Journal of Cardiovascular Development and Disease最新文献

Background: This study evaluated the effects of resistance training (RT) and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in hypertensive older adults undergoing pharmacological therapy over four and eight weeks. We compared the efficacy of RT and HIIT in reducing non-responders (NRs) between weeks 4 and 8 and analyzed time-course adaptations in NRs and responders (Rs).

Methods: Thirty-nine participants were randomized into RT-G (n = 13), HIIT-G (n = 13), or control (CG, n = 13) groups. RT utilized elastic bands, and HIIT involved cycle ergometers, with three weekly 30 min sessions for 8 weeks. SBP and DBP were measured before intervention and at weeks 4 and 8, respectively. Individual responses were classified as NRs or Rs using the Hopkins method (SDIR = √[SDExp2-SDCon2]). Time-course adaptations were evaluated.

Results: Both the RT-G and HIIT-G reduced SBP at 8 weeks (RT-G: -13 mmHg; [ES: 1.12]; HIIT-G: -12 mmHg [ES: 0.8]; both p < 0.05). The proportion of NRs for SBP decreased from 46% to 38% in RT-G and 69% to 46% in HIIT-G. Rs showed a peak SBP reduction at 4 weeks (-14.7 and -25.5 mmHg), stabilizing by week 8 (-22.8 and -19.6 mmHg) in RT-G and HIIT-G, respectively.

Conclusion: Eight weeks of RT and HIIT effectively reduced SBP and NR prevalence, with time-course adaptations favoring Rs.

Native Americans are disproportionately affected by cardiovascular disease in comparison with other racial and ethnic groups in the United States. Previous research has analyzed risk factors, quantified prevalence rates, and examined outcomes of cardiovascular disease in Native Americans, yet few studies have considered the role of societal and psychological factors on the increased burden of cardiovascular disease in Native Americans. Modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease, including poor nutrition, reduced physical activity, obesity, and increased substance use, are exacerbated in Native American communities due to cultural and historical factors. Further, Native Americans have endured historical trauma and continue to experience additional financial and healthcare stressors, resulting in increased levels of chronic stress. Chronic activation of stress responses through the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal and autonomic nervous system increases inflammation and cardiovascular dysfunction resulting in an increased risk for cardiovascular disease. Therefore, it is critical to examine the connection between these stressors and the cardiovascular health disparities in Native American communities to create effective strategies to improve health outcomes.

Background: A staging system based on cardiac damage for severe aortic stenosis (AS) has been validated for prognosis prediction following transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Our study aims to investigate whether TAVR can lead to changes in cardiac damage shortly after the procedure and how these changes impact prognosis.

Method: Patients in this retrospective cohort study were classified into five stages (0-4) before TAVR based on the echocardiographic findings of cardiac damage. The closest echocardiogram after TAVR was used for restaging cardiac damage. The primary composite outcome was all-cause mortality or hospitalization due to heart failure (HF).

Results: A total of 64 patients were enrolled (53.1% male, mean age 81.7 ± 7.7 years). Within a mean interval of 4 days (interquartile range = 3 to 7 days) after TAVR, cardiac damage improved in 25.0% of patients, while it worsened in 20.3%. During a median follow-up of 2.5 ± 1.9 years, 34.4% of patients met the primary endpoint, which included 16 deaths and 6 HF hospitalizations. Cox regression analysis revealed that improvement in cardiac damage correlated with a lower risk of composite death or HF hospitalization (HR: 0.095; 95% CI: 0.014-0.627; p = 0.015).

Conclusions: TAVR can lead to changes in cardiac damage over a short period in patients with severe AS, and rapid improvement in cardiac damage after TAVR is associated with a better prognosis.

Background: Hospitalisation for acute decompensated heart failure (HF) portends a poor prognosis. Fluid retention manifesting in dyspnoea and oedema are important clinical features of decompensated heart failure and drive hospital admissions. Intracardiac and pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) monitoring can help predict heart failure decompensation, as changes in these haemodynamics occur before clinical congestion manifests. Methods: A retrospective single centre analysis of patients who underwent insertion of the Cordella™ PA Sensor System (Endotronix, Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) in University Hospital Galway, Ireland, as part of three separate clinical trials-SIRONA 1, SIRONA 2, PROACTIVE HF, was performed. The primary clinical outcome assessed was the difference between HF hospitalisation pre- and post-sensor implantation. Results: In total, there were 33 patients with symptomatic HF who underwent device insertion between 2018 and 2023. All patients had NYHA class 3 heart failure, and 48.5% (n = 16) of patients had HF with reduced ejection fraction. Only one device-related complication was noted, and no pressure sensor failures occurred. In total, there were 26 admissions for HF decompensation 1-year pre-device insertion and only three admissions post-insertion. The difference in the mean number of HF hospitalisations per patient pre- and post-device insertion was 0.70 (p < 0.0001). The difference in mean NYHA class score pre- and post-insertion was 1.0 (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Data from this single-centre cohort study have shown that the insertion of the Cordella™ PA Sensor System in symptomatic HF patients was safe and resulted in statistically significant improvements in HF hospitalisations and NYHA class.

Paradoxical embolism occurs when a clot originates in the venous system and traverses through a pulmonary or intracardiac shunt into the systemic circulation, with a mortality rate of around 18%. The risk factors for arterial embolism and venous thrombosis are similar, but different disease entities can lead to a hypercoagulable state of the blood, including antithrombin III (AT III) deficiency. We report the case of a 43-year-old man with a massive central pulmonary embolism with a rider embolus and concomitant aortic arch embolism with involvement of the brachiocephalic trunk, bilateral subclavian and axillary arteries, and the right vertebral artery, followed by a secondary ischaemic stroke. The Pulmonary Embolism Response Team (PERT) consulted the patient on several occasions; he was treated initially with an intravenous infusion of unfractionated heparin under activation partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and AT III substitution. After several days of hospitalisation and the conversion of pharmacotherapy to oral anticoagulants, the patient was discharged home in a stable condition with recommendations for further follow-up in appropriate clinics. This case highlights the role of in-depth diagnostics for coagulation disorders in patients after pulmonary embolism, especially without known risk factors.

The rate of major surgery is constantly increasing worldwide, and approximately 85% are non-cardiac surgery. More than half of patients over 45 years presenting for non-cardiac surgical interventions have cardiovascular risk factors, and the most common: chronic coronary syndrome and history of stroke. The preoperative cardiovascular risk is determined by the comorbidities, the clinical condition before the intervention, the urgency, duration or type. Cardiovascular risk scores are necessary tools to prevent perioperative cardiovascular morbidity and mortality and the most frequently used are Lee/RCRI (Revised Cardiac Risk Index), APACHE II (Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation), POSSUM (Physiological and Operative Severity Score for the enumeration of Mortality and Morbidity), The American University of Beirut (AUB)-HAS2. To reduce the perioperative risk, there is a need for an appropriate preoperative risk assessment, as well as the choice of the type and timing of surgical intervention. Quantification of surgical risk as low, intermediate, and high is useful in identifying the group of patients who are at risk of complications such as myocardial infarction, thrombosis, arrhythmias, heart failure, stroke or even death. Currently there are not enough studies that can differentiate the risk according to gender, race, elective versus emergency procedure, the value of cardiac biomarkers.

Objectives: Acute type A aortic dissection (ATAAD) is a life-threatening condition that requires emergent surgical intervention. Numerous surgical approaches exist for ATAAD, and controversy remains regarding the optimal arch interventions for ATAAD patients. Aortic Arch Interventions: Approaches to ATAAD repair include hemiarch repair or extended arch repairs, including the hemiarch with a hybrid stent implantation, such as the AMDS hybrid Prosthesis, total arch replacement (TAR), and the use of an elephant trunk and frozen elephant trunk. While indications for each procedure exist, such as entry tears in the arch, arch aneurysms, and head vessel communications for TAR and malperfusion and a reduced risk of distal anastomotic new entry tears in Debakey I aortic dissection for the AMDS and frozen elephant trunks, the optimal intervention depends on numerous factors. Surgeon and center experience, resource availability, patient risk, and anatomy all contribute to the decision-making process. TAR has improved in safety over the years and has been demonstrated to be comparable to the hemiarch repair in terms of safety in many settings. TAR may also prevent adverse remodeling and can effectively treat more distal diseases, the presence of arch tears, arch aneurysms, and branch vessel involvement or malperfusion.

Conclusions: Numerous surgical approaches exist to manage ATAAD, allowing for the surgeon to tailor the repair to the individual patient and pathology. TAR allows for single or staged repair of extensive pathologies and can address distal entry tears, the aneurysmal arch, and head vessel pathologies. In cases with malperfusion, an AMDS can be used in many cases. The management strategy for ATAAD should always involve performing the best surgery for the patient, although in cases where a total arch is indicated but cannot be performed safely by a non-aortic surgeon, the safest approach may be to perform a hemiarch initially and to plan for an elective arch reoperation in the case it is required following close surveillance.

Background: Sport practice may elevate the risk of cardiovascular events, including sudden cardiac death, in athletes with undiagnosed heart conditions. In Italy, pre-participation screening includes a resting ECG and either the Harvard Step Test (HST) or maximal exercise testing (MET), but the relative efficacy of the latter two tests for detecting arrhythmias and heart conditions remains unclear.

Methods: This study examined 511 paediatric athletes (8-18 years, 76.3% male) without known cardiovascular, renal, or endocrine diseases. All athletes underwent both HST and MET within 30 days. Absolute data and data relative to theoretical peak heart rates, arrhythmias (supraventricular and ventricular) and cardiovascular diagnoses were collected.

Results: HST resulted in a lower peak heart rate than MET (181.1 ± 9.8 vs. 187.5 ± 8.1 bpm, p < 0.001), but led to the detection of more supraventricular (18.6% vs. 13.1%, p < 0.001) and ventricular (30.5% vs. 22.7%, p < 0.001) arrhythmias, clustering during recovery (p = 0.014). This pattern was significant in males but not females. Among athletes diagnosed with cardiovascular diseases (22.3%), HST identified more ventricular arrhythmias (26.3% vs. 18.4%, p = 0.05), recovery-phase arrhythmias (20.2% vs. 14.0%, p = 0.035), and polymorphic arrhythmias (6.1% vs. 1.8%, p = 0.025).

Conclusions: HST detects arrhythmias more effectively than MET in young male athletes, especially during recovery. More ventricular arrhythmias were highlighted even in athletes with cardiovascular conditions.

Objectives: The impact of long-term complications after robotic hybrid coronary revascularization (HCR), including persistent angina, repeat revascularization, and myocardial infarction (MI), remains limited. This study aims to determine the risk factors for coronary events after robotic HCR and their time-varying effects on outcomes.

Methods: We identified all consecutive patients who underwent robotic HCR at our institution. Baseline characteristics were explored as possible risk factors for angina, MI, and repeat revascularization with stents at any time during the follow-up.

Results: A total of 875 patients (mean age 71.1 ± 11.1 years) were included. After a median follow-up of 3.32 years (IQR 1.18-6.34 years), angina occurred in 134 patients (15.3%), repeat revascularization with stents in 139 patients (15.8%), and MI in 36 patients (4.1%). The hazard rates for all outcomes increased with follow-up time, with a notable early rise around two years of follow-up for angina and, to a lesser extent, repeat revascularization. The risk factors were the lack of radial artery graft use, black race, diabetes, obesity, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, low ejection fraction <50%, severe left main coronary artery stenosis (>50%), and more than three-vessel disease.

Conclusions: Optimization of modifiable periprocedural risk factors may positively impact long-term prognosis in patients undergoing robotic HCR.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) frequently presents in emergency departments (EDs), contributing significantly to adverse cardiovascular outcomes. Despite established guidelines, ED management of AF often varies, revealing important gaps in care. This review addresses specific challenges in AF management for patients in the ED, including the nuances of rate versus rhythm control, the timing of anticoagulation initiation, and patient disposition. The updated 2024 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines advocate early rhythm control for select patients while recommending rate control for others; however, uncertainties persist, particularly regarding these strategies' long-term impact on outcomes. Stroke prevention through timely anticoagulation remains crucial, though the ideal timing, especially for new-onset AF, needs further research. Additionally, ED discharge protocols and follow-up care for AF patients are often inconsistent, leaving many without proper long-term management. Integration of emerging therapies, including direct oral anticoagulants and advanced antiarrhythmic drugs, shows potential but remains uneven across EDs. Innovative multidisciplinary models, such as "AF Heart Teams" and observation units, could enhance care but face practical challenges in implementation. This review underscores the need for targeted research to refine AF management, optimize discharge protocols, and incorporate novel therapies effectively. Standardizing ED care for AF could significantly reduce stroke risk, lower readmission rates, and improve overall patient outcomes.