Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine
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Front Cardiovasc Med · Jan 2021
Impact of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease Pandemic on the Performance of a Cardiovascular Department in a Non-epidemic Center in Beijing, China.
Background: Knowledge of the impact of the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on the performance of a cardiovascular department in a medical referral hub center from a non-epidemic area of China is limited. Method: The data on the total number of non-emergency medical cares (including the number of out-patient clinic attendances, the number of patients who were hospitalized in non-intensive care wards, and patients who underwent elective cardiac intervention procedures) and emergency medical cares [including the number of emergency department (ED attendances) and chest pain center (CPC attendances), as well as the number of patients who were hospitalized in coronary care unit (CCU) and the number of patients who underwent emergency cardiac intervention procedures] before and during the pandemic (time before the pandemic: 20th January 2019 to 31st March 2019 and time during the pandemic: 20th January 2020 to 31st March 2020) in the Department of Cardiology and Macrovascular Disease, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University were collected and compared. Results: Both the non-emergency medical and emergency medical cares were affected by the pandemic. ⋯ The number of the out-patient clinic attendances not associated with the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases could be due to different factors, such as the local government contamination measures. The proportion of hospitalized patients with acute myocardial infarction increased in our center during the pandemic since other hospitals stopped performing primary angioplasty. A hub-and-spoke model could be effective in limiting the collateral damage for patients affected by cardiovascular diseases when the medical system is stressed by disasters, such as COVID-19 pandemic.
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Front Cardiovasc Med · Jan 2021
ReviewRight Ventricular Damage in COVID-19: Association Between Myocardial Injury and COVID-19.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, is a global pandemic. It has resulted in considerable morbidity and mortality around the world. The respiratory system is the main system invaded by the virus involved in COVID-19. ⋯ In the paper, we examined the latest relevant studies to investigate the imaging features, potential mechanisms, and treatments of myocardial damage caused by COVID-19. RV damage may be an association between myocardial damage and lung injury in COVID-19. Early assessment of RV geometry and function will be helpful in aetiological determination and adjustment of treatment options.
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Front Cardiovasc Med · Jan 2021
Remote Ischemic Preconditioning to Prevent Acute Kidney Injury After Cardiac Surgery: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
Objective: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the influence of remote ischemic preconditioning (RIPC) on acute kidney injury (AKI) after cardiac surgery showed inconsistent results. We performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy of RIPC on AKI after cardiac surgery. Methods: Relevant studies were obtained by search of PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane's Library databases. ⋯ Results of stratified analysis showed that RIPC significantly reduced the risk of mild-to-moderate AKI that did not require renal replacement therapy (RRT, OR: 0.76, 95% CI: 0.60-0.96, p = 0.02) but did not significantly reduce the risk of severe AKI that required RRT in patients after cardiac surgery (OR: 0.73, 95% CI: 0.50-1.07, p = 0.11). Conclusions: Current evidence supports RIPC as an effective strategy to prevent AKI after cardiac surgery, which seems to be mainly driven by the reduced mild-to-moderate AKI events that did not require RRT. Efforts are needed to determine the influences of patient characteristics, procedure, perioperative drugs, and RIPC protocol on the outcome.
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Front Cardiovasc Med · Jan 2021
The Characteristics, Long-Term Outcomes, Risk Factors, and Antithrombotic Therapy in Chinese Patients With Atrial Fibrillation and Bioprosthetic Valves.
Introduction: There were few data about the clinical profiles and long-term outcomes in Chinese patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and bioprosthetic valves. Methods: The retrospective study enrolled 903 patients with bioprosthetic valve replacement at our hospital and discharged with a diagnosis of AF from January 2010 to December 2018. Results: The median age was 65.6 (61.9-69.1) years, and 548 (60.7%) patients were women. ⋯ The anticoagulation therapy was underused in patients at moderate or high stroke risk. The CHA2DS2-VASc score was verified to be used for predicting stroke risk in this population. The stroke risk dynamically changed; it needed to be reestimated once the risk factor changed.
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Front Cardiovasc Med · Jan 2021
Association of Autism Spectrum Disorder, Neuroticism, and Subjective Well-Being With Cardiovascular Diseases: A Two-Sample Mendelian Randomization Study.
Background: Previous observational studies have reported an association between psychiatric traits and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). In this two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study, we aimed to investigate the causality between psychiatric traits and CVDs. Methods: Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), neuroticism, and subjective well-being at genome-wide significance (P < 1 × 10-8) were identified from genome-wide association studies. ⋯ Consistent results were obtained in sensitivity analyses. Conclusion: This study provided evidence of causal associations of ASD with a higher risk of AF and HF. Besides, neuroticism was casually associated with an increased risk of AF, and subjective well-being was associated with a decreased risk of HF.