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Significance regarding immunomodulatory treatment regarding interstitial lungs ailment throughout systemic sclerosis.
Potassium (K+) is the most abundant cation in humans and is essential for normal cellular function. Alterations in K+ regulation can lead to neuromuscular, gastrointestinal, and cardiac abnormalities. Dyskalemia (i.e., hypokalemia and hyperkalemia) in heart failure is common because of heart failure itself, related comorbidities, and medications. Dyskalemia has important prognostic implications. Hypokalemia is associated with excess morbidity and mortality in heart failure. The lower the K+ levels, the higher the risk, starting at K+ levels below approximately 4.0 mmol/l, with a steep risk increment with K+ levels 5.5 mmol/l) has also been associated with increased risk of adverse events; however, this association is prone to reverse-causation bias as stopping renin angiotensin aldosterone system inhibitor therapy in the advent of hyperkalemia likely contributes the observed risk. In this state-of-the-art review, practical and easy-to-implement strategies to deal with both hypokalemia and hyperkalemia are provided as well as guidance for the use of potassium-binders.Background Graft patency is one of the major determinants of long-term outcome following coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG). Biomarkers, if indicative of the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms, would suggest strategies to limit graft failure. The prognostic value of microvesicles (MVs) for midterm graft patency has never been tested. Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate whether MV pre-operative signature (number, cellular origin, procoagulant phenotype) could predict midterm graft failure and to investigate potential functional role of MVs in graft occlusion. selleck inhibitor Methods This was a nested case-control substudy of the CAGE (CoronAry bypass grafting factors related to late events and Graft patency) study that enrolled 330 patients undergoing elective CABG. Of these, 179 underwent coronary computed tomography angiography 18 months post-surgery showing 24% graft occlusion. Flow cytometry MV analysis was performed in 60 patients (30 per group with occluded [cases] and patent [control subjects] grafts) on plasma samples collected the day before surgery and at follow-up. Results Before surgery, cases had 2- and 4-fold more activated platelet-derived and tissue-factor positive MVs respectively than control subjects. The MV procoagulant capacity was also significantly greater. Altogether this MV signature properly classified graft occlusion (area under the curve 0.897 [95% confidence interval 0.81 to 0.98]; p less then 0.0001). By using an MV score (0 to 6), the odds ratio for occlusion for a score above 3 was 16.3 (95% confidence interval 4.1 to 65.3; p less then 0.0001). Conclusions The pre-operative signature of MVs is independently associated with midterm graft occlusion in CABG patients and a cumulative MV score stratifies patients' risk. Because the MV signature mirrors platelet activation, patients with a high MV score could benefit from a personalized antiplatelet therapy.Background Left ventricular ejection fraction (EF) recovery is associated with better long-term outcomes after myocardial infarction (MI). However, the association between long-term outcomes and EF recovery among young MI patients has not been investigated. Objectives This study sought to evaluate the prevalence of left ventricular systolic dysfunction among patients who experience their first MI at a young age and to compare outcomes between those who recovered their EF versus those who did not. Methods The YOUNG-MI registry is a retrospective cohort study of patients who experienced an MI at ≤50 years of age. EF at the time of MI and within 180 days post-MI were determined from all available medical records. The primary outcomes were all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. Results There were 1,724 patients with baseline EF data 503 (29%) had EF less then 50%, whereas 1,221 (71%) had a normal baseline EF. Patients with lower EF were more likely to have experienced ST-segment elevation MI, have higher troponin values, and have more severe angiographic coronary artery disease. Among patients with abnormal baseline EF, information on follow-up EF was available for 216, of whom 90 (42%) recovered their EF to ≥50%. Patients who experienced EF recovery had less severe angiographic disease, lower alcohol use, and a lower burden of comorbidities. Over a median follow-up of 11.1 years, EF recovery was associated with an ∼8-fold reduction in all-cause mortality (adjusted hazard ratio 0.12; p = 0.001) and a ∼10-fold reduction in cardiovascular mortality (adjusted hazard ratio 0.10; p = 0.025). Conclusions Nearly one-third of young patients presented with left ventricular dysfunction post-MI. Among them, EF recovery occurred in more than 40% and was independently associated with a substantial decrease in all-cause and cardiovascular mortality.Background Intracoronary pressure wire measurement of fractional flow reserve (FFR) provides decision-making guidance during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). However, limited data exist on the effect of FFR on long-term clinical outcomes in patients with stable angina pectoris. Objectives The purpose of this study was to determine the association between the usage of FFR and all-cause mortality in patients with stable angina undergoing PCI. Methods Data was used from the SCAAR (Swedish Coronary Angiography and Angioplasty Registry) on all patients undergoing PCI (with or without FFR guidance) for stable angina pectoris in Sweden between January 2005 and March 2016. The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality, and the secondary endpoints were stent thrombosis (ST) or restenosis and peri-procedural complications. The primary model was multilevel Cox proportional hazards regression adjusted with Kernel-based propensity score matching. Results In total, 23,860 patients underwent PCI for stable angina pectoris; of these, FFR guidance was used in 3,367. After a median follow-up of 4.7 years (range 0 to 11.2 years), the FFR group had lower adjusted risk estimates for all-cause mortality (hazard ratio 0.81; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.73 to 0.89; p less then 0.001), and ST and restenosis (hazard ratio 0.74; 95% CI 0.57 to 0.96; p = 0.022). The number of peri-procedural complications did not differ between the groups (adjusted odds ratio 0.96; 95% CI 0.77 to 1.19; p = 0.697). Conclusions In this observational study, the use of FFR was associated with a lower risk of long-term mortality, ST, and restenosis in patients undergoing PCI for stable angina pectoris. This study supports the current European and American guidelines for the use of FFR during PCI and shows that intracoronary pressure wire guidance confers prognostic benefit in patients with stable angina pectoris.
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