The American journal of medicine
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Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) may require dose reduction or avoidance when glomerular filtration rate is low. However, glomerular filtration rate is not usually measured in routine clinical practice. Rather, equations that incorporate different variables use serum creatinine to estimate either creatinine clearance in mL/min or glomerular filtration rate in mL/min/1.73 m2. ⋯ We now highlight these differences and discuss the impact on routine clinical care for anticoagulation to prevent embolization in atrial fibrillation. Pivotal DOAC clinical trials used creatinine clearance as a criterion for patient enrollment, and dose adjustment and Federal Drug Administration recommendations are based on creatinine clearance. However, clinical biochemistry laboratories provide CKD-EPI glomerular filtration rate estimations, resulting in discrepancies between clinical trial and routine use of the drugs.
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Non-infarct-related artery (non-IRA) disease is prevalent in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). We aimed to assess the impact of non-IRA disease on infarct size and clinical outcomes in patients with acute STEMI. ⋯ More than one-third of patients with anterior STEMI in the CRISP-AMI study had non-IRA disease. These patients had similar infarct sizes and rates of recurrent myocardial infarction, major bleeding, and all-cause death. Patients with non-IRA disease did have a higher rate of new/worsening heart failure with hospitalization. Further study is needed to understand the mechanisms of outcomes of patients with non-IRA disease.
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Atrial fibrillation is associated with a higher mortality, but causes of death of atrial fibrillation patients and their specific predictors have been less well defined. We aimed to identify the causes of death among atrial fibrillation patients and secondly, clinical predictors for the different modes of deaths. ⋯ The majority of deaths were related to a cardiovascular origin, and heart failure was the most common cause of death in atrial fibrillation patients. Despite the high risk of stroke associated with atrial fibrillation, only 7% died from stroke. Optimization of management of any underlying heart disease and associated comorbidities should be a relevant therapeutic target to reduce total mortality in atrial fibrillation patients.
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Limited literature suggests that sexual dysfunction in women covaries with the metabolic syndrome. This study examined the association of sexual function with metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease in healthy older women. ⋯ Metabolic syndrome was associated with decreased sexual activity, desire, and satisfaction in all women and with sexual dysfunction in most domains in sexually active women. Coronary artery disease was more prevalent in women with low sexual activity.