Publications by authors named "J Townend"

High-sensitivity cardiac troponins are considered a gold standard for diagnosing acute myocardial infarction and myocardial injury. However, the occurrence of false positives needs to be kept in mind.  We describe the clinical challenges in diagnosing a 45-year-old woman who repeatedly presented to the emergency department with atypical chest pain and extremely elevated high sensitivity troponin I (HsTnI), despite normal imaging including cardiac MRIs and invasive coronary angiograms, on multiple occasions.

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Background: Fabry disease (FD) causes multiorgan sphingolipid accumulation, with cardiac involvement responsible for the largest burden of morbidity and mortality. Exercise intolerance in FD is prevalent, yet the mechanisms of this are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to assess exercise intolerance in FD and identify whether this correlates with the phase of cardiomyopathy.

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Background: Dual anti-human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) blockade has improved the outcomes of patients with early and metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer. Here we present the final 10-year analysis of the ALTTO trial.

Patients And Methods: The ALTTO trial (NCT00490139) is a prospective randomized, phase III, open-label, multicenter study that investigated the role of adjuvant chemotherapy and trastuzumab alone, in combination or sequentially with lapatinib.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the role of beta-blockers in improving survival for patients with cardiac amyloidosis (CA), highlighting unclear efficacy and concerns about worsening heart failure symptoms.
  • A systematic review and meta-analysis of 13 studies involving 4,215 CA patients concluded that beta-blocker therapy may be associated with reduced mortality, particularly in mixed ATTR-CM and AL-CM cases.
  • However, the study notes significant limitations, such as a lack of information on the staging of CA, which may affect the findings' applicability.
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Introduction: There are sex differences in the extent, severity, and outcomes of coronary artery disease. We aimed to assess the influence of sex on coronary atherosclerotic plaque activity measured using coronary F-sodium fluoride (F-NaF) positron emission tomography (PET), and to determine whether F-NaF PET has prognostic value in both women and men.

Methods: In a post-hoc analysis of observational cohort studies of patients with coronary atherosclerosis who had undergone F-NaF PET CT angiography, we compared the coronary microcalcification activity (CMA) in women and men.

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