Cardiology
February 2023
Background: As lung ultrasound (LUS) has emerged as a diagnostic tool in patients with COVID-19, we sought to investigate the association between LUS findings and the composite in-hospital outcome of ARDS incidence, ICU admission, and all-cause mortality.
Methods: In this prospective, multi-center, observational study, adults with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection were enrolled from non-ICU in-patient units. Subjects underwent an LUS evaluating a total of 8 zones.
Aims: The degree of cardiovascular sequelae following COVID-19 remains unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate whether cardiac function recovers following COVID-19.
Methods And Results: A consecutive sample of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 was prospectively included in this longitudinal study.
Heart Rhythm O2
June 2021
Background: Excessive supraventricular ectopic activity (ESVEA), defined as ≥720 premature atrial contractions (PAC) per day or any runs of ≥20 PACs, has been proposed as a surrogate marker for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF).
Objective: We aimed to estimate the prognostic impact of ESVEA on the future development of PAF in consecutive patients referred to ambulatory cardiac monitoring.
Methods: The cohort consists of a population with comorbidities referred to 48-hour ambulatory electrocardiogram aged 30-98 (n = 1316) between 2009 and 2011.
Purpose: Several studies have reported thromboembolic events to be common in severe COVID-19 cases. We sought to investigate the relationship between lung ultrasound (LUS) findings in hospitalized COVID-19 patients and the development of venous thromboembolic events (VTE).
Methods: A total of 203 adults were included from a COVID-19 ward in this prospective multi-center study (mean age 68.
Background: Low heart rate variability (HRV) reflects cardiac autonomic neuropathy, which is associated with increased cardiovascular mortality in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Measuring HRV is challenged by environmental noise, mental stress and physical activity during daytime. Night-time HRV during sleep may be a more valid tool to measure cardiac autonomic neuropathy and therefore may improve prediction of cardiovascular (CV) events in low-risk people with T2DM.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Severity and extent of coronary artery disease (CAD) assessed by invasive coronary angiography (ICA) guide treatment and may predict clinical outcome in patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTEACS).
Objectives: This study tested the hypothesis that coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) is equivalent to ICA for risk assessment in patients with NSTEACS.
Methods: The VERDICT (Very Early Versus Deferred Invasive Evaluation Using Computerized Tomography in Patients With Acute Coronary Syndromes) trial evaluated timing of treatment in relation to outcome in patients with NSTEACS and included a clinically blinded coronary CTA conducted prior to ICA.
Background: Diastolic dysfunction is highly prevalent in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and is associated with overweight, glucose dysregulation and coronary artery disease (CAD). The GLP-1 receptor agonist, liraglutide, has shown to induce weight loss and improve metabolic factors, thus modulating factors associated with diastolic dysfunction. We have previously reported the effects of liraglutide on systolic function, and in this current study we explore the effects of liraglutide on diastolic function parameters in patients with stable CAD, preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), and newly diagnosed T2DM.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAims: The present study had two aims: (i) compare echocardiographic parameters in COVID-19 patients with matched controls and (2) assess the prognostic value of measures of left (LV) and right ventricular (RV) function in relation to COVID-19 related death.
Methods And Results: In this prospective multicentre cohort study, 214 consecutive hospitalized COVID-19 patients underwent an echocardiographic examination (by pre-determined research protocol). All participants were successfully matched 1:1 with controls from the general population on age, sex, and hypertension.
Background: In patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTEACS), coronary pathology may range from structurally normal vessels to severe coronary artery disease.
Objectives: The purpose of this study was to test if coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) may be used to exclude coronary artery stenosis ≥50% in patients with NSTEACS.
Methods: The VERDICT (Very Early Versus Deferred Invasive Evaluation Using Computerized Tomography in Patients With Acute Coronary Syndromes) trial (NCT02061891) evaluated the outcome of patients with confirmed NSTEACS randomized 1:1 to very early (within 12 h) or standard (48 to 72 h) invasive coronary angiography (ICA).
Atherosclerosis
September 2019
Diabetol Metab Syndr
May 2019
Background: Hyperinsulinemia aggravates insulin resistance and cardio-vascular disease. How the insulinotropic glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist liraglutide in a physiologic post-prandial setting may act on pancreatic alpha and beta-cell function in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is less clear.
Methods: Insulin resistant patients with established CAD and newly diagnosed well-controlled T2DM were recruited to a placebo-controlled, cross-over trial with two treatment periods of 12 weeks and a 2 weeks wash-out period before and in-between.
Diabetes Obes Metab
August 2019
Elevated levels of non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) play a role in insulin resistance, impaired beta-cell function and they are a denominator of the abnormal atherogenic lipid profile that characterizes obese patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). We hypothesized that the GLP-1 receptor agonist liraglutide, in combination with metformin, would reduce lipolysis. In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over trial, 41 T2DM patients with coronary artery disease were randomized and treated with liraglutide-metformin vs placebo-metformin during 12- + 12-week periods with a wash-out period of at least 2 weeks before and between the intervention periods.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The optimal timing of invasive coronary angiography (ICA) and revascularization in patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome is not well defined. We tested the hypothesis that a strategy of very early ICA and possible revascularization within 12 hours of diagnosis is superior to an invasive strategy performed within 48 to 72 hours in terms of clinical outcomes.
Methods: Patients admitted with clinical suspicion of non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome in the Capital Region of Copenhagen, Denmark, were screened for inclusion in the VERDICT trial (Very Early Versus Deferred Invasive Evaluation Using Computerized Tomography) ( ClinicalTrials.
Aims: The aims of the study were to investigate the effects of the GLP-1 receptor agonist liraglutide as add-on to metformin on insulin sensitivity (Si) and glucose effectiveness (Sg) in addition to its positive effects on beta-cell function in overweight/obese patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).
Methods: The design of the study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over trial in patients with stable CAD and newly diagnosed well-controlled T2DM. Patients were treated with liraglutide/metformin vs placebo/metformin for a 12 + 12-week period with ≥2-week wash-out.
Background: Patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and coronary artery disease (CAD) have increased risk of cardiac dysfunction. The diabetic heart is characterized by increased fatty acid oxidation and reduced glucose uptake resulting in reduced cardiac efficiency. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) has shown to increase myocardial glucose uptake and to improve myocardial function.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) more than doubles the risk of death compared with otherwise matched glucose tolerant patients. The biguanide metformin is the drug of choice in treatment of T2DM and has shown to ameliorate cardiovascular morbidity in patients with T2DM and myocardial infarction (MI). The incretin hormone, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) improves β-cell function, insulin sensitivity and causes weight loss and has been suggested to have beneficial effects on cardiac function.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: To explore the relative importance of leisure time physical activity (LTPA), walking and jogging on risk of developing the metabolic syndrome (MS).
Design: A prospective cohort study.
Setting: The Copenhagen City Heart Study.
Pro-apoptotic cytokines are toxic to the pancreatic beta-cells and have been associated with the pathogenesis of Type 1 diabetes (T1D). Proteome analysis of IL-1beta exposed isolated rat islets identified galectin-3 (gal-3) as the most up-regulated protein. Here analysis of human and rat islets and insulinoma cells confirmed IL-1beta regulated gal-3 expression of several gal-3 isoforms and a complex in vivo expression profile during diabetes development in rats.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInflammatory mechanisms play a key role in the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes. Individuals who progress to type 2 diabetes display features of low-grade inflammation years in advance of disease onset. This low-grade inflammation has been proposed to be involved in the pathogenetic processes causing type 2 diabetes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe pubertal peak in onset of type 1 diabetes occurs earlier in girls than boys. We postulated that this sex difference might be mediated in part by estrogen or by genes regulated by estrogen, such as the interleukin-6 (IL6) gene. Previous studies concerning the role of an estrogen-sensitive single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the IL6 promoter in type 1 diabetes have proved contradictory.
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