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Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between body mass index (BMI) class and physical activity and sedentary behavior in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) during cardiac rehabilitation (CR)., Methods: This study was a secondary analysis of the OPTICARE trial. Physical activity and sedentary behavior were measured in participants with ACS (n = 359) using actigraphy at baseline, directly after completion of a multidisciplinary 12-week exercise-based CR program and 9 months thereafter. Outcome measures were step count and duration of time (percentage of wear time) spent in light physical activity, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, and sedentary behavior. Participants were classified as normal weight (BMI = 18.5-24.99 kg/m2; n = 82), overweight (BMI = 25.0-29.99 kg/m2; n = 182), or obese (BMI ≥ 30.0 kg/m2; n = 95). Linear mixed-effects models were applied to study the relationship between BMI class and physical activity and sedentary behavior., Results: At the start of CR, compared with participants with normal weight, participants with obesity made on average 1.11 steps fewer per minute (952 steps/d), spent 2.9% (25 min/d) less time in light physical activity, and spent 3.31% (28 min/d) more time in sedentary behavior. Participants of all BMI classes improved their physical activity and sedentary behavior levels similarly during CR, and these improvements were maintained after completion of CR., Conclusion: Participants with ACS who had obesity started CR with a less favorable physical activity and sedentary behavior profile than that of participants with normal weight. Because all BMI classes showed similar improvement during CR, this deficit was preserved., Impact: This study indicates that reconsideration of the CR program in the Netherlands for patients with ACS and obesity is warranted, and development of more inclusive interventions for specific populations is needed. A new program for people with obesity should include added counseling on increasing physical activity and preventing sedentary behavior to facilitate weight loss and reduce mortality risk., Lay Summary: People with ACS who have obesity are less active and sit more than individuals with normal weight, both during and after CR. This study suggests that CR needs to be changed to help individuals increase their physical activity to help them lose weight and reduce their risk of death., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Physical Therapy Association.)

Background: The capacity of TAVI-programs and numbers of sites performing TAVI has rapidly increased. This necessitated the initiation of the Rotterdam TAVI Care & Cure Program, aiming to improve patient-centered care during the TAVI pathway., Methods: Consenting patients with severe aortic stenosis and an indication for TAVI will be included. The TAVI Care & Cure program will facilitate prognostic contributions to improve outcomes, patient satisfaction and quality of life in patients with valvular heart disease who are treated with a transcatheter aortic valve implantation in collaboration with the departments of cardiology, cardio-thoracic surgery, anesthesiology and geriatrics., Conclusion: With a single center observational registry, we aim to assess the TAVI patient clinical pathway, focusing on pre, peri and post interventional variables including functional status and HRQoL. We will evaluate the patient's complexity by applying an extended multidisciplinary approach, which includes a systematic application of geriatric assessments of frailty and cognitive function., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: The safety and efficacy of a minimally interrupted novel oral anticoagulant (NOAC) strategy at the time of atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation is uncertain. The purpose of this study was to compare rates of bleeding and thromboembolic events between minimally interrupted NOAC and uninterrupted vitamin K antagonist (VKA) in patients undergoing AF ablation., Methods: This was a retrospective single-center cohort study of consecutive patients who underwent AF catheter ablation between January 2013 and April 2017. Endpoints included major bleeding, clinically relevant non-major bleeding and systemic thromboembolic event from the time of ablation through 30 days. Bleeding events were defined by the Bleeding Academic Research Consortium (BARC) and International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH)., Results: A total of 637 patients were included in the analysis, 520 patients used uninterrupted VKA and 117 patients minimally interrupted NOAC (dabigatran: n = 68; apixaban: n = 30; rivaroxaban, n = 14; edoxaban, n = 5). The rate of clinically relevant non-major bleeding was lower in the NOAC group in comparison to the VKA group (BARC type 2: 2.6% versus 8.3%, P = 0.03; ISTH: 0% versus 3.8%, P = 0.03). Rates of major bleeding were similar between groups (BARC type 3 to 5: 3.4% versus 4.2%, P = NS; ISTH: 6.0% versus 8.7%, P = NS; for NOAC and VKA groups, respectively). Rates of systemic embolism were 0% with minimally interrupted NOAC, and 0.6% with uninterrupted VKA (P = NS)., Conclusions: In patients undergoing AF ablation, anticoagulation with minimally interrupted NOAC was associated with fewer clinically relevant non-major bleeding events in comparison with uninterrupted VKA without compromising thromboembolic safety.

Background: Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is capable of identifying lipid core-containing plaques, which can subsequently be quantified as a lipid core burden index (LCBI). Currently, no data are available on the long-term prognostic value of NIRS in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD)., Objectives: This study sought to determine the long-term prognostic value of intracoronary NIRS as assessed in a nonculprit vessel in patients with CAD., Methods: In this prospective, observational study, NIRS imaging was performed in a nonculprit coronary artery in 203 patients referred for angiography due to stable angina pectoris (SAP) or acute coronary syndrome (ACS). The primary endpoint was the composite of all-cause mortality, nonfatal ACS, stroke, and unplanned coronary revascularization., Results: The 1-year cumulative incidence of the primary endpoint was 10.4%. Cumulative 1-year rates in patients with an LCBI equal to and above the median (43.0) versus those with LCBI values below the median were 16.7% versus 4.0% (adjusted hazard ratio: 4.04; 95% confidence interval: 1.33 to 12.29; p = 0.01). The relation between LCBI and the primary endpoint was similar in SAP and ACS patients (p value for heterogeneity = 0.14). Similar differences between high and low LCBI were observed in pre-specified secondary endpoints., Conclusion: CAD patients with an LCBI equal to or above the median of 43.0, as assessed by NIRS in a nonculprit coronary artery, had a 4-fold risk of adverse cardiovascular events during 1-year follow-up. This observation warrants confirmation by larger studies with extended follow-up. (The European Collaborative Project on Inflammation and Vascular Wall Remodeling in Atherosclerosis - Intravascular Ultrasound Study [AtheroRemoIVUS]; NCT01789411)., (Copyright © 2014 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Previous studies have shown that smoking cessation after a cardiac event reduces the risk of subsequent mortality in patients. The aim of this study was to describe the effect of smoking cessation in terms of prolonged life-years gained. The study sample comprised 856 patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI; balloon angioplasty) during 1980 to 1985. Patients were followed up for 30 years and smoking status at 1 year could be retrieved in 806 patients. The 27 patients who died within 1 year were excluded from the analysis. The median follow-up was 19.5 years (interquartile range 6.0 to 23.0). Cumulative 30-year survival rate was 29% in the group of patients who quit smoking and 14% in persistent smokers (p = 0.005). After adjustment for baseline characteristics at the time of PCI, smoking cessation remained an independent predictor of lesser mortality (adjusted hazard ratio 0.57, 95% confidence interval 0.46 to 0.71). The estimated life expectancy was 18.5 years in those who quit smoking and 16.4 years in the persistent smokers (p <0.0001). In conclusion, in patients with coronary heart disease who underwent PCI in the late 1980s, smoking cessation resulted in at least 2.1 life-years gained., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

We examined whether health-related quality of life (HRQoL) predicts long-term survival in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) independent of established prognostic risk factors. In 2004, data on 711 consecutive patients with PAD undergoing vascular surgery were collected from 11 hospitals in The Netherlands. After 1 year, patients were contacted to complete the EuroQol Questionnaire (EQ-5D), of which 503 complied. HRQoL assessed by the EQ-5D was divided into tertiles (i.e. poor, intermediate and good HRQoL). Mortality was subsequently assessed 3 years after surgery. Of the 503 patients, 55 (11%) patients died during follow-up. Mortality was 21% in patients with poor HRQoL, 8% in patients with intermediate HRQoL, and 5% in patients with good HRQoL. Patients with poor HRQoL (HR = 5.4; 95% CI 2.3-12.5) had a worse survival compared to patients with a good HRQoL, after adjusting for established prognostic factors. In conclusion, the study indicates that poor HRQoL predicts long-term survival in patients with PAD, and provides prognostic value above established risk factors.

Background: The prevalence of death due to cardiovascular disease increases steeply in vascular surgery patients with increasing age. Observational data in coronary heart disease and heart failure patients suggest that elderly patients are less optimally treated compared to younger patients. The aim of this study was to examine the differences in clinical characteristics and medical therapy of the elderly compared to younger patients in vascular surgery. Furthermore, we assessed the effect of statins on 1-year mortality in an unselected patient population., Methods: Data on 711 consecutive peripheral vascular surgery patients were collected from 11 hospitals in The Netherlands in 2004. Elderly patients were defined as patients with an age above 70 years. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify clinical characteristics and medical therapy associated with older age. The effect of statins on 1-year mortality was assessed with Cox proportional hazard regression analysis., Results: The mean age was 67 +/- 10 years and 299 (42%) patients were older than 70 years of age. Elderly patients showed a significant higher cardiac risk profile according to the Lee Cardiac Risk Index (Lee-Index) (>/=2 risk factors: 50% vs 32% in younger patients, P < .001). Multivariable analysis showed that older patients presented with a significant higher Lee-Index, a higher incidence of cardiac arrhythmias (odds ratio [OR] = 1.9; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.1-3.3) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (OR = 2.8; 95% CI = 1.7-4.7). However, smoking (OR = 0.5; 95% CI = 0.3-0.7) was less common in the elderly. Statins were significantly less often prescribed in the elderly (OR = 0.6; 95% CI = 0.4-0.8), although a beneficial effect of statins on 1-year mortality (HR = 0.3, 95% CI = 0.1-0.7) was observed., Conclusion: Elderly patients undergoing vascular surgery had a higher cardiac risk profile than younger patients. Despite this high cardiac risk and the beneficial effect, our study demonstrated that statins were less often used in elderly patients.

Background: The American College of Cardiology (ACC)/American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines for Perioperative Cardiovascular Evaluation for Noncardiac Surgery recommend an algorithm for a stepwise approach to preoperative cardiac assessment in vascular surgery patients. The authors' main objective was to determine adherence to the ACC/AHA guidelines on perioperative care in daily clinical practice., Methods: Between May and December 2004, data on 711 consecutive peripheral vascular surgery patients were collected from 11 hospitals in The Netherlands. This survey was conducted within the infrastructure of the Euro Heart Survey Programme. The authors retrospectively applied the ACC/AHA guideline algorithm to each patient in their data set and subsequently compared observed clinical practice data with these recommendations., Results: Although 185 of the total 711 patients (26%) fulfilled the ACC/AHA guideline criteria to recommend preoperative noninvasive cardiac testing, clinicians had performed testing in only 38 of those cases (21%). Conversely, of the 526 patients for whom noninvasive testing was not recommended, guidelines were followed in 467 patients (89%). Overall, patients who had not been tested, irrespective of guideline recommendation, received less cardioprotective medications, whereas patients who underwent noninvasive testing were significantly more often treated with cardiovascular drugs (beta-blockers 43% vs. 77%, statins 52% vs. 83%, platelet inhibitors 80% vs. 85%, respectively; all P < 0.05). Moreover, the authors did not observe significant differences in cardiovascular medical therapy between patients with a normal test result and patients with an abnormal test result., Conclusion: This survey showed poor agreement between ACC/AHA guideline recommendations and daily clinical practice. Only one of each five patients underwent noninvasive testing when recommended. Furthermore, patients who had not undergone testing despite recommendations received as little cardiac management as the low-risk population.