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Background: As a rare endocrine disorder, Cushing's Syndrome (Cushing's) is characterized by numerous symptoms and a non-specific presentation, leading to a delay to diagnosis for patients with this disease. To date, research examining the lived experiences of patients with Cushing's in healthcare is absent in the literature. This preliminary inquiry into the healthcare experiences of women with Cushing's aimed to examine the utility of this line of inquiry to support the patient centered care of individuals with Cushing's., Methods: Seven women from across Canada with endogenous Cushing's participated in the study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted examining participants' healthcare and body-related experiences with Cushing's. Results pertaining to healthcare experiences were analyzed for the current study using reflexive thematic analysis., Results: Four themes emerged whereby women with Cushing's experienced (1) a lack of patient centered care, characterized by provider miscommunication and medical gaslighting; (2) a misunderstanding of their symptoms as related to weight gain; (3) weight stigma in healthcare encounters; and (4) a shift in their quality of care following diagnosis., Conclusions: The results highlight the importance of patient centered care as well as the negative impact of commonly reported barriers to patient centered care. Cushing's specific barriers to patient centered care may include weight stigma as well as the rare incidence of Cushing's. Further research is needed to better understand the healthcare experiences of people with Cushing's in Canada., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Conduction system pacing (CSP) has emerged as a more physiological alternative to right ventricular pacing and is also being used in selected cases for cardiac resynchronization therapy. His bundle pacing was first introduced over two decades ago and its use has risen over the last five years with the advent of tools which have facilitated implantation. Left bundle branch area pacing is more recent but its adoption is growing fast due to a wider target area and excellent electrical parameters. Nevertheless, as with any intervention, proper technique is a prerequisite for safe and effective delivery of therapy. This document aims to standardize the procedure and to provide a framework for physicians who wish to start CSP implantation, or who wish to improve their technique., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology.)

Purpose: The BODY-Q is a rigorously developed patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) for patients seeking treatment for obesity and body contouring surgery. A limitation of the uptake of the BODY-Q in weight management treatments is the absence of scales designed to measure eating-specific concerns. We aimed to develop and validate 5 new BODY-Q scales measuring weight loss expectations, eating behaviors, distress, symptoms, and work life., Material and Methods: In phase 1 (qualitative), patient and expert input was used to develop and refine the new BODY-Q scales. In phase 2 (quantitative), the scales were field-tested in bariatric and weight management clinics in the United States (US), The Netherlands, and Denmark between June 2019 and January 2020. Data were also collected in the US and Canada in September 2019 through a crowdworking platform. Rasch measurement theory (RMT) analysis was used for item reduction and to examine reliability and validity., Results: The new BODY-Q scales were refined through qualitative input from 17 patients and 20 experts (phase 1) and field-tested in 4004 participants (phase 2). All items showed ordered thresholds and good fit to the Rasch model. The RMT analysis provided evidence of reliability, with PSI values ≥0.72, Cronbach alpha values ≥0.83, and test-retest values ≥0.79. Better scores on 4 scales (exception expectations scale) correlated with lower BMI, with the strongest correlation between the eating-related distress scale scores and BMI (r= -0.249, P < 0.001)., Conclusion: The new BODY-Q scales can be used in research and clinical practice to assess weight loss treatments from the patient perspective., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: Patients with heart failure are at increased risk of sudden death and death attributed to progressive pump failure. We assessed the effect of candesartan on cause-specific mortality in patients enrolled in the Candesartan in Heart failure Assessment of Reduction in Mortality and morbidity (CHARM) program., Methods and Results: The CHARM program consisted of 3 component trials that enrolled patients with symptomatic heart failure: CHARM-Alternative (n=2028; LVEF<=40% [corrected] and ACE intolerant), CHARM-Added (n=2548; LVEF<=40%, [corrected] already on ACE inhibitors), and CHARM-Preserved (n=3023; LVEF >40%). Patients were randomized to candesartan, titrated to 32 mg QD, or placebo and were followed up for a median of 37.7 months. All deaths were reviewed by a blinded adjudication committee and categorized according to prespecified definitions on the basis of a narrative and source documentation. The number and rate of deaths by cause were calculated for each of the component trials and the overall program. Of all the patients, 8.5% died suddenly, and 6.2% died of progressive heart failure. Candesartan reduced both sudden death (HR 0.85 [0.73 to 0.99], P=0.036) and death from worsening heart failure (HR 0.78 [0.65 to 0.94], P=0.008). These reductions were most apparent in the patients with LVEF<=40% [corrected]., Conclusions: Candesartan reduced sudden death and death from worsening heart failure in patients with symptomatic heart failure, although this reduction was most apparent in patients with systolic dysfunction.