A new study from researchers led by Johns Hopkins Medicine reports substantial new evidence that elevated blood biomarkers of subclinical heart injury or stress — heart muscle damage without symptoms of a heart attack — are linked to an increased risk of heart failure (HF) in adults with coexisting high blood pressure (hypertension) and prediabetes.

Surgeons from across the country will gather on Capitol Hill on March 11 for the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) Congressional Advocacy Day, engaging lawmakers on a slate of legislative priorities centered on protecting patients and ensuring access to high-quality care. Representing more than 13,000 ear, nose and throat (ENT) physicians nationwide, Academy members will meet directly with Members of Congress to advance policies that safeguard quality patient care.

A new study finds that the more a state’s budget relied on sales tax revenue, the more likely it was to shorten stay-at-home orders during the early stages of the COVID pandemic. The findings suggest that state public-health decisions may have been influenced by unexpected budgetary constraints imposed by public-health restrictions.

Flexible electronics have been drawing significant attention for healthcare applications and show great promise for monitoring of blood circulation (e.g., postoperative monitoring of free flaps). However, existing methods for design and fabrication of interfaces with human skin still cannot meet the challenging clinical requirements of superior adhesion during monitoring and avoiding wound damage during peel-off. Now, writing in the journal National Science Review, a team of researchers from China and Singapore proposes a soft biosensor with universal responsive hydrogel interfaces for detecting blood circulation complications. They develop thermoresponsive and printable hydrogel inks to achieve rapidly high-precision patterning and wide-range adhesion regulation of interface layers. In clinical cases, the hydrogel biosensor can establish robust hydrogel/flap skin coupling for high-fidelity signal acquisition during monitoring, and ensure benign detachment to prevent tissue injury after monitoring. They achieve precise arterial perfusion monitoring based on the perfusion index (PI) via an 810 nm light source. Additionally, they propose a new metric, the balance index (BI), to monitor venous congestion. By analyzing BI, PI, and skin temperature, the biosensor enables accurate detection and differentiation of blood circulation complications.