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Evolution of diagnostic testing modalities in cardiovascular medicine has been rapid. Technological advances in cardiac imaging have enabled the assessment of cardiac texture and function with unprecedented resolution, while the assessment of coronary artery disease by non-invasive means has matured to rival coronary angiography. Similarly, developments in the area of serum biomarkers have given further insights into the risk experienced by patients with coronary artery disease, acute coronary syndromes and heart failure. However, the rate of this innovation calls for a moment''s pause to refocus on the goals of the diagnostic and risk refinement process that is to deliver better care and improve clinical outcome. To date many studies in this area have fallen short of demonstrating such benefits and it is our responsibility as a clinical community to demand more of such innovation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Studies of chronic diseases are associated with a financial burden on households. We aimed to determine if survivors of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) experience household economic burden and to quantify any potential burden by examining level of economic hardship and factors associated with hardship. Methods: Australian patients admitted to hospital with ACS during 2-week period in May 2012, enrolled in SNAPSHOT ACS audit and who were alive at 18 months after index admission were followed-up via telephone/paper survey. Regression models were used to explore factors related to out-of-pocket expenses and economic hardship. Results: Of 1833 eligible patients at baseline, 180 died within 18 months, and 702 patients completed the survey. Mean out-of-pocket expenditure (n = 614) in Australian dollars was A$258.06 (median: A$126.50) per month. The average spending for medical services was A$120.18 (SD: A$310.35) and medications was A$66.25 (SD: A$80.78). In total, 350 (51 %) of patients reported experiencing economic hardship, 78 (12 %) were unable to pay for medical services and 81 (12 %) could not pay for medication. Younger age (18-59 vs =80 years (OR): 1.89), no private health insurance (OR: 2.04), pensioner concession card (OR: 1.80), residing in more disadvantaged area (group 1 vs 5 (OR): 1.77), history of CVD (OR: 1.47) and higher out-of-pocket expenses (group 4 vs 1 (OR): 4.57) were more likely to experience hardship. Conclusion: Subgroups of ACS patients are experiencing considerable economic burden in Australia. These findings provide important considerations for future policy development in terms of the cost of recommended management for patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atrial fibrillation (AF) has been established as an independent predictor of long-term mortality after acute myocardial infarction. However, this is less well defined across the whole spectrum of acute coronary syndromes (ACSs). The Acute Coronary Syndrome Prospective Audit is a prospective multicenter registry with 12-month outcome data for 3,393 patients (755 with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, 1942 with high-risk non–ST-segment elevation ACS [NSTE-ACS], and 696 with intermediate-risk NSTE-ACS). A total of 149 patients (4.4%) had new-onset AF and 387 (11.4%) had previous AF. New-onset AF was more, and previous AF was less frequent in those with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction than in those with high-risk NSTE-ACS or intermediate-risk NSTE-ACS (p <0.001). Compared to patients without arrhythmia, patients with new-onset AF and previous AF were significantly older and had more high-risk features at presentation (p <0.004). Patients with new-onset AF more often had left main coronary artery disease, resulting in a greater rate of surgical revascularization (p <0.001). Only new-onset AF resulted in adverse in-hospital outcomes (p <0.001). Only patients with previous AF had greater long-term mortality (hazard ratio 1.42, p <0.05). New-onset AF was only associated with a worse long-term composite outcome (hazard ratio 1.66, p = 0.004). However, the odds ratio for the composite outcome was greatest for patients with new-onset AF with intermediate-risk NSTE-ACS (odds ratio 3.9, p = 0.02) than for those with high-risk NSTE-ACS (odds ratio 2.0, p = 0.01) or ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (odds ratio 1.4, p = 0.4). In conclusion, new-onset AF was associated with worse short-term outcomes and previous AF was associated with greater mortality even at long-term follow-up. The prognostic burden of new-onset AF differed with the type of ACS presentation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]