Predictors of coronary atherosclerosis in middle-aged and older athletes: the MARC-2 study.

Aims: Exercise improves cardiovascular health, but high-volume high-intensity exercise is associated with increased coronary artery atherosclerosis and calcification (CAC). We aimed to identify predictors of CAC in athletes.

Methods And Results: We assessed the association of traditional and non-traditional cardiovascular risk factors with CAC using linear and logistic regression.

The Effects of Colchicine on Lipoprotein(a) and Oxidized Phospholipid Associated Cardiovascular Disease Risk.

Aims: Inflammatory lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] and oxidized phospholipids (OxPLs) on lipoproteins convey residual cardiovascular disease risk. The LoDoCo2 (low-dose colchicine 2) trial showed that colchicine reduced the risk for cardiovascular events occurring on standard therapies in patients with chronic coronary disease (CCS). We explored the effects of colchicine on Lp(a) and oxidized lipoprotein associated risk in a LoDoCo2 biomarker subpopulation.

Exploration of the regional effects of colchicine in the LoDoCo2 trial.

Background: The Low Dose Colchicine 2 (LoDoCo2) trial randomized 5,522 patients with chronic coronary disease to colchicine 0.5mg daily or placebo in a 1:1 ratio and demonstrated the cardiovascular benefits of colchicine. In the trial, which was conducted in Australia and The Netherlands, a prespecified subgroup analysis suggested a difference in magnitude of treatment effect of colchicine by region (Australia: HR 0.

Efficacy and safety of low-dose digoxin in patients with heart failure. Rationale and design of the DECISION trial.

Aims: Digoxin is the oldest drug in cardiovascular (CV) medicine, and one trial conducted >25 years ago showed a reduction in heart failure (HF) hospitalizations but no effect on mortality. However, later studies suggested that the dose of digoxin used in that trial (and other studies) may have been too high. The DECISION (Digoxin Evaluation in Chronic heart failure: Investigational Study In Outpatients in the Netherlands) trial will examine the efficacy and safety of low-dose digoxin in HF patients with reduced or mildly reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) with a background of contemporary HF treatment.

Course of the effects of LDL-cholesterol reduction on cardiovascular risk over time: A meta-analysis of 60 randomized controlled trials.

Background And Aims: Individuals with or at high risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) often receive long-term treatment with low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) lowering therapies, but whether the effects of LDL-C reduction remain stable over time is uncertain. This study aimed to establish the course of the effects of LDL-C reduction on cardiovascular risk over time.

Methods: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of LDL-C lowering therapies were identified through a search in MEDLINE and EMBASE (1966-January 2023).

Pulmonary artery pressure monitoring in chronic heart failure: effects across clinically relevant subgroups in the MONITOR-HF trial.

Background And Aims: In patients with chronic heart failure (HF), the MONITOR-HF trial demonstrated the efficacy of pulmonary artery (PA)-guided HF therapy over standard of care in improving quality of life and reducing HF hospitalizations and mean PA pressure. This study aimed to evaluate the consistency of these benefits in relation to clinically relevant subgroups.

Methods: The effect of PA-guided HF therapy was evaluated in the MONITOR-HF trial among predefined subgroups based on age, sex, atrial fibrillation, diabetes mellitus, left ventricular ejection fraction, HF aetiology, cardiac resynchronization therapy, and implantable cardioverter defibrillator.

Effects of icosapent ethyl according to baseline residual risk in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease: results from REDUCE-IT.

Aims: Icosapent ethyl lowers triglycerides and significantly reduces major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), though treatment effects may vary between individuals. This study aimed to determine the relative and absolute effects of icosapent ethyl on MACE according to baseline cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD).

Methods And Results: Participants from the Reduction of Cardiovascular Events with Icosapent Ethyl-Intervention Trial (REDUCE-IT) with ASCVD were included (n = 5785).

Cost-effectiveness of low-dose colchicine in patients with chronic coronary disease in The Netherlands.

Aims: Recent trials have shown that low-dose colchicine (0.5 mg once daily) reduces major cardiovascular events in patients with acute and chronic coronary syndromes. We aimed to estimate the cost-effectiveness of low-dose colchicine therapy in patients with chronic coronary disease when added to standard background therapy.

Predictors of major adverse cardiac events among patients with chest pain and low HEART score in the emergency department.

Aim: For patients who present to the emergency departments (ED) with undifferentiated chest pain, the risk of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) may be underestimated in low-HEART score patients. We aimed to identify characteristics of patients who were classified as low risk by HEART score but subsequently developed MACE at 6 weeks.

Methods: We studied a multiethnic cohort of patients who presented with chest pain arousing suspicion of acute coronary syndrome to EDs in the Netherlands and Singapore.

Colchicine and diabetes in patients with chronic coronary artery disease: insights from the LoDoCo2 randomized controlled trial.

Introduction: Despite optimal treatment, patients with chronic coronary artery disease (CAD) and diabetes mellitus (DM) are at high risk of cardiovascular events, emphasizing the need for new treatment options. The Low-Dose Colchicine 2 (LoDoCo2) trial demonstrated that colchicine reduces cardiovascular risk in patients with chronic CAD. This analysis determines the efficacy of colchicine in patients with chronic CAD and DM as well as the effect of colchicine on the development of new-onset type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Personalized lifetime prediction of survival and treatment benefit in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction: The LIFE-HF model.

Aims: Although trials have proven the group-level effectiveness of various therapies for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), important differences in absolute effectiveness exist between individuals. We developed and validated the LIFEtime-perspective for Heart Failure (LIFE-HF) model for the prediction of individual (lifetime) risk and treatment benefit in patients with HFrEF.

Methods And Results: Cox proportional hazards functions with age as the time scale were developed in the PARADIGM-HF and ATMOSPHERE trials (n = 15 415).

C-Reactive Protein and Risk of Incident Heart Failure in Patients With Cardiovascular Disease.

Background: Patients with established cardiovascular disease (CVD) are at high risk of incident heart failure (HF), which may in part reflect the impact of systemic inflammation.

Objectives: The goal of this study was to determine the association between C-reactive protein (CRP) and incident HF in patients with established CVD.

Methods: Patients from the prospective UCC-SMART (Utrecht Cardiovascular Cohort-Second Manifestations of ARTerial disease) cohort with established CVD, but without prevalent HF were included (n = 8,089).

Association of Low-Dose Colchicine With Incidence of Knee and Hip Replacements : Exploratory Analyses From a Randomized, Controlled, Double-Blind Trial.

Background: Osteoarthritis is a major contributor to pain and disability worldwide. Given that inflammation plays an important role in the development of osteoarthritis, anti-inflammatory drugs may slow disease progression.

Objective: To examine whether colchicine, 0.

C-Reactive Protein and Risk of Cardiovascular Events and Mortality in Patients with Various Cardiovascular Disease Locations.

Anti-inflammatory drugs reduce the risk of cardiovascular events in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), but less is known about the relation between inflammation and outcomes in patients with cerebrovascular disease (CeVD), peripheral artery disease (PAD), and abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). This study assessed the association between C-reactive protein (CRP) and clinical outcomes in patients with CAD (n = 4,517), CeVD (n = 2,154), PAD (n = 1,154), and AAA (n = 424) from the prospective Utrecht Cardiovascular Cohort-Second Manifestations of ARTerial disease study. The primary outcome was recurrent cardiovascular disease (CVD), defined as myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, or cardiovascular death.

Metabolic syndrome and risk of incident heart failure in non-diabetic patients with established cardiovascular disease.

Background: In patients with established cardiovascular disease (CVD), the relation between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and incident heart failure (HF) in the absence of diabetes mellitus (DM) is largely unknown. This study assessed this relation in non-diabetic patients with established CVD.

Methods: Patients from the prospective UCC-SMART cohort with established CVD, but without DM or HF at baseline were included (n = 4653).

[New therapeutic options in heart failure: the importance of the left ventricular ejection fraction].

Heart failure is a chronic illness with a high prevalence and mortality rate. The aim of this article is to give an update on new treatment options for heart failure and the value of the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in the diagnosis and treatment of heart failure. Based on LVEF, three groups of heart failure can be distinguished: (1) heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF; LVEF ≤ 40%), (2) heart failure with mildly reduced ejection fraction (HFmrEF; LVEF 41-49%) and (3) heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF; LVEF ≥ 50%).