Post-Discharge Prophylaxis With #Rivaroxaban Reduces Fatal and Major #Thromboembolic Events in Medically Ill Patients

Hospitalized acutely ill medical patients are at risk for fatal and major thromboembolic events. Whether use of extended-duration primary thromboprophylaxis can prevent such events is unknown.. ..Medically ill patients with a baseline creatinine clearance ≥50 ml/min were randomized in a double-blind fashion to rivaroxaban 10 mg or placebo daily at hospital discharge for 45 days.… Continue reading Post-Discharge Prophylaxis With #Rivaroxaban Reduces Fatal and Major #Thromboembolic Events in Medically Ill Patients

Echocardiographic Characterization of Female Professional Basketball Players in the US

..Echocardiographic variables included left ventricular (LV) dimensions, wall thickness, mass, prevalence of LV hypertrophy, aortic dimensions, right ventricular (RV) dimension, and right and left atrial size. Linear regression was used to assess the associations between cardiac structure and function with body size quantified as body surface area (BSA) in the primary analysis. Results A total… Continue reading Echocardiographic Characterization of Female Professional Basketball Players in the US

Greater T Regulatory Cells in Females Attenuate DOCA-Salt–Induced Increases in Blood Pressure Versus Males

Hypertension is the most common risk factor for cardiovascular disease, causing over 18 million deaths a year. Although the mechanisms controlling blood pressure (BP) in either sex remain largely unknown, T cells play a critical role in the development of hypertension. Further evidence supports a role for the immune system in contributing to sex differences… Continue reading Greater T Regulatory Cells in Females Attenuate DOCA-Salt–Induced Increases in Blood Pressure Versus Males

Left Atrial Appendage Closure Versus Direct Oral Anticoagulants in High-Risk Patients With Atrial Fibrillation

Percutaneous left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) is noninferior to vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) for preventing atrial fibrillation (AF)–related stroke. However, direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) have an improved safety profile over VKAs, and their effect on cardiovascular and neurological outcomes relative to LAAC is unknown.. A high-risk patient cohort (CHA2DS2-VASc: 4.7 ± 1.5) was randomized to… Continue reading Left Atrial Appendage Closure Versus Direct Oral Anticoagulants in High-Risk Patients With Atrial Fibrillation

Frequent Coffee Consumption is Associated with Lower Incidence of Arrhythmias

..The study reviewed coffee intake information and relevant data for 296,227 participants in the UK Biobank. The mean age of participants was 56.69 ± 7.98 and 51.6 percent of participants were female. Investigators used multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis to test the association between coffee consumption and arrhythmia risk and plotted a Kaplan- Meier… Continue reading Frequent Coffee Consumption is Associated with Lower Incidence of Arrhythmias

Association of Azithromycin Use With Cardiovascular Mortality

Azithromycin is one of the most commonly prescribed antibiotics in the US. It has been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular death in some observational studies.. ..The study included 7 824 681 antibiotic exposures, including 1 736 976 azithromycin exposures (22.2%) and 6 087 705 amoxicillin exposures (77.8%), among 2 929 008 unique individuals (mean [SD] age, 50.7 [12.3] years; 1 810 127 [61.8%]… Continue reading Association of Azithromycin Use With Cardiovascular Mortality

Antihypertensive Treatment in Elderly Frail Patients Evidence From a Large Italian Database

Aim of our study was to assess the relationship between adherence with antihypertensive drugs and the risk of death in frail versus nonfrail old individuals. Using the database of the Lombardy Region (Italy), we identified 1 283 602 residents aged ≥65 years (mean age 76) who had ≥3 prescriptions of antihypertensive drugs between 2011 and… Continue reading Antihypertensive Treatment in Elderly Frail Patients Evidence From a Large Italian Database

Association of Normal Systolic Blood Pressure Level With Cardiovascular Disease in the Absence of Risk Factors

The risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) at currently defined normal systolic blood pressure (SBP) levels in persons without ASCVD risk factors based on current definitions is not well defined.. Of the 1457 participants, 894 were women (61.4%); mean (SD) age was 58.1 (9.8) years and mean (SD) follow-up was 14.5 (3.9) years. There was… Continue reading Association of Normal Systolic Blood Pressure Level With Cardiovascular Disease in the Absence of Risk Factors

Atrial Cardiopathy in the Absence of Atrial Fibrillation Increases Risk of Ischemic Stroke, Incident Atrial Fibrillation, and Mortality and Improves Stroke Risk Prediction

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a major, often undetected, cardiac cause of stroke. Markers of atrial cardiopathy, including left atrial enlargement (LAE) or excessive atrial ectopy (EAE) increase the risk of AF and have shown associations with stroke. We sought to determine whether these markers improve stroke risk prediction beyond traditional vascular risk factors (eg CHA2DS2‐VASc… Continue reading Atrial Cardiopathy in the Absence of Atrial Fibrillation Increases Risk of Ischemic Stroke, Incident Atrial Fibrillation, and Mortality and Improves Stroke Risk Prediction