Left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy (LVH) confers increased cardiovascular risk on patients with hypertension. Echocardiography using new hand-held devices might allow community-based cost-effective screening for LVH in a targeted hypertensive population. Thus, the aim of this study was to test the validity of hand-held ultrasound devices to screen for LVH in the community. Accordingly, 189 patients with hypertension attending a community-based heart failure screening program underwent echocardiography by both hand-held and standard devices by an experienced echocardiographer. LVH was defined as LV mass index >/=134 g.m(-2) for men and >/=110 g.m(-2) for women using the Devereux-modified American Society of Echocardiography cube equation. No significant differences were noted between the 2 devices in the measurement of LV wall thickness or LV mass index. Agreement for estimation of LVH between the 2 devices was 86% (kappa = 0.63). The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of the hand-held device for predicting LVH were 72%, 91%, 73%, and 90%, respectively. Thus, hand-held echocardiography devices accurately assessed LVH and may be used for community-based screening for LVH in targeted patients with hypertension.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.echo.2003.09.013 | DOI Listing |
J Cancer Res Ther
December 2024
Department of Medical Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital and Shenzhen Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Shenzhen, People's Republic of China.
Background: The low incidence and poor prognosis primary trastuzumab resistance (PTR) in HER2-positive breast cancer has limited research into possible treatments. Thus, it remains unclear whether this group of patients could benefit from nontargeting HER2 antiangiogenic therapy.
Patients And Methods: We collected the medical data for HER2-positive patients with PTR who received apatinib 250 mg and trastuzumab-based chemotherapy (ATBC) between March 18, 2017, and March 31, 2022.
JAMA Health Forum
January 2025
Department of Population Health Sciences, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York.
Importance: The prevalence of pharmacies owned by integrated insurers and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), or insurer-PBMs, is of growing regulatory concern. However, little is known about the role of these pharmacies in Medicare, in which pharmacy network protections may influence market dynamics.
Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of insurer-PBM-owned pharmacies and the extent to which insurer-PBMs steer patients to pharmacies they own in Medicare.
Egypt Heart J
January 2025
Department of Cardiology and Vascular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Sebelas Maret University, Surakarta, Indonesia.
Background: Precapillary pulmonary hypertension (PH) as complication in atrial septal defect (ASD) is closely related to right heart hemodynamics, such as right atrial pressure (RAP) and pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR). Right heart catheterization (RHC) as the gold standard for their measurement is invasive and not widely available in Indonesia. Electrocardiography (ECG) was proposed to be alternative in this matter.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Physiol Endocrinol Metab
January 2025
Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami Florida.
Intermittent hypoxemia (IH), a pathophysiologic consequence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), adversely affects insulin sensitivity, insulin secretion, and glucose tolerance. Nifedipine, an L-type calcium channel blocker frequently used for treatment of hypertension, can also impair insulin sensitivity and secretion. However, the cumulative and interactive repercussions of IH and nifedipine on glucose homeostasis have not been previously investigated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRheumatology (Oxford)
January 2025
The Department of Rheumatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Objective: To explore the clinical characteristics and risk factors for adverse outcomes in patients with Sjögren's Syndrome-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension (SS-PAH).
Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on SS-PAH patients diagnosed by right heart catheterization (RHC) between March 2013 and March 2024 across four Chinese medical centers. Patients were categorized into primary SS-PAH (pSS-PAH) and overlap SS-PAH, based on the presence of additional autoimmune diseases.
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