Factors Associated With Attendance at a 1-yr Post-Cardiac Rehabilitation Risk Factor Check.

Purpose: Patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) often fail to maintain secondary prevention gains after completing cardiac rehabilitation (CR). Follow-up appointments aimed at assessing cardiac status and encouraging maintenance of health behaviors after CR completion are generally offered but not well-attended. This study explored patient characteristics and barriers associated with nonattendance at a 1-yr follow-up visit following CR completion.

Statin Induced Regression of Cardiomyopathy Trial: A Randomized, Placebo-controlled Double-blind Trial.

Background: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), characterized by a thickened, fibrotic myocardium, remains the most common cause of sudden cardiac death in young adults. Based on animal and clinical data, we hypothesized that atorvastatin would induce left ventricular (LV) mass regression.

Methods: Statin Induced Regression of Cardiomyopathy Trial (SIRCAT) was a randomized, placebo-controlled study.

A rare case of pleuropulmonary infection and septic shock associated with Enterococcus faecium endocarditis.

Enterococci rarely cause pleuropulmonary infections. A novel case of definitively diagnosed nosocomial Enterococcus faecium pneumonia, empyema, and endocarditis associated with septic shock is reported.

Antiphospholipid antibody syndrome associated with large aortic valve vegetation and stroke.

An unusual case of an aortic valve mass in a patient with a stroke and primary antiphospholipid antibody syndrome is discussed. The association of cardiac abnormalities and antiphospholipid syndrome is reviewed.