Here are four partnerships and affiliations centered on cardiac and cardiovascular care announced recently.

Unconventional natural gas development, or fracking, is a growing industry, and people with heart failure who are exposed to this activity may be at increased risk of hospitalization, according to a recent study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Below are four cardiologists who recently joined new practices.

About 40 percent of heart attack or stroke patients aren't coming to the hospital in time to effectively treat their condition out of fear of contracting COVID-19, a South Dakota cardiologist told the Rapid City Journal. 

The American College of Cardiology is warning that young children may be susceptible to heart damage from COVID-19, citing a case study depicting the outcome in a 2-month-old infant. 

Chicago-based Amita Health unveiled a new hybrid cardiac catheterization lab at its Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet, Ill., bringing Will County its first structural heart program, according to a Dec. 2 Herald News report. 

The American Medical Association and American Heart Association awarded more than 1,000 healthcare organizations Dec. 2 for their commitments to prioritizing hypertension, with more than half reaching Gold level recognition for keeping blood pressure rates at 70 percent or less. 

The Association of Black Cardiologists is creating an annual ranking to assess academic cardiovascular training programs' diversity and inclusion efforts, the organization said Dec 1.

Yale New Haven (Conn.) Health's Bridgeport Hospital launched a program to reduce the risk of heart diseases in women who've had pregnancy complications.

Marzia Leacche, MD, will step into her role as surgical director of Spectrum Health's heart transplant and ventricular assist device programs Jan. 1, reports Mlive.

A round-up of cardiologists who recently joined new practices or received new appointments was Becker's top-read cardiology story in November.

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented a whirlwind of unknowns, stirring up conversations about how the virus may affect the heart. In a recent edition of the University of California San Francisco's magazine, Nisha Parikh, MD, cardiologist and associate professor of medicine, recapped what researchers and physicians now know about what the novel coronavirus may be doing to the heart. 

Five hospitals affiliated with Marietta, Ga.-based Wellstar Health System have received the state's Emergency Cardiac Care Center designation this year — the most of any healthcare organization in the state. 

In 2018, Bob and Corrine Frick donated $18 million to support the development of a hybrid operating room for complex heart procedures at Ohio State Heart and Vascular Center in Columbus — and earlier this year, Mr. Frick himself benefited from the gift when he underwent a life-saving angioplasty and defibrillator replacement, The Columbus Dispatch reports. 

Although recent protocols have aimed to improve the care standard for severe heart attack patients, people living in minority communities aren't benefiting much as much as those in  non-minority communities, according to a recent study published in JAMA Network Open.

The American College of Cardiology on Nov. 18 awarded New York City-based Mount Sinai Heart its Transcatheter Valve Certification, making Mount Sinai the only cardiac center in the city and one of three statewide to receive the recognition. 

Previous research has shown people with heart disease are more vulnerable to serious flu infections, and new findings indicate that a flu shot may significantly lower the risk of death and serious complications, according to a preliminary study presented at the American Heart Association's virtual Scientific Sessions conference. 

Boston-based Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Secaucus, N.J.-based Quest Diagnostics plan to study how people with or at high risk of developing multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer that attacks healthy plasma cells, are affected by COVID-19. 

Cryoballoon ablation, a procedure in which a liquid nitrogen-filled balloon is inserted to freeze heart tissue responsible for atrial fibrillation, or irregular heartbeat, is more successful as an initial treatment to the disorder than conventional medications, according to a study published Nov. 16 in the New England Journal of Medicine. 

Below are nine cardiologists who recently joined new practices or received new appointments.