Journal of the American Heart Association
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Multicenter Study
Association Between Active Commuting and Incident Cardiovascular Diseases in Chinese: A Prospective Cohort Study.
Background Active commuting is related to a higher level of physical activity but more exposure to ambient air pollutants. With the rather serious air pollution in urban China, we aimed to examine the association between active commuting and risk of incident cardiovascular disease in the Chinese population. Methods and Results A total of 104 170 urban commuters without major chronic diseases at baseline were included from China Kadoorie Biobank. ⋯ The associations of commuting mode with major cardiovascular disease were consistent among men and women and across different levels of other domain physical activity. Conclusions In urban China, cycling was associated with a lower risk of ischemic heart disease and ischemic stroke. Walking was associated with a lower risk of ischemic heart disease.
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Multicenter Study
Outcomes and Resource Utilization Associated With Readmissions After Atrial Fibrillation Hospitalizations.
Background Atrial fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia worldwide. Data regarding 30-day readmission rates after discharge for atrial fibrillation remain poorly reported. Methods and Results The Nationwide Readmission Database (2010-2014) was queried using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes to identify study population. ⋯ We identified a predictive model for increased risk of readmissions and treatment expense. Electrical cardioversion during index admission was associated with a significant reduction in 30-day readmissions and service charges. The 30-day readmissions correlated with a substantial rise in the cost of care.
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Background The American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association periodically revise clinical practice guidelines. We evaluated changes in the evidence underlying guidelines published over a 10-year period. Methods and Results Thirty-five American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guidelines were divided into 2 time periods: 2008 to 2012 and 2013 to 2017. ⋯ The decrease in the proportion of LOE C was highest in heart failure (24.8%), valvular heart disease (22.3%), and arrhythmia (19.2%). An increase in the proportion of LOE B was observed for these same areas: 31.8%, 23.8%, and 19.2%, respectively. Conclusions There has been a decrease in American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guidelines recommendations, driven by removal of recommendations based on lower quality of evidence, although there was no corresponding increase in the highest quality of evidence.
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Background The potential alterations of respiratory pathophysiology after cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) are relatively undefined. While untreated arrest is known to affect post-cardiopulmonary resuscitation circulation, whether it affects respiratory pathophysiology remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the post-cardiopulmonary resuscitation changes in respiratory mechanics and neural respiratory drive with varying delays (5 or 10 minutes) in the treatment of ventricular fibrillation (VF). ⋯ The changes in imaging (P=0.027) and histopathology (P=0.012) were more severe in the VF10 group compared with the VF5 group. Conclusions There is an uncoupling between the respiratory center and ventilation after restoration of spontaneous circulation. Prolonged untreated arrest from cardiac arrest contributes to more serious alterations in lung pathophysiology.
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Background When patients require readmission after a recent myocardial infarction (MI), returning to the discharging (index) hospital may be associated with better outcomes as a result of greater continuity in care. However, little evidence exists to answer this frequent patient question. Methods and Results Among Medicare patients aged ≥65 years discharged home alive post-MI from 491 US hospitals in the ACTION (Acute Coronary Treatment Intervention Outcomes Network) Registry, we compared reason for readmission, duration of rehospitalization, and 30-day mortality between patients readmitted to the index versus nonindex hospital within 30 days of index MI discharge. ⋯ Duration of rehospitalization did not differ significantly between patients readmitted to the index versus nonindex hospital (median, 4 versus 3 days; P=0.17). Mortality risk was also not significantly different between patients readmitted to the index versus nonindex hospital overall (7.4 versus 7.7%; adjusted odds ratio, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.73-1.10) and when stratified by reason for readmission (P for interaction=0.61). Conclusions Post-MI readmissions did not differ in reason for readmission, duration of rehospitalization, or associated mortality when compared between patients who returned to the discharging hospital and those who sought care elsewhere.