Heart failure clinics
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Heart failure clinics · Jan 2013
ReviewEpidemiologic and statistical methods for comparative effectiveness research.
Observational methods are evolving in response to the widespread availability of data from clinical registries, electronic health records, and administrative databases. These approaches will never eliminate the need for randomized trials, but clearly have a role in evaluating the effect of therapies in unselected populations treated in routine practice.
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Existing data sources for heart failure research offer advantages and disadvantages for CER. Clinical registries collect detailed information about disease presentation, treatment, and outcomes on a large number of patients and provide the "real-world" population that is the hallmark of CER. Data are not collected longitudinally, however, and follow-up is often limited. ⋯ Linking clinical registries with other databases to assess longitudinal outcomes holds great promise. The Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research recommends further efforts on longitudinal linking of administrative or EHR-based databases, patient registries, private sector databases (particularly those with commercially insured populations that are not covered under federal and state databases), and other relevant data sources containing pharmacy, laboratory, adverse events, and mortality information. Advancing the infrastructure to provide robust, scientific data resources for patient-centered CER must remain a priority.
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Heart failure clinics · Jul 2012
ReviewPulmonary arterial hypertension in connective tissue diseases.
Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) may complicate diverse connective tissue diseases (CTDs). Approximately 10% of patients with systemic sclerosis develop PAH, the prevalence being much lower in other CTDs. ⋯ Despite similarities in presentation, hemodynamic perturbations, and pathogenesis, patients with CTD-associated PAH (CTD-PAH) usually have a poorer response to PAH-specific medications and poorer prognosis than patients with idiopathic PAH (IPAH). Select patients with CTD-PAH may be candidates for lung transplantation, but results are less favorable than for IPAH because of comorbidities and complications specifically associated with CTD.
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The right ventricle (RV) is in charge of pumping blood to the lungs for oxygenation. Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is characterized by high pulmonary vascular resistance and vascular remodeling, which results in a striking increase in RV afterload and subsequent failure. There is still unexploited potential for therapies that directly target the RV with the aim of supporting and protecting the right side of the heart, striving to prolong survival in patients with PAH.
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Exercise stress tests of the pulmonary circulation show promise for the detection of early or latent pulmonary vascular disease and may help us understand the clinical evolution and effects of treatments in patients with established disease. Exercise stresses the pulmonary circulation through increases in cardiac output and left atrial pressure. Recent studies have shown that exercise-induced increase in pulmonary artery pressure is associated with dyspnea-fatigue symptomatology, validating the notion of exercise-induced pulmonary hypertension. Exercise in established pulmonary hypertension has no diagnostic relevance, but may help in the understanding of changes in functional state and the effects of therapies.