Clinical cardiology
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Clinical cardiology · Feb 2017
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyDesign and rationale of the EBBINGHAUS trial: A phase 3, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter study to assess the effect of evolocumab on cognitive function in patients with clinically evident cardiovascular disease and receiving statin background lipid-lowering therapy-A cognitive study of patients enrolled in the FOURIER trial.
Some observational studies raised concern that statins may cause memory impairment, leading to a US Food and Drug Administration warning. Similar questions were raised regarding proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin-type 9 inhibitors (PCSK9i) and neurocognitive function. No prospectively designed study has evaluated the relationship between long-term PCSK9i use and cognition changes. ⋯ Fifteen hundred cognitively normal patients completing the assessments provided approximately 97% power to demonstrate that the upper 95% confidence interval for the treatment difference in mean change from baseline in SWMSI over time is <20% of the SD of the mean change in the placebo group. An exploratory analysis will compare neurocognitive function in patients with post-baseline low-density lipoprotein cholesterol <25 mg/dL. EBBINGHAUS will evaluate whether the addition of evolocumab to statin therapy affects cognitive function over time in patients with stable cardiovascular disease.
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Clinical cardiology · Feb 2017
Correlation between cardiac rhythm, left atrial appendage flow velocity, and CHA2 DS2 -VASc score: Study based on transesophageal echocardiography and 2-dimensional speckle tracking.
The CHA2 DS2 -VASc score is a classic predictor of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Decreased left atrial appendage flow velocity (LAA-FV) reflects the blood stasis, and left atrial (LA) strain is a manifestation of atrial remodeling. This study aimed to explore the effects of AF rhythm and CHA2 DS2 -VASc score in the development of thrombogenesis and their potential correlation with LAA-FV and LA strain. ⋯ AF rhythm caused a sharp decrease in LAA-FV independent of CHA2 DS2 -VASc score. In SR, the CHA2 DS2 -VASc score correlated negatively with LAA-FV. LA strain was a predictor of LAA-FV in both SR and AF rhythm.