International journal of cardiology
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Comparative Study
Trends in incidence and mortality in the hospital diagnosis of atrial fibrillation or flutter in Denmark, 1980-1999.
The incidence of diagnosed atrial fibrillation is increasing in the USA, England, Wales, Scotland and Denmark, and the mortality rate in patients with diagnosed atrial fibrillation has been reported to be declining in Scotland and Denmark. We undertook this study to examine recent trends in incidence and mortality in subjects with a hospital diagnosis of atrial fibrillation or flutter in Denmark from 1980 to 1999 by sex, 10-year age group and conditions of comorbidity. ⋯ The incidence of a hospital diagnosis of atrial fibrillation or flutter more than doubled, and the 10-year age group- and comorbidity- and general population-adjusted mortality decreased, equally, from the first to the last 5-year period by 20% in men and 18% in women.
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Comparative Study
Preoperative statin use and outcomes following cardiac surgery.
Cardiac surgery carries a 2-3% early mortality due in part to perioperative myocardial infarction (PMI), low-output syndrome (LOS), and arrhythmias. Statins attenuate thrombogenesis, normalize endothelial dysfunction, and mitigate the oxidative stress and reperfusion injury characteristic of such complications. We sought to determine whether preoperative statin use is associated with reduced early mortality and major morbidity following cardiac surgery. ⋯ Preoperative statin use is not associated with a reduction in IHM or major morbidity following cardiac surgery.
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In patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) eligible for electrical cardioversion (C), the guided approach with transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) allows to avoid the 3 weeks of recommended precardioversion anticoagulation therapy. However, after sinus rhythm restoration, at least other 4 weeks of oral anticoagulation therapy are indicated, due to the postcardioversion thromboembolic risk related to left atrial (LA) and left atrial appendage (LAA) stunning. The aim of this study was to prospectively assess the effectiveness and the safety of anticoagulation therapy discontinuation 7 days after C using low-molecular-weight heparins (LMWH) in a selected group of patients who underwent a pre-C and 7 days post-C TEE evaluation. ⋯ A brief anticoagulation therapy using LMWH appears to be safe and feasible. The 7 days post-C TEE can well-define patients without LAA stunning at low thromboembolic risk, who may take advantage of an early interruption of enoxaparin as an alternative to long oral anticoagulation. The LAA stunning, even in the absence of other thromboembolic risk factors, could select a group of patients at high risk who should continue oral anticoagulation indefinitely or until signs of LAA dysfunction disappear.
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Letter Case Reports
Resolving impaired response to exercise in hepatopulmonary syndrome after liver transplantation.
A series of graded cardiopulmonary exercise tests (CPET) in a patient with hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) who was evaluated before and after liver transplantation are described. HPS associated with marked dyspnea, results from abnormal intrapulmonary vascular dilatation with rapid transit of the blood in the pulmonary vascular bed, creating right-to-left shunt and hypoxemia. Decreased peak oxygen uptake, wasted ventilation and hypoxemia were corrected within 8 months after the transplant, thus making CPET a very useful tool for investigating and following these patients before and after transplant.
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Data on the outcome of patients treated with thrombolytic therapy in the Arab world is scarce. The main objective of this study is to study the 7-day morbidity and mortality rate and the rate of use of thrombolytic therapy in patients presenting with acute myocardial infarction treated with thrombolytic therapy in the Middle East. ⋯ In the current study, use of thrombolysis in acute myocardial infarction was associated with significant decrease in in-hospital mortality and morbidity. Mortality rate was higher in the Qatari nationals when compared to non-Qataris. Reperfusion therapy may be underutilized in the developing world. Increased use of reperfusion therapy would result in reduced mortality rate. Global measures to encourage the use of reperfusion therapy including patients' education, and strategies to improve the health care system are needed.