaborative focused on the dissemination and implementation of evidence-based best practices for cardiovascular health improvement and disparity reduction. Statewide collaboratives bringing payers, clinicians, and academic partners together have the potential to substantially impact cardiovascular health.

A rational approach to migraine diagnosis and management in primary care.

Migraine is a chronic neurologic disease estimated to affect approximately 50 million Americans. It is associated with a range of symptoms, which contribute to disability and substantial negative impacts on quality of life for many patients. Still, migraine continues to be underdiagnosed, undertreated, and optimising treatment for individual patients has proven difficult. As many migraine patients will be seen first in primary care settings, internists and other primary care providers are ideally positioned to improve diagnosis and migraine management for many patients. In this review, we discuss some of the challenges in diagnosing migraine and suggest strategies to overcome them, summarise the current understanding of migraine pathophysiology and clinical evidence on acute and preventive treatment options, and offer practical approaches to diagnosis and contemporary management of migraine in the primary care setting.Key messagesMigraine is a prevalent disease with substantial impact. Primary care providers are ideally positioned to improve care for migraine patients with streamlined approaches to diagnosis and management.A stepwise diagnostic approach to migraine involves taking a thorough headache history, excluding secondary headache, and identifying primary headache disorder using screening tools or ICHD-3 criteria.The FDA approved seven new migraine therapies from 2018 to 2020 (four monoclonal antibodies, two gepants, one ditan), expanding acute and preventive therapeutic options.

Hijab (headscarf) headache.

Hijab (headscarf) headache is well known among wearers and is a common topic of discussion. It has never previously been reported in the medical literature. Five women described bilateral headache either prompted by or worsened by donning the hijab, or headscarf. The headache always resolved soon after removal of the headscarf. Hijab headache may also be alleviated by minimal modifications in style while allowing women to maintain their moral conviction. It likely represents an extracranial etiology of headache, and recognition may prevent unnecessary evaluation and suffering in hijab wearers.

Can elevated IGF-1 levels among patients with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome cause idiopathic intracranial hypertension?

We offer for consideration a possible association between hypermobility syndrome seen in Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and risk of potential development of idiopathic intracranial hypertension - mediated primarily through the effects of insulin-like growth factor-1.

The role of cardiovascular screening in headache patients.

There have been associations demonstrated between migraine and ischemic stroke and heart disease. Additionally, headache patients have increased cardiovascular risk factors. This article reviews available data supporting these concerns and answers the following questions: 1) Does the association between migraine and cardiovascular disease warrant cardiovascular screening tests in migraine sufferers? There is enough observational data to conclude that migraine with aura is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. With the available data, we cannot recommend any additional cardiovascular screening tests for migraine patients. 2) Are there specific risk modification approaches for headache patients? As there is no data to suggest that migraine is a modifiable risk factor, no additional cardiovascular interventions beyond the standard practice of treating modifiable risk factors are suggested for migraine sufferers. 3) What is the appropriate screening for patients who may be candidates for triptans or tricyclic antidepressants? We support screening headache patients by obtaining a history of prior cardiovascular disease and traditional cardiovascular disease risk factors. We have found no data to suggest that any non-invasive cardiovascular screening test will identify a population of migraine sufferers at high risk for cardiovascular events following triptan use. Due to the increased risk of cardiovascular toxicity, ECGs should be considered prior to initiating tricyclic antidepressants in patients with preexisting cardiovascular disease.

Part-time careers in academic internal medicine: a report from the association of specialty professors part-time careers task force on behalf of the alliance for academic internal medicine.

To establish guidelines for more effectively incorporating part-time faculty into departments of internal medicine, a task force was convened in early 2007 by the Association of Specialty Professors. The task force used informal surveys, current literature, and consensus building among members of the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine to produce a consensus statement and a series of recommendations. The task force agreed that part-time faculty could enrich a department of medicine, enhance workforce flexibility, and provide high-quality research, patient care, and education in a cost-effective manner. The task force provided a series of detailed steps for operationalizing part-time practice; to do so, key issues were addressed, such as fixed costs, malpractice insurance, space, cross-coverage, mentoring, career development, productivity targets, and flexible scheduling. Recommendations included (1) increasing respect for work-family balance, (2) allowing flexible time as well as part-time employment, (3) directly addressing negative perceptions about part-time faculty, (4) developing policies to allow flexibility in academic advancement, (5) considering part-time faculty as candidates for leadership positions, (6) encouraging granting agencies, including the National Institutes of Health and Veterans Administration, to consider part-time faculty as eligible for research career development awards, and (7) supporting future research in "best practices" for incorporating part-time faculty into academic departments of medicine.

Reducing the cost of headache medication.

Although medication costs make up one of the smallest portions of the overall expense of headache care, it is the segment of expense that often impacts the patient most directly. The advent of triptans marked a major advance in migraine therapy, but their high cost has limited their widespread use. Four options can be considered as potential means to reduce the cost of triptans. These include compulsory licensing, exclusive contracting, over-the-counter -availability, and the introduction of generic triptans. Each method impacts the consumer, third-party payer, or pharmaceutical company in a different manner.

Bilateral carotid artery dissection after dental work.

Carotid artery dissection has been reported to occur spontaneously and after many types of neck trauma. A case patient is presented who developed a right-sided oculosympathetic palsy and was found to have bilateral carotid artery dissection after she visited her dentist. To the best of our knowledge, this case represents the first report of bilateral carotid dissection following dental work.

Migraine prophylaxis: who, why, and how.

If a patient has frequent, severely debilitating migraine headaches, prophylactic treatment may help. Beta-blockers, tricyclic antidepressants, and anticonvulsants have the best evidence of efficacy; calcium channel blockers and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are also popular because they are well tolerated and inexpensive. We review migraine treatment with emphasis on prophylaxis.

Chronic tension-type headache: advice for the viselike-headache patient.

About 3% of people experience daily viselike headaches without other associated symptoms, a condition called chronic tension-type headache. Therapy consists of tricyclic antidepressants, biofeedback, and stress management, although compelling data from randomized controlled trials are lacking.