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1.
Herbal Medications Used to Ameliorate Cardiac Conditions.
Revell, MA, Pugh, MA
The Nursing clinics of North America. 2021;(1):123-136
Abstract
Herbs have been used for centuries to treat various diseases, including cardiovascular disease. Herbs may be used by clients exclusively for disease management or in combination with conventional medications. This article increases provider awareness of certain herbs and their potential use by clients, as well as their impact on the cardiovascular system. It is important for the advanced practice nurse to collect information related to herb use during history retrieval. This information should prompt the nurse to discuss possible benefits and side effects that may occur taking herbs in isolation or in combination with cardiovascular prescription medications.
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2.
Meta-Analysis Comparing the Effect of Rivaroxaban Versus Vitamin K Antagonists for Treatment of Left Ventricular Thrombi.
Saleh, Y, Al-Abcha, A, Abdelkarim, O, Elwany, M, Abdelfattah, OM, Abdelnabi, M, Almaghraby, A
The American journal of cardiology. 2021;:123-125
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3.
Series of myocardial FDG uptake requiring considerations of myocardial abnormalities in FDG-PET/CT.
Minamimoto, R
Japanese journal of radiology. 2021;(6):540-557
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Abstract
Distinct from cardiac PET performed with preparation to control physiological FDG uptake in the myocardium, standard FDG-PET/CT performed with 4-6 h of fasting will show variation in myocardial FDG uptake. For this reason, important signs of myocardial and pericardial abnormality revealed by myocardial FDG uptake tend to be overlooked. However, recognition of possible underlying disease will support further patient management to avoid complications due to the disease. This review demonstrates the mechanism of FDG uptake in the myocardium, discusses the factors affecting uptake, and provides notable image findings that may suggest underlying disease.
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4.
Impact of Sodium-Glucose Co-Transporter 2 Inhibitors on Cardiac Protection.
Wu, VC, Li, YR, Wang, CY
International journal of molecular sciences. 2021;(13)
Abstract
Sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors have been approved as a new class of anti-diabetic drugs for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The SGLT2 inhibitors reduce glucose reabsorption through renal systems, thus improving glycemic control in all stages of diabetes mellitus, independent of insulin. This class of drugs has the advantages of no clinically relevant hypoglycemia and working in synergy when combined with currently available anti-diabetic drugs. While improving sugar level control in these patients, SGLT2 inhibitors also have the advantages of blood-pressure improvement and bodyweight reduction, with potential cardiac and renal protection. In randomized control trials for patients with diabetes, SGLT2 inhibitors not only improved cardiovascular and renal outcomes, but also hospitalization for heart failure, with this effect extending to those without diabetes mellitus. Recently, dynamic communication between autophagy and the innate immune system with Beclin 1-TLR9-SIRT3 complexes in response to SGLT2 inhibitors that may serve as a potential treatment strategy for heart failure was discovered. In this review, the background molecular pathways leading to the clinical benefits are examined in this new class of anti-diabetic drugs, the SGLT2 inhibitors.
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Direct Oral Anticoagulants in the Treatment of Left Ventricular Thrombus: A Retrospective, Multicenter Study and Meta-Analysis of Existing Data.
Cochran, JM, Jia, X, Kaczmarek, J, Staggers, KA, Rifai, MA, Hamzeh, IR, Birnbaum, Y
Journal of cardiovascular pharmacology and therapeutics. 2021;(2):173-178
Abstract
AIM: To compare the safety and efficacy of direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC) relative to vitamin K antagonists (VKA) for the treatment of left ventricular thrombus (LVT). METHODS This retrospective study enrolled patients diagnosed with LVT from 2014-2017. Patient characteristics and outcomes within 12 months of LVT diagnosis were recorded and analyzed. A meta-analysis was also performed by pooling our results with existing data in literature. RESULTS 14 DOAC and 59 VKA patients were included. Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics were similar except for age. Although more strokes within 12 months occurred in VKA (15%) than in DOAC (0%) patients, this was not statistically significant (P = 0.189). There were no significant differences in outcomes between patients on DOAC and VKA for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) (7%, vs 3.4%, P = .477), LVT resolution (86% vs 76%, P = .499) or bleeding (14% vs 14%, P = 1) within 12 months. The meta-analysis included 6 studies (n = 408 for DOACs; n = 1207 for VKA). There were no significant differences between DOACs versus VKAs with respect to odds for unresolved thrombus (OR 0.61, 95% CI 0.26,1.41), embolic events (OR 1.24, 95% CI 0.90,1.69), embolic events and death (OR 1.10, 95% CI 0.84,1.45) or bleeding events (OR 1.13, 95% CI 0.74,1.72). CONCLUSIONS Our study and meta-analysis suggest similar efficacy and safety of DOACs in the treatment of LVT compared to VKA. These findings underscore the need for a randomized controlled trial.
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HPLC with spectrophotometric or mass spectrometric detection for quantifying very-long chain fatty acids in human plasma and its association with cardiac risk factors.
Shrestha, R, Chen, Z, Gao, Z, Chen, Y, Okada, E, Ukawa, S, Nakagawa, T, Nakamura, K, Tamakoshi, A, Chiba, H, et al
Annals of clinical biochemistry. 2021;(5):400-410
Abstract
BACKGROUND We developed and compared two liquid chromatography methods, one with UV/Visible spectrophotometric detection (HPLC) and the other with mass spectrometric detection (LC-MS), for quantifying very-long chain fatty acids (VLCFA) in human plasma. Association of VLCFA with various cardiovascular risk factors were evaluated. METHOD Fasting blood samples were collected from 541 human volunteers (242 men and 299 women; mean age ±SD, 58.9 ± 12.4 years), including 429 and 112 individuals with and without hypertriglyceridemia, respectively. Esterified VLCFA were saponified and derivatized with 2-nitrophenylhydrazine. Separation of VLCFA species was achieved with C4 Mightysil column (HPLC) and Ascentis Express Phenyl-Hexyl column (LC-MS) followed by spectrophotometric and selected-reaction monitoring mode of mass spectrometric detection, respectively. RESULTS The HPLC assay of VLCFA was precise with intra-assay imprecision of 2.5% to 6.9% and inter-assay imprecision of 3.2% to 9.5%. Moreover, there was an excellent correlation (r > 0.96) between HPLC and LC-MS methods. The 95 percentile reference intervals (RI; upper limit) of VLCFA were determined to be 41.3 µmol/L in healthy volunteers. Plasma VLCFA were significantly correlated with triglycerides (Spearman's ρ = 0.306, P < 0.001) and total cholesterol (Spearman's ρ = 0.251, P < 0.001). All species of VLCFA were significantly elevated in hypertriglyceridaemic individuals compared with control. CONCLUSION We established LC-based assays of VLCFA with either spectrophotometry or mass spectrometry as a detection system. Hypertriglyceridaemia is significantly associated with elevated concentration of each species of VLCFA.
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7.
Cardiac Rehabilitation Programs for Chronic Heart Disease: A Bayesian Network Meta-analysis.
Huang, R, Palmer, SC, Cao, Y, Zhang, H, Sun, Y, Su, W, Liang, L, Wang, S, Wang, Y, Xu, Y, et al
The Canadian journal of cardiology. 2021;(1):162-171
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cardiac rehabilitation is a medically supervised program after coronary events that involves exercise and dietary modification. We evaluated the comparative benefits and harms of cardiac rehabilitation strategies via a network meta-analysis. METHODS We followed a pre-specified protocol (PROSPERO CRD42018094998). We searched Embase, MEDLINE, and Cochrane Central Register of Randomized Trials databases for randomized controlled trials that evaluated cardiac rehabilitation vs a second form of rehabilitation or standard/usual care in adults after myocardial infarction, coronary artery bypass grafting, percutaneous coronary intervention, or angiography. Risk of bias and evidence quality was evaluated using the Cochrane tool and Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE), respectively. Pairwise and Bayesian network meta-analyses were performed for 11 clinical outcomes. RESULTS We included 134 randomized controlled trials involving 62,322 participants. Compared with standard care, exercise-only cardiac rehabilitation reduced the odds of cardiovascular mortality (odds ratio [OR], 0.70; 95% credibility interval [CrI], 0.51-0.96; moderate-quality evidence), major adverse cardiovascular events (OR, 0.57; 95% CrI, 0.40-0.78; low-quality evidence), nonfatal myocardial infarction (OR, 0.71; 95% CrI, 0.54-0.93; moderate-quality evidence), all-cause hospitalization (OR, 0.74; 95% CrI, 0.54-0.98; moderate-quality evidence), and cardiovascular hospitalization (OR, 0.69; 95% CrI, 0.51-0.88; moderate-quality evidence). Exercise-only cardiac rehabilitation was associated with lower cardiovascular hospitalization risk relative to cardiac rehabilitation without exercise (OR, 0.68; 95% CrI, 0.48-0.97; moderate-quality evidence). CONCLUSIONS Cardiac rehabilitation programs containing exercise might provide broader cardiovascular benefits compared with those without exercise.
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The effect of gum consumption on anthropometric characteristics and cardiac disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Huang, M, Luo, J, Luo, G, Berahmand, F, Găman, MA, Sedanur Macit, M, Zhang, X
Complementary therapies in medicine. 2020;:102578
Abstract
OBJECTIVE No systematic review and (or) meta-analysis has been conducted so far to study the effect of gum consumption on anthropometric indices and blood pressure. Thus, our objective was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the randomized controlled trials investigating the effect of gum consumption on anthropometric indices and cardiac disorders. METHODS The literature search was implemented in the Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed/Medline and Google Scholar databases to discover trials that investigated the impact of gum on obesity indices and cardiac disorders up to April 2019. In order to calculate effect sizes, the random-effects model (using the DerSimonian-Laird method) was applied. RESULTS Finally, 21 articles were included in this meta-analysis. Combined results indicated that body weight (WMD: -0.60 kg, 95 % CI: -1.13, -0.07, P = 0.026, I2 = 89 %), and WC (WMD: -1.36 cm, 95 % CI: -2.50, -0.22, P = 0.019, I2 = 96 %) changed significantly following gum consumption. Subgroup analyses showed that a gum dosage ≤15 g/day (WMD: -1.23 kg/m2, 95 % CI: -2.03 to -0.43, I2 = 99 %) significantly decreased BMI. Moreover, gum consumption had significant effects on cardiac disorders. CONCLUSION In conclusion, gum supplementation may be an adjuvant for controlling obesity and can possess potential benefits in the management of cardiac disorders.
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An expanding spectrum of complications in isolated methylmalonic aciduria.
Forny, P, Grunewald, S
Journal of mother and child. 2020;(2):9-13
Abstract
Isolated methylmalonic acidurias represent a heterogeneous genetic group of inborn errors of propionate metabolism with the common biochemical hallmark of elevated methylmalonic acid present in tissues and body fluids. It was first described in the 1960s and over the years better understanding of the disease and its presentation, earlier diagnosis, and most importantly advances in treatment have resulted in extended survival of patients. With that an expanding spectrum of complications is emerging which requires attention and regular monitoring to facilitate early intervention and reduce disease burden.
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10.
Use of Direct Oral Anticoagulants in the Treatment of Left Ventricular Thrombi: A Systematic Review.
Sedhom, R, Abdelmaseeh, P, Megaly, M, Asinger, R
The American journal of medicine. 2020;(11):1266-1273.e6
Abstract
The off-label use of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) for the treatment of left ventricular thrombi has grown over the past several years given the ease of administration, absence of a requirement for international normalized ratio (INR) monitoring, and freedom from dietary restrictions; however, the evidence for their safety and efficacy is contradictory. We systematically searched PubMed and Google Scholar from January 1, 2009, to April 25, 2020, for studies of DOACs for treatment of left ventricular thrombi. Fifty-three articles (of 1,168 patients) met our inclusion criteria. We found that the studies have reached conflicting results; based on our findings, their routine use for the treatment of left ventricular thrombi cannot be recommended. Adequately powered randomized controlled trials are needed to determine the safest and most effective treatment for left ventricular thrombi.