Sex differences in the prognosis of nonsustained ventricular tachycardia detected on Holter recording.

Background: Nonsustained ventricular tachycardia (NSVT) is a common finding during cardiac evaluation and has been linked to increased mortality. While some studies report a sex difference, most data stem from research cohorts.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the prognostic significance of NSVT in a real-life outpatient clinic, focusing on sex differences in mortality.

Stereotactic body radiotherapy as metastasis-directed therapy in oligometastatic prostate cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Background: The use of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) to definitively treat oligometastases in prostate cancer has drawn large clinical and research interests within radiation oncology. However, the evidence is considered in its early stages and there is currently no systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in this field. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of SBRT as metastasis-directed therapy (MDT) in oligometastatic prostate cancer (OMPC) compared to no MDT reported in RCTs.

Resilience of Juvenile Freshwater Pearl Mussels to Thermal Stress.

Climate change poses a significant threat to freshwater ecosystems by causing increases of average water temperatures, and more frequent and extreme heating events. Freshwater mussels are declining globally, and the distribution of the freshwater pearl mussel () has decreased dramatically over the past century. Even though it is likely that climate change is contributing to the decline of the species, little is known about the specific mechanisms involved.

Ischemic stroke and the emerging role of left atrial function.

Introduction: Ischemic stroke is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Emerging evidence suggests that left atrial (LA) dysfunction could play a role in the pathophysiology of ischemic stroke, as a possible contributor and as a predictive biomarker.

Areas Covered: This narrative review details the intricate relationship between LA function, atrial fibrillation (AF), and ischemic stroke.

Global health burden and cost of lead exposure in children and adults: a health impact and economic modelling analysis.

Background: Lead exposure is a worldwide health risk despite substantial declines in blood lead levels following the leaded gasoline phase-out. For the first time, to our knowledge, we aimed to estimate the global burden and cost of intelligence quotient (IQ) loss and cardiovascular disease mortality from lead exposure.

Methods: In this modelling study, we used country blood lead level estimates from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019.

Left atrial late gadolinium enhancement in patients with ischaemic stroke.

Aims: To evaluate the extent of left atrial (LA) fibrosis in patients with a recent stroke without atrial fibrillation and controls without established cardiovascular disease.

Methods And Results: This prospectively designed study used cardiac magnetic resonance to detect LA late gadolinium enhancement as a proxy for LA fibrosis. Between 2019 and 2021, we consecutively included 100 patients free of atrial fibrillation with recent ischaemic stroke (<30 days) and 50 age- and sex-matched controls.

Regulatory Considerations Toward Orphan Drug Designation and Orphan Drug Exclusivity in the United States and European Union: Structural Similarity, Clinical Superiority/Significant Benefit, and Case Studies.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and European Commission have developed successful orphan drug legislation to promote the research, development, and marketing approval of drugs to treat rare diseases.

Parasympathetic tonus in type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes and its clinical implications.

Autonomic imbalance reflected by higher resting heart rate and reduced parasympathetic tone may be driven by low-grade inflammation (LGI) and impaired glycemic control in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and pre-diabetes. We examined the interaction of parasympathetic components of heart rate variability (HRV), variables of LGI, and glucose metabolism in people with T2DM, pre-diabetes, and normal glucose metabolism (NGM). We recorded HRV by Holter (48 h) in 633 community-dwelling people of whom T2DM n = 131, pre-diabetes n = 372, and NGM n = 130 and mean HbA1c of 7.

Left Atrial Volumes and Function, and Long-Term Incidence of Ischemic Stroke in the General Population.

Background Left atrial (LA) volumes and emptying fraction in the general population may address structural and functional aspects of atrial cardiomyopathy associated with long-term risk of ischemic stroke in the absence of atrial fibrillation or prior stroke. We investigated the association between LA volumes and function and ischemic stroke. Methods and Results In a community-based cohort, we measured LA minimal volume, LA maximal volume, and LA emptying fraction by transthoracic echocardiography.

Atrial cardiomyopathy in patients with ischaemic stroke: a cross-sectional and prospective cohort study-the COAST study.

Introduction: Despite workup for the aetiology of ischaemic stroke, about 25% of cases remain unexplained. Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation is typically suspected but often not detected. Even if atrial fibrillation (AF) is detected, the quantitative threshold of clinically relevant AF remains unclear.

Exploring Norwegian prison frontline workers' perceptions of inter professional collaboration - a pilot study.

Purpose: Interprofessional collaboration is necessary for handling the complex psychosocial needs of prisoners. This collaboration must be addressed to avoid high recidivism rates and the human and societal costs linked to them. Challenges are exacerbated by a linear approach to handling prisoners' problems, silo working between welfare agencies and professional boundaries between frontline workers.

Are Prolonged Ventricular Pauses in Atrial Fibrillation a Marker of Poor Prognosis?

Background: In patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), the long-term prognosis of long electrocardiographic pauses in the ventricular action is not well studied.

Methods: Consecutive Holter recordings in patients with AF (n = 200) between 2009 and 2011 were evaluated, focusing on pauses of at least 2.5 s.

Excessive supraventricular ectopic activity and risk of incident atrial fibrillation in a consecutive population referred to ambulatory cardiac monitoring.

Background: Excessive supraventricular ectopic activity (ESVEA), defined as ≥720 premature atrial contractions (PAC) per day or any runs of ≥20 PACs, has been proposed as a surrogate marker for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF).

Objective: We aimed to estimate the prognostic impact of ESVEA on the future development of PAF in consecutive patients referred to ambulatory cardiac monitoring.

Methods: The cohort consists of a population with comorbidities referred to 48-hour ambulatory electrocardiogram aged 30-98 (n = 1316) between 2009 and 2011.

Higher mortality of the less suitable brown trout host compared to the principal Atlantic salmon host when infested with freshwater pearl mussel (Margaritifera margaritifera) glochidia.

The freshwater pearl mussel (Margaritifera margaritifera) is a highly host-specific parasite, with an obligate parasitic stage on salmonid fish. Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and brown trout (Salmo trutta f. trutta and Salmo trutta f.

Night-time heart rate variability identifies high-risk people among people with uncomplicated type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Background: Low heart rate variability (HRV) reflects cardiac autonomic neuropathy, which is associated with increased cardiovascular mortality in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Measuring HRV is challenged by environmental noise, mental stress and physical activity during daytime. Night-time HRV during sleep may be a more valid tool to measure cardiac autonomic neuropathy and therefore may improve prediction of cardiovascular (CV) events in low-risk people with T2DM.

P-wave indices as predictors of atrial fibrillation.

Background: P-wave duration (P ) and P-wave area (P ) have been linked to risk of atrial fibrillation (AF), but they do not improve the efficacy of Framingham AF risk score. We suggest the incorporation of both variables in one index, the P-wave area/P-wave duration (P ) index, which may be considered an expression of the average amplitude of the P wave that reflects aspects of P-wave morphology.

Objective: To assess the prognostic value of P-wave area/P-wave duration index (P index) in lead II together with other P-wave indices (PWIs) in incidence of AF in the Copenhagen Holter Study.

A conceptual model on reintegration after prison in Norway.

Purpose: Many offenders struggle when attempting to reintegrate into society after release from prison, and the conditions they face after release often lead to reoffending. The purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual model on reintegration after prison. The model has the potential to guide practitioners in their understanding of the relationships between welfare services and the agency of the offender.

Host specificity drives genetic structure in a freshwater mussel.

Parasites often depend on their hosts for long distance transport, and genetic population structure can be strongly affected by host specificity and dispersal. Freshwater pearl mussel (Margaritifera margaritifera) populations have previously been found to naturally infest either primarily Atlantic salmon ('salmon-mussel') or exclusively brown trout ('trout-mussel') across a wide geographic range. Here, we experimentally test whether this intraspecific variation in natural infestation can be explained by host specificity in freshwater pearl mussel.

Common source of miscalculation and misclassification of P-wave negativity and P-wave terminal force in lead V1.

Background: P-wave terminal force (PTF) > 4000 ms·μV and deep terminal negativity (DTN) are ECG markers of left atrial abnormality associated with both atrial fibrillation and stroke. When the precordial lead V1 is placed higher than the correct position in the fourth intercostal space, it may cause increased PTF and DTN. Several studies have documented that electrode misplacement, especially high placement, is common.

High levels of multiple paternity in a spermcast mating freshwater mussel.

Multiple paternity is an important characteristic of the genetic mating system and common across a wide range of taxa. Multiple paternity can increase within-population genotypic diversity, allowing selection to act on a wider spectre of genotypes, and potentially increasing effective population size. While the genetic mating system has been studied in many species with active mating behavior, little is known about multiple paternity in sessile species releasing gametes into the water.

The potential influence of Atlantic salmon and brown trout on density and breeding of the white-throated dipper .

Interactions between birds and fish are often overlooked in aquatic ecosystems. We studied the influence of Atlantic salmon and brown trout on the breeding population size and reproductive output of the white-throated dipper in a Norwegian river. Acidic precipitation led to the extinction of salmon, but salmon recolonized after liming was initiated in 1991.

Mild Hypokalemia and Supraventricular Ectopy Increases the Risk of Stroke in Community-Dwelling Subjects.

Background And Purpose: Stroke is independently associated with the common conditions of hypokalemia and supraventricular ectopy, and we hypothesize that the combination of excessive supraventricular ectopic activity and hypokalemia has a synergistic impact on the prognosis in terms of stroke in the general population.

Methods: Subjects (55-75 years old) from the Copenhagen Holter Study cohort (N=671) with no history of atrial fibrillation or stroke were studied-including baseline values of potassium and ambulatory 48-hour Holter monitoring. Excessive supraventricular ectopic activity is defined as ≥30 premature atrial complexes per hour or any episodes of runs of ≥20.

Effects of Liraglutide on Heart Rate and Heart Rate Variability: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Crossover Study.

Objective: Reduced heart rate variability (HRV) and increased heart rate (HR) have been associated with cardiovascular mortality. Glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) increase HR, and studies have suggested that they may reduce HRV. We examined the effect of the GLP-1 RA liraglutide on HRV and diurnal variation of HR in overweight patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes (T2D) and stable coronary artery disease (CAD).