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The incidence and predictive value of abnormal liver function tests (LFTs) in patients with acute decompensated heart failure is poorly understood. Thus, these investigators from the SURVIVE study report their experience in patients with acute decompensated heart failure due to systolic dysfunction treated with positive inotropic infusions
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The Get with the Guidelines-Resuscitation registry is a large, prospective registry of in-hospital cardiac arrests that analyzes data to promote quality improvement. In this paper, Chan and colleagues report the long-term outcomes in Medicare-age patients who suffered an in-hospital cardiac arrest and survived to discharge.
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Transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) and minor strokes are often the harbingers of a large, debilitating stroke. Approximately 10% of patients experiencing a TIA will go on to have a large stroke within the next 3 months.
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Young athletes with an inherited arrhythmia syndrome, such as long QT syndrome (LQTS) or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), may undergo implantation of an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) if they are believed to be at high risk of sudden death. American College of Cardiology (ACC) guidelines have typically recommended that such individuals should be prohibited from vigorous sports. Yet for many young athletes, prohibition of participation in any competitive sport may be a life-altering event, followed by poor grades or depression.
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Elevated troponin levels after non-cardiac surgery have been shown to predict postoperative myocardial infarction (MI) and death. Thus, these investigators from the Netherlands instituted a postoperative troponin monitoring program at one hospital to test the hypothesis that troponin elevations in the first 3 days after surgery would predict 30-day mortality after non-cardiac surgery.
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Atrial septal defects (ASD) can lead to exercise intolerance, pulmonary hypertension, right heart failure, and reduced life expectancy if they are not repaired. Surgical closure for ASD transformed the care of these patients and resulted in similar life expectancy to subjects without ASD. In recent years, transcatheter ASD closure has largely replaced surgery, but long-term data comparing the two techniques are limited.
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The relationship between patients' prognosis and age in decisions regarding implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) therapy in the primary prevention of sudden death in heart failure patients is poorly understood and not addressed in randomized device trials. Thus, Dewland and colleagues created a survey that was sent to 3000 randomly selected primary care physicians and general cardiologists nationwide.
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Heart failure (HF) is associated with a high mortality rate, debilitating symptoms, impaired quality of life, and major financial costs.
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Dabigatran etexilate, a direct thrombin inhibitor, is one of a new class of oral anticoagulants that was recently demonstrated in a Phase 3 trial to be effective for the prevention of stroke or systemic embolism (SSE) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF).
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