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Background: In patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs), inappropriate therapies (ITs) are often caused by supraventricular tachyarrhythmias (SVTs)., Objective: We aimed to estimate the incidence of IT in modern single-lead ICDs., Methods: The THINGS study enrolled patients with single-lead ICDs with 2 SVT discrimination modalities: dual chamber (DC) with an atrial floating dipole or single chamber (SC) with morphology criterion. All devices were programmed with 2-zone therapy: ventricular tachycardia (VT) zone from 170 beats/min with ≥15 seconds (≥36 beats) detection time and SVT discriminators; and ventricular fibrillation (VF) zone from 214 beats/min with ≥7 seconds (≥24 beats) detection time. The primary end point was the first occurrence of IT, adjudicated by an independent board., Results: A total of 526 patients (median age, 66 years; 83% male), 183 (34.8%) with DC and 343 (65.2%) with SC discrimination, were observed for a median of 2.2 years. The incidence rate of IT was 4.2% (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.7%-6.4%) at 1 year and 7.1% (95% CI, 5.0%-9.9%) at 2 years. Younger age (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.95-0.99; P = .013) and history of atrial fibrillation (adjusted hazard ratio, 2.67; 95% CI, 1.30-5.46; P = .007) were significantly associated with increased IT risk. In a propensity score-matched comparison, DC discrimination showed a trend toward reduced IT rates compared with SC discrimination in the VT zone (1-year incidence, 1.8% vs 3.5%; P = .105)., Conclusion: High-rate VF cutoff and prolonged detection time programming resulted in a low IT rate in single-lead ICD patients with modern SVT discriminators. A trend favoring the DC system was observed in the VT zone., Competing Interests: Disclosures Mauro Biffi has held educational activity and participated in speakers bureau on behalf of Abbott, Boston Scientific, Biotronik, Medtronic, and Philips. Matteo Ziacchi has held educational activity and participated in speakers bureau on behalf of Medtronic., (Copyright © 2024 Heart Rhythm Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: The prevalence of obesity in America continues to grow significantly. Awareness and understanding of the disease of obesity and treatment options for it appear to be lacking among the general US population., Objective: This study aimed to identify misperceptions in diagnosis and treatment of obesity, struggles Americans face in obtaining treatment, consequences of obesity, and perceived barriers to weight loss., Setting: University hospital, United States., Methods: A survey of 1509 adults was completed in September 2016 using AmeriSpeak, a probability-based panel designed to be representative of the US household population. The survey included oversamples of blacks and Hispanics. The study analyzed quantitative data from structured interviews and presents descriptive statistics related to public attitudes toward obesity., Results: Of Americans, 81% consider obesity to be the most serious health problem facing the nation, tying cancer as the top issue and landing ahead of diabetes (72%), heart disease (72%), mental illness (65%), and HIV infection and AIDS (46%). Nearly all Americans (94%) agree that obesity itself, even when no other diseases are present, increases the risk for early death. Most Americans overestimate the effectiveness of some obesity treatments, such as diet and exercise alone. Many overweight and obese Americans do not consult a doctor at all about their issues of excess weight., Conclusions: There is increased awareness about the serious consequences of obesity, but there is still a lack of understanding about the reasons and best treatment modalities for the disease., (Copyright © 2017 American Society for Bariatric Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Orthostatic hypotension is the fall in blood pressure when upright and has a high prevalence in elderly population. Diagnostic and therapeutic work-up can be long and difficult. We describe the case of an 81-year-old male patient with long PR interval and episodes of 2:1 atrioventricular block, in whom the implantation of a dual chamber pacemaker led to the disappearance of orthostatic hypotension. The most likely mechanism was an impaired cardiac filling with a short diastolic time due to a very prolonged PR interval, a somewhat "pseudo-pacemaker syndrome". The correction of the first degree AV block with the implantation of the pacemaker and the optimization of the AV delay allowed us to correct the diastolic impairment and to resume a normal response to orthostatism. This case underlies the complex and multifactorial nature of orthostatic hypotension and the importance of a correct diagnosis of correctable causes to treat a very disabling condition., (Copyright © 2012 Cardiological Society of India. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This study looked at 102 anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV)-positive, hepatitis B virus (HBV)-negative, and HIV-negative patients (median age, 45.1 years; range, 15-71) affected by hereditary bleeding disorders who have been infected with HCV for 15 to 34 years (median, 25.1). All these patients were infected before the mid 1980s because of non-virally inactivated pooled blood products. Fourteen patients (13.7%) were HCV-RNA negative with no signs of liver disease and were considered to have cleared the virus. Eighty-eight patients (86.3%) were HCV-RNA positive. The HCV genotype distribution was 1a in 20.5%, 1b in 36.4%, 2 in 17.0%, 3 in 15.9%, 4 in 3.4%, and mixed in 6.8% of cases. Twenty-four patients (23.5%) had serum cryoglobulins, symptomatic in 4 cases, and associated with liver disease and with genotype 1. Among the 88 HCV-RNA-positive patients, 15 (17.0%) had normal alanine aminotransferase levels and abdominal ultrasound, 61 (69.3%) had nonprogressive chronic hepatitis, and 12 (13.7%) had severe liver disease (6 [6.9%] liver cirrhosis, 4 [4.5%] hepatic decompensation, and 2 [2.3%] hepatocellular carcinoma) after a follow-up period of 25 years. There were 3 (3.4%) liver-related deaths. HCV genotype 1, patient's age at evaluation, duration of infection, and severity of congenital bleeding disorder were associated with more advanced liver disease. The results confirm the slow progression of HCV infection in HIV-negative hemophiliacs.

Laminin P1 (pepsin-resistant fragment of laminin) and aminoterminal peptide of type III procollagen are measurable in serum and are now considered useful serum markers of fibrogenesis and inflammation in chronic liver diseases. However, very few studies thus far have focused on assessing the diagnostic value of these markers in detecting fibrosis and necro-inflammatory activity in chronically diseased liver. The aim of the present study was therefore to investigate the correlations of laminin and type III procollagen with liver histology and to compare their diagnostic value in detecting the degree of liver fibrosis and necro-inflammatory activity in a homogeneous group of 99 patients suffering from chronic hepatitis C, and lacking other factors which can directly affect the serum levels of the two markers. Both these serum markers were measured by radioimmunoassay, employing commercially available kits. The three main aspects of liver pathology, i.e. portal-periportal activity, lobular activity and fibrosis, were histologically evaluated and semiquantitatively expressed by numerical scores. The results of this study show that laminin and type III procollagen were both positively correlated with the histological scores for portal-periportal activity and with those for fibrosis, whereas no significant correlation was observed between each of the two serum markers and the histological scores for lobular activity. The sensitivity and specificity of laminin and type III procollagen in detecting histological aspects of fibrosis and disease activity in liver, computed at various cut-off levels, showed overlapping trends for the two markers; however, the diagnostic value was in general rather low, whatever the cut-off considered. We therefore conclude that the 'static' measurement of both serum laminin and type III procollagen is of limited value for individual diagnosis of liver damage.