Journal of cardiac failure
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Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) is associated with increased mortality in patients with chronic heart failure but it remains unclear if the etiology of heart failure influences the prognostic value of dimethylarginines. ⋯ DCM patients with unfavourable L-arginine-ADMA ratio are at increased risk for death.
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Almost one-fourth of older adults hospitalized with heart failure (HF) are discharged to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). The purpose of this review was to evaluate knowledge about HF patients discharged to SNFs to provide a foundation for future studies. ⋯ Prospective studies are needed to evaluate the clinical condition of HF patients discharged to SNFs and the interventions they receive.
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United Network for Organ Sharing adult heart transplant criteria recommend against using same-sex donors with a donor-recipient body weight ratio <0.7. The same criteria recommend against a female donor to male recipient body weight ratio <0.9. We attempted to determine if transplantation with low donor-recipient body weight ratios can be safely performed. ⋯ Accepted donor-recipient weight match criteria may be extended to increase the donor pool.
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Uric acid (UA) levels are frequently increased in patients with heart failure (HF), and may be an indicator of a poor prognosis and an innovative target for treatment. We evaluated the effect of UA and allopurinol use on clinical outcome in patients with HF. ⋯ Increased UA levels and an increase in UA during follow-up were independent predictors of increased morbidity and mortality. Treatment with allopurinol was associated with improved survival.
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Placement of an elastic biodegradable patch onto a subacute myocardial infarct (MI) provides temporary elastic support that may act to effectively alter adverse left ventricular (LV) remodeling processes. ⋯ MI + PEUU patch implantation onto subacute infarcted myocardium induced muscle cellularization with characteristics of early developmental cardiomyocytes as well as providing a functional reserve.