Blood pressure response to extended-release naltrexone in heroin and prescription opioid users and its implications for cardiovascular morbidity.

Background: Consuming opioid agonists is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease particularly in intravenous heroin users. The monthly injectable extended-release opioid antagonist, naltrexone (XR-NTX) is an effective treatment for opioid use disorder. The impact of opioid receptor blockade through XR-NTX on blood pressure, a critical risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity, has not yet been characterized.

The insulin sensitivity Mcauley index (MCAi) is associated with 40-year cancer mortality in a cohort of men and women free of diabetes at baseline.

Background: The association between insulin resistance and cancer-mortality is not fully explored. We investigated the association between several insulin sensitivity indices (ISIs) and cancer-mortality over 3.5 decades in a cohort of adult men and women.

The association between insulin sensitivity indices, ECG findings and mortality: a 40-year cohort study.

Background: Type 2 Diabetes is a major risk factor for cardiovascular (CV) mortality. Insulin resistance can be evaluated non-invasively by insulin sensitivity indices (ISI) such as the Mcauley index (MCAi), which is a function of the fasting insulin and triglycerides. Currently, the association between ISIs and ECG findings and all-cause and CV mortality is still not established in a large scale and heterogeneous population.

Congestive heart failure treated with peritoneal dialysis or hemodialysis: Typical patient profile and outcomes in real-world setting.

Background: Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is increasingly used for the long-term management of hypervolemic refractory congestive heart failure (CHF) patients, in particular when complicated by renal insufficiency. While PD has many advantages over hemodialysis (HD) in those patients, there is a controversy concerning survival superiority of PD compared with HD in this population. The aim of the study was to define typical patient profile and to compare outcomes of patients with CHF and renal failure treated with HD or PD.

Author Correction: Metabolic and Addiction Indices in Patients on Opioid Agonist Medication-Assisted Treatment: A Comparison of Buprenorphine and Methadone.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Metabolic and Addiction Indices in Patients on Opioid Agonist Medication-Assisted Treatment: A Comparison of Buprenorphine and Methadone.

Metabolic hormones stabilize brain reward and motivational circuits, whereas excessive opioid consumption counteracts this effect and may impair metabolic function. Here we addressed the role of metabolic processes in the course of the agonist medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) with buprenorphine or methadone. Plasma lipids, hemoglobin A1C, body composition, the oral glucose tolerance test (oGTT) and the Sweet Taste Test (STT) were measured in buprenorphine- (n = 26) or methadone (n = 32)- treated subjects with OUD.

Participation in an Exercise-Based Cardiac Rehabilitation Program and Functional Improvement of Heart Failure Patients with Preserved Versus Reduced Left Ventricular Systolic Function.

Background: About half of all patients with heart failure are diagnosed with heart failure preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Until now, studies have failed to show that medical treatment improves the prognosis of patients with HFpEF.

Objectives: To evaluate changes in exercise capacity of patients with HFpEF compared to those with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) following an exercise training program.

The prognostic significance of improvement in exercise capacity in heart failure patients who participate in cardiac rehabilitation programme.

Introduction There are limited contemporary data regarding the association between improvement in cardiovascular fitness in heart failure patients who participate in a cardiac rehabilitation programme and the risk of subsequent hospitalisations. Methods The study population comprised 421 patients with heart failure who participated in our cardiac rehabilitation programme between the years 2009 and 2016. All were evaluated by a standard exercise stress test before initiation, and underwent a second exercise stress test on completion of 3 ± 1 months of training.

Early Referral to Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Following Acute Coronary Syndrome, Trends and Outcomes from the Acute Coronary Syndrome Israeli Survey (ACSIS) 2000-2010.

Background: Limited information exists on whether changes in medical practices over the study decades have affected the outcomes of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients who undergo early coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) during index hospitalisation.

Methods: Data on trends for early CABG referral and associated outcomes were obtained among 11,485 ACS patients enrolled in the biennial Acute Coronary Syndrome Israeli Surveys (ACSIS) 2000-2010.

Results: Among 11,485 patients, 566 (5%) were referred to early CABG.

Short- and Long-Term Prognostic Implications of Jugular Venous Distension in Patients Hospitalized With Acute Heart Failure.

The present study was designed to assess the role of jugular venous distension (JVD) as a predictor of short- and long-term mortality in a "real-life" setting. The independent association between the presence of admission JVD and the 30-day, 1- and 10-year mortality was assessed among 2,212 patients hospitalized with acute heart failure (HF) who were enrolled in the Heart Failure Survey in Israel (2003). Independent predictors of JVD finding in study patients included: the presence of significant hyponatremia (odds ratio [OR] 1.

Temporal trends in the outcomes of patients with acute myocardial infarction associated with renal dysfunction over the past decade.

Background: Patients with renal dysfunction (RD) who present with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) are at a high risk for subsequent cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. We sought to evaluate changes in the short and long term mortality of AMI patients with RD compared to patients with normal renal function over the last decade.

Methods: This study based on 4 bi-annually surveys was performed from 2002 to 2010 and included 9468 AMI patients, that were followed for 1year, of whom 2770 (29%) had reduced estimated GFR ([eGFR]<60ml/min/m(2)).

Cholesterol Levels Decrease soon after Acute Myocardial Infarction.

Background: While earlier studies indicated that cholesterol levels decrease significantly after an acute myocardial infarction (MI), a more recent study refuted this observation.

Objectives: To assess changes in plasma lipid levels after onset of acute MI, and determine important predictors of lipid dynamics.

Methods: We prospectively measured lipid levels of patients who presented with an acute MI.

Correlation between participation in a cardiac rehabilitation program and quality of life of patients with coronary artery disease.

Purpose: To examine the correlation between participation in a cardiac rehabilitation (CR) program and quality of life (QoL).

Design: A prospective study of patients with coronary artery disease (CAD).

Methods: Participants completed questionnaires before and after a 3-month CR program.

Combination of the Killip and TIMI classifications for early risk stratification of patients with acute ST elevation myocardial infarction.

Objective: The Killip classification and the Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) score have been proven to be useful tools for the early risk stratification of patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI). The Killip classification is simpler and less time consuming compared to the TIMI score. We sought to evaluate the added value of applying the TIMI score to patients prestratified with the Killip classification.

Giant precordial T wave inversion in a patient with gastroenteritis.

Giant precordial T wave inversion (GPTI) on ECG may be the result of several pathologies, including myocardial ischemia, pulmonary edema, pulmonary embolism, subarachnoid hemorrhage, apical hypertrophy, and postpacing. We describe a case of a 75-year-old woman who developed GPTI after an episode of gastroenteritis. To our knowledge, this is the first report of this ECG pattern associated with gastroenteritis.

The incidence and haemodynamic significance of gas emboli during operative hysteroscopy: a prospective echocardiographic study.

Aims: Operative hysteroscopy is associated with complications including the development of gas embolism. The aim of this study was to utilize continuous echocardiographic imaging during operative hysteroscopy to assess the extent and the haemodynamic effects of gas embolism in these patients.

Methods And Results: Women undergoing operative hysteroscopy under general anaesthesia without a history of cardiac disease were eligible.

ST deviation pattern and infarct related artery in acute myocardial infarction.

Background: Myocardial infarction (MI) may be classified as ST-elevation MI (STEMI) or non-ST-elevation MI (NSTEMI). There is little data regarding the relationship between the infarct related artery (IRA), clinical characteristics of the patients, and the ST deviation pattern (ie, STEMI or NSTEMI).

Hypothesis: There is a predilection of any coronary artery to a particular ST deviation pattern of acute MI.