The relationship of diuretics and dietary sodium in patients with heart failure: an analysis of the SODIUM-HF trial.

Background: SODIUM-HF was a large clinical trial testing dietary sodium restriction compared to usual care in patients with heart failure that showed no reduction in clinical events. It has been suggested that diuretic doses in response to dietary sodium modification may have influenced the trial results.

Objective: We assessed the effects of baseline diuretic dose and diuretic dose changes on clinical outcomes in the SODIUM-HF trial.

Prevalence, Patient Awareness, Treatment, and Control of Hypertension in Canadian Adults With Common Comorbidities.

Background: Whether certain medical conditions are associated with blood pressure (BP) treatment and control is unclear.

Methods: Using the Canadian Health Measures Survey (2007-2019), BP was assessed according to the presence of selected comorbidities, including prior heart attack or stroke, dyslipidemia, chronic kidney disease, diabetes mellitus, obstructive sleep apnea, and overweight or obesity.

Results: A total of 5,841,453 people, representing 23.

Machine Learning For Risk Prediction After Heart Failure Emergency Department Visit or Hospital Admission Using Administrative Health Data.

Aims: Patients visiting the emergency department (ED) or hospitalized for heart failure (HF) are at increased risk for subsequent adverse outcomes, however effective risk stratification remains challenging. We utilized a machine-learning (ML)-based approach to identify HF patients at risk of adverse outcomes after an ED visit or hospitalization using a large regional administrative healthcare data system.

Methods And Results: Patients visiting the ED or hospitalized with HF between 2002-2016 in Alberta, Canada were included.

Assessing agreement between population-level administrative pharmaceutical databases and patient-reported medication dispensation in cardiac rehabilitation patients.

Background: Pharmacoepidemiology has emerged as a crucial field in evaluating the use and effects of medications in large populations to ensure their safe and effective use. This study aimed to assess the agreement of cardiac medication use between a provincial medication database, the Pharmaceutical Information Network (PIN), and reconciled medication data from confirmation through patient interviews for patients referred to cardiac rehabilitation.

Methods: The study included data from patients referred to the TotalCardiology Rehabilitation CR program, and medication data was available in both TotalCardiology Rehabilitation charts and PIN.

Stroke Risk Reduction in Atrial Fibrillation Through Pharmacist Prescribing: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Major gaps in the delivery of appropriate oral anticoagulation therapy (OAC) exist, leaving a large proportion of persons with atrial fibrillation (AF) unnecessarily at risk for stroke and its sequalae.

Objective: To investigate whether pharmacist-led OAC prescription can increase the delivery of stroke risk reduction therapy in individuals with AF.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This prospective, open-label, patient-level randomized clinical trial of early vs delayed pharmacist intervention from January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2022, was performed in 27 community pharmacies in Alberta, Canada.