Journal of the American Heart Association
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The cardiovascular and long-term noncardiovascular safety and efficacy of SGLT2 (sodium-glucose cotransporter 2) inhibitors have not been well documented. ⋯ SGLT2 inhibitors showed remarkable cardiovascular- and renal-protective effects and good long-term noncardiovascular safety with sustained efficacy.
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Epidemiologic evidence has emerged to reveal an association of albuminuria and low estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) with dementia, but the findings are inconsistent. In addition, there are limited studies addressing the association between albuminuria and Alzheimer disease (AD). ⋯ Albuminuria is a significant risk factor for the development of both AD and VaD in community-dwelling Japanese elderly. Moreover, albuminuria and low eGFR are mutually associated with a greater risk of VaD.
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The number of implanted ventricular assist devices (VADs) has increased significantly recently. Bleeding, the most frequent complication, cannot be solely attributed to anticoagulation therapy. Acquired von Willebrand syndrome (AVWS) caused by increased shear stress is frequent in VAD patients and can increase the bleeding risk. The HeartMate III (HM III) is a novel left VAD featuring potential improvements over the HeartMate II. ⋯ https://www.drks.de/drks_web. Unique identifier: DRKS00000649.
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Mitral regurgitation is a heterogeneous disease. Determining which patients derive optimal outcomes from transcatheter edge-to-edge mitral valve repair (TMVR) remains challenging. We sought to determine whether baseline mitral valve anatomic characteristics are predictive of left atrial pressure (LAP) changes during TMVR with MitraClip. ⋯ Mitral valve pathoanatomic features, including a flail leaflet and single jet, are predictive of optimal LAP reduction with TMVR. High-quality 3-dimensional imaging may help select patients with the highest likelihood of optimal hemodynamic results with TMVR. These data expand current knowledge about patient selection for TMVR and deserve further study in larger cohorts.
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Observational studies suggest a survival advantage with bilateral single internal thoracic artery (BITA) versus single internal thoracic artery grafting for coronary surgery, whereas this conclusion is not supported by randomized trials. We hypothesized that this inconsistency is attributed to unmeasured confounders intrinsic to observational studies. To test our hypothesis, we performed a meta-analysis of the observational literature comparing BITA and single internal thoracic artery, deriving incident rate ratio for mortality at end of follow-up and at 1 year. We postulated that BITA would not affect 1-year survival based on the natural history of coronary artery bypass occlusion, so that a difference between groups at 1 year could not be attributed to the intervention. ⋯ Unmeasured confounders, rather than biological superiority, may explain the survival advantage of BITA in observational series.