International journal of cardiology
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Multicenter Study
The relationship between coronary artery calcium score and the long-term mortality among patients with minimal or absent coronary artery risk factors.
Coronary artery calcium (CAC) is strongly predictive of all-cause mortality in intermediate-risk groups, but this relationship is not well defined in very low-risk individuals. We investigated the relationship between CAC scoring and the long-term all-cause mortality among patients with ≤ 1 cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor. ⋯ During long-term follow-up, an increasing CAC was significantly associated with a higher risk of all-cause mortality among patients with a very low CVD risk factor profile. CAC scanning may be a potentially useful tool for risk stratification among low CVD risk individuals who are ≥ 45 years old.
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Meta Analysis Comparative Study
The efficacy and safety of mechanical hemodynamic support in patients undergoing high-risk percutaneous coronary intervention with or without cardiogenic shock: Bayesian approach network meta-analysis of 13 randomized controlled trials.
Studies have reported conflicting results regarding efficacy of mechanical hemodynamic support using intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) or percutaneous ventricular assisted device (pVAD) in patients undergoing high-risk PCI. We performed a Bayesian network meta-analysis comparing the safety and efficacy of mechanical hemodynamic support devices and medical therapy (MT). ⋯ In this meta-analysis, routine elective use of IABP or pVAD did not reduce mortality, while it increased bleeding, compared with MT in high-risk PCI population or even in the patients with cardiogenic shock. Thoughtful selection of appropriate patients and balancing the risk and benefit should be the prerequisites to the use of mechanical hemodynamic support devices.
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Review
Preoperative and perioperative use of levosimendan in cardiac surgery: European expert opinion.
In cardiac surgery, postoperative low cardiac output has been shown to correlate with increased rates of organ failure and mortality. Catecholamines have been the standard therapy for many years, although they carry substantial risk for adverse cardiac and systemic effects, and have been reported to be associated with increased mortality. On the other hand, the calcium sensitiser and potassium channel opener levosimendan has been shown to improve cardiac function with no imbalance in oxygen consumption, and to have protective effects in other organs. ⋯ A panel of 27 experts from 18 countries has now reviewed the literature on the use of levosimendan in on-pump and off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting and in heart valve surgery. This panel discussed the published evidence in these various settings, and agreed to vote on a set of questions related to the cardioprotective effects of levosimendan when administered preoperatively, with the purpose of reaching a consensus on which patients could benefit from the preoperative use of levosimendan and in which kind of procedures, and at which doses and timing should levosimendan be administered. Here, we present a systematic review of the literature to report on the completed and ongoing studies on levosimendan, including the newly commenced LEVO-CTS phase III study (NCT02025621), and on the consensus reached on the recommendations proposed for the use of preoperative levosimendan.
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Pharmacogenomics (PGx) is the science that examines how an individual's genetic make-up affects the safety and efficacy of therapeutic drugs. PGx of response to cardiovascular (CV) medications is of the most successfully translated branches of PGx into the clinical workout. However, the clinical implementation of PGx of CV drugs is yet far beyond the growth of our understanding of the role of genetics in drug therapy. ⋯ For other drugs, however, studies have produced contradictory results and further large and well-designed clinical trials are required to expand and confirm the clinical utility of their PGx data. This review paper presents the current state of knowledge in the field of PGx of CV medications and describes the facilities assisting to the translation of PGx data into the clinical practice. Afterward, the existing body of PGx literature of the most-commonly used CV medications is comprehensively discussed.
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Elevated inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) are well-known risk factors for cardiovascular mortality. The less familiar marker, soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR), is known to predict cancer, infections and all-cause mortality. We determined whether suPAR, CRP and IL-6 are predictive of both all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in a black population, highly burdened by cardiovascular disease and HIV infection. ⋯ SuPAR predicted both all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, independent of traditional risk factors, HIV and other inflammatory markers, underlining the prognostic value of suPAR in a black population.