Journal of the American College of Cardiology
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J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. · May 2013
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyInterplay between right ventricular function and cardiac resynchronization therapy: an analysis of the CARE-HF trial (Cardiac Resynchronization-Heart Failure).
The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) on right ventricular (RV) function and the influence of RV dysfunction on the echocardiographic and clinical response to CRT among patients enrolled in the CARE-HF (Cardiac Resynchronization-Heart Failure) trial. ⋯ Right ventricular dysfunction is a powerful determinant of prognosis among candidates for CRT, regardless of treatment assigned, but did not diminish the prognostic benefits of CRT among patients enrolled in the CARE-HF trial. (Care-HF CArdiac Resynchronization in Heart Failure; NCT00170300).
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J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. · May 2013
Comparative StudyNoninvasive renal sympathetic denervation by extracorporeal high-intensity focused ultrasound in a pre-clinical canine model.
This study investigated the feasibility of noninvasive renal sympathetic denervation (RSD) by using the novel approach of extracorporeal high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU). ⋯ Effective RSD was successfully achieved by using the extracorporeal HIFU method in canines. Thus, noninvasive HIFU may be further explored as an important and novel strategy for RSD.
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J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. · May 2013
Comparative StudyImpact of baseline heart failure burden on post-implantable cardioverter-defibrillator mortality among medicare beneficiaries.
This study sought to assess the impact of baseline heart failure (HF) burden on survival with primary implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) among Medicare recipients. ⋯ Nearly one-third of Medicare ICD recipients died within 3 years, reflecting a population with more advanced age and disease than seen in trial populations for primary prevention ICD. Nearly one-half of Medicare recipients had a low HF burden and had a survival similar to trial ICD recipients. Future research is warranted to understand the effectiveness of primary ICD implantation among Medicare beneficiaries with heavy HF burdens.