Course and trajectories of insulin resistance, incident heart failure and all-cause mortality in nondiabetic people.

Background: In nondiabetic people, the long-term effects of insulin resistance (IR) on heart failure (HF) and all-cause mortality have not been studied.

Objectives: To examine the association between IR trajectories and incident HF and all-cause mortality in a nondiabetic population.

Methods: We studied 7835 nondiabetic participants from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study.

Longitudinal blood glucose level and increased silent myocardial infarction: a pooled analysis of four cohort studies.

Background: Fasting glucose (FG) demonstrates dynamic fluctuations over time and is associated with cardiovascular outcomes, yet current research is limited by small sample sizes and relies solely on baseline glycemic levels. Our research aims to investigate the longitudinal association between FG and silent myocardial infarction (SMI) and also delves into the nuanced aspect of dose response in a large pooled dataset of four cohort studies.

Methods: We analyzed data from 24,732 individuals from four prospective cohort studies who were free of myocardial infarction history at baseline.

Preventing new-onset heart failure: Intervening at stage A.

Heart failure (HF) prevention is an urgent public health need with national and global implications. Stage A HF patients do not show HF symptoms or structural heart disease but are at risk of HF development. There are no unique recommendations on detecting Stage A patients.

Highlights in ASCVD Primary Prevention for 2021.

This review examines key studies published in 2021 that are related to primary prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Major randomized clinical trials (RCTs) concerning traditional risk factors or ASCVD events, meta-analyses, and key observational studies related to primary prevention of ASCVD were considered. The review includes interventions for weight loss, cardiometabolic and renal disease, blood pressure control, diet, and the occurrence of cardiovascular disease events.

Relation of glycemic status with unrecognized MI and the subsequent risk of mortality: The Jackson Heart Study.

Background: Almost 1/3 to 1/2 of initial myocardial infarctions (MI) may be silent or unrecognized (UMI), which forecasts future clinical events. Further, limited data exist to describe the potential risk for UMI in African-Americans. The relationship of glucose status with UMI was examined in the Jackson Heart Study: a cohort of African-American individuals.

Abnormal Fasting Glucose Increases Risk of Unrecognized Myocardial Infarctions in an Elderly Cohort.

Objectives: To investigate glucose levels as a risk factor for unrecognized myocardial infarctions (UMIs).

Design: Cohort SETTING: Cardiovascular Health Study.

Participants: Individuals aged 65 and older with fasting glucose measurements (N=4,355; normal fasting glucose (NFG), n = 2,041; impaired fasting glucose (IFG), n = 1,706; DM: n = 608; 40% male, 84% white, mean age 72.

The 4th Report of the Working Group on ECG diagnosis of Left Ventricular Hypertrophy.

The 4th Report provides a brief review of publications focused on the electrocardiographic diagnosis of left ventricular hypertrophy published during the period of 2010 to 2016 by the members of the Working Group on ECG diagnosis of Left Ventricular Hypertrophy. The Working Group recommended that ECG research and clinical attention be redirected from the estimation of LVM to the identification of electrical remodeling, to better understanding the sequence of events connecting electrical remodeling to outcomes. The need for a re-definition of terms and for a new paradigm is also stressed.

Prediabetes and the association with unrecognized myocardial infarction in the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis.

Background: With one-quarter of initial myocardial infarctions (MI) being unrecognized MI (UMI), recognition is critical to minimize further cardiovascular risk. Diabetes mellitus is an established risk factor for UMI. If impaired fasting glucose (IFG) also increased the risk for UMI, it would represent a significant public health challenge due to the rapid worldwide increase in IFG prevalence.

Emerging risk factors as markers for carotid intima media thickness scores.

Aims: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the number one cause of mortality in the Western world. This study aims to determine which lifestyle factors are associated with mean carotid intima media thickness (IMT), a safe and reliable predictor of future CVD risk.

Methods And Results: A prospective cross-sectional analysis of 592 subjects.

Electrocardiographic left ventricular strain pattern: everything old is new again.

Electrocardiographic left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) has many faces with countless features. Beyond the classic measures of LVH, including QRS voltage and duration, the left ventricular (LV) strain pattern is an element whereby characteristic R-ST depression is followed by a concave ST segment that ends in an asymmetrically inverted T wave. The LV strain pattern generally appears in states of increased systemic blood pressure and must be differentiated from similar but not identical ST-T waves indicating ischemia.

The role of ECG in the diagnosis of left ventricular hypertrophy.

The traditional approach to the ECG diagnosis of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is focused on the best estimation of left ventricular mass (LVM) i.e. finding ECG criteria that agree with LVM as detected by imaging.

Effect of amlodipine on the survival of patients with severe chronic heart failure due to a nonischemic cardiomyopathy: results of the PRAISE-2 study (prospective randomized amlodipine survival evaluation 2).

Objectives: This study was designed to test the hypothesis of whether amlodipine reduces the risk for death in patients with heart failure due to a nonischemic cardiomyopathy.

Background: A pre-specified subgroup analysis in an earlier, large-scale, placebo-controlled study suggested that amlodipine might reduce the risk for death in patients with heart failure due to a nonischemic cardiomyopathy.

Methods: To evaluate this hypothesis, 1654 patients with severe heart failure due to a nonischemic cardiomyopathy (ejection fraction <30%) were randomly assigned to amlodipine (target dose: 10 mg/d) or placebo added to conventional therapy for heart failure for a median of 33 months.

Exercise and pharmacological treatment of depressive symptoms in patients with coronary heart disease: results from the UPBEAT (Understanding the Prognostic Benefits of Exercise and Antidepressant Therapy) study.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of exercise and antidepressant medication in reducing depressive symptoms and improving cardiovascular biomarkers in depressed patients with coronary heart disease.

Background: Although there is good evidence that clinical depression is associated with poor prognosis, optimal therapeutic strategies are currently not well defined.

Methods: One hundred one outpatients with coronary heart disease and elevated depressive symptoms underwent assessment of depression, including a psychiatric interview and the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression.

The effects of a tailored cardiac rehabilitation program on depressive symptoms in women: A randomized clinical trial.

Background: Depression is known to co-occur with coronary heart disease (CHD). Depression may also inhibit the effectiveness of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs by decreasing adherence. Higher prevalence of depression in women may place them at increased risk for non-adherence.