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Background: The STRONG-HF trial demonstrated substantial reductions in the composite of mortality and morbidity over 6 months among hospitalized heart failure patients who were randomized to intensive guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) optimization compared to usual care. Whether an intensive GDMT optimization program would be cost-effective for patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) is unknown. Methods: Using a 2-state Markov model we evaluated the effect of an intensive GDMT optimization program on hospitalized patients with HFrEF. Two population models were created to simulate this intervention, a "Clinical Trial" model, based off the participants in the STRONG-HF trial and a "Real-World" model, based off the Get With The Guidelines-HF Registry of patients admitted with worsening HF. We then modeled the effect of a 6-month intensive triple therapy GDMT optimization program comprised of cardiologists, clinical pharmacists, and registered nurses. Hazard ratios from the intervention arm of the STRONG-HF trial were applied to both populations models to simulate clinical and financial outcomes of an intensive GDMT optimization program from a United States healthcare sector perspective with a lifetime time horizon. Optimal quadruple GDMT use was also modeled. Results: An intensive GDMT optimization program was extremely cost-effective with incremental cost-effectiveness ratios

Heart failure remains a huge societal concern despite medical advancement, with an annual direct cost of over $30 billion. While guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) is proven to reduce morbidity and mortality, many eligible patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) are not receiving one or more of the recommended medications, often due to suboptimal initiation and titration in the outpatient setting. Hospitalization serves as a key point to initiate and titrate GDMT. Four evidence-based therapies have clinical benefit within 30 days of initiation and form a crucial foundation for HFrEF therapy: renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors with or without a neprilysin inhibitor, β-blockers, mineralocorticoid-receptor-antagonists, and sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors. The authors present a practical guide for the implementation of these four pillars of GDMT during a hospitalization for acute heart failure.

BackgroundHeart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) is one of the most costly and deadly chronic disease states. The cost effectiveness of a comprehensive quadruple therapy regimen for HFrEF has not been studied.ObjectivesThe authors sought to determine the cost-effectiveness of quadruple therapy comprised of beta-blockers, mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists, angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitors, and sodium glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors vs regimens composed of only beta-blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (triple therapy), and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and beta-blockers (double therapy).MethodsUsing a 2-state Markov model, the authors performed a cost-effectiveness study using simulated populations of 1,000 patients with HFrEF based on the participants in the PARADIGM-HF (Prospective comparison of ARNI with ACEI to Determine Impact on Global Mortality and morbidity in Heart Failure) trial and compared them by treatment strategy (quadruple therapy vs triple and double therapy) from a United States health care system perspective. The authors also performed 10,000 probabilistic simulations.ResultsTreatment with quadruple therapy resulted in an increase of 1.73 and 2.87 life-years compared with triple therapy and double therapy, respectively, and an increase in quality-adjusted life-years of 1.12 and 1.85 years, respectively. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratios of quadruple therapy vs triple therapy and double therapy were $81,000 and $51,081, respectively. In 91.7% and 99.9% of probabilistic simulations quadruple therapy had an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of

Objective: Background: Case Report: Conclusions: Rare coexistence of disease or pathology Cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) is a post-orthotopic heart transplant (OHT) complication driven by inti-mal smooth muscle proliferation and immune hyperactivity to donor heart tissue. Accelerated CAV leads to al-lograft failure within 1 year after receiving a normal angiogram result. Viruses can contribute to CAV develop-ment, but CAV after SARS-CoV-2 infection has not been reported to date. A 48-year-old man, 5 years after OHT for non-ischemic cardiomyopathy, was admitted to the Cardiac Care Unit with 3 days of abdominal pain, dyspnea, and palpitations. His medical history included hyperlipidemia and in-sulin-dependent diabetes. He was compliant with all medications. Two months prior, he had a mild COVID-19 case. An echocardiogram and coronary angiogram 6 and 9 months prior, respectively, were unremarkable. Right and left heart catheterization demonstrated increased filling pressures, a cardiac index of 1.7 L/ml/m2, and diffuse vasculopathy most severe in the LAD artery. Flow could not be restored despite repeated balloon-ing and intra-catheter adenosine. Empiric ionotropic support, daily high-dose methylprednisolone, and plas-mapheresis were started. A few days later, the patient had cardiac arrest requiring venoarterial extracorporeal membranous oxygenation. Given CAV’s irreversibility, re-transplantation was considered, but the patient had an episode of large-volume hemoptysis and remained clinically unstable for transplant. The patient died while on palliative care. Our patient developed accelerated CAV 2 months after having COVID-19. While CAV has known associations with certain viruses, its incidence after SARS-CoV-2 infection is unknown. Further research is needed to deter-mine if prior SARS-CoV-2 infection is a risk factor for development of CAV in OHT recipients.

Understanding disease burden and transmission dynamics in resource-limited, low-income countries like Nepal are often challenging due to inadequate surveillance systems. These issues are exacerbated by limited access to diagnostic and research facilities throughout the country. Nepal has one of the highest COVID-19 case rates (915 cases per 100,000 people) in South Asia, with densely-populated Kathmandu experiencing the highest number of cases. Swiftly identifying case clusters (hotspots) and introducing effective intervention programs is crucial to mounting an effective containment strategy. The rapid identification of circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants can also provide important information on viral evolution and epidemiology. Genomic-based environmental surveillance can help in the early detection of outbreaks before clinical cases are recognized and identify viral micro-diversity that can be used for designing real-time risk-based interventions. This research aimed to develop a genomic-based environmental surveillance system by detecting and characterizing SARS-CoV-2 in sewage samples of Kathmandu using portable next-generation DNA sequencing devices. Out of 22 sites in the Kathmandu Valley from June to August 2020, sewage samples from 16 (80%) sites had detectable SARS-CoV-2. A heatmap was created to visualize the presence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the community based on viral load intensity and corresponding geospatial data. Further, 47 mutations were observed in the SARS-CoV-2 genome. Some detected mutations (n = 9, 22%) were novel at the time of data analysis and yet to be reported in the global database, with one indicating a frameshift deletion in the spike gene. SNP analysis revealed possibility of assessing circulating major/minor variant diversity on environmental samples based on key mutations. Our study demonstrated the feasibility of rapidly obtaining vital information on community transmission and disease dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 using genomic-based environmental surveillance.

Sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) are a recent addition to the pillars of medical therapy for heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction, all of which improve quality of life, morbidity, and mortality. These benefits are evident within the first 30 days of initiation. This review discusses the rationale for SGLT2i initiation in simultaneous or in rapid sequence with other guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT). We also discuss SGLT2i use and early benefits in HF patients with an ejection fraction greater than 40%.

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is a growing threat among cancer patients. Not surprisingly, cancer-targeting therapies have been linked to metabolic dysregulation including changes in local and systemic lipid metabolism. Thus, tumor development and cancer therapeutics are intimately linked to cholesterol metabolism and may be a driver of increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in this population. Chemotherapeutic agents affect lipid metabolism through diverse mechanisms. In this review, we highlight the mechanistic and clinical evidence linking commonly used cytotoxic therapies with cholesterol metabolism and potential opportunities to limit atherosclerotic risk in this patient population. Better understanding of the link between atherosclerosis, cancer therapy, and cholesterol metabolism may inform optimal lipid therapy for cancer patients and mitigate cardiovascular disease burden.

Background: Management of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) requires timely initiation and up-titration of guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT). In safety-net hospitals (SNHs), limited health care staff and resources make achievement of optimal medical therapy challenging. Recent studies have shown that medication titration performed by clinical pharmacists can improve outcomes in ambulatory management of HFrEF; however, the impact of these services within an SNH remains unknown.Objective: Determine the impact of integrating clinical pharmacists into a heart failure (HF) clinic on initiation and titration of GDMT within an SNH.Methods: We performed a single-center retrospective cohort study of patients with HFrEF treated in an ambulatory HF medication titration clinic within an SNH before and after clinical pharmacist integration. Primary outcomes included dose optimization rates of GDMT, time between clinic visits, and time to optimization of GDMT. Exploratory secondary outcomes were all-cause, HF, and cardiovascular acute care service utilization and all-cause, HF, and cardiovascular mortality before and after clinical pharmacist integration up to 6 months after initial clinic visit.Results: A total of 153 patients with HFrEF were treated. Baseline characteristics in the pre- and postintervention groups were comparable. After clinical pharmacist integration, there was a statistically significant improvement in optimization of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitor or hydralazine-nitrate equivalent (82% vs. 94%, P = 0.02). Dose optimization rates of beta-blockers (90% vs. 83%, P = 0.22) and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (57% vs. 57%, P > 0.99) were unchanged. There was a statistically significant reduction in mean time between clinic visits (26 vs. 14 days, P < 0.001) and in mean time to optimization of GDMT (88 vs. 45 days, P = 0.002). All-cause mortality was reduced (13% vs. 2%, P = 0.01).Conclusion: In SNHs, where limited health care staff and resources present as barriers to timely initiation and titration of GDMT, integration of clinical pharmacists into HF clinics can serve as a practical solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]