Interaction between 24 h Urinary Free Cortisol and Obesity in Hypertension-Mediated Organ Damage in Patients with Untreated Hypertension.

Background: Given the close relationship between excessive cortisol secretion and obesity, as well as their intimate associations with cardiometabolic sequelae, this study aimed to evaluate whether elevated cortisol levels and obesity are independently and potentially interactively related to hypertension-mediated organ damage (HMOD) in patients with untreated hypertension.

Methods: A total of 936 untreated hypertensive patients were recruited. Body mass index (BMI), 24-hour urinary free cortisol (24 h UFC), and HMOD indicators, including left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), and albuminuria, were assessed.

Long-term use of low-dose aspirin for cancer prevention: A 20-year longitudinal cohort study of 1,506,525 Hong Kong residents.

Long-term use of low-dose aspirin has been demonstrated to reduce cancer risk, but the duration of necessary medication use remains uncertain. This study aimed to investigate the long-term chemoprotective effect of aspirin among the Chinese population. This population-based study included all aspirin users between 2000 and 2019.

Near-Field Clutter Mitigation in Speckle Tracking Echocardiography.

Objective: Near-field (NF) clutter filters are critical for unveiling true myocardial structure and dynamics. Randomized singular value decomposition (rSVD) stands out for its proven computational efficiency and robustness. This study investigates the effect of rSVD-based NF clutter filtering on myocardial motion estimation.

The association between baseline viral load and long-term risk in patients with COVID-19 in Hong Kong: a territory-wide study.

COVID-19 can increase the long-term risk of multiorgan dysfunction. Few studies investigated the long-term risk in Asian populations or investigated the association between viral load and long-term risk. We aimed to investigate the post-discharge rates of hospitalization and association with baseline viral load in all patients with COVID-19 in Hong Kong.

Prognostic Implication of Computational Angiography-Derived Fractional Flow Reserve in Patients With Nonobstructive Coronary Artery Disease.

Background: Risk stratification of patients with symptomatic nonobstructive coronary artery disease remains uncertain. Our study assessed the clinical value of single-vessel, multivessel, and 3-vessel computational angiography-derived fractional flow reserve (caFFR) measurement in patients with nonobstructive coronary artery disease.

Methods And Results: We enrolled patients with ≤50% stenosis with a caFFR value ≥0.

Atherothrombotic Outcomes After Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibitors Versus Dipeptidyl Peptidase-4 Inhibitors in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes: A Territory-Wide Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: This study compared the risks of atherothrombotic major adverse cardiovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes taking SGLT2 (sodium-glucose cotransporter 2) inhibitors to those taking DPP-4 (dipeptidyl peptidase-4) inhibitors.

Methods And Results: All adult patients (≥18 years of age) with type 2 diabetes and newly prescribed with SGLT2 inhibitors or DPP-4 inhibitors across all public hospitals in Hong Kong between January 2015 and December 2019 were included. Patients were propensity matched in a 1:1 ratio using a caliper distance of 0.

Prognosis Prediction of Cardiovascular Event With Glucose-Albumin Ratio on Patients With Cancer and Prescribed With Anthracycline.

Aims: This study aimed to investigate the clinical value of the glucose-albumin ratio (GAR) in predicting the prognosis of cancer patients prescribed anthracycline-based chemotherapy.

Methods: We included cancer patients who underwent anthracycline-based chemotherapy, drawn from the population-based cohort Clinical Data Analysis Reporting System of Hong Kong between January 2000 and December 2019. Demographics, medical history, baseline laboratory, and metabolic indicators, including GAR, were collected.

Comparison of safety and immunogenicity in the elderly after receiving either Comirnaty or Spikevax monovalent XBB1.5 COVID-19 vaccine.

Background: The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants necessitates ongoing evaluation of vaccine performance. This study evaluates and compares the safety and immunogenicity of the Comirnaty and Spikevax monovalent XBB.1.

Cardiovascular Benefits and Safety Profile of Macrolide Maintenance Therapy in Patients with Bronchiectasis.

Background: Macrolide maintenance therapy (MMT) has demonstrated notable efficacy in reducing exacerbation in patients with bronchiectasis, which is a major risk factor for cardiovascular events. However, a comprehensive assessment of the cardiovascular benefits and safety profile of MMT in this population is lacking.

Methods: This territory-wide cohort study analyzed patients diagnosed with bronchiectasis in Hong Kong between 2001 and 2018.

Prognostic Implications and Reversibility of Pulmonary Vascular Resistance Derived by Echocardiography in Patients Undergoing Tricuspid Annuloplasty.

Background: Pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) intimately correlates with right ventricular afterload and the development of secondary tricuspid regurgitation (sTR).

Objectives: We sought to investigate the prognostic roles of PVR derived by echocardiography in patients with sTR undergoing tricuspid annuloplasty (TA).

Methods: Data from 322 TA patients [median age (interquartile range): 65.

Treatment with trimetazidine dihydrochloride and lung cancer survival: Implications on metabolic re-programming.

Background: Metabolic re-wiring with preferential fatty acid oxidation has been observed in lung cancer cells. Whether the use of trimetazidine, an anti-anginal agent that inhibits fatty acid oxidation, alters clinical outcomes in ischemic heart disease (IHD) patients with lung cancers is unknown.

Methods: We carried out this territory-wide, retrospective cohort study of 279,894 IHD patients prescribed with trimetazidine or long-acting oral nitrates in Hong Kong (population coverage of 7.

Incident dementia in ischaemic stroke patients with early cardiac complications: A propensity-score matched cohort study.

Introduction: The risk of dementia in patients with stroke-heart syndrome (SHS) remains unexplored.

Patients And Methods: Retrospective analysis using the TriNetX network, including patients with ischaemic stroke from 2010 to 2020. These patients were categorised into two groups: those with SHS (heart failure, myocardial infarction, ventricular fibrillation, or Takotsubo cardiomyopathy within 30 days post-stroke) and those without SHS.

Determination of T cell response against XBB variants in adults who received either monovalent wild-type inactivated whole virus or mRNA vaccine or bivalent WT/BA.4-5 COVID-19 mRNA vaccine as the additional booster.

Objectives: As the SARS-CoV-2 virus evolves more rapidly than vaccines are updated, T cell immunity potentially confers protection against disease progression and death from new variants. In this study, we aimed to assess whether the current boosting vaccination schemes offer sufficient T cell protection against new SARS-CoV-2 variants.

Methods: A total of 292 adults who had received the second booster of either monovalent wild-type (WT) vaccines (inactivated virus or mRNA) (Cohort 1) or the second/third booster of bivalent WT/BA.

Early statin use is associated with improved survival and cardiovascular outcomes in patients with atrial fibrillation and recent ischaemic stroke: A propensity-matched analysis of a global federated health database.

Introduction: Statins reduce recurrent stroke and cardiovascular events in patients with non-cardioembolic stroke. The benefits of statins in patients with AF and recent IS remain unclear. We aimed to investigate the benefits of statins in patients with AF and recent IS.

The association of haemoglobin A1c variability with adverse outcomes in patients with atrial fibrillation prescribed anticoagulants.

Aims: The association of haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) variability with the risk of adverse outcomes in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) prescribed anticoagulants remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the association of HbA1c variability with the risk of ischaemic stroke (IS)/systemic embolism (SE) and all-cause mortality among patients with non-valvular AF prescribed anticoagulants.

Methods And Results: Patients newly diagnosed with AF from 2013 to 2018 were included.

Rhythmic musical intervention improves response time of memory tests: A pilot study on the application of a digital cognitive assessment.

Background: Memory complaints are the early symptoms of cognitive impairment, and they usually bring anxiety about cognitive deterioration among the elderly population. Musical interventions were demonstrated to relieve dementia symptoms. This pilot study investigated the potential benefits of rhythmic musical intervention, African drumming, on cognitive function and mood status with traditional and digital assessments for elderly participants.

The effect of long-term alendronic acid treatment on Modic changes in the lumbar spine: a gender and age-matched study.

Background: Low back pain (LBP) affects a significant proportion of the adult population. Potent anti-resorptive drugs such as intravenous zoledronic acid have been demonstrated to reduce Modic changes (MCs) upon magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the spine and concomitantly decrease associated LBP. It is uncertain whether oral alendronic acid has a similar effect.

Target organ damage in untreated hypertensive patients with primary aldosteronism.

An increased risk of target organ damage (TOD) has been reported in patients with primary aldosteronism (PA). However, there is relatively little related research on the correlation between the degree of TOD and those with and without PA in newly diagnosed hypertensive patients. The aim of this study was to assess the association between PA and TOD among patients with newly diagnosed hypertension.

Optimal Microphone Array Placement Design Using the Bayesian Optimization Method.

In addition to the filter coefficients, the location of the microphone array is a crucial factor in improving the overall performance of a beamformer. The optimal microphone array placement can considerably enhance speech quality. However, the optimization problem with microphone configuration variables is non-convex and highly non-linear.

Prediabetes is associated with increased cardiac events in patients with cancer who are prescribed anthracyclines.

Background: Prediabetes, which is a precedent of overt diabetes, is a known risk factor for adverse cardiovascular outcomes. Its impact on adverse cardiovascular outcomes in patients with cancer who are prescribed anthracycline-containing chemotherapy (ACT) is uncertain. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association of prediabetes with cardiovascular events in patients with cancer who are prescribed ACT.

Toward a Universal Definition of Etiologies in Heart Failure: Categorizing Causes and Advancing Registry Science.

Heart failure (HF) is a well-described final common pathway for a broad range of diseases however substantial confusion exists regarding how to describe, study, and track these underlying etiologic conditions. We describe (1) the overlap in HF etiologies, comorbidities, and case definitions as currently used in HF registries led or managed by members of the global HF roundtable; (2) strategies to improve the quality of evidence on etiologies and modifiable risk factors of HF in registries; and (3) opportunities to use clinical HF registries as a platform for public health surveillance, implementation research, and randomized registry trials to reduce the global burden of noncommunicable diseases. Investment and collaboration among countries to improve the quality of evidence in global HF registries could contribute to achieving global health targets to reduce noncommunicable diseases and overall improvements in population health.

Cross-neutralizing antibody against emerging Omicron subvariants of SARS-CoV-2 in infection-naïve individuals with homologous BNT162b2 or BNT162b2(WT + BA.4/5) bivalent booster vaccination.

Since the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, different variants and subvariants successively emerged to dominate global virus circulation as a result of immune evasion, replication fitness or both. COVID-19 vaccines continue to be updated in response to the emergence of antigenically divergent viruses, the first being the bivalent RNA vaccines that encodes for both the Wuhan-like and Omicron BA.5 subvariant spike proteins.