Lower doses of carvedilol in Japanese heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction could show the potential to be non-inferior to higher doses in US patients: An international collaborative observational study.

The Japanese national guidelines recommend significantly lower doses of carvedilol for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) management than the US guidelines. Using real-world data, we determined whether initial and target doses of carvedilol in Japanese patients (JPNs) differ from those in US patients (USPs), especially in Asian Americans (ASA) and Caucasians (CA), and investigated differences in outcomes. We collected data from the electronic medical records, including demographics, carvedilol dosing, tolerability, cardiac functional indicators like EF, cardiovascular events including all-cause deaths, and laboratory values from the University of California, San Diego Health and Osaka University.

Loop Diuretic Use is Associated With Adverse Clinical Outcomes in Acute Myocardial Infarction Patients With Low Volume Status.

To investigate the difference in the prognostic impact of loop diuretics in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) based on plasma volume status, a total of 3,364 survivors of AMI who were registered in the large database of the Osaka Acute Coronary Insufficiency Study (OACIS) were studied. Plasma volume status was assessed by the estimated plasma volume status (ePVS) that was calculated based on a weight- and hematocrit-based formula at discharge. The endpoint was a composite endpoint of all-cause death and rehospitalization due to heart failure for 5 years.

Rivaroxaban and aspirin vs. aspirin alone in Asian compared with non-Asian patients with chronic coronary artery disease or peripheral arterial disease: the COMPASS trial.

Aims: It is unknown whether Asian and non-Asian patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease derive similar benefits from long-term antithrombotic therapy.

Methods And Results: In patients with chronic coronary artery disease (CAD) and/or peripheral artery disease (PAD) enrolled in The Cardiovascular Outcomes for People Using Anticoagulation Strategies trial, the effects of rivaroxaban 2.5 mg b.

Pre-infarction Angina: Time Interval to Onset of Myocardial Infarction and Comorbidity Predictors.

Aims: As part of efforts to identify candidates for patient education aimed at decreasing mortality from acute myocardial infarction, we investigated the prevalence of pre-infarction angina and its predictors among comorbidities in patients who were hospitalized with acute myocardial infarction (MI).

Methods: We conducted a prospective multicenter observational registry of MI patients from 1998 to 2014 ( = 12,093). The present study investigated the prevalence of pre-infarction angina and its predictors among comorbidities with a logistic regression model.

Long-Term Treatment with the Combination of Rivaroxaban and Aspirin in Patients with Chronic Coronary or Peripheral Artery Disease: Outcomes During the Open Label Extension of the COMPASS trial.

Aims: To describe outcomes of patients with chronic coronary artery disease (CAD) and/or peripheral artery disease (PAD) enrolled in the Cardiovascular Outcomes for People Using Anticoagulation Strategies (COMPASS) randomized trial who were treated with the combination of rivaroxaban 2.5 mg twice daily and aspirin 100 mg once daily during long-term open-label extension (LTOLE).

Methods And Results: Of the 27 395 patients enrolled in COMPASS, 12 964 (mean age at baseline 67.

Factors Associated With Prehospital Delay Among Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction in the Era of Percutaneous Coronary Intervention - Insights From the OACIS Registry.

Background: The Japan Circulation Society launched the STOP-MI campaign in 2014, focusing on immediate hospital arrival for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) treatment. This study aimed to determine the factors influencing longer prehospital time among patients with AMI in Japan.

Methods and results: This study analyzed a total of 4,625 AMI patients enrolled in the Osaka Acute Coronary Insufficiency Study registry from 1998 to 2014.

Manual Thrombus Aspiration and its Procedural Stroke Risk in Myocardial Infarction.

Background The previous large-scale randomized controlled trial showed that routine thrombus aspiration (TA) during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) was associated with an increased risk of stroke. However, real-world clinical evidence is still limited. Methods and Results We investigated the association between manual TA and stroke risk during primary PCI in the OACIS (Osaka Acute Coronary Insufficiency Study) database (N=12 093).

Prognostic significance of intra-aortic balloon pumping support in patients with acute myocardial infarction and veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation therapy.

Background: The prognostic significance of combining intra-aortic balloon pumping (IABP) with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients is still unclear. We investigated whether combining IABP with veno-arterial (VA)-ECMO is associated with a lower risk of short-term mortality.

Methods: Among 12,093 AMI cases enrolled in the Osaka Acute Coronary Insufficiency Study (OACIS), we identified 519 who were administered VA-ECMO during hospitalization.

Practical Assessment of the Tradeoff between Fatal Bleeding and Coronary Thrombotic Risks using the Academic Research Consortium for High Bleeding Risk Criteria.

Aims: We aimed to establish a practical method for the assessment of tradeoff between thrombotic and bleeding risks.

Methods: We aimed to investigate the balance between bleeding risk and coronary thrombotic risk according to the number of the Academic Research Consortium for high bleeding risk (ARC-HBR) criteria in the multicenter prospective ST/non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI/NSTEMI) registry (N=12,093). Patients were divided as follows by the number of ARC-HBR criteria fulfilled: group 0, 0 major with ≤ 1 minor (N=6,792); group 1, 1 major with 0 minor (N=1,705); group 2, 0 major with ≥ 2 minors (N=790); group 3, 1 major with ≥ 1 minor (N=1,709); group 4, 2 majors with ≥ 0 minors (N=861); and group 5, ≥ 3 majors with ≥ 0 minor (N=236).

Clinical impact of estimated plasma volume status and its additive effect with the GRACE risk score on in-hospital and long-term mortality for acute myocardial infarction.

Background: Estimated plasma volume status (ePVS) is a well-validated prognostic indicator in heart failure. However, it remains unclear whether ePVS has prognostic significance in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Moreover, there is no available information on its additive effect with the Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) risk score in AMI patients.

Prevalence of the Japanese high bleeding risk criteria and its prognostic significance for fatal bleeding in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Background: The Japanese high-bleeding-risk criteria (Japanese-HBR), modified criteria of the Academic Research Consortium (ARC) HBR, has been recently proposed. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of the ARC-HBR and the Japanese-HBR, and to assess their prognostic significance in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

Methods And Results: We applied the ARC-HBR and the Japanese-HBR criteria to the OACIS prospective multicenter acute myocardial infarction registry (12,093 patients, 66 ± 12 years, 9,096 males).

The Effect of a Cancer History on Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

The effect of a history of cancer on the prognosis of patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is poorly understood.From the Osaka Acute Coronary Insufficiency Study (OACIS) registry in Osaka, Japan, we enrolled the case data of a total of 3499 patients with AMI treated with PCI between 1998 and 2014, of whom 462 had a cancer history (cancer group, 13.2%) and 3037 did not (non-cancer group, 86.

Hydrophilic vs. Lipophilic Statins in Diabetic Patients - Comparison of Long-Term Outcomes After Acute Myocardial Infarction.

Studies comparing the cardiac consequences of hydrophilic and lipophilic statins in experimental and clinical practice settings have produced inconsistent results. In particular, evidence focusing on diabetic patients after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is lacking. From the Osaka Acute Coronary Insufficiency Study (OACIS) registry database, 1,752 diabetic patients with AMI who were discharged with a prescription for statins were studied.

Differential Response to Heart Rate Reduction by Carvedilol in Heart Failure and Reduced Ejection Fraction Between Sinus Rhythm and Atrial Fibrillation - Insight From J-CHF Study.

Heart rate (HR) reduction by β-blocker might not benefit patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) with atrial fibrillation (AF). The J-CHF study was a prospective randomized multicenter trial that assigned 360 HFrEF patients to a 2.5 mg/5 mg/20 mg target dose of carvedilol.

Population-specific and trans-ancestry genome-wide analyses identify distinct and shared genetic risk loci for coronary artery disease.

To elucidate the genetics of coronary artery disease (CAD) in the Japanese population, we conducted a large-scale genome-wide association study of 168,228 individuals of Japanese ancestry (25,892 cases and 142,336 controls) with genotype imputation using a newly developed reference panel of Japanese haplotypes including 1,781 CAD cases and 2,636 controls. We detected eight new susceptibility loci and Japanese-specific rare variants contributing to disease severity and increased cardiovascular mortality. We then conducted a trans-ancestry meta-analysis and discovered 35 additional new loci.

Impact of Hyperglycemia on Long-Term Outcome in Patients With ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction.

In patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), the association between stress-induced hyperglycemia (SIH) and long-term outcomes, as well as the effects of baseline diabetic status on this association remain elusive. To clarify the association between SIH and long-term outcomes, and the effects of baseline diabetic status on this association, we studied 6,287 STEMI patients who were discharged alive. SIH was estimated using the stress hyperglycemia ratio (SHR), which is defined as [(admission glucose (mg/dl))/(28.

Cost-effectiveness of rivaroxaban versus warfarin for stroke prevention in non-valvular atrial fibrillation in the Japanese healthcare setting.

This article aimed to examine the cost-effectiveness of rivaroxaban in comparison to warfarin for stroke prevention in Japanese patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF), from a public healthcare payer's perspective. Baseline event risks were obtained from the J-ROCKET AF trial and the treatment effect data were taken from a network meta-analysis. The other model inputs were extracted from the literature and official Japanese sources.

Safety of Proton Pump Inhibitors Based on a Large, Multi-Year, Randomized Trial of Patients Receiving Rivaroxaban or Aspirin.

Background & Aims: Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are effective at treating acid-related disorders. These drugs are well tolerated in the short term, but long-term treatment was associated with adverse events in observational studies. We aimed to confirm these findings in an adequately powered randomized trial.

Pantoprazole to Prevent Gastroduodenal Events in Patients Receiving Rivaroxaban and/or Aspirin in a Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.

Background & Aims: Antiplatelets and anticoagulants are associated with increased upper gastrointestinal bleeding. We evaluated whether proton pump inhibitor therapy could reduce this risk.

Methods: We performed a 3 × 2 partial factorial double-blind trial of 17,598 participants with stable cardiovascular disease and peripheral artery disease.

Anemia Is Associated With Blunted Response to β-Blocker Therapy Using Carvedilol - Insights From Japanese Chronic Heart Failure (J-CHF) Study.

Background: Anemia portends a poor clinical outcome in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). However, its mechanism remains unknown. We sought to elucidate the effect of anemia on patients with HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) who receive carvedilol therapy.

Rivaroxaban with or without Aspirin in Stable Cardiovascular Disease.

Background: We evaluated whether rivaroxaban alone or in combination with aspirin would be more effective than aspirin alone for secondary cardiovascular prevention.

Methods: In this double-blind trial, we randomly assigned 27,395 participants with stable atherosclerotic vascular disease to receive rivaroxaban (2.5 mg twice daily) plus aspirin (100 mg once daily), rivaroxaban (5 mg twice daily), or aspirin (100 mg once daily).

Rationale, Design and Baseline Characteristics of Participants in the Cardiovascular Outcomes for People Using Anticoagulation Strategies (COMPASS) Trial.

Background: Long-term aspirin prevents vascular events but is only modestly effective. Rivaroxaban alone or in combination with aspirin might be more effective than aspirin alone for vascular prevention in patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD) or peripheral artery disease (PAD). Rivaroxaban as well as aspirin increase upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding and this might be prevented by proton pump inhibitor therapy.