Publications by authors named "Barry Reicher"

Article Synopsis
  • Wearable accelerometers provide a way to continuously monitor physical activity in patients with heart failure, which could be useful for assessing treatment effects.
  • In the DETERMINE trials, a subgroup of patients wore accelerometers at different points while also completing questionnaires and walking tests to evaluate their functional status.
  • Results showed that lower activity levels were associated with worse health scores and measures, but overall, the relationships between accelerometer data and health assessments were generally weak, suggesting accelerometers could offer additional insights beyond traditional methods.
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Article Synopsis
  • - The study aimed to identify what changes in neuropathic impairment and quality of life (QoL) are important to patients with hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis and to evaluate if the drug eplontersen provides significant improvements compared to a placebo.
  • - Researchers used data from the NEURO-TTRansform trial and various scoring systems to determine thresholds for meaningful differences, finding that eplontersen led to improvements that exceeded these thresholds in neuropathy, QoL, and nutrition measurements.
  • - Results showed eplontersen provided significant clinical benefits, suggesting that these findings could influence future clinical practices and trials regarding treatment effectiveness for patients with this condition.
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Article Synopsis
  • Wearable accelerometers can measure physical activity levels and provide additional insights into how heart failure therapies, like dapagliflozin, impact patients' functional limitations.
  • In a study involving heart failure patients, accelerometers were worn to track various activity metrics during trial phases, focusing on changes from baseline to week 16.
  • Results showed that dapagliflozin positively influenced the number of steps and time spent in moderate-to-vigorous activity, though it did not enhance the 6-minute walk test distance, highlighting the usefulness of accelerometer data for assessing everyday physical activity.
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Background: Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors reduce the risk of worsening heart failure (HF) and cardiovascular death in patients with HF irrespective of left ventricular ejection fraction. It is important to determine whether therapies for HF improve symptoms and functional capacity.

Methods: The DETERMINE (Dapagliflozin Effect on Exercise Capacity Using a 6-Minute Walk Test in Patients With Heart Failure) double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trials assessed the efficacy of the sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor dapagliflozin on the Total Symptom Score (TSS) and Physical Limitation Scale (PLS) of the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ) and 6-minute walk distance (6MWD) in 313 patients with HF with reduced ejection fraction (DETERMINE-Reduced) and in 504 patients with HF with preserved ejection fraction (DETERMINE-Preserved) with New York Heart Association class II or III symptoms and elevated natriuretic peptide levels.

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Background: Once-weekly exenatide (EQW) had a neutral effect on hospitalization for heart failure (HHF) in the EXSCEL study (Exenatide Study of Cardiovascular Event Lowering), with no differential treatment effect on major adverse cardiac events by baseline heart failure (HF) status. EQW's effects on secondary end points based on HHF status have not been reported. The objective was to explore the effects of EQW on secondary end points in patients with and without baseline HF and test the effects of EQW on recurrent HHF events.

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Background In the EXSCEL (Exenatide Study of Cardiovascular Event Lowering), exenatide once-weekly resulted in a nonsignificant reduction in major adverse cardiovascular events ( MACEs ) and a nominal 14% reduction in all-cause mortality in 14 752 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2 DM ) with and without cardiovascular disease. Whether patients at increased risk for events experienced a comparatively greater treatment benefit with exenatide is unknown. Methods and Results In the EXSCEL population, we created risk scores for MACEs and all-cause mortality using step-wise selection of baseline characteristics.

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Development of robotic technology has enabled totally endoscopic coronary artery bypass grafting (TECAB) procedures. With complete preservation of sternal and thoracic stability, this operation would be an interesting option for obese patients, who are known to be at higher risk for deep sternal wound infection. We describe a case of successful totally endoscopic left internal mammary artery to left anterior descending artery bypass grafting using the da Vinci telemanipulation system in a patient who was morbidly obese.

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Background: Minimally invasive coronary artery bypass grafting (miniCABG) decreases in-hospital morbidity versus traditional sternotomy CABG. We performed a prospective cohort study (NCT00481806) to assess the impact of miniCABG on costs and metrics that influence quality of life after hospital discharge.

Methods: One hundred consecutive miniCABG cases performed using internal mammary artery (IMA) grafting +/- coronary stenting were compared with a matched group of 100 sternotomy CABG patients using IMA and saphenous veins, both treating equivalent number of target coronaries (2.

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Surgical and percutaneous coronary artery intervention revascularization are traditionally considered isolated options. A simultaneous hybrid approach may allow an opportunity to match the best strategy for a particular anatomic lesion. Concerns regarding safety and feasibility of such an approach exist.

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Objectives: Less-invasive options are available for surgical treatment of multivessel coronary artery disease. We hypothesized that stenting combined with grafting of the left anterior descending artery with the left internal thoracic artery through a minithoracotomy (hybrid procedure) would provide the best outcome.

Methods: Patients with equivalent numbers of coronary lesions (2.

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Percutaneous revascularization strategies for bifurcation disease of the left main are complex and carry significant risk. These risks are magnified in the setting of a left main which trifurcates. In a patient with complex ostial disease of two of the three limbs of a left main trifurcation, turned down for conventional bypass surgery, we report on a hybrid approach for complete revascularization, consisting of minimally invasive bypass grafting of the LAD combined with simultaneous drug eluting stent placement.

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