Journal of the American Heart Association
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Observational Study
Short-Term Influence of Radiofrequency Ablation on NT-proBNP, MR-proANP, Copeptin, and MR-proADM in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation: Data From the Observational SMURF Study.
There is limited knowledge on the short-term influence of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of atrial fibrillation (AF) on 2 cardiac biomarkers; the N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and the midregional fragment of the N-terminal of pro-ANP (MR-proANP) and 2 extracardiac biomarkers; the c-terminal provasopressin (copeptin) and the midregional portion of proadrenomedullin (MR-proADM). There are also limited data concerning cardiac production of the latter two. ⋯ URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique Identifier: NCT01553045.
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The purpose of this study was to evaluate sex differences in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) characteristics, interventions, and outcomes. ⋯ Sex-related differences in OHCA characteristics and treatment are predictors of survival outcome disparities. With adjustment for these factors, sex was not associated with survival or neurological outcome after OHCA.
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Observational Study
Alcohol Consumption, Left Atrial Diameter, and Atrial Fibrillation.
Alcohol consumption has been associated with atrial fibrillation (AF) in several epidemiologic studies, but the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. We sought to test the hypothesis that an atrial myopathy, manifested by echocardiographic left atrial enlargement, explains the association between chronic alcohol use and AF. ⋯ Our study of a large, community-based sample identified alcohol consumption as a predictor of left atrial enlargement and subsequent incident AF. Left atrial enlargement may be an intermediate phenotype along the causal pathway linking long-term alcohol consumption to AF.
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Microalbuminuria is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality, but whether lower levels of urine albumin excretion similarly predict CVD is uncertain. We investigated associations between urine albumin:creatinine ratio (UACR) <30 mg/g, and incident hypertension, incident diabetes mellitus, and all-cause and CVD mortality, during a maximum of 11 years of follow-up. ⋯ Low levels of albuminuria, UACR below 30 mg/g, are associated with increased risk of incident hypertension and CVD mortality at follow-up, but are not associated with increased risk of incident diabetes mellitus.
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Mutations in the coding sequence of SCN5A, which encodes the cardiac Na(+) channel α subunit, have been associated with inherited susceptibility to various arrhythmias. Variable expression of SCN5A is a possible mechanism responsible for this pleiotropic effect; however, it is unknown whether variants in the promoter and regulatory regions of SCN5A also modulate the risk of arrhythmias. ⋯ Variants in the core promoter region and the transcription regulatory region of SCN5A were identified in multiple arrhythmia phenotypes, consistent with the idea that altered SCN5A transcription levels modulate susceptibility to arrhythmias.