Publications by authors named "Ashraf Haleh"

Background: Acute heart failure is a common clinical syndrome leading to hospital admission, with few evidence-based therapies for managing congestion. This trial aims to assess the efficacy of acetazolamide combined with loop diuretics in achieving decongestion among patients who fail to respond to oral diuretics and progress to acute decompensated heart failure in the absence of injectable furosemide.

Methods: This single-center, double-blind randomized controlled trial with a 1:1 allocation ratio aims to evaluate 130 patients admitted to the infusion ward.

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Background: This study sought to determine the accuracy of several anthropometric parameters in association with serum Vit. D concentrations and to compare the novel indices with the conventional ones.

Methods: A total of 947 individuals referred to the cardiology clinic who have not used statin or take low-dose statin were evaluated through a cross-sectional study.

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Background: Integration of artificial intelligence enhances precision, yielding dependable evaluations of left ventricular volumes and ejection fraction despite image quality variations. Commercial software like HeartModel provides fully automated 3DE quantification, simplifying the measurement of left chamber volumes and ejection fraction. In this manuscript, we present a cross-sectional study to assess and compare the diagnostic accuracy of automated 3D echocardiography (HeartModel) to the standard Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy.

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Background And Aims: This study examines the relationships between epicardial adipose tissue (EAT), nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and coronary artery calcium score (CACS) using non-ECG-gated CT scans. It aims to determine the effectiveness of EAT measurements and NAFLD as predictors for coronary artery disease (CAD).

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at a specialized center, focusing on individuals who underwent non-ECG-gated chest CT scans without contrast.

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Purpose Of Review: Marital quality (MQ) is a psychosocial factor that has been neglected in cardiovascular prevention guidelines, although its association with cardiovascular diseases has been identified in several studies. Therefore, we aim to investigate how MQ either in positive or negative dimensions affect different cardiovascular risk factors and diseases.

Recent Findings: We systematically searched different databases in September 2023 for longitudinal studies conducted to assess the contribution of MQ to well-established cardiovascular risk factors and diseases.

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Introduction: Reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) is a well-known predictor of adverse events after cardiac surgery. We aimed to assess the outcomes in patients with low LVEF undergoing coronary artery bypass graft.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort, we included all patients with left ventricular ejection fraction ≤ 40 who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting between March 2007 and March 2016 (with a median follow-up of nine years) at Tehran Heart Center.

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Different interventions have been evaluated for the treatment of depression in heart failure (HF) patients. However, clear and established recommendations are lacking. PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were systematically searched for randomized controlled trials (RCT) evaluating the effect of various treatment options on depression scores in heart failure patients.

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Objectives: Using the cardiac surgery database is of high importance in referral centers and can lead to a better quality of care for patients. Tehran Heart Center (THC) is a cardiovascular referral center that was inaugurated in 2001. In this report, we aimed to present the third report of trends in patients' cardiovascular risk factors and surgical procedures from 2002 to 2021 that have been gathered for all THC patients.

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Background: Unlike diabetes, the effect of prediabetes on outcomes in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is not much investigated. We investigated the association between fasting glycemic status and major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) in patients with ACS undergoing PCI and had mid to long-term follow-up after coronary stenting.

Methods: Registry-based retrospective cohort study included ACS patients who underwent PCI at the Tehran Heart Center from 2015 to 2021 with a median follow-up of 378 days.

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Introduction: Detection of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) is crucial for secondary prevention in patients with recent strokes of unknown etiology. This systematic review and meta-analysis assess the predictive power of available risk scores for detecting new PAF after acute ischemic stroke (AIS).

Methods: PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were searched until September 2023 to identify relevant studies.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study focuses on identifying factors that predict in-hospital and long-term mortality in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).
  • Analyzing data from 1,123 patients, researchers found that older age, lower ejection fraction, lower mean arterial pressure, and higher white blood cell count were linked to higher in-hospital mortality rates, while older age and lower mean arterial pressure, along with higher blood urea, predicted long-term mortality.
  • The findings highlight the need for enhanced care and monitoring of STEMI patients, particularly those at greater risk due to age and blood pressure levels.
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Background: Epidemiologic research suggests that gut microbiota alteration (dysbiosis) may play a role in the pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome (MetS). Dysbiosis can influence Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) a gut microbiota-derived metabolite, as well as kynurenine pathways (KP), which are known as a new marker for an early predictor of chronic diseases. Hence, the current study aimed to investigate the association between KYN and TMAO with MetS and its components.

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Background: The present study aimed to investigate the association between acute cardiac injury (ACI) and outcomes in hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Iran.

Methods: The current cohort study enrolled all consecutive hospitalized patients with COVID-19 (≥ 18 y) who had serum high-sensitivity cardiac troponin-I (hs-cTnT) measurements on admission between March 2020 and March 2021. ACI was determined as hs-cTnT levels exceeding the 99th percentile of normal values.

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Background: Previous studies have shown that the intake of nitrate and nitrite may be associated with cardiovascular disease. Therefore, this study sought to investigate the association between dietary intakes of nitrate and nitrite with the odds of angina and atherogenic index in adults.

Methods: The study analyzed 1182 adults aged 20+ in the Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) Employee's Cohort study (TEC), focusing on dietary intakes, angina, and atherogenic indexes, using a validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and the Rose Angina Questionnaire (RAQ).

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Data on substituting one antihypertensive medication with the proper dose of another antihypertensive medication, in certain medical conditions, are scarce. Herein, we present the results of replacing angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) or angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) with the calcium channel blocker (CCB) amlodipine, with or without the alpha- and beta-blocker carvedilol, to control high blood pressure in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Iranian hypertensive patients with COVID-19 and a history of taking ACEI or ARB were randomized to "continue" and "change" groups.

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Introduction: This study aimed to investigate the clinical and angiographic characteristics of patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction who experienced primary percutaneous coronary intervention failure.

Method: This retrospective observational study was derived from the Primary Angioplasty Registry of Sina Hospital (PARS). A total of 548 consecutive patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction who underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention between November 2016 and January 2019 were evaluated.

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Article Synopsis
  • Tobacco use is a significant health issue globally, particularly in low/middle-income countries, and a study was conducted in Tehran, Iran to evaluate the prevalence of different forms of tobacco use among 8,272 participants.
  • The findings revealed that 19.8% were current tobacco users, with higher rates among younger individuals and men, and identified that education level, body mass index, physical activity, and use of opium and alcohol were associated with higher tobacco use.
  • The study highlights the need for targeted interventions in Tehran to address the high prevalence of tobacco use, noting specific risk factors and the differing patterns of use between genders.
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Since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the use of angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) in hypertensive patients with COVID-19 has been controversial. Following our previous study, after one year, we intended to extend our sample size and results to investigate the effects of ARBs with both in-hospital outcomes and 7-month follow-up results in patients with COVID-19. Patients with a diagnosis of COVID-19 who were admitted to Sina Hospital, Tehran, Iran, from February to October 2020 participated in this follow-up cohort study.

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The 2022 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association/Heart Failure Society of America (ACC/AHA/HFSA) and the 2021 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) both provide evidence-based guides for the diagnosis and treatment of heart failure (HF). In this review, we aimed to compare recommendations suggested by these guidelines highlighting the differences and latest evidence mentioned in each of the guidelines. While the staging of HF depends on left ventricular ejection fraction, the Universal Definition of HF, suggested in 2021, is described in 2022 ACC/AHA/HFSA guidelines.

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Purpose: Novel anthropometric measures are simple, applicable, and inexpensive tools for cardiovascular risk assessment. This study evaluates the association of lipid accumulation product (LAP) with hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and all-cause mortality, and compares it with other anthropometric measures.

Methods: PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Scopus were systematically searched for articles published until May 15, 2021.

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Purpose: To investigate the clinical and echocardiographic predictors of echocardiographic super-response to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) in heart failure patients.

Methods: We retrospectively collected data from 97 patients, who underwent CRT and were followed up (median time = 20.33 months).

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Background: Since the introduction of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) to improve left ventricular function, the effect of CRT on the right ventricle in patients with heart failure has not been well described.

Methods: We evaluated the effect of CRT on right ventricular systolic function in 20 patients (80% men; mean [SD] age, 58.5 [9.

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Introduction: Metabolic syndrome comprises a set of metabolic risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Zinc plays an essential role in numerous enzyme functions that may be associated with metabolic dysfunctions. The relationship between serum zinc levels and metabolic syndrome in adolescents has not been specifically studied.

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Background: Heart transplantation has been considered the gold-standard treatment for patients with end-stage heart failure. This study assessed the survival outcomes of marginal donor hearts compared with ideal donor hearts in Iran.

Methods: This retrospective study is based on the follow-up data of heart donors and recipients in the Sina Hospital Organ Procurement Unit.

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