In the limelightIn the Limelight: May 2019
Section snippets
Viruses and Vasculopathy
With their promiscuous behavior with mammalian cells and their capacity to commandeer cellular organelles for unintended and unhealthy ends, viruses exert pleotropic effects, ranging from harmless conditions, to debilitating but self-remitting syndromes, to relapsing conditions and chronic unremitting diseases, and, finally, to acute potentially fatal diseases. Notwithstanding this broad spectrum of harmful effects, viral infections, however, are uncommonly associated with vasculopathies. In a
Adapting and Improving the Electronic Health Record
Especially for those of us who practiced in the bygone age of the paper medical record with its inconsistent and challenging penmanship, delayed accrual of lab results, and entries that may be either misplaced or missing, the electronic health record is a true marvel of information and communication that moves with lightning speed and efficiency, and one accessible simply by the tap of a single key. The electronic health record is transformative on the delivery of patient care, networking among
Women's Health: Pregnancy Hypertension and Readmission With Heart Failure
Women's health and the medicine of sex differences, led by the Section Editor Dr Vesna Garovic, are fields that receive special attention and emphasis in Mayo Clinic Proceedings. In the current issue there are two articles on women's health, the first by Nizamuddin el al addressing cardiovascular complications of pregnancy. Normal pregnancy is characterized by a hyperdynamic circulation: systemic vascular resistance and blood pressure both decrease; circulating blood volume rises substantially;
Women's Health: Process of Care for Female Sexual Dysfunction
The clinician-patient relationship should enable patients to safely disclose and clinicians to effectively address sensitive medical issues. Few issues are as innately sensitive or intimate as those that involve sexual concerns and problems. Challenges in addressing such issues commonly involve, on the one hand, reserve and reticence on the part of the patient, and, on the other, a relative lack of expertise and ease with such discussions on the part of the clinician. Recognizing that female