The Impact of Training in Multimodal Communication Skills on Psychotropic Medication Use in Dementia Care.

Aim This study aimed to assess the trends in psychotropic drug prescriptions among elderly residents with dementia following the continuous implementation of multimodal comprehensive care communication skills training for staff in a long-term care facility. Methods This retrospective single-center cross-sectional study utilized the database of an urban public hospital that included a long-term care facility. The data were collected from 2016 to 2020.

Impact of left ventricular diastolic function and direct oral anticoagulant use for predicting embolic events in patients with heart failure and atrial fibrillation.

Background: Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and heart failure (HF) have high stroke risk owing to left atrial dysfunction. However, anticoagulation is a concern in patients with high bleeding risk. We aimed to identify independent predictors of stroke in HF patients with AF.

Predictors of late lumen enlargement after drug-coated balloon angioplasty for de novo coronary lesions.

Background: Late lumen enlargement (LLE) - a positive remodelling phenomenon - after drug-coated balloon (DCB) angioplasty for stable coronary disease contributes to a lower restenosis rate. However, lesion characteristics promoting LLE remain unclear.

Aims: This study aimed to investigate predictive lesion characteristics for LLE using serial optical frequency domain imaging (OFDI) following DCB angioplasty for de novo coronary artery lesions.

Coronary artery stenosis in Japanese people living with HIV-1 with or without haemophilia.

An extremely high prevalence (12.2%) of moderate-to-severe coronary artery stenosis (CAS) was documented in asymptomatic Japanese haemophiliacs living with HIV-1 (JHLH) in our previous study. The cause of this phenomenon remains unknown.

A Case of Ventricular Fibrillation in Masked Long-QT Syndrome Coexisting with Coronary Vasospasm.

Although long-QT syndrome (LQTS) with a normal range QT interval at rest leads to fatal ventricular arrhythmias, it is difficult to diagnose. In this article, we present a rare case of a patient who suffered a cardiac arrest and was recently diagnosed with LQTS and coronary vasospasm. A 62-year-old man with no syncopal episodes had a cardiopulmonary arrest while running.

Unfractionated Heparin Safety in COVID-19: Incidence and Risks of Bleeding Complications in Japan.

Aim: Several studies have shown the efficacy and safety of low-molecular-weight heparin use in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but that of unfractionated heparin (UFH) has not been investigated. We investigated the prevalence of bleeding complications during UFH administration, its impact on mortality, and the risk factors of bleeding outcomes associated with UFH.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted at a single-center tertiary care hospital, including hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

agliflozin for the attenuation of albuminuria in atients with hat failure and type 2 diabetes (DAPPER study): a multicentre, randomised, open-label, parallel-group, standard treatment-controlled trial.

Background: Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors reduce the urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) in patients with elevated levels of albuminuria in the presence or absence of heart failure (HF) or type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D). However, these effects have not yet been reported in the presence of both HF and T2D. This lack of evidence prompted us to conduct a clinical trial on the effects of dapagliflozin on UACR in patients with HF and T2D.

Prognostic Impact of Left Atrial Strain in Patients Hospitalized for Acute Heart Failure With Atrial Fibrillation.

Background: Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and heart failure (HF) have elevated left ventricular end-diastolic pressure in addition to decreased left atrial (LA) function, but there are few reports of useful prognostic indices that can be seen on echocardiography. In this study, we investigated the association between LA reservoir strain (LARS) and prognosis in this group of patients.

Methods and results: We retrospectively enrolled patients with acute HF complicated by AF who were consecutively admitted to hospital between January 2014 and December 2018.

Left atrial intramural haematoma: a fatal complication of cardiac amyloidosis-a case report.

Background: Spontaneous left atrial intramural hematoma (LAIH) is extremely rare and there are only two cases of spontaneous LAIH involving cardiac amyloidosis (CA) reported in literature. In both cases, LAIH rapidly compromised hemodynamic stability proving to be a rare yet fatal complication.

Case Summary: An 83-year-old man presented with cardiogenic shock.

Relation between laxative use and risk of major bleeding in patients with atrial fibrillation and heart failure.

Constipation has been reported to increase the risk of cardiovascular mortality. Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and heart failure (HF) have more comorbidities and an increased bleeding risk. However, it remains unclear whether constipation is associated with an increased risk of incident bleeding complications in AF with HF.

Acute myocardial infarction immediately after second vaccination for coronavirus disease 2019.

We present a serious and rare case of acute myocardial infarction soon after the administration of second vaccination for coronavirus disease 2019. Patient's culprit lesion in the right coronary artery was identified and appropriately treated using intravascular imaging. Postvaccination monitoring of patients who are at high risk of cardiovascular diseases is critical.

A novel anticoagulation treatment protocol using unfractionated heparin for coronavirus disease 2019 patients in Japan, 2022.

Hypercoagulability, which can be induced by infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Although anticoagulation therapy is expected to decrease the incidence of thrombosis and mortality in COVID-19 patients, the optimal use of anticoagulation therapy has not been established, especially using unfractionated heparin (UFH). Herein, we suggest a new anticoagulation treatment protocol for the use of UFH in Japanese COVID-19 patients.

Atherosclerotic Progression Is Related to Immune-Related Adverse Events.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are widely used in various types of cancers and patients. Recently, it has been reported that ICIs aggravate atherosclerosis. This study aimed to identify characteristics that are related to the progression of atherosclerosis.

Interleukin-6 is upregulated and may be associated with myocardial injury in some patients who have recovered from COVID-19.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) causes myocardial injury by inducing a cytokine storm in severe cases. Studies have reported that myocardial injury persists for a prolonged period during COVID-19 recovery, and cardiac troponin is a useful indicator of myocardial injury. The interleukin-6 (IL-6) level is known to be associated with the morbidity and mortality of COVID-19, but this association has not been studied during recovery.

Clinical Implication of Smoking-Related Aryl-Hydrocarbon Receptor Repressor (AHRR) Hypomethylation in Japanese Adults.

Background: Tobacco smoking is a leading preventable cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide; still, the success rate of smoking cessation is low in general. From the viewpoint of public health and clinical care, an objective biomarker of long-term smoking behavior is sought.

Methods and results: This study assessed DNA methylation as a biomarker of smoking in a hospital setting through a combination of molecular approaches including genetic, DNA methylation and mRNA expression analyses.

Case Report of Left Ventricular Noncompaction Cardiomyopathy Characterized by Undulating Phenotypes in Adult Patients.

Left ventricular noncompaction cardiomyopathy (LVNC) is a heart muscle disorder morphologically characterized by reticulated trabeculations and intertrabecular recesses in the left ventricular (LV) cavity. LVNC is a genetically and phenotypically heterogeneous condition, which has been increasingly recognized with the accumulation of evidence provided by genotype-phenotype correlation analyses. Here, we report 2 sporadic adult cases of LVNC; both developed acute heart failure as an initial clinical manifestation and harbored causal sarcomere gene mutations.

A Novel Non-Invasive Method for Estimating Elevated Pulmonary Vascular Resistance Based on Echocardiographic Assessment of Pulmonary Artery Wave Reflection.

Background: Several non-invasive methods for pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) measurement are proposed, but none are sufficiently accurate for use in clinical practice. This study proposes a new echocardiographic method of pulmonary artery wave reflection and investigates its efficacy in managing patients with pulmonary hypertension.

Methods and results: In total, 83 patients with left heart disease, pulmonary arterial hypertension, and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH), who underwent Doppler echocardiography and right heart catheterization, were included in the study.

Severe Heart Failure in a Young Cocaine User.

A 27-year-old Caucasian male traveler with well-controlled asthma was admitted to our hospital because of severe heart failure (HF). He had a history of cocaine use. Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) showed severe diffuse hypokinesis of the left ventricle (LV) and a large mobile thrombus in the LV.

Current status and future perspectives of onco-cardiology: Importance of early detection and intervention for cardiotoxicity, and cardiovascular complication of novel cancer treatment.

The prognosis has improved remarkably in recent years with the development of cancer treatment. With the increase in the number of cancer survivors, complications of cardiovascular disease have become a problem. Therefore, the field of onco-cardiology has been attracting attention.

Evaluation of the efficacy of anticoagulation therapy in reducing mortality in a nationwide cohort of hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease in Japan.

Objectives: To determine whether anticoagulation therapy improves outcomes in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Japan given their lower risk of thrombosis compared with Western cohorts.

Methods: The efficacy of anticoagulation therapy in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 was evaluated using a nationwide registry: the COVID-19 Registry Japan. The inverse probability of weight treatment method was used to adjust for baseline confounders in the anticoagulation and non-anticoagulation groups.

The influence of pre-admission antiplatelet and anticoagulation therapy on the illness severity in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in Japan.

Introduction: Many articles have reported that the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) causes coagulation abnormalities and pulmonary thrombosis, contributing to a poorer prognosis. The study aimed to evaluate whether pre-admission anticoagulation and antiplatelet therapy prevented severe COVID-19 illness or not.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a study to determine whether taking antiplatelet or anticoagulation agents before admission affected the severity on admission using a large nationwide cohort of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Japan.