Hearing Loss and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Profiles: Data from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos.

Background:  Individual cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors (RFs) have been associated with hearing loss (HL). The relationship to aggregate risk is poorly understood and has not been explored in the Hispanic/Latino population.

Purpose:  The aim of this study was to characterize the association between aggregate CVD RF burden and hearing among Hispanics/Latinos.

Delivery of Automated External Defibrillators via Drones in Simulated Cardiac Arrest: Users' Experiences and the Human-Drone Interaction.

Background: Survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in the United States is approximately 10%. Automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) are effective when applied early, yet public access AEDs are used in <2% of OHCAs. AEDs are often challenging for bystanders to locate and are rarely available in homes, where 70% of OHCAs occur.

Coronary Artery Disease and Atherosclerotic Risk Factors in a Population-Based Study of Sudden Death.

Background: Sudden death is a public health problem with major impact on society. Coronary artery disease (CAD) is believed to underlie 60-80% of these deaths. While deaths from CAD have decreased in the recent decades, sudden death rates remain unacceptably high.

The Case for Drone-assisted Emergency Response to Cardiac Arrest: An Optimized Statewide Deployment Approach.

Despite evidence linking rapid defibrillation to out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) survival, bystander use of automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) remains low, due in part to AED placement and accessibility. AED-equipped drones may improve time-to-defibrillation, yet the benefits and costs are unknown. We designed drone deployment networks for the state of North Carolina using mathematical optimization models to select drone stations from existing infrastructure by specifying the number of stations and the targeted AED arrival time.

Years of Life and Productivity Loss Because of Adult Sudden Unexpected Death in the United States.

Background: Few studies have evaluated the years of life lost (YLL) and productivity loss due to sudden unexpected death (SUD). The burden of SUD on society is undetermined because of lack of population-based studies and comprehensive adjudication methods.

Objective: We estimated YLL and productivity loss from SUD in working-age adults and compared it with the leading causes of death in the United States.

Sudden Cardiac Death Risk Distribution in the United States Population (from NHANES, 2005 to 2012).

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) accounts for more than half of all deaths from cardiovascular disease and is the first manifestation of heart disease in 50% of these subjects. We aimed to describe the distribution of predicted SCD risk in the general US population using a recently developed risk score. We previously developed a population-based, 10-year risk score for SCD using data from the multiracial Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities cohort, validated in the Framingham Study.

Delivery of Automated External Defibrillators (AED) by Drones: Implications for Emergency Cardiac Care.

Purpose Of Review: Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) remains a significant health problem in the USA and only 8.6% of victims survive with good neurological function, despite advances in emergency cardiac care. The likelihood of OHCA survival decreases by 10% for every minute without resuscitation.

Lipid Profiles in Out-of-Hospital Sudden Unexpected Death.

Objective: To determine the association between serum lipid measurements and the occurrence of out-of-hospital sudden unexpected death (OHSUD).

Patients And Methods: We compared 139 OHSUD cases (43 female patients [30.9%]) and 968 controls (539 female patients [55.

A Simple Community-Based Risk-Prediction Score for Sudden Cardiac Death.

Background: Although sudden cardiac death is a leading cause of death in the United States, most victims of sudden cardiac death are not identified as at risk prior to death. We sought to derive and validate a population-based risk score that predicts sudden cardiac death.

Methods: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study recorded clinical measures from men and women aged 45-64 years at baseline; 11,335 white and 3780 black participants were included in this analysis.

Vital exhaustion and sudden cardiac death in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study.

Objective: Vital exhaustion (VE), a construct defined as lack of energy, increased fatigue and irritability, and feelings of demoralisation, has been associated with cardiovascular events. We sought to examine the relation between VE and sudden cardiac death (SCD) in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study.

Methods: The ARIC Study is a predominately biracial cohort of men and women, aged 45-64 at baseline, initiated in 1987 through random sampling in four US communities.

Regional Evaluation of the Severity-Based Stroke Triage Algorithm for Emergency Medical Services Using Discrete Event Simulation.

Background And Purpose: The Severity-Based Stroke Triage Algorithm for Emergency Medical Services endorses routing patients with suspected large vessel occlusion acute ischemic strokes directly to endovascular stroke centers (ESCs). We sought to evaluate different specifications of this algorithm within a region.

Methods: We developed a discrete event simulation environment to model patients with suspected stroke transported according to algorithm specifications, which varied by stroke severity screen and permissible additional transport time for routing patients to ESCs.

A Moment Matching Approach for Generating Synthetic Data.

Synthetic data are becoming increasingly important mechanisms for sharing data among collaborators and with the public. Multiple methods for the generation of synthetic data have been proposed, but many have short comings with respect to maintaining the statistical properties of the original data. We propose a new method for fully synthetic data generation that leverages linear and integer mathematical programming models in order to match the moments of the original data in the synthetic data.

Lifetime Risk for Sudden Cardiac Death in the Community.

Background: Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is a leading cause of death in the United States and often occurs without previous cardiac symptoms. Lifetime risk for SCD and the influence of established risk factors on lifetime risks for SCD have not been estimated previously.

Methods And Results: We followed Framingham Heart Study participants who were free of cardiovascular disease before their earliest examination.

Assessment of knowledge and attitudes regarding automated external defibrillators and cardiopulmonary resuscitation among American University students.

Aim: We sought to quantify knowledge and attitudes regarding automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) among university students. We also aimed to determine awareness of the location of an actual AED on campus.

Methods: We performed an online survey of undergraduate and graduate students at a mid-sized, private university that has 37 AEDs located throughout its two campuses.