Development and validation of the Atri-Risk Conduction Index risk score to predict risk of atrial fibrillation after typical atrial flutter ablation.

Background: Identification of patients at risk for atrial fibrillation (AF) after typical atrial flutter (tAFL) ablation is important to guide monitoring and treatment.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to create and validate a risk score to predict AF after tAFL ablation METHODS: We identified patients who underwent tAFL ablation with no AF history between 2017 and 2022 and randomly allocated to derivation and validation cohorts. We collected clinical variables and measured conduction parameters in sinus rhythm on an electrophysiology recording system (CardioLab, GE Healthcare).

Off-Label Dosing of Direct Oral Anticoagulants Among Inpatients With Atrial Fibrillation in the United States.

Background: Among patients hospitalized for atrial fibrillation, the frequency of off-label direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) dosing, associated factors, hospital-level variation, and temporal trends in contemporary practice are unknown.

Methods: Using the Get With The Guidelines-Atrial Fibrillation registry, patients admitted from January 1, 2014, to March 31, 2020, and discharged on DOACs were stratified according to receipt of underdosing, overdosing, or recommended dosing. Factors associated with off-label dosing (defined as underdosing or overdosing) were identified using logistic regression.

Do Wearable Activity Trackers Increase Physical Activity Among Cardiac Rehabilitation Participants? A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS.

Purpose: The objective of this study was to review randomized controlled trials (RCT), which included a wearable activity tracker in an intervention to promote physical activity among cardiac rehabilitation (CR) participants, and to conduct a meta-analysis for the outcomes of step counts and aerobic capacity (V˙o2max).

Methods: Eight databases were searched for RCTs that included an activity tracker, enrolled adults eligible for CR, and reported outcomes of step count or aerobic capacity. Mean differences were calculated for outcomes in the meta-analyses.

Impact of the influenza vaccine on COVID-19 infection rates and severity.

Background: With a unique influenza season occurring in the midst of a pandemic, there is interest in assessing the role of the influenza vaccine in COVID-19 susceptibility and severity.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, patients receiving a laboratory test for COVID-19 were identified. The primary outcome was comparison of positive COVID-19 testing in those who received the influenza vaccine versus those who did not.

Impact of patient characteristics and perceived barriers on referral to exercise rehabilitation among patients with pulmonary hypertension in the United States.

Exercise rehabilitation is underutilized in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension despite improving exercise capacity and quality of life. We sought to understand the association between (1) patient characteristics and (2) patient-perceived barriers and referral to exercise rehabilitation. We performed a cross-sectional survey of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension or chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension attending an International PAH meeting.

Higher admission rates and in-hospital mortality for acute type A aortic dissection during Influenza season: a single center experience.

Triggering events for acute aortic dissections are incompletely understood. We sought to investigate whether there is an association between admission for acute type A aortic dissection (ATAAD) to the University of Michigan Medical Center and the reported annual influenza activity by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. From 1996-2019 we had 758 patients admitted for ATAAD with 3.

Resting Oxygen Consumption and Heart Failure: Importance of Measurement for Determination of Cardiac Output With the Use of the Fick Principle.

Background: Resting oxygen consumption (VO) is often estimated and frequently used to guide therapeutic decisions in symptomatic heart failure (HF) patients. The relationship between resting VO and symptomatic HF and the accuracy of estimations of VO in this population are unknown.

Methods And Results: We performed a cross-sectional study of HF patients (n = 691) and healthy control subjects (n = 77).

Cardiosphere-Derived Cells and Ischemic Heart Failure.

After a myocardial infarction, heart tissue becomes irreversibly damaged, leading to scar formation and inevitably ischemic heart failure. Of the many available interventions after a myocardial infarction, such as percutaneous intervention or pharmacological optimization, none can reverse the ischemic insult on the heart and restore cardiac function. Thus, the only available cure for patients with scarred myocardium is allogeneic heart transplantation, which comes with extensive costs, risks, and complications.

Naturally occurring mitochondrial-derived peptides are age-dependent regulators of apoptosis, insulin sensitivity, and inflammatory markers.

Mitochondria are key players in aging and in the pathogenesis of age-related diseases. Recent mitochondrial transcriptome analyses revealed the existence of multiple small mRNAs transcribed from mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Humanin (HN), a peptide encoded in the mtDNA 16S ribosomal RNA region, is a neuroprotective factor.