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Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California.

Female cardiac patients are at greater risk for mental health disorders than their male counterparts, and these mental health disorders have been associated with increased cardiac morbidity and mortality. However, few studies have closely examined the mental health disorders found among the female cardiac population. The primary aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of psychological distress in a sample of female cardiac outpatients at an academic medical center. Read More

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 19. Epub 2019 Mar 19.

Zena and Michael A. Wiener Cardiovascular Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York. Electronic address:

Limited data on gender differences by ethnicity after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) exist. In this prospective cohort study, we examined gender differences in 1-year outcomes among patients from 4 ethnic groups who underwent PCI from 2010 to 2016 at a tertiary center. The primary outcome was 1-year major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) defined as composite of all-cause death, nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI), or target lesion revascularization. Read More

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 13. Epub 2019 Mar 13.

Internal Medicine (Division of Cardiology), Baylor University Medical Center, Baylor Scott & White Health, Dallas, Texas.

Described herein is a 71-year-old man who at age 61 was found by echocardiogram to have severe mitral regurgitation (MR) from mitral valve prolapse. During the subsequent 9 years the MR progressively lessened as his left ventricular cavity dilated and his ejection fraction progressively fell such that just before orthotopic heart transplantation the degree of MR was no longer severe, and the prolapse of the mitral leaflets had disappeared. This report describes this unique patient. Read More

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 21. Epub 2019 Mar 21.

Shaare Zedek Medical Center, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Jerusalem, Israel.

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Servicio de Cardiología, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, CIBERCV, Madrid, Spain; Universidad Europea, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain. Electronic address:

Interatrial block (IAB) represents a conduction delay between right and left atria and is associated with an increased risk of atrial fibrillation and stroke. IAB has not been previously assessed in patients with Takotsubo syndrome (TS). Our aim was to describe the prevalence and prognostic significance of IAB in patients with TS. Read More

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Westchester Medical Center and New York Medical College, Valhalla, New York.

Older patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) are at higher risk of thromboembolic events and oral anticoagulant (OAC)-related bleeding complications. This meta-analysis evaluates the efficacy and safety of direct-acting OACs (DOACs) compared with warfarin in older patients with nonvalvular AF. PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Central databases were searched for randomized controlled trials assessing the efficacy and safety of DOACs compared with warfarin in AF patients who were >75 years old. Read More

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 19. Epub 2019 Mar 19.

Division of Cardiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Cardiovascular Performance Program, Boston, Massachusetts. Electronic address:

Clinical guidelines advocate for customization of exercise testing to address patient-specific diagnostic goals, including reproduction of presenting exertional symptoms. However, the diagnostic yield of adding customized exercise testing to graded exercise in patients presenting with exertional complaints has not been rigorously examined and is the focus of this study. Using prospectively collected data, we analyzed the diagnostic yield of customized additional exercise provocation following inconclusive graded exercise test with measurement of gas exchange. Read More

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 20. Epub 2019 Mar 20.

Brigham and Women's Hospital Heart and Vascular Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 16. Epub 2019 Mar 16.

Department of Cardiology, Intermountain Heart Institute, Murray, Utah.

Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors, used as a standard intravenous bolus followed by a prolonged infusion for 12 to 18 hours, reduces ischemic complications during percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) but often at a cost of increased bleeding. Today, when dual oral antiplatelet therapy is routine, heparin use plus short-term (bolus alone or with a <6 hours infusion) glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors, or bivalirudin monotherapy, have been proposed as potentially superior alternatives. This observational study evaluated the safety and efficacy of heparin plus short-term tirofiban versus bivalirudin monotherapy during PCI. Read More

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 16. Epub 2019 Mar 16.

Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia. Electronic address:

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 19. Epub 2019 Mar 19.

National University Heart Centre, National University Hospital, Singapore; Cardiovascular Research Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore; Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore. Electronic address:

It is unclear whether universal access to primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI) may reduce sex differences in 1-year rehospitalization for heart failure (HF) and myocardial infarction (MI) after ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). We studied 7,597 consecutive STEMI patients (13.8% women, n = 1,045) who underwent pPCI from January 2007 to December 2013. Read More

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California.

Over 50% of patients who rapidly ascend to extreme altitudes develop various symptoms known as acute mountain sickness (AMS), which rarely can be life threatening. It is unclear why some patients are more susceptible to AMS than others. Our objective was to determine whether patent foramen ovale (PFO) is a risk factor for AMS. Read More

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

University of Texas Health Sciences Center, Houston, Texas; Human Genome Sequence Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas.

We have previously identified associations of 2 circulating secondary bile acids (glycocholenate and glycolithocolate sulfate) with atrial fibrillation (AF) risk in 1,919 blacks in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities cohort. We aimed to replicate these findings in an independent sample of 2,003 white and black Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities participants, and performed a new metabolomic analysis in the combined sample of 3,922 participants, followed between 1987 and 2013. Metabolomic profiling was done in baseline serum samples using gas and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. Read More

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 19. Epub 2019 Mar 19.

Department of Preventive Medicine and Department of Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois. Electronic address:

The CHADS-VASc and HAS-BLED scoring systems are used in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) to estimate risk of stroke and bleeding, respectively. Both were developed in minimally diverse European populations and these scores have not yet been extensively studied in US whites and nonwhites. In a retrospective cohort study, we included patients with AF who received inpatient or outpatient care in a large integrated academic health system from 2011 to 2017. Read More

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 19. Epub 2019 Mar 19.

Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.

Most patients are not able to achieve recommended levels of physical activity following an acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Existing interventions to promote activity have not focused on promoting psychological well-being, which is independently linked to superior cardiac health. To address this gap, we developed and tested a combined positive psychology-motivational interviewing (PP-MI) intervention in post-ACS patients to assess its feasibility and explore potential benefits in an initial randomized trial. Read More

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Department of Cardiology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland. Electronic address:

Genetic testing in survivors of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) with a suspicious cardiac phenotype is considered clinically useful, whereas its value in the absence of phenotype is disputed. We aimed to evaluate the clinical utility of genetic testing in survivors of SCA with or without cardiac phenotype. Sixty unrelated SCA survivors (median age: 34 [interquartile range 20 to 43] years, 82% male) without coronary artery disease were included: 24 (40%) with detectable cardiac phenotype (Ph(+)SCA) after the SCA event and 36 (60%) with no clear cardiac phenotype (Ph(-)SCA). Read More

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 16. Epub 2019 Mar 16.

Liverpool Centre for Cardiovascular Science, University of Liverpool and Liverpool Heart & Chest Hospital, Liverpool, United Kingdom; Aalborg Thrombosis Research Unit, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark.

Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) are recommended to receive oral anticoagulants (OAC) and concomitant antiplatelet agents followed by OAC monotherapy continued beyond a year after PCI. However, long-term prescription patterns of antithrombotic therapy in real-world clinical practice were not fully investigated. From the National Health Insurance Service database of Korea, we obtained records of patients with AF who underwent PCI between 2009 and 2013. Read More

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 16. Epub 2019 Mar 16.

Cardiovascular Division, National Hospital Organization Osaka National Hospital, Osaka, Japan.

Although the presence of chronic total occlusion (CTO) has been associated with long-term mortality in the patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, the influence of having CTO on in-hospital mortality in sudden cardiac arrest (SCA)-acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients has not been reported. Therefore, we examined the association between the presence of CTO and in-hospital mortality in those patients. Consecutive 106 SCA-ACS patients who received coronary angiography were retrospectively included. Read More

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 19. Epub 2019 Mar 19.

Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, State University of New York, Stony Brook University Medical Center, Stony Brook, New York. Electronic address:

There is limited data on postpartum maternal postpartum major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) among women with heart disease (HD) in the US. Therefore, we aimed to determine the prevalence and predictors of MACCE in the US. The Nationwide Readmissions Databases (2010 to 2014) were screened for patients with and without HD undergoing delivery. Read More

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 16. Epub 2019 Mar 16.

Department of Cardiology, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel. Electronic address:

Increased inflammatory response after aortic valve replacement is linked to higher postprocedural mortality. The aim of the present analysis was to assess the impact of baseline statin therapy on procedural outcomes and mortality after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). We performed a retrospective analysis on patients who underwent TAVI stratified to 3 statin therapy groups: high-intensity statin (HIS), low-medium intensity statins, and no statin. Read More

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Brigham and Women's Hospital Heart & Vascular Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts. Electronic address:

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 16. Epub 2019 Mar 16.

Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas.

Depression in adults with congenital heart disease is highly prevalent and strongly associated with adverse prognosis. Better management of risk factors for depression may improve clinical outcomes in this population. We conducted a single-site, cross-sectional study of 78 adults with congenital heart disease followed at Washington University School of Medicine. Read More

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

The Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Heart Disease, Baltimore, Maryland; Department of Medicine, University of Kansas School of Medicine, Wichita, Kansas. Electronic address:

We studied the association between cigarette smoking and incident heart failure (HF) in a racially diverse US cohort. We included 6,792 participants from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis with information on cigarette smoking at baseline, characterized by status, intensity, burden, and time since quitting. Adjudicated outcomes included total incident HF cases and HF stratified by ejection fraction (EF) into HF with reduced EF (HFrEF; EF ≤ 40%) and preserved EF (HFpEF; EF ≥ 50%). Read More

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 13. Epub 2019 Mar 13.

Section of Interventional Cardiology, MedStar Washington Hospital Center, Washington, District of Columbia. Electronic address:

Race has been identified as an independent risk factor for poor prognosis and an independent predictor of survival in coronary artery disease. Race-related dissimilarities have been identified in cardiovascular patients in terms of age of presentation, co-morbidities, socioeconomic status, and treatment approach as well as genetically driven race-related disparities in responsiveness to medications. Antiplatelet therapy represents a fundamental component of therapy in cardiovascular patients, especially in patients presenting with acute coronary syndromes. Read More

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 9. Epub 2019 Mar 9.

Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Iowa, Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa, Iowa. Electronic address:

In the setting of cardiogenic shock (CS), impaired biventricular function can cause acute decrease in renal function via reduced renal perfusion and increased renal venous pressure. We sought to analyze the characteristics and outcomes of patients hospitalized with CS who utilized renal replacement therapy (hemodialysis) for acute kidney injury (AKI-HD). We utilized data from the National Inpatient Sample to calculate national rates of in-hospital mortality, use of temporary mechanical support, vascular injury requiring surgery, length of stay (LOS) and hospitalization cost from 2010 to September 2015. Read More

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 19. Epub 2019 Mar 19.

The Physician Investor Newsletter, Columbia, Missouri. Electronic address:

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Adnan Menderes University Hospital, Aydın, Turkey. Electronic address:

Early impairment of left ventricular (LV) function has been reported in some inherited connective tissue diseases such as Marfan syndrome or rheumatic heart disease in pediatric patients. However, there is no study about cardiac strain in pediatric patients with primary mitral valve prolapse (MVP). The aim of this study was to evaluate the LV functions in pediatric patients with primary MVP, mild or moderate mitral regurgitation (MR), and normal LV ejection fraction. Read More

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Northwestern Memorial Hospital/Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute, Chicago, Illinois.

Insertable cardiac monitors (ICM) are used in patients with suspected or known cardiac arrhythmias; the resulting diagnosis can lead to therapeutic interventions such as a pacemaker (PPM) or defibrillator (ICD) implant. We investigated the incidence of these implants in a large, real-world, cohort of ICM patients. The Optum EHR de-identified database was used to identify patients with cardiovascular diseases, an ICM implant, ≥180days of follow-up before and after ICM implant, and no previous history of a PPM or ICD. Read More

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 13. Epub 2019 Mar 13.

Stanford University, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Stanford, California. Electronic address:

Antiarrhythmic drugs used in atrial fibrillation (AF) cause QT prolongation and are associated with torsades de pointes, a deadly ventricular arrhythmia. No consensus exists on the optimal method of QT measurement or correction in AF. Therefore, we compared common methods to measure and correct QT in AF to identify the most accurate approach. Read More

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 16. Epub 2019 Mar 16.

Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Mayo Clinic Rochester, Minnesota.

Patient with repaired tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) sometimes require cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIED) for tachy/bradyarrhythmias. There are no population-based studies of CIED-related outcomes in the adult TOF population. We reviewed the Nationwide/National Inpatient Sample to determine trends in CIED-related admissions in adults with TOF repair. Read More

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 19. Epub 2019 Mar 19.

Department of Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

It is not clear whether there are differences in aortic dimensions by race. Our hypothesis was that race-specific differences in aortic size exist. We compared the relation between race and aortic dimensions among 15,295 adults without known risk factors for cardiovascular disease or aortic dilatation, who underwent clinically indicated transthoracic echocardiography. Read More

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 9. Epub 2019 Mar 9.

The Zena and Michael A. Wiener Cardiovascular Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York. Electronic address:

Intensive low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) reduction with statins is recommended after elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We aimed to evaluate adherence to guideline-recommended statin therapy (GRST) and the rate of residual cholesterol risk (RCR) at follow-up after elective PCI. All patients who underwent elective PCI between January 2010 and May 2016 were prospectively included in this single-center study. Read More

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 13. Epub 2019 Mar 13.

Department of Internal Medicine (Division of Cardiology), Baylor University Medical Center, Baylor Scott & White Health, Dallas, Texas.

Described herein are certain clinical and cardiac morphologic findings in 4 adults with complete transposition of the great arteries who underwent the Mustard procedure in the newborn period or in childhood and each lived >30years thereafter before either having orthotopic heart transplantation (3 patients) or dying while awaiting orthotopic heart transplantation. Compared with the wall of the left ventricle, the wall of the right ventricle (the systemic one) was much thicker, the myofibers much larger, and either grossly-visible or microscopic-sized scars were present in its wall. Additionally, some intramural coronary arteries in the right ventricular wall were numerous, large, had thick walls, and often narrowed lumens. Read More

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 16. Epub 2019 Mar 16.

Department of Cardiology, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Electronic address:

Risk stratification is the most challenging part in management of patients with Brugada syndrome (BrS). Conduction delay in the right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) is the major mechanism underlying ventricular tachyarrhythmia (VTA) in BrS. However, QRS duration was not useful in stratifying high-risk patients in large registries. Read More

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 14. Epub 2019 Mar 14.

Department of Cardiology, Montefiore Medical Center, New York, USA. Electronic address:

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 15. Epub 2019 Mar 15.

The Physician Investor Newsletter. Electronic address:

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 15. Epub 2019 Mar 15.

Adult Congenital Heart Center, Memorial Healthcare System, Hollywood, Florida.

We aimed to compare New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class in adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) patients with objectively measured cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) parameters. This study included retrospective review of ACHD patients who underwent a CPET between August 2014 and April 2018 at our center. Patients were grouped according to severity of CHD, and NYHA class as recorded in their medical record or estimated from the clinical narrative. Read More

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 8. Epub 2019 Mar 8.

Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of California Davis Health, Sacramento, California.

Predischarge cardiac testing (PDT) in low-risk patients evaluated for acute coronary syndrome in a chest pain unit (CPU) remains a challenge. It is unclear whether PDT varies by gender. We analyzed consecutive low-risk women and men evaluated in our CPU over a 2-year period and compared the utilization of PDT (exercise treadmill test, myocardial stress perfusion scintigraphy, exercise stress echocardiography, invasive coronary angiography, or no test), and incidence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) at 30days and 6 months. Read More

Am J Cardiol 2019 Feb 27. Epub 2019 Feb 27.

Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center of Excellence, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland; Division of Cardiology, Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center of Excellence, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California. Electronic address:

Clinical risk stratification for sudden cardiac death (SCD) in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HC) employs rules derived from American College of Cardiology Foundation/American Heart Association (ACCF/AHA) guidelines or the HCM Risk-SCD model (C-index ∼0.69), which utilize a few clinical variables. We assessed whether data-driven machine learning methods that consider a wider range of variables can effectively identify HC patients with ventricular arrhythmias (VAr) that lead to SCD. Read More

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 9. Epub 2019 Mar 9.

Department of Cardiology, Herlev & Gentofte Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.

The ratio of early mitral inflow velocity (E) to early diastolic strain rate (E/e'sr) is a significant predictor of cardiac outcomes in various patient populations. This study aims to evaluate the predictive value of E/e'sr for heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, and death due to cardiovascular disease following acute coronary syndrome (ACS). In total, 432 ACS patients underwent echocardiography following percutaneous coronary intervention. Read More

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 14. Epub 2019 Mar 14.

Department of Osteopathic Medical Specialties, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan.

Retrospective cohort studies using administrative data from national databases or a registry suggest that there are subcategories of stable patients with acute pulmonary embolism who would show a reduced mortality with an inferior vena cava (IVC) filter in addition to anticoagulants. These subcategories are those who underwent pulmonary embolectomy, receiving thrombolytic therapy, suffering recurrent pulmonary embolism while on treatment, hospitalized with solid malignant tumors if aged >60years, hospitalized with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) if aged >50years, and very elderly (aged >80 years). The following is a review of these studies. Read More

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 19. Epub 2019 Mar 19.

Division of Cardiac Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts. Electronic address:

Sex-based differences in outcomes have been shown to affect caregiving in medical disciplines.Increased spending due to postacute care transfer policies has led hospitals to further scrutinize patient outcomes and disposition patterns after inpatient admissions. We examined sex-based differences in rehabilitative service utilization after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). Read More

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 9. Epub 2019 Mar 9.

Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Heart and Vascular Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio. Electronic address:

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is an important cause of myocardial infarction and sudden cardiac death, particularly in young to middle-aged women. Coronary vasospasm is another condition believed to be associated with SCAD; however, this has only been shown in isolated case reports to date. We sought to examine the association of SCAD and coronary vasospasm by reporting the experience of coronary vasospasm testing in patients with a history of previous SCAD in a large, tertiary referral center. Read More

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 8. Epub 2019 Mar 8.

Amgen, Inc., Thousand Oaks, California.

This study describes subsequent cardiovascular events and deaths by low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) level in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) receiving moderate- to high-intensity statins. Olmsted County, Minnesota residents with index ASCVD (myocardial infarction, unstable angina, coronary revascularization, ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack) occurring between 2005 and 2012 were identified, and those with a prescription for a moderate- or high-intensity statin and an LDL-C measurement in the 90days after index were included. Cox regression models were used to examine associations between LDL-C, modeled as a time-dependent variable, and a composite outcome of subsequent cardiovascular events or all-cause death. Read More

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 9. Epub 2019 Mar 9.

Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, Missouri.

Previous studies have reported that peak serum troponin I levels were disproportionately elevated in patients with acute anterior ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy (LVH) compared with those with normal LV mass. The purpose of this retrospective study was to assess the relation of peak serum troponin T levels in patients with normal LV mass and in subjects with mild, moderate, and severe LVH in patients with acute STEMI or non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) when stratified on variables that might be expected to affect serum troponin T levels. The study population consisted of 262 patients; 91 with STEMI and 161 with NSTEMI. Read More

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 9. Epub 2019 Mar 9.

Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan. Electronic address:

The clinical outcomes of drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation after rotational atherectomy (RA) for complex left main coronary artery (LMCA) bifurcation lesions remain unclear. Among 1,809 patients retrospectively enrolled in the Assessing Optimal percutaneous coronary Intervention for LMCA Registry, we identified 1,199 patients with LMCA bifurcation lesions treated by crossover stenting with DES for the main vessel. The study population was divided according to the use of RA. Read More

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 8. Epub 2019 Mar 8.

Division of Cardiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. Electronic address:

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is increasingly being recognized. However, data supporting diagnosis and management are scarce. We analyze a contemporary and comprehensive SCAD registry to advance the understanding of SCAD risk factors, angiographic appearance, and gender differences. Read More

Am J Cardiol 2019 Feb 28. Epub 2019 Feb 28.

Department of Internal Medicine, Division of cardiovascular medicine, Roy and Lucille J. Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, Iowa; Comprehensive Access and Delivery Research and Evaluation Center (CADRE), Iowa City VA Medical Center, Iowa City, Iowa. Electronic address:

Heart failure (HF) increases stroke risk in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients. Differential impact of HF category on thromboembolic and bleeding risk in AF patients on oral anticoagulation (OAC) is unknown. We used Medicare data for beneficiaries with new AF diagnosed between 2011 and 2013 to identify patients with HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), and no HF. Read More

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 8. Epub 2019 Mar 8.

Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.

Although reduced testosterone levels are common in aging populations, the clinical consequences remain to be further explored. We examined whether low total testosterone levels are associated with stroke (ischemic and hemorrhagic), myocardial infarction (MI), venous thromboembolism (VTE), and all-cause mortality in adult men. We conducted a cohort study in the Central Denmark Region (2000 to 2015). Read More

Am J Cardiol 2019 Mar 13. Epub 2019 Mar 13.

Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Washington, District of Columbia; George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia; University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama. Electronic address:

Heart failure (HF) is the leading cause for 30-day all-cause readmission in older Medicare beneficiaries and 30-day all-cause readmission is associated with a higher risk of mortality. In the current analysis, we examined if that association varied by timing of 30-day all-cause readmission. Of the 8,049 Medicare beneficiaries hospitalized for HF, 1,688 had 30-day all-cause readmissions, of whom 1,519 were alive at 30 days. Read More