Angiotensin Receptor-Neprilysin Inhibitor Is Associated With Improved Cardiac Autonomic Function in Heart Failure.

Background: Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction is associated with potentially deleterious imbalance of the cardiac autonomic nervous system. Sacubitril/valsartan (angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitor [ARNI]) reduces cardiovascular mortality and hospitalization for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. Whether ARNI affects the cardiac autonomic nervous system has not been studied.

Exercise-Induced Fluid Retention, Cardiac Volume Overload, and Peripheral Edema in Ultra-Distance Cyclists.

Introduction: Ultracyclists expose themselves to extreme physical challenges. This study aimed to elucidate the effects of ultracycling on electrolyte and fluid balance and investigate the potential occurrence of peripheral edema.

Methods: A total of 4 clinical visits were performed before, during, and after a 6-day bicycle ride in 13 ultracyclists (5 female, 8 male) including serial laboratory analyses of blood and urine, bioelectrical impedance, and echocardiography.

Smartwatch-derived heart rate variability: a head-to-head comparison with the gold standard in cardiovascular disease.

Aims: We aimed to investigate the concordance between heart rate variability (HRV) derived from the photoplethysmographic (PPG) signal of a commercially available smartwatch compared with the gold-standard high-resolution electrocardiogram (ECG)-derived HRV in patients with cardiovascular disease.

Methods And Results: We prospectively enrolled 104 survivors of acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction, 129 patients after an ischaemic stroke, and 30 controls. All subjects underwent simultaneous recording of a smartwatch (Garmin vivoactive 4; Garmin Ltd, Olathe, KS, USA)-derived PPG signal and a high-resolution (1000 Hz) ECG for 30 min under standardized conditions.

Smartphone-based screening for atrial fibrillation: a pragmatic randomized clinical trial.

Digital smart devices have the capability of detecting atrial fibrillation (AF), but the efficacy of this type of digital screening has not been directly compared to usual care for detection of treatment-relevant AF. In the eBRAVE-AF trial ( NCT04250220 ), we randomly assigned 5,551 policyholders of a German health insurance company who were free of AF at baseline (age 65 years (median; interquartile range (11) years, 31% females)) to digital screening (n = 2,860) or usual care (n = 2,691). In this siteless trial, for digital screening, participants used a certified app on their own smartphones to screen for irregularities in their pulse waves.