International journal of cardiology
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Central and peripheral quadriceps fatigue in congestive heart failure.
The clinical syndrome of heart failure includes exercise limitation that is not directly linked to measures of cardiac function. Quadriceps fatigability may be an important component of this and this may arise from peripheral or central factors. ⋯ The quadriceps is more susceptible to fatigue, with a similar fall in TwQ occurring in CHF patients at lower levels of exercise. This is associated with no change in voluntary activation but a lesser degree of depression of quadriceps motor evoked potential.
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Observational Study
Examining the relation between post myocardial infarction depression and cardiovascular prognosis using a validated prediction model for post myocardial mortality.
The presence of depressive symptoms after myocardial infarction (MI) is associated with worsened cardiovascular (CV) prognosis. To date, it remains unclear to what extent the relationship between post-MI depression and prognosis is confounded by factors related to prognosis. We assessed the relationship between depression and prognosis while adjusting for a well validated risk score for mortality after a MI. ⋯ GRACE score was positively associated with somatic/affective depressive symptoms. GRACE score explained only partly the association between (somatic/affective) depressive symptoms and CV prognosis.
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The benefit of early surgery for IE is yet to be determined in non-Western countries. We conducted this study to evaluate the role of early surgery in infective endocarditis (IE) in Japan. ⋯ Early surgery for NVE is associated with improved survival in a wide range of clinical subgroups in Japan. In PVE a survival benefit of early surgery is not clear.
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The inflammatory biomarkers soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) independently predict cardiovascular disease (CVD). The prognostic implications of suPAR and CRP combined with Framingham Risk Score (FRS) have not been determined. ⋯ suPAR provides prognostic information of CVD risk beyond FRS and improves risk prediction substantially when combined with CRP in this setting.
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Recent experimental evidence suggests that the Rho/Rho-kinase (ROCK) system may play an important role in the pathogenesis of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) but there are little clinical data. This study examined if ROCK activity is increased in patients with acute coronary syndrome and if ROCK activity predicts long-term cardiovascular event. ⋯ ROCK activity was increased in patients with ACS, particularly in those with myocardial infarction. The combined usage of both ROCK activity and NT-proBNP might identify a subset of ACS patients at particularly high risk.