Mortality Benefit of Rivaroxaban Plus Aspirin in Patients With Chronic Coronary or Peripheral Artery Disease.

Background: The combination of 2.5 mg rivaroxaban twice daily and 100 mg aspirin once daily compared with 100 mg aspirin once daily reduces major adverse cardiovascular (CV) events in patients with chronic coronary artery disease (CAD) or peripheral artery disease (PAD).

Objectives: The aim of this work was to report the effects of the combination on overall and cause-specific mortality.

Low-dose rivaroxaban plus aspirin in patients with polypharmacy and multimorbidity: an analysis from the COMPASS trial.

Aims: To analyse whether the benefits and risks of rivaroxaban plus aspirin vary in patients with comorbidities and receiving multiple drugs. In patients with coronary or peripheral artery disease, adding low-dose rivaroxaban to aspirin reduces cardiovascular events and mortality. Polypharmacy and multimorbidity are frequent in such patients.

State-of-the-art machine learning algorithms for the prediction of outcomes after contemporary heart transplantation: Results from the UNOS database.

Purpose: We sought to develop and validate machine learning (ML) models to increase the predictive accuracy of mortality after heart transplantation (HT).

Methods And Results: We included adult HT recipients from the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) database between 2010 and 2018 using solely pre-transplant variables. The study cohort comprised 18 625 patients (53 ± 13 years, 73% males) and was randomly split into a derivation and a validation cohort with a 3:1 ratio.

Patient-reported Outcomes After Metabolic Surgery Versus Medical Therapy for Diabetes: Insights From the STAMPEDE Randomized Trial.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the long-term effects of medical and surgical treatments of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) on patient-reported outcomes (PROs).

Background: Robust data on PROs from randomized trials comparing medical and surgical treatments for T2DM are lacking.

Methods: The Surgical Treatment And Medications Potentially Eradicate Diabetes Efficiently (STAMPEDE) trial showed that 5 years after randomization, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) and sleeve gastrectomy (SG) were superior to intensive medical therapy (IMT) alone in achieving glycemic control in patients with T2DM and obesity.

Preventive versus deferred catheter ablation of myocardial infarct-associated ventricular tachycardia: A meta-analysis.

Background: The optimal timing of catheter ablation for the treatment of ventricular tachycardia (VT) in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy remains unclear. Studies examining the impact of early preventive ablation of VT on rates of implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) therapies and mortality have been limited by small sample size.

Objectives: To conduct a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing initial catheter ablation and ICD implantation (preventive ablation arm) vs ICD implantation alone (deferred ablation arm) in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy and VT.

Mapping and quantification of the twitter footprint of cardiologists.

Aims: The increasing importance placed by medical journals for dissemination of published articles on social media, such as posting Altmetric scores, has further expedited the need for differentiating science from pseudo-science. The 'Kardashian index' (a.k.

Cardiovascular and Kidney Outcomes Across the Glycemic Spectrum: Insights From the UK Biobank.

Background: Treatment guidelines for prediabetes primarily focus on glycemic control and lifestyle management. Few evidence-based cardiovascular and kidney risk-reduction strategies are available in this population.

Objectives: This study sought to characterize cardiovascular and kidney outcomes across the glycemic spectrum.

Diabetes-Related Factors and the Effects of Ticagrelor Plus Aspirin in the THEMIS and THEMIS-PCI Trials.

Background: THEMIS (The Effect of Ticagrelor on Health Outcomes in Diabetes Mellitus Patients Intervention Study) (n = 19,220) and its pre-specified THEMIS-PCI (The Effect of Ticagrelor on Health Outcomes in Diabetes Mellitus Patients Intervention Study-Percutaneous Coronary Intervention) (n = 11,154) subanalysis showed, in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (median duration 10.0 years; HbA 7.1%) and stable coronary artery disease without prior myocardial infarction (MI) or stroke, that ticagrelor plus aspirin (compared with placebo plus aspirin) produced a favorable net clinical benefit (composite of all-cause mortality, MI, stroke, fatal bleeding, and intracranial bleeding) if the patients had a previous percutaneous coronary intervention.

Primary results of long-term outcomes in the MOMENTUM 3 pivotal trial and continued access protocol study phase: a study of 2200 HeartMate 3 left ventricular assist device implants.

Aim: The MOMENTUM 3 pivotal trial established superiority of the HeartMate 3 (HM3) left ventricular assist device (LVAD), a fully magnetically levitated centrifugal-flow pump, over the HeartMate II axial-flow pump. We now evaluate HM3 LVAD outcomes in a single-arm prospective continuous access protocol (CAP) post-pivotal trial study.

Methods And Results: We enrolled 2200 HM3 implanted patients (515 pivotal trial and 1685 CAP patients) and compared outcomes including survival free of disabling stroke or reoperation to replace or remove a malfunctioning device (primary composite endpoint), overall survival and major adverse events at 2 years.

Electronic health record risk score provides earlier prognostication of clinical outcomes in patients admitted to the cardiac intensive care unit.

In this observational study, we compared the prognostic ability of an electronic health record (EHR)-derived risk score, the Rothman Index (RI), automatically derived on admission, to the first 24-hour Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score for outcome prediction in the modern cardiac intensive care unit (CICU). We found that while the 24-hour SOFA score provided modestly superior discrimination for both in-hospital and CICU mortality, the RI upon CICU admission had better calibration for both outcomes. Given the ubiquitous nature of EHR utilization in the United States, the RI may become an important tool to rapidly risk stratify CICU patients within the ICU and improve resource allocation.

Evaluation of Dual Versus Triple Therapy by Landmark Analysis in the RE-DUAL PCI Trial.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore the early versus late benefits and risks of dabigatran dual therapy versus warfarin triple therapy in the RE-DUAL PCI (Randomized Evaluation of Dual Antithrombotic Therapy With Dabigatran Versus Triple Therapy With Warfarin in Patients With Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention) trial.

Background: Patients with atrial fibrillation who undergo percutaneous coronary intervention are at increased risk for both bleeding and thrombotic events.

Methods: A total of 2,725 patients with atrial fibrillation underwent percutaneous coronary intervention and were randomized to receive dabigatran 110 mg, or dabigatran 150 mg plus a P2Y inhibitor (and no aspirin), or warfarin plus a P2Y inhibitor plus aspirin.

Machine learning, artificial intelligence and mechanical circulatory support: A primer for clinicians.

Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to the ability of machines to perform intelligent tasks, and machine learning (ML) is a subset of AI describing the ability of machines to learn independently and make accurate predictions. The application of AI combined with "big data" from the electronic health records, is poised to impact how we take care of patients. In recent years, an expanding body of literature has been published using ML in cardiovascular health care, including mechanical circulatory support (MCS).

Comparison of New York Heart Association Class and Patient-Reported Outcomes for Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction.

Importance: It is unclear how New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class compares with patient-reported outcomes among patients with heart failure (HF) in contemporary US clinical practice.

Objective: To characterize longitudinal changes and concordance between NYHA class and the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire Overall Summary Score (KCCQ-OS), and their associations with clinical outcomes.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cohort study included 2872 US outpatients with chronic HF with reduced ejection fraction across 145 practices enrolled in the CHAMP-HF registry between December 2015 and October 2017.

Intensity of statin treatment after acute coronary syndrome, residual risk, and its modification by alirocumab: insights from the ODYSSEY OUTCOMES trial.

Aims: Statins are pivotal to the secondary prevention of major adverse cardiovascular events, but some patients are statin-intolerant. We examined the effects of the proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitor alirocumab on the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events according to the intensity of background statin treatment.

Methods And Results: The ODYSSEY OUTCOMES trial compared alirocumab with placebo in 18,924 patients with acute coronary syndrome and dyslipidaemia despite intensive or maximum-tolerated statin treatment (including no statin if intolerance was documented).

Clinical outcomes and healthcare expenditures in the real world with left ventricular assist devices - The CLEAR-LVAD study.

Background: Several distinctly engineered left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) are in clinical use. However, contemporaneous real world comparisons have not been conducted, and clinical trials were not powered to evaluate differential survival outcomes across devices.

Objectives: Determine real world survival outcomes and healthcare expenditures for commercially available durable LVADs.

The management of secondary mitral regurgitation in patients with heart failure: a joint position statement from the Heart Failure Association (HFA), European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI), European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA), and European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions (EAPCI) of the ESC.

Secondary (or functional) mitral regurgitation (SMR) occurs frequently in chronic heart failure (HF) with reduced left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction, resulting from LV remodelling that prevents coaptation of the valve leaflets. Secondary mitral regurgitation contributes to progression of the symptoms and signs of HF and confers worse prognosis. The management of HF patients with SMR is complex and requires timely referral to a multidisciplinary Heart Team.

Transmitting Device Identifiers of Implants From the Point of Care to Insurers: A Demonstration Project.

Background: For implanted devices, an effective postmarket surveillance system does not exist. For medications, the Food and Drug Administration's Sentinel Initiative plays that role, relying mainly on drug codes in insurance claims. Unique device identifiers (UDIs) could play an analogous role for implants, but there is no mandate for providers to include UDIs in claims or for payers to record them.

Development and validation of optimal phenomapping methods to estimate long-term atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Aims/hypothesis: Type 2 diabetes is a heterogeneous disease process with variable trajectories of CVD risk. We aimed to evaluate four phenomapping strategies and their ability to stratify CVD risk in individuals with type 2 diabetes and to identify subgroups who may benefit from specific therapies.

Methods: Participants with type 2 diabetes and free of baseline CVD in the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) trial were included in this study (N = 6466).