Therapeutic Advances in Cardiovascular Disease

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of heart failure (HF) is increasing among young adults in the United States with pervasive racial and ethnic differences in this population. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate contemporary associations between race and ethnicity, clinical comorbidities, and outcomes among young to middle-aged adults with HF. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. All participants with a self-report of HF aged 20-64 years from 2005 to 2018 were included and stratified by race and ethnicity [non-Hispanic (NH) Whites, NH Blacks, and Hispanics]...

BACKGROUND: Evidence regarding the relationship between dietary calcium intake and severe abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) is limited. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the association between dietary calcium intake and severe AAC in American adults based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). METHODS: The present cross-sectional study utilized data from the NHANES 2013-2014, a population-based dataset. Dietary calcium intake was assessed using two 24-h dietary recall interviews...

Misplacement of pericardiocentesis catheter in central veins is a rare complication that can be managed with several methods. In this case, we report a percutaneous image-guided plug-assisted management of a misplaced pericardiocentesis catheter into the inferior vena cava through a transhepatic tract successfully occluded. This minimally invasive technique was not previously described in this setting and had a favorable long-term outcome.

BACKGROUND: Although guidelines recommend intracoronary acetylcholine (ACh) and ergonovine (ER) provocation testing for diagnosis of vasospastic angina, the feasibility and safety of sequential (combined) use of both pharmacological agents during the same catheterization session remain unclear. OBJECTIVES: In this study, we investigated the feasibility and safety of sequential intracoronary ACh and ER administration for coronary spasm provocation testing. METHODS: The study included 235 patients who showed positive results on ACh and ER provocation testing...

Vasospastic angina (VSA) refers to chest pain experienced as a consequence of myocardial ischaemia caused by epicardial coronary spasm, a sudden narrowing of the vessels responsible for an inadequate supply of blood and oxygen. Coronary artery spasm is a heterogeneous phenomenon that can occur in patients with non-obstructive coronary arteries and obstructive coronary artery disease, with transient spasm causing chest pain and persistent spasm potentially leading to acute myocardial infarction (MI). VSA was originally described as Prinzmetal angina or variant angina, classically presenting at rest, unlike most cases of angina (though in some patients, vasospasm may be triggered by exertion, emotional, mental or physical stress), and associated with transient electrocardiographic changes (transient ST-segment elevation, depression and/or T-wave changes)...

BACKGROUND: Inflammation has been suggested to play a role in heart failure (HF) pathogenesis. However, the role of platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), as a novel biomarker, to assess HF prognosis needs to be investigated. We sought to evaluate the impact of PLR on HF clinical outcomes. METHODS: English-published records in PubMed/Medline, Scopus, and Web-of-science databases were screened until December 2023. Relevant articles evaluated PLR with clinical outcomes (including mortality, rehospitalization, HF worsening, and HF detection) were recruited, with PLR difference analysis based on death/survival status in total and HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) patients...

AIMS: The HEYMANS study observed patients receiving evolocumab as part of routine clinical hyperlipidemia management. It was designed to capture data on clinical parameters relevant to health authorities and physicians. METHODS: This was a European multi-country observational cohort serial chart review study; data on the Swiss cohort are reported here. Patients were prescribed evolocumab as per the Swiss reimbursement criteria in force at the time and were invited chronologically...

New evidence continues to accumulate regarding a significant association between excessive inflammation and dysregulated immunity (local and systemic) and the risk of cardiovascular events in different patient cohorts. Whilst research has sought to identify novel atheroprotective therapies targeting inflammation and immunity, several marketed drugs for rheumatological conditions may serve a similar purpose. One such drug, methotrexate, has been used since 1948 for treating cancer and, more recently, for a wide range of dysimmune conditions...

Cardiac amyloidosis (CA) is a condition caused by extracellular deposition of amyloid fibrils in the heart. It is an underdiagnosed disease entity which can present with a variety of cardiac and non-cardiac manifestations. Diagnosis usually follows an initial suspicion based on clinical evaluation or imaging findings before confirmation with subsequent imaging (echocardiography, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, 3,3-diphosphono-1,2-propanodicarboxylic acid scintigraphy) in combination with biochemical screening for monoclonal dyscrasia (serum free light chains and serum and urine electrophoresis) and/or histology (bone marrow trephine, fat or endomyocardial biopsy)...

Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) is characterized by structural and functional abnormalities in the myocardium affecting people with diabetes. Treatment of DCM focuses on glucose control, blood pressure management, lipid-lowering, and lifestyle changes. Due to limited therapeutic options, DCM remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with diabetes, thus emphasizing the need to develop new therapeutic strategies. Ongoing research is aimed at understanding the underlying molecular mechanism(s) involved in the development and progression of DCM, including oxidative stress, inflammation, and metabolic dysregulation...

BACKGROUND: Del Nido cardioplegia (DNC) is a single-dose, high potassium, low-volume cardioplegia solution that has grown in favor recently. However, the use of DNC in the Asian population may be associated with certain challenges. METHODS: Between January 2017 and April 2022, DNC was used for myocardial protection in this single-center retrospective study. In total, 5731 patients underwent open heart surgeries, where 310 patients received DNC for single or multiple procedures...

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BACKGROUND: Since their emergence, drug-coated balloons (DCBs) have been used widely to treat in-stent lesions with coronary artery disease (CAD). However, despite their superior efficacy to balloon angioplasty, how DCBs affect neointimal characteristics is poorly understood. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to assess the neointimal characteristic changes following DCB treatment. METHODS: Using optical frequency domain imaging (OFDI), we serially observed the in-stent lesion site just after and 1 year after DCB angioplasty in 12 lesions of 11 patients with repeated revascularization...

Coronary artery calcium (CAC) is the measure of subclinical coronary artery atherosclerosis most strongly associated with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk. However, CAC is rarely reported in the inpatient setting to guide chest pain management. We present a case of very high CAC in a 64-year-old woman with hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and hyperlipidemia presenting with dyspnea. Initial electrocardiogram (ECG) demonstrated normal conduction with a heart rate of 76 beats/min, but new T-wave inversions in V1-V4 and a high-sensitivity troponin-I (hsTnI) value of 6 ng/L (normal < 6 ng/L)...

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) play pivotal roles in regulation of cardiac function and homeostasis. To function properly, every cell needs these receptors to be stimulated only when a specific extracellular stimulus is present, and to be silenced the moment that stimulus is removed. The regulator of G protein signaling (RGS) proteins are crucial for the latter to occur at the cell membrane, where the GPCR normally resides. Perturbations in both activation and termination of G protein signaling underlie numerous heart pathologies...

BACKGROUND: Secundum atrial septal defect (ASD) is treated following trans-catheter closure in alternative to surgical treatment. Per-intervention selection of device size with balloon occlusive diameter (BOD) often cause tearing or enlarging, causing arrhythmias and hypotension. We assessed the suitability of percutaneous device closure for ASD using 3-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography (3DTTE). OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to investigate if 3DTTE could be an alternative of balloon sizing for selection of device size in atrial septal defect device closure...

BACKGROUND: The use of ultrasound-based methods for imaging of subclinical atherosclerosis, including measurement of carotid plaque burden (cPB), is a promising direction for further improvement of major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) prediction. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to research the prognostic values' significance of cPB indicators with regard to the short-term progression of polyvascular subclinical atherosclerosis and the long-term onset of MACCE...

Infective endocarditis is a complex heterogeneous condition involving the infection of the endocardium and heart valves, leading to severe complications, including death. Surgery is often indicated in patients with infective endocarditis but is associated with elevated risk compared with other forms of cardiac surgery. Risk models play an important role in many cardiac surgeries as they can help inform clinicians and patients regarding procedural risk, decision-making to proceed or not, and influence perioperative management; however, they remain under-utilized in the infective endocarditis settings...

BACKGROUND: Myocarditis is now one of the most fatal and morbid complications of COVID-19. Many scientists have recently concentrated on this problem. OBJECTIVES: This study assessed the effects of Remdesivir (RMS) and Tocilizumab (TCZ) in COVID-19 myocarditis. DESIGN: Observational, cohort study. METHODS: Patients with COVID-19 myocarditis were enrolled in the study and divided into three groups, TCZ-treated, RMS-treated, and Dexamethasone-treated patients...

INTRODUCTION: Diuretic efficiency (DE) is an independent predictor of all-cause mortality in acute heart failure (HF) at long-term follow-up. The performance of DE in advanced HF and the outpatient scenario is unclear. METHODS: Survival function analysis on a retrospective cohort of patients with advanced HF followed at the outpatient clinic of Hospital Universitario San Ignacio (Bogotá, Colombia) between 2017 and 2021. DE was calculated as the average of total diuresis in milliliters divided by the dose of IV furosemide in milligrams for each 6-h session, considering all the sessions in which the patient received levosimendan and IV furosemide...