Noninvasive biometric monitoring technologies for patients with heart failure.

Heart failure remains one of the leading causes of mortality and hospitalizations in the US that not only impacts quality of life but also poses a significant public health burden. The majority of affected patients are admitted with signs and symptoms of congestion. Despite the initial enthusiasm, traditional remote monitoring strategies focusing primarily on weight gain failed to improve clinical outcomes.

Survival After Simultaneous Heart-kidney Transplant in Recipients With a Durable LVAD and Chronic Kidney Disease: Effect of the 2018 Heart Allocation Policy Change.

Background: Heart transplantation remains the most definitive therapy for qualified candidates with end-stage heart failure. Concomitant kidney disease is common in this population prompting an increase in simultaneous heart-kidney (SHK) transplantation in recent years. The goal of our study was to explore the effects of the 2018 heart allocation policy (HAP) change on candidate listing characteristics and compare survival rates at 1 y in patients that were supported with a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) pretransplant and underwent SHK or heart alone transplant (HAT).

Simplifying the ISCHEMIA trial algorithm for clinical practice: Identifying left main coronary artery disease using coronary artery calcium scans.

Background: Several recent trials have evaluated invasive versus medical therapy for stable ischemic heart disease. Importantly, patients with significant left main coronary stenosis (LMCS) were excluded from these trials. In the ISCHEMIA trial, these patients were identified by a coronary CT angiogram (CCTA), which adds time, expense, and contrast exposure.

Loss of Pulsatility: Another Cause of Syncope in Patients with Left Ventricular Assist Devices.

We report a case of a 55-year-old man who presented with recurrent syncope 15 months after HeartWare left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation and was found to have diminished LVAD flow and pulsatility on tilt table testing leading to severe orthostatic hypotension (OH). The prevalence of OH is common, but autonomic dysfunction leading to OH has not been well described in patients with chronic LVAD support. The diagnosis of OH in this setting is challenging due to the decreased pulsatility in the flow generated by LVADs, and tilt table testing can be useful in the evaluation of OH in these patients.

Identifying Emergency Department Patients at Low Risk for a Variceal Source of Upper Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage.

Background: Assessing the likelihood of a variceal versus nonvariceal source of upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) guides therapy, but can be difficult to determine on clinical grounds. The objective of this study was to determine if there are easily ascertainable clinical and laboratory findings that can identify a patient as low risk for a variceal source of hemorrhage.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of adult ED patients with UGIB between January 2008 and December 2014 who had upper endoscopy performed during hospitalization.

Utility of Oncotype DX Risk Assessment in Patients With Invasive Lobular Carcinoma.

Introduction/background: Oncotype DX (Genomic Health, Redwood City, CA) uses reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction analysis to measure tumor gene expression for determining recurrence risk (RR) and guiding chemotherapy decisions for breast cancer patients. Invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) is a histologic subtype that has not been the focus of prior studies validating Oncotype DX. The study purpose was to develop a model using histologic tumor characteristics to predict uniformly low Oncotype DX Recurrence Scores (RS) in ILC.