Publications by authors named "Luke Zheng"
Article Synopsis
- - The study, EVAPORATE, aimed to assess the impact of icosapent ethyl (IPE) on coronary plaque characteristics in patients already on statin therapy, focusing on individual-level changes rather than just overall group results.
- - A total of 55 patients were randomized to receive either IPE or a placebo, with plaque morphology analyzed through advanced imaging techniques that measured factors like lipid-rich necrotic core size and fibrous cap thickness at 9 and 18 months.
- - Results showed that patients taking IPE experienced a significant reduction in lipid-rich necrotic core size compared to placebo, indicating potential benefits in plaque stability, while additional changes in wall and cap thickness suggested a more complex, individualized response to treatment
Article Synopsis
- This study examined the impact of frailty on outcomes in older patients (≥65 years) undergoing dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) after percutaneous coronary intervention, using Medicare claims data to define frailty.
- Results showed that frail patients had a significantly higher rate of adverse clinical events (23.1%) compared to nonfrail patients (10.7%) at 18 months follow-up.
- While there were no notable differences in the effects of standard versus extended duration DAPT on outcomes for frail versus nonfrail patients, further research is needed to explore how frailty affects bleeding and ischemic risks with DAPT.
Aim: To examine improvement in the use of optimal medical therapy (OMT) for secondary prevention in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and diabetes.
Materials And Methods: Patients with ASCVD (coronary, cerebrovascular, peripheral) and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol of 70 mg/dl or higher were enrolled from December 2016 to July 2018 from 107 US sites/physicians (47% cardiology, 41% primary care, 12% other) and prospectively followed for 2 years (current analysis restricted to subgroup with diabetes). OMT was defined as high-intensity lipid-lowering (high-intensity statin, any statin + ezetimibe, proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 inhibitor), antithrombotic (antiplatelet or anticoagulant), angiotensin-converting enzyme-inhibitor/angiotensin II receptor blocker/angiotensin receptor neprilysin inhibitor (ACE-I/ARB/ARNI) (excluding glomerular filtration rate [GFR] < 30 ml/min/1.
Background Clinical implications of change in the 2017 American College of Cardiology (ACC)/American Heart Association (AHA) guideline on the diagnosis and management of hypertension, compared with recommendations by 2014 expert panel and Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC7), are not known. Methods and Results Using data from the NCDR (National Cardiovascular Data Registry) PINNACLE (Practice Innovation and Clinical Excellence) Registry (January 2013-Decemver 2016), we compared the proportion and clinical characteristics of patients seen in cardiology practices diagnosed with hypertension, recommended antihypertensive treatment, and achieving blood pressure (BP) goals per each guideline document. In addition, we evaluated the proportion of patients at the level of practices meeting BP targets defined by each guideline.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe recent decades have ushered in considerable advancements in the diagnosis and treatment of systemic light chain (AL) amyloidosis. As disease outcomes improve, AL amyloidosis-unrelated factors may impact mortality. In this study, we evaluated survival trends and primary causes of death among 2337 individuals with AL amyloidosis referred to the Boston University Amyloidosis Center.
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- Racial/ethnic minorities are significantly underrepresented in research and publications on systemic light-chain (AL) amyloidosis, highlighting a gap in understanding their unique disease characteristics and outcomes.
- A study of 2416 AL amyloidosis patients from 1990 to 2020 revealed that minorities, particularly Non-Hispanic Blacks (8%) and Hispanics (4%), experienced more aggressive disease onset and had a higher prevalence of severe cardiac involvement compared to non-Hispanic Whites.
- Despite certain sociodemographic challenges leading to lower rates of treatments like stem cell transplantation among minorities, race/ethnicity did not independently affect overall survival when accounting for disease severity and other treatment factors, indicating a need
Hematologic complete response (hemCR) in AL amyloidosis requires absence of monoclonal protein by immunofixation electrophoreses (IFE) and normal serum free light chain ratio (FLCR). Recent literature suggests that an involved free light chain (iFLC) <20 mg/L or difference in free light chains (dFLC) <10 mg/L may more accurately predict outcomes after treatment. We evaluated overall survival in 340 patients treated with high-dose melphalan and stem cell transplantation (SCT).
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