Cardiac Damage in Patients Infected with Different SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 causes significant morbidity, and different variants of concern (VOCs) can impact organ systems differently. We conducted a single-center retrospective cohort analysis comparing biomarkers and clinical outcomes in hospitalized patients infected with the wild-type or Alpha (wt/Alpha) VOC against patients infected with the Omicron VOC. We included 428 patients infected with the wt/Alpha VOC and 117 patients infected with the Omicron VOC.

Association Between Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule 1 and Atrial Fibrillation.

Importance: Accumulating evidence links inflammation and atrial fibrillation (AF).

Objective: To assess whether markers of systemic and atrial inflammation are associated with incident AF in the general population.

Design, Setting, And Participants: The Bruneck Study is a prospective, population-based cohort study with a 20-year follow-up (n = 909).

Carotid atherosclerosis and incident atrial fibrillation.

Objective: Atrial fibrillation (AF) and atherosclerotic vascular disease are closely entangled disorders and often coexist. Whether atherosclerosis predisposes to the development of AF has not been fully elucidated.

Approach And Results: This study was performed within the framework of the Bruneck Study, a population-based survey with near-complete participation (932 of 1000), long-term follow-up (1990-2010), and thorough assessment of AF.

Oxidized phospholipids, lipoprotein(a), lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 activity, and 10-year cardiovascular outcomes: prospective results from the Bruneck study.

Background: Oxidized phospholipids (OxPL) circulate on apolipoprotein B-100 particles (OxPL/apoB), and primarily on Lp(a) lipoprotein (a) [Lp(a)]. The relationship of OxPL/apoB levels to future cardiovascular events is not known.

Methods And Results: The Bruneck study is a prospective population-based survey of 40- to 79-year-old men and women recruited in 1990.

Osteoprotegerin is a risk factor for progressive atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.

Background: Osteoprotegerin is a novel member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily and a soluble decoy receptor of the receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappaB ligand. Recent experimental research has implicated osteoprotegerin in atherogenesis, but epidemiological confirmation of this concept is sparse.

Methods And Results: As part of the prospective, population-based Bruneck Study, severity, initiation, and progression of atherosclerosis were assessed in carotid arteries.