Evidence of Reduced Virulence and Increased Colonization Among Pneumococcal Isolates of Serotype 3 Clade II Lineage in Mice.

Recent phylogenetic profiling of pneumococcal serotype 3 (Pn3) isolates revealed a dynamic interplay among major lineages with the emergence and global spread of a variant termed clade II. The cause of Pn3 clade II dissemination along with epidemiological and clinical ramifications are currently unknown. Here, we sought to explore biological characteristics of dominant Pn3 clades in a mouse model of pneumococcal invasive disease and carriage.

Factors influencing the indication of coronary angiography in patients presenting with chest pain unspecified: an analysis of two decades (1994-2014).

Guidelines for cardiac catheterization in patients with non-specific chest pain (NSCP) provide significant room for provider discretion, which has resulted in variability in the utilization of invasive coronary angiograms (CAs) and a high rate of normal angiograms. The overutilization of CAs in patients with NSCP and discharged without a diagnosis of coronary artery disease is an important issue in medical care quality. As a result, we sought to identify patient demographic, socioeconomic, and geographic factors that influenced the performance of a CA in patients with NSCP who were discharged without a diagnosis of coronary artery disease.

US Initiative to Eliminate Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health: The Impact on the Outcomes of ST-Segment-Elevation Myocardial Infarction in New Jersey.

Background In 1998, President Clinton launched a federal initiative to eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities. The impact on the outcomes of ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction has not been well studied. Methods and Results ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction outcomes from 1994 to 2015 were studied in 7942 Black, 27 665 Hispanic, and 88 727 White patients with first admission of ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction using the Myocardial Infarction Data Acquisition System.

Stroke Recovery Program with Modified Cardiac Rehabilitation Improves Mortality, Functional & Cardiovascular Performance.

Background: Physical activity and exercise after stroke is strongly recommended, providing many positive influences on function and secondary stroke prevention. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a stroke recovery program (SRP) integrating modified cardiac rehabilitation on mortality and functional outcomes for stroke survivors.

Methods: This study used a retrospective analysis of data from a prospectively collected stroke rehabilitation database which followed 449 acute stroke survivors discharged from an inpatient rehabilitation facility between 2015 and 2020.

Does One's Socioeconomic Status Predispose to the Development of Stress-Induced Cardiomyopathy?

Introduction: Stress-induced cardiomyopathy (SIC) has a higher incidence in Caucasians (CAUCs) compared to African-Americans (AAs). Whether this is due to racial predisposition, selection bias, or environmental factors remains unclear.

Hypothesis: We hypothesize that people from lower socioeconomic strata (SES) have a lower incidence of SIC.

Monotherapy treatment with chlorthalidone or amlodipine in the systolic blood pressure intervention trial (SPRINT).

This post hoc analysis of the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT) examined the performance of chlorthalidone (C) versus amlodipine (A) monotherapies. ANOVA was used to analyze the differences in systolic blood pressure (SBP) response between C and A. Logistic regression was used to examine monotherapy failure (adding a second antihypertensive agent or switching to a different antihypertensive agent) rates.

A Twenty-Year Analysis of Demographics, Surgical Management, and Outcomes of Aortic Stenosis in New Jersey.

We investigated the incidence and characteristics of 14,996 patients with aortic stenosis (AS) who were hospitalized in New Jersey between the years 1995 to 2015. The average age was 72, the majority were Caucasian males and common co-morbidities were hypertension, coronary artery disease and hypercholesterolemia. Hospital admission for AS declined between 1995 to 2007, to 10/100,000 patients, and increased to 15/100,000 patients in 2015 (p for trend <0.

Impact of Modified Cardiac Rehabilitation Within a Stroke Recovery Program on All-Cause Hospital Readmissions.

Objective: A Stroke Recovery Program (SRP) including cardiac rehabilitation demonstrated lower all-cause mortality rates, improved cardiovascular function, and overall functional ability among stroke survivors. Neither an effect of SRP on acute care hospital readmission rates nor cost savings have been reported.

Design: This prospective matched cohort study included 193 acute stroke survivors admitted to an inpatient rehabilitation facility between 2015 and 2017.

Use of advanced statistical techniques to predict all-cause mortality in the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial.

Background: The Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT) was conducted in patients with hypertension and additional risk for cardiovascular disease who were randomized to the intensive blood pressure group targeting systolic blood pressure (SBP) less than 120 mm Hg and to the standard group where the target was less than 140 mm Hg. Analyses were done in the matched group of participants with the same gender, same age (±2 years) and same SBP (±3 mm Hg) at three months of treatment regardless of initial randomization to intensive or standard group (shaded area in Figure 1).

Methods And Results: During 3.

Uses and opportunities for machine learning in hypertension research.

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) promises to provide useful information to clinicians specializing in hypertension. Already, there are some significant AI applications on large validated data sets.

Methods And Results: This review presents the use of AI to predict clinical outcomes in big data i.

Constrictive Pericarditis after Open Heart Surgery: A 20-Year Case Controlled Study.

Background: Constrictive pericarditis is a rare complication of open heart surgery (OHS), but little is known regarding the etiologic determinants, and prognostic factors. The purpose of this study was to investigate clinical predictors and long term prognosis of post-operative constrictive pericarditis (CP).

Methods: Using the Myocardial Infarction Data Acquisition System database, we analyzed records of 142,837 patients who were admitted for OHS in New Jersey hospitals between 1995 and 2015.

Meta-Analysis of Usefulness of Treatment of Hypercholesterolemia With Statins for Primary Prevention in Patients Older Than 75 Years.

Clinical guidelines from the United States and Europe do not recommend treatment with statins for primary prevention in patients with hypercholesterolemia who are older than 75 years. Data from 35 randomized controlled trials in this age group where statin therapy for primary prevention was compared with placebo or usual care were analyzed. Using all-cause death as the outcome, we performed 2 types of analyses: frequentist and Bayesian.

Trends in Hospitalization for Infective Endocarditis as a Reason for Admission or a Secondary Diagnosis.

We postulate that the trends for infective endocarditis (IE) are different for patients admitted for this condition compared with those admitted for a different reason with IE as a secondary diagnosis. Using the Myocardial Infarction Data Acquisition System (MIDAS) database, we analyzed 21,443 records of patients hospitalized with diagnosis of IE from 1994 to 2015. There were 9,191 patients hospitalized with IE as the primary diagnosis, and 12,252 patients with IE as a secondary diagnosis.

Effect of cholesterol lowering with statins or proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 antibodies on cataracts: A meta-analysis.

Background: It is not known whether statins or proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) antibodies are associated with cataract and whether very low achieved low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) lowering may cause cataract.

Objective: To examine two questions: whether statins and/or PCSK9 antibodies cause or prevent cataracts and whether very low LDL-C is associated with increased risk of cataract.

Methods: Systematic searches of PubMed, ClinicalTrials.