Protein Biomarkers of Adverse Clinical Features and Events in Sarcomeric Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.

Background: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a heterogeneous condition that can lead to atrial fibrillation, heart failure, and sudden cardiac death in many individuals but mild clinical impact in others. The mechanisms underlying this phenotypic heterogeneity are not well defined. The aim of this study was to use plasma proteomic profiling to help illuminate biomarkers that reflect or inform the heterogeneity observed in HCM.

Rationale and Design of OPT-RATE AF: A Randomized Clinical Trial of Increased Physiologic Pacing Rates in Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction.

Cardiac physiologic pacing (CPP) after atrioventricular node (AVN) ablation for persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) has improved outcomes in patients with heart failure with reduced and preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Emerging evidence suggests patients with HFpEF benefit from higher heart rates, yet the optimal pacing rate after AVN ablation remains unknown. Optimal Pacing Rate for cardiac resynchronization therapy after atrioventricular node ablation in persistent Atrial Fibrillation and heart failure (OPT-RATE AF) is a prospective, randomized crossover study of patients with HFpEF after AVN ablation for persistent AF (NCT06445439).

Comparing Impact of Overactive Bladder Therapies on Nocturia.

Importance: Nocturia is a significant symptom in overactive bladder with little data regarding the impact of overactive bladder treatments on nocturia.

Objectives: Compare the effect of anticholinergic (AC) medication, onabotulinum toxin A (BTX), and sacral neuromodulation (SNM) on nocturia.

Study Design: Secondary analysis of the ABC and ROSETTA trials using data from the National Institutes of Health Data and Specimen Hub database.

Social Connectedness as a Determinant of Health in African-American Low-Income Families with Young Children: A Cross-Sectional Cohort Study.

Objective: This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the level of social connectedness (SC) in African-American low-income families with young children attending a pediatric primary care clinic and examine its relationships with food insecurity and parental well-being.

Methods: This cross-sectional analysis used data from the Healthy Children and Families program, a cohort intervention study addressing food insecurity, conducted by an urban pediatric clinic serving low-income predominantly African-American families. Twenty-seven families completed baseline screening tools, including the Social Provisions Scale five-question short form (SPS-5) to measure SC, a modified version of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Household Food Security Survey Module six-item short form to assess food insecurity, and the Parental Stress Index Short Form to measure parental stress.

Cost of Cardiovascular Disease Event and Cardiovascular Disease Treatment-Related Complication Hospitalizations in the United States.

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is among the costliest conditions in the United States, and cost-effectiveness analyses can be used to assess economic impact and prioritize CVD treatments. We aimed to develop standardized, nationally representative CVD events and selected possible CVD treatment-related complication hospitalization costs for use in cost-effectiveness analyses.

Methods: Nationally representative costs were derived using publicly available inpatient hospital discharge data from the 2012-2018 National Inpatient Sample.

The effect of 12-month postoperative weight change on outcomes following midurethral sling for stress urinary incontinence: a secondary analysis of the ESTEEM and TOMUS randomized trials.

Introduction And Hypothesis: Prior studies demonstrate mixed results on the impact of obesity on the success of midurethral slings (MUS), with little known about how postoperative weight change affects outcomes. We aimed to examine the effect of postoperative weight change on outcomes 12 months after MUS for stress urinary incontinence (SUI).

Methods: This secondary analysis utilized data from two multicenter randomized trials of women undergoing MUS placement.

3-Dimensional Strain Analysis of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: Insights From the NHLBI International HCM Registry.

Background: Abnormal global longitudinal strain (GLS) has been independently associated with adverse cardiac outcomes in both obstructive and nonobstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Objectives: The goal of this study was to understand predictors of abnormal GLS from baseline data from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Registry (HCMR).

Methods: The study evaluated comprehensive 3-dimensional left ventricular myocardial strain from cine cardiac magnetic resonance in 2,311 patients from HCMR using in-house validated feature-tracking software.

Preoperative Patient-Reported Data Indicate the Risk of Prolonged Opioid Use After Hand and Upper Extremity Surgeries.

Purpose: Opioids play an important role in pain management after surgery but also increase the risk of prolonged opioid use in patients. The identification of patients who are more likely to use opioids after intended short-term treatment is critical for employing alternative management approaches or targeted interventions for the prevention of opioid-related problems. We used patient-reported data (PRD) and electronic health record information to identify factors predictive of prolonged opioid use after surgery.

An efficient approach for optimizing the cost-effective individualized treatment rule using conditional random forest.

Evidence from observational studies has become increasingly important for supporting healthcare policy making via cost-effectiveness analyses. Similar as in comparative effectiveness studies, health economic evaluations that consider subject-level heterogeneity produce individualized treatment rules that are often more cost-effective than one-size-fits-all treatment. Thus, it is of great interest to develop statistical tools for learning such a cost-effective individualized treatment rule under the causal inference framework that allows proper handling of potential confounding and can be applied to both trials and observational studies.

Perceived symptoms as the primary indicators for 30-day heart failure readmission.

Background: To identify 30-day rehospitalizations in patients discharged with heart failure (HF) based on clinical indications, physiologic measures and symptoms.

Methods: Fifty-six patients with heart failure participated. After discharge to home, clinical indicators of dyspnea, fatigue, orthopnea, dyspnea with exertion, daily weight, edema, heart rate, blood pressure, mental condition, medication adherence, and overall well-being were reported by participants daily for up to 30 days.

Safety gaps in medical team communication: Closing the loop on quality improvement efforts in the cardiac catheterization lab.

Closed-loop communication (CLC) is a fundamental aspect of effective communication, critical in the cardiac catheterization laboratory (cath lab) where physician orders are verbal. Complete CLC is typically a hospital and national mandate. Deficiencies in CLC have been shown to impair quality of care.

Cost-effectiveness of Icosapent Ethyl for High-risk Patients With Hypertriglyceridemia Despite Statin Treatment.

Importance: The Reduction of Cardiovascular Events With Icosapent Ethyl-Intervention Trial (REDUCE-IT) demonstrated the efficacy of icosapent ethyl (IPE) for high-risk patients with hypertriglyceridemia and known cardiovascular disease or diabetes and at least 1 other risk factor who were treated with statins.

Objective: To estimate the cost-effectiveness of IPE compared with standard care for high-risk patients with hypertriglyceridemia despite statin treatment.

Design, Setting, And Participants: An in-trial cost-effectiveness analysis was performed using patient-level study data from REDUCE-IT, and a lifetime analysis was performed using a microsimulation model and data from published literature.

Characteristics and Outcomes of Patients with Inflammatory Cardiomyopathies Receiving Mechanical Circulatory Support: An STS-INTERMACS Registry Analysis.

Background: Durable mechanical circulatory support (MCS) therapy improves survival in patients with advanced heart failure. Knowledge regarding the outcomes experienced by patients with inflammatory cardiomyopathy (CM) who receive durable MCS therapy is limited.

Methods And Results: We compared patients with inflammatory CM with patients with idiopathic dilated CM enrolled in the STS-INTERMACS registry.

On the impact of publicly available news and information transfer to financial markets.

We quantify the propagation and absorption of large-scale publicly available news articles from the World Wide Web to financial markets. To extract publicly available information, we use the news archives from the Common Crawl, a non-profit organization that crawls a large part of the web. We develop a processing pipeline to identify news articles associated with the constituent companies in the S&P 500 index, an equity market index that measures the stock performance of US companies.

Predictors of Major Atrial Fibrillation Endpoints in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute HCMR.

Objectives: This study sought to identify predictors of major clinically important atrial fibrillation endpoints in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common morbidity associated with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). The HCMR (Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Registry) trial is a prospective natural history study of 2,755 patients with HCM with comprehensive phenotyping.

Estimating Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial Participant Posttrial Survival Using Pooled Epidemiologic Cohort Data.

Background Intensive systolic blood pressure treatment (<120 mm Hg) in SPRINT (Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial) improved survival compared with standard treatment (<140 mm Hg) over a median follow-up of 3.3 years. We projected life expectancy after observed follow-up in SPRINT using SPRINT-eligible participants in the NHLBI-PCS (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Pooled Cohorts Study).

Patient Selection for Intensive Blood Pressure Management Based on Benefit and Adverse Events.

Background: Intensive systolic blood pressure (SBP) treatment prevents cardiovascular disease (CVD) events in patients with high CVD risk on average, though benefits likely vary among patients.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to predict the magnitude of benefit (reduced CVD and all-cause mortality risk) along with adverse event (AE) risk from intensive versus standard SBP treatment.

Methods: This was a secondary analysis of SPRINT (Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial).

Anatomical Characteristics Associated With Hypoattenuated Leaflet Thickening in Low-Risk Patients Undergoing Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement.

Background/purpose: This sub-analysis of the prospective Low Risk TAVR (LRT) trial determined anatomical characteristics associated with hypoattenuated leaflet thickening (HALT), which may contribute to early transcatheter heart valve (THV) degeneration.

Methods/materials: The LRT trial enrolled 200 low-risk patients between February 2016 and February 2018. All subjects underwent baseline and 30-day CT studies, analyzed by an independent core laboratory.

Comparison of Ultrathin, Bioresorbable-Polymer Sirolimus-Eluting Stents and Thin, Durable-Polymer Everolimus-Eluting Stents in Calcified or Small Vessel Lesions.

Background: The ultrathin-strut bioresorbable-polymer sirolimus-eluting stent (BP-SES) demonstrated comparable performance to durable-polymer everolimus-eluting stent (DP-EES) in randomized controlled trials. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of a BP-SES compared with a DP-EES in calcified or small vessel lesions, which represent higher risk of restenosis.

Methods: From the pooled BIOFLOW (BIOFLOW-II, IV, and V; BIOTRONIK - A Prospective Randomized Multicenter Study to Assess the Safety and Effectiveness of the Orsiro Sirolimus Eluting Coronary Stent System in the Treatment of Subjects With up to Three De Novo or Restenotic Coronary Artery Lesions ) randomized controlled trials, a total of 1553 BP-SES and 784 DP-EES patients with valid 1-year follow-up data were available.