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Yael L. Maxwell

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(She/Her)
As seen in: Hearts and Minds (US), TCTMD, Mental Floss, Refinery29, NewsBreak, ACP Hospitalist, Our Community Now, City Lifestyle, OCT News, Cyber Era
Covers:  interventional cardiology, cardiology, heart disease, medical education, medical training, cardiology fellowship, health, medicine, wellness
Senior Medical Journalist @TCTMD. Hearts & Minds Podcast Host. #FellowsForum Editor. Mama to 2 small humans. Student of the world. @yaelmaxwell.bsky.social
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Statin Therapy Reduces Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness, Studies Suggest

Statin Therapy Reduces Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness, Studies Suggest

tctmd.com — Two of the most used preventative health therapies-statins and the influenza vaccine-are especially common among the elderly, but new studies are hinting at the possibility that the former may reduce the efficacy of the latter. Based on the new data, "my suggestion would be not to change any recommendations at this point," said the primary investigator of one of the studies, Saad B. Omer, MBBS, MPH, PhD, of Emory University (Atlanta, GA). "On the other hand, it's an extremely important area because flu is bad in older age groups and a lot of people use statins.
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Interventionalist vs Neurologist: RESPECT for Both Sides of the PFO Closure Debate

Interventionalist vs Neurologist: RESPECT for Both Sides of the PFO Closure Debate

tctmd.com — Extended findings from the RESPECT trial suggesting some longer term benefit to closing patent foramen ovale (PFO) are breathing new life into a controversy that has dogged the procedure for more than a decade. On the one hand, interventional cardiologists participating in press conference at TCT 2015 unanimously said they would have a PFO closed if they suffered a stroke of unknown origin. Others, however, remain skeptical, saying that the late-term RESPECT data will not be enough to persuade the FDA to take a second look.
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Despite Drawbacks and Frustration, EHRs Could Have Meaningful Benefit in Acute MI Patients

Despite Drawbacks and Frustration, EHRs Could Have Meaningful Benefit in Acute MI Patients

tctmd.com — Designed ostensibly to improve efficiency and improved outcomes, electronic health records (EHRs) have often been criticized by physicians as being both frustrating and costly to implement. Now a new study hints that their use might tangibly benefit patients with acute MI. "We found that EHR use may be associated with some aspects of higher quality [acute MI] care, such as less heparin overdosing and more frequent receipt of evidence-based therapies; however, these findings may not reliably translate into a lower risk of adverse events across all subtypes of MI and outcomes measured," according to Jonathan R.
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Goodbye BMS? New DAPT Analysis Shows Less Stent Thrombosis With DES

Goodbye BMS? New DAPT Analysis Shows Less Stent Thrombosis With DES

tctmd.com — Not only do patients treated with DES have fewer stent thromboses than those treated with BMS over almost 3 years, but the safety of the 2 devices is otherwise comparable, according to a propensity-matched analysis of the DAPT Study published in the October 2015 issue of JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions. This is "a nail in the coffin" for BMS, Dean J. Kereiakes, MD, of the Christ Hospital (Cincinnati, OH), told TCTMD in a telephone interview. "I struggle with the well-rooted ignorance that has been fostered by lack of data, that even very good interventionists still defer to a BMS," he said, adding that using BMS in the current era has become a "a 'cover your ass' move....
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PFO Closure Still Attracts Controversy

PFO Closure Still Attracts Controversy

tctmd.com — The frequency of patent foramen ovale (PFO) closure procedures has decreased in the past several years, but there is still a need for specific patients, according to a presentation at TCT 2015. Mark Reisman, MD, of the University of Washington Medical Center/Regional Heart Center, Seattle, Wash., said his institution used to perform PFO closure in up to 100 patients annually. "Over the last 2 years, as someone who gets a few referrals, I've closed two PFOs," he said. "I don't even, quite frankly, at this point consider PFO closure as part of my clinical practice."
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Turning Fellows to Flowers: John S. Douglas, Jr., Transforms Trainees

Turning Fellows to Flowers: John S. Douglas, Jr., Transforms Trainees

tctmd.com — Looking back, John S. Douglas, Jr., MD, calls his career "a great ride." One of the first physicians to travel to Zurich, Switzerland, to learn coronary angioplasty from Andreas Gruentzig, MD, in the late 1970s, he is currently director of the interventional cardiology fellowship program at Emory University School of Medicine (Atlanta, GA), and has helped train over 150 interventional fellows now stationed around the world. "I was so lucky when I started my career," he told TCTMD in a telephone interview, noting that he has been a staff physician at Emory since 1974.
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Rising Awareness of Radiation Safety Trickles Down to Fellows

Rising Awareness of Radiation Safety Trickles Down to Fellows

tctmd.com — When Celina Mei Yong, MD, MSc, MBA, was pregnant with her first child, she spent countless hours thinking about something that most soon-to-be mothers do not-how exposure to cath lab radiation might affect her developing baby. Then taking a year to conduct research after her general cardiology fellowship, she would check in on procedures "for fun" but was not required to be in the cath lab on a daily basis, if at all. "The thought of wearing heavy lead when you're 8 months pregnant is terrible," Dr. Yong, currently an interventional cardiology fellow at Stanford University Medical Center (Palo Alto, CA), told TCTMD in a telephone interview.
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Fellows Can Take on Major Meetings via Careful Planning, Networking

Fellows Can Take on Major Meetings via Careful Planning, Networking

tctmd.com — As any physician or clinical researcher can attest, attending large national and international medical conferences comes with the job. For a first-timer, however, making the most out of the myriad sessions, exhibits, and social events can seem like finding a way through a maze-running head first into several dead ends before stumbling upon the prize. "It is easy for [fellows] to feel overwhelmed at meetings. There's so much going on," said Jason H. Rogers, MD, the interventional cardiology fellowship program director for the UC Davis Health System (Sacramento, CA). "Fellows have much smaller worlds and fewer connections, so it's especially easy for them to feel lonely and swamped."
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A Changing Job Market for Fellows Requires New Perspective, Resources From Trainers

A Changing Job Market for Fellows Requires New Perspective, Resources From Trainers

tctmd.com — As the field of interventional cardiology continues to expand beyond the coronary realm and into endovascular and structural procedures, how is it possible for fellows to adequately prepare? And how can program directors adapt to a job market shifting from smaller, private-practice-based employers to larger health system models? But most importantly, how can fellows best be taught to differentiate between a practical, marketable skill and merely the latest trendy technique? Fellows in interventional cardiology and those involved with their training must grapple with all of these questions and more. In recent video interviews, several fellows told TCTMD that the biggest challenge today is finding a job.
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Physician Dissatisfaction With MOC Goes Mainstream, Inspires Activism

Physician Dissatisfaction With MOC Goes Mainstream, Inspires Activism

tctmd.com — One year ago, the changes made to the Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program run by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) were only beginning to irk interventionalists. But the saga of nailing down the most effective way to recertify physicians has now gone mainstream, with doctors from every specialty having an opinion, and has given rise to a potential alternative to MOC. To recap, the ABIM announced in January 2014 that, in congruence with new recommendations put in place by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS)-the umbrella group for all 24 specialty boards-all diplomates would need to register for MOC, earn points every 2 years by completing MOC activities, and take a recertification exam every 10 years.
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'Feeling No Pain' Is Really Bad For You-and It's Genetic

'Feeling No Pain' Is Really Bad For You-and It's Genetic

mentalfloss.com — Think about the last time you accidentally grabbed the handle of a hot pan without wearing an oven mitt. You wish you hadn't felt that searing pain, right? Now imagine walking around on a broken leg that you don't know is broken. You're feeling no pain. Imagine how much damage you could do to your body if pain never warned you that something was seriously wrong. That's the case for people with the incredibly rare condition known as congenital insensitivity to pain. They feel no pain, whether they have a minor blister or a leg fracture.
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Chemical modification could make nuts safe to eat

Chemical modification could make nuts safe to eat

news.sciencemag.org — The threat of death does not loom over most people who dip their fists in a bowl of honey-roasted cashews. For those with severe nut allergies, however, such a treat can quickly turn into a trip to the emergency room. Now, preliminary research focusing on modifying the protein structures of peanuts and tree nuts could lead to the creation of hypoallergenic nuts that even the severely allergic can enjoy. Peanuts and tree nuts such as cashews and walnuts cause life-threatening allergic reactions in an estimated 19 million adults and children in the United States.
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Health Hazards Every City Kid Should Know About

Health Hazards Every City Kid Should Know About

Refinery29 — Your annual physical is on the calendar, your FitBit is synced, and you're such a dedicated yogi that your cute Bikram teacher even remembered your birthday. And, you're living in the big city, which means you haven't had to worry about getting Lyme Disease or poison oak all summer! But, even for sheltered urbanites, sneaky health risks abound. The best way to boost your immunity (aside from downing that extra kale smoothie) is by paying attention. Here are seven often-forgotten health hazards you're likely to face as a savvy city dweller — and some tips to keep them from sneaking up on you like wellness whack-a-mole.
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