Publications by authors named "Reinier Waalewijn"

Background: Patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) who are carrying CYP2C19 loss-of-function alleles derive less benefit from clopidogrel treatment. Despite this, in elderly patients, clopidogrel might be preferred over more potent P2Y inhibitors due to a lower bleeding risk. Whether CYP2C19 genotype-guided antiplatelet treatment in the elderly could be of benefit has not been studied specifically.

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There are no randomised data on which antiplatelet agent to use in elderly patients with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) and an indication for oral anticoagulation (OAC). The randomised POPular Age trial, in patients of 70 years or older with NSTE-ACS, showed a reduction in bleeding without increasing thrombotic events in patients using clopidogrel as compared to ticagrelor. In this sub-analysis of the POPular AGE trial, we compare clopidogrel with ticagrelor in patients with a need for oral anticoagulation.

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Background: Current guidelines recommend potent platelet inhibition with ticagrelor or prasugrel in patients after an acute coronary syndrome. However, data about optimal platelet inhibition in older patients are scarce. We aimed to investigate the safety and efficacy of clopidogrel compared with ticagrelor or prasugrel in older patients with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS).

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Aims: The reported proportion of ventricular fibrillation (VF) in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) has declined worldwide. VF decline may be caused by less VF at collapse and/or faster dissolution of VF into asystole. We aimed to determine the causes of VF decline by comparing VF proportions in relation to delay from emergency medical services (EMS) call to initial ECG (call-to-ECG delay), and VF dissolution rates between two study periods.

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Background: Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT) is an inherited arrhythmia syndrome associated with mutations in the cardiac ryanodine receptor gene (Ryr2) in the majority of patients. Previous studies of CPVT patients mainly involved probands, so current insight into disease penetrance, expression, genotype-phenotype correlations, and arrhythmic event rates in relatives carrying the Ryr2 mutation is limited.

Methods And Results: One-hundred sixteen relatives carrying the Ryr2 mutation from 15 families who were identified by cascade screening of the Ryr2 mutation causing CPVT in the proband were clinically characterized, including 61 relatives from 1 family.

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This prospective cohort study evaluated the impact of the time-related elements of the "chain of survival" on the quality of life of patients, taking their characteristics into account. Between 1995 and 2002, consecutive, out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients from Amsterdam and the surrounding areas were included in this study. A total of 227 patients (12%) survived to hospital discharge and 174 were definitive survivors who were available for assessment at 6 months.

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Survival of cardiac arrest is improved by basic life support (BLS). This study investigated the relationship between ventricular fibrillation (VF) characteristics and survival. In a 2-year prospective study out-of-hospital witnessed non-traumatic cardiac arrests were observed.

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