Publications by authors named "Waqas Ullah"

Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the best duration and choice of antiplatelet therapy for patients with acute coronary syndrome after undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention.
  • A network meta-analysis was conducted on 32 trials with over 103,000 patients, comparing 12-month dual-antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) with several other strategies, including varying doses and durations.
  • The findings suggest that the combination of aspirin and ticagrelor for 3 months, followed by aspirin and clopidogrel, significantly lowers major adverse cardiovascular events compared to other DAPT strategies.
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Background: The aim of the study was to determine national estimates for the percentage of all readmissions with demographic features, length of stay (LOS), cost analysis, comorbidities, complications, overall and gender-specific mortality and complications of transcutaneous tricuspid valve replacement/repair (TTVR) vs. open surgical tricuspid valve replacement/repair (open TVR).

Methods: Data were extrapolated from the Nationwide Readmissions Database (NRD) 2015-19.

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Background And Aims: Catheter ablation is superior to pharmacological therapy in controlling atrial fibrillation (AF). There are few data on the long-term outcome of AF ablation in octogenarian patients. This analysis aims to evaluate the outcome of AF ablation in octogenarians vs.

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Article Synopsis
  • This study examined the link between participating in clinical trials and the rates of unplanned readmissions within 30 days for patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS).
  • Analysis of data covering over 2 million ACS cases showed no significant difference in readmission rates between trial participants and non-participants.
  • Non-participants had higher rates of readmissions due to cardiovascular issues, while trial participants experienced more complications, such as bleeding and strokes, during readmission.
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Background: Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has been considered a prognostic biomarker of mortality and other major cardiac events. This study investigates NLR's efficacy in predicting in-hospital and long-term outcomes in patients with ST-segment elevated myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Methods: Electronic databases (PUBMED, Cochrane CENTRAL, ERIC, Embase, Ovid, and Google Scholar) were searched till June 2022 to identify studies having STEMI patients who underwent PCI.

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Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is highly prevalent among cancer patients. The role of traditional risk stratification scores in the context of different cancer types in these patients remains unknown.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the discriminative accuracy of the CHADSVASc score for ischemic stroke using receiver operating characteristic and area under the curve.

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Background: The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) implemented modifications in 2018 to the adult heart transplant allocation system to better stratify the most medically urgent transplant candidates. We evaluated the impact of these changes on patients supported by a durable left ventricular assist device (LVAD) with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Objective: To evaluate the impact of the OPTN policy change on patients supported by durable left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

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Introduction: The relationships between baseline tissue local impedance (LI), contact force (CF), atrial fibrosis, and atrial rhythm are uninvestigated in a clinical setting. We compared the relationship of LI and CF between atrial fibrillation (AF) and sinus rhythm (SR) accounting for the effects of atrial fibrosis as assessed by bipolar voltage and LI.

Methods: Patients undergoing persistent AF ablation were recruited.

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Background: Percutaneous left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) has emerged as a non-pharmacologic alternative to oral anticoagulation in reducing stroke risk in AF patients. However, patients with mitral valve disease (MVD), who are expected to have a significantly greater risk of left atrium (LA) thrombus formation and embolic stroke were excluded from randomized trials examining percutaneous LAAO. To address this gap, we present a national registry analysis of the use of LAAO among patients with MVD.

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Background: Peri-procedural complications associated with cardiac implantable electronic devices are not uncommon. European Society of Cardiology guidelines recommend device checks of all devices within 72 h of implant. European Heart Rhythm Association expert practical guide on Cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) recommend that a chest x-ray (CXR) should be performed within 24 h to rule out pneumothorax and document lead positions.

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Evidence on the relative safety and efficacy of atrial fibrillation catheter ablation and antiarrhythmic drugs (AADs) as the first-line therapy for patients with treatment-naive atrial fibrillation (AF) remains disputed. Digital databases were queried to identify relevant randomized controlled trials. The incidence of recurrent AF, major adverse cardiovascular events, and its components (all-cause death, nonfatal stroke, and bleeding) were compared using the DerSimonian and Laird method under the random-effects model to calculate pooled unadjusted risk ratio (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

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Background: Literature regarding outcomes associated with surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) or transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) among amyloidosis (AM) with aortic stenosis (AS) is limited.

Objectives: We aim to study the mortality and in-hospital clinical outcomes among AM with AS associated with SAVR or TAVR.

Methods: We performed a retrospective study of all hospitalisation encounters associated with a diagnosis of AM with AS, using the Nationwide Readmissions Database for the years 2012-2019.

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Background: The optimal power and duration settings for radiofrequency (RF) atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation to improve efficacy and safety is unclear. We compared low-power long-duration (LPLD), high-power short-duration (HPSD), and very HPSD (vHPSD) RF settings for AF ablation.

Methods: This network meta-analysis (NMA) was structured according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses guidelines.

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Background: The prevalence of multimorbidity in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is increasing. It is unclear whether comorbidities cluster into distinct phenogroups and whether are associated with clinical trajectories.

Methods: Survey-weighted analysis of the United States Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) for patients admitted with a primary diagnosis of AMI in 2018.

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Background: Ultra high-density mapping systems allow for comparison of atrial electroanatomical maps in unprecedented detail. Atrial scar determined by voltages and surface area between atria, rhythm and atrial fibrillation (AF) types was assessed.

Methods: Left (LA) and right atrial (RA) maps were created using Rhythmia HDx in patients listed for ablation for paroxysmal (PAF, sinus rhythm (SR) maps only) or persistent AF (PeAF, AF and SR maps).

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Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is the treatment of choice for patients with severe aortic stenosis across the spectrum of surgical risk. About one-third of 30-day readmissions following TAVR are related to heart failure (HF). Hence, we aim to develop an easy-to-use clinical predictive model to identify patients at risk for HF readmission.

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Introduction: Clinically significant pericardial effusions and cardiac tamponade in systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients is uncommon and the factors that contribute to progression of pericardial involvement in SSc patients have not been well established.

Methods: A review of the national inpatient sample database was performed looking SSc related hospitalizations between 2002 and 2019. Data was collected on patients with pericardial effusions and cardiac tamponade and analyzed to identify and describe patient characteristics and comorbidities.

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Background: In patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) and concomitant severe coronary artery disease (CAD), the relative merits of a combined percutaneous (transcatheter aortic valve implantation [TAVI] and percutaneous coronary intervention [PCI]] versus surgical approach (surgical aortic valve replacement [SAVR] and coronary artery bypass graft [CABG]) remain unknown.

Aims: To determine the utility of combined percutaneous versus surgical approaches in patients with severe AS and CAD.

Methods: The National Readmission Database (NRD) (2015-2019) was queried to identify all cases of TAVI+PCI and SAVR+CABG.

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Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of pregnancy-related mortality in the United States. Physiologic stress of pregnancy can induce several hemodynamic changes that contribute to an increased risk of cardiac complications in the peripartum period. There are ongoing efforts to improve cardiovascular mortality in pregnant patients.

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