The Handoff: Your Week in Endocrinology News – 7/28/17

–Although considered a widespread consumer flop, Google Glass has found a second life in the health care industry: physicians have been using the updated device — rebranded as Glass Enterprise Edition — to reduce time spent on computer use and EHR updates during patient visits.

–Two studies (here and here) published in the BMJ examine the likelihood of mothers who had hypertension during pregnancy later experiencing hypertension in middle age. An editorial penned by Helen L. Barrett of the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital noted that pregnancy is a key time to “begin lifelong control of cardiometabolic risk factors.”

–One oft-ignored heart attack side effect? Depression. According to the American Heart Association, 1 in 5 people hospitalized for chest pain or heart attack, 1 in 3 stroke survivors, and half of those who undergo bypass surgery, develop major depression.  

–Patients who dislike exercise can learn a thing or two from astronaut Peggy Whitson (@AstroPeggy on Twitter), who recently shared a video of her exercise regimen… in space. Two hours of daily exercise help inhabitants of the International Space Station maintain both muscle and bone mass. Astronauts, they’re just like us.

–In Earthbound exercise news, two major new studies, published simultaneously in Circulation, found that while there is an association between coronary calcification and high-intensity exercise, plaques in this population are often calcified and dense, which the New York Times noted are less problematic than the “fattier, more-problematic plaques” often spotted in less active people.

–To monitor or to not monitor: should patients with type 2 track their blood sugar at home? Robert H. Shmerling, MD, clinical chief of rheumatology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, shared his thoughts on a new JAMA study.