American heart journal
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American heart journal · Sep 2016
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyApixaban compared with parenteral heparin and/or vitamin K antagonist in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation undergoing cardioversion: Rationale and design of the EMANATE trial.
Stroke prevention in anticoagulation-naïve patients with atrial fibrillation undergoing cardioversion has not been systematically studied. ⋯ This first prospective cardioversion study of a novel anticoagulant in anticoagulation-naïve patients should influence clinical practice.
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American heart journal · Sep 2016
Comparative StudyComplete versus incomplete revascularization in patients with multivessel coronary artery disease treated with drug-eluting stents.
The clinical impact of completeness of revascularization on adverse cardiovascular events remains unclear among patients with multivessel coronary artery disease (CAD) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). ⋯ Among patients with multivessel CAD treated with DES, as compared with CR, IR was associated with similar risk of death. However, IR was associated with a higher risk of MI during follow-up.
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American heart journal · Sep 2016
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative StudyA randomized, parallel group, double-blind study of ticagrelor compared with aspirin for prevention of vascular events in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft operation: Rationale and design of the Ticagrelor in CABG (TiCAB) trial: An Investigator-Initiated trial.
For patients with coronary artery disease undergoing coronary bypass surgery, acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) currently represents the gold standard of antiplatelet treatment. However, adverse cardiovascular event rates in the first year after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) still exceed 10%. Graft failure, which is predominantly mediated by platelet aggregation, has been identified as a major contributing factor in this context. Therefore, intensified platelet inhibition is likely to be beneficial. Ticagrelor, an oral, reversibly binding and direct-acting P2Y12 receptor antagonist, provides a rapid, competent, and consistent platelet inhibition and has shown beneficial results compared with clopidogrel in the subset of patients undergoing bypass surgery in a large previous trial. ⋯ There is clinical equipoise on the issue of optimal platelet inhibition after CABG. The TiCAB trial will provide a pivotal comparison of the efficacy and safety of ticagrelor compared with ASA after CABG.
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American heart journal · Sep 2016
Utility of the LACE index at the bedside in predicting 30-day readmission or death in patients hospitalized with heart failure.
The Length of stay, Acuity, Comorbidities, Emergency department visits in prior 6 months (LACE) index threshold of 10 predicts readmission or death in general medical patients in administrative databases. We assessed whether the unadjusted LACE index, computed at the bedside, can predict 30-day outcomes in patients hospitalized for heart failure. ⋯ LACE calculated at the bedside predicts 30-day clinical outcomes in hospitalized heart failure patients. While there is a continuum of risk, a threshold of ≥13 is more suitable than ≥10 to identify high-risk patients. Given its modest discrimination, however, we do not recommend its preferential use over validated risk prediction tools such as readmission risk score.
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American heart journal · Sep 2016
Observational StudyHeart failure medications prescribed at discharge for patients with left ventricular assist devices.
Real-world use of traditional heart failure (HF) medications for patients with left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) is not well known. ⋯ Traditional HF therapies were moderately prescribed at discharge to patients with LVADs and were more frequently prescribed to patients with advanced HF without LVAD support. Moderate prescription rates suggest clinical uncertainty in the use of antiadrenergic medication in this population. Further research is needed on the optimal medical regimen for patients with LVADs.