Obesity: Taking the Pulse of Faculty on the Disease, Approach, & Medication

Welcome back to MedscapeLIVE! Cardiology E-News. As we approach the holidays, a time historically associated with thoughts of weight gain, we decided on this issue to focus on a topic that transcends almost all medical specialties—obesity. Medscape Heart of Cardiology (HOC) thought leaders weigh in, giving insights into whether a paradigm shift in our approach to patients with obesity is needed, and if there is a role for the new weight management medications.

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Last month, HOC faculty shared what, in their opinion, has happened this past year in cardiology that provides a big step forward in patient care, and shared some critical takeaways from their upcoming HOC presentation.

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Make sure to also check out this issue’s Pulse, with articles from the Journal of the American Heart Association, Circulation, European Heart Journal, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Cardiology News, and New England Journal of Medicine. We zeroed in this month on articles related to obesity, in keeping with the issue focus.

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Thank you to these doctors for sharing their time and expertise. Don’t forget to register for Medscape’s Going Back to the Heart of Cardiology. Please contact me at colleen@cmhadvisors.com with any comments and/or suggestions! –Colleen Hutchinson

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CME 2024—Medscape has you covered!

Going Back to the Heart of Cardiology Medscape Conference (5th Annual)

January 24-26, 2025
Miami, Florida –Fontainebleau Miami Beach Hotel

SESSION I: Cardiometabolic Health and Cardiovascular Prevention
SESSION II: Atherosclerosis and Thrombosis
SESSION III: Cardiac Dysfunction
SESSION IV: Arrhythmias
SESSION V: Valvular Heart Disease
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Obesity: Taking the Pulse of Faculty on the Disease, Approach, & Medication

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Is there a need for a paradigm shift in our approach to patients with obesity, and is there a role for the new weight management medications?

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Dr. Marc Bonaca: Obesity is prevalent and worsening. We have learned that treating cardiometabolic disease and obesity has profound benefits, including reductions in cardiovascular risk, adverse kidney outcomes, function, and quality of life. There is not only a role for obesity and weight management—it will in fact be a central role as a core driver of adverse cardiovascular and kidney outcomes.

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Dr. Geoffrey Barnes: We, as cardiovascular specialists, MUST begin managing obesity with pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic therapies. Obesity impacts nearly every form of cardiovascular disease (CAD, CHF, AFib, and VTE). We therefore need to own the management of obesity as well as improve our various cardiovascular outcomes!

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Dr. Anne Curtis: Given the cardiovascular morbidities associated with obesity, it is important that patients be encouraged to pursue a multipronged plan for weight loss. For many patients, obesity medications are an important part of that plan.

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Dr. Javed Butler: Obesity is by far the #1 problem facing US healthcare currently and so many chronic diseases are a consequence of obesity. New weight loss medications provide us with hope and options, but the solution must include a focus on diet and lifestyle issues as well, both at an individual level and at a societal level.

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Dr. Pamela Morris: Obesity is a cardiovascular risk factor requiring a multidisciplinary approach that includes lifestyle intervention in combination with anti-obesity medications.

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Dr. Daniel Clark: Obesity is a pandemic; the novel FDA-approved medications for weight loss can complement diet, exercise, and lifestyle interventions for more robust chronic disease management.

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2024 Going Back to the Heart of Cardiology Highlights

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