Journal of general internal medicine
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The transition to later-life caregiving roles, especially for couples caring for each other, can be rife with ambiguity. The incident discordance in spousal perceptions of one another's role and its relationship to mental health outcomes have not been well-described. ⋯ Findings suggest that spousal agreement about the amount of care given and received varies broadly and is an important consideration for primary care providers who counsel these patients day-to-day. Furthermore, agreement appears to predict mental health and relationship outcomes and should be further evaluated in this growing population of mid-to-late life adults emerging into caregiving.
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There is a lack of comprehensive view of the association between acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD) and the risk of acute cardiovascular events. ⋯ AECOPD was associated with increased 30-day and 1-year incidences of acute cardiovascular event.
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Ivabradine is licensed as add-on therapy in patients with severe left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD), normal sinus rhythm, and suboptimal heart rate (HR) control, but effects are not fully established. This study sought to assess the impact of ivabradine therapy on hemodynamic and functional outcome measures in all patients with LVSD. ⋯ Adjunct therapy with ivabradine in patients with LVSD results in a favorable hemodynamic profile and correlates with improved functional capacity. Benefits appear to be broadly preserved irrespective of baseline EF. This was a meta-analysis of RCTs, though limited by exclusion of post hoc analyses, lack of access to patient level data, and inter-study variability in some baseline characteristics. Further, large-scale RCTs are warranted to evaluate effectiveness of ivabradine in cohorts with non-severe LVSD.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
A Coaching by Telephone Intervention on Engaging Patients to Address Modifiable Cardiovascular Risk Factors: a Randomized Controlled Trial.
A large proportion of deaths and chronic illnesses can be attributed to three modifiable risk factors: tobacco use, overweight/obesity, and physical inactivity. ⋯ NCT01828567.
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Barriers to healthcare are common in the USA and may result in worse outcomes among hospital survivors of an acute coronary syndrome (ACS). ⋯ Absence of an established usual source of care and inconsistent transportation availability were associated with a higher risk for dying after an ACS. Patients with these barriers to follow-up care may benefit from more intensive follow-up and support.