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Cardiovascular disease significantly jeopardizes pregnancies in the United States, impacting 1% to 4% of pregnancies annually. Among complications, cardiac arrhythmias are prevalent, posing concerns for maternal and fetal health. The incidence of arrhythmias during pregnancy is rising, partly due to advances in congenital heart surgery and a growing population of women with structural heart disease. While most arrhythmias are benign, the increasing prevalence of more serious arrhythmias warrants a proactive approach. Guidance and reassurance suffice in many cases, but persistent symptoms require cautious use of antiarrhythmic drugs or other therapies for a safe outcome. Managing more serious arrhythmias requires a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach involving specialists, including maternal-fetal medicine physicians, cardiologists, electrophysiologists, and anesthesiologists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Thromboembolic events related to invasive electrophysiology studies, while rare, can have devastating consequences. Use of systemic anticoagulation for a pediatric or adult‐congenital invasive electrophysiology study is recommended, however there is no established standard of practice in this population. Objective: To report on procedural practices for thromboembolism prophylaxis during invasive electrophysiology studies for pediatric patients and adults with congenital heart disease. Methods: An anonymous web‐based survey was sent to the members of the Pediatric and Congenital Electrophysiology Society. The survey focused on pre‐procedural, intra‐procedural, and post‐procedural thromboembolism prophylaxis practices during invasive electrophysiology studies. Significant practice variation was defined as <90% concordance among respondents. Results: Survey was completed by 73 members; 52 (71%) practicing in the United States, 65 (89%) practicing in an academic institution, and 14 (19%) in an institution that performs more than 200 invasive electrophysiology procedures annually. Responses showed significant variation in practice. Prior to an invasive electrophysiology procedure, 25% discontinue aspirin while 47% discontinue anticoagulants. Heparin is given for all procedures by 32%. When heparin is administered, the first dose is given by 32% after sheaths are placed, 42% after crossing into the systemic atrium, and 26% just prior to systemic‐side ablation. Most target an activated clotting time between 200–300 seconds. Post systemic‐side ablation, 58% do not initiate a heparin infusion. Post‐procedural oral agents were initiated on day of procedure by 34% of respondents and on post‐procedure day 1 by 53%. If treating with aspirin, 74% use low‐dose (3–5 mg/kg or 81 mg daily), and 68% treat for 4–6 weeks. Conclusion: There is significant variation in thromboembolism prophylaxis for invasive EP studies among pediatric and congenital electrophysiologists. Further studies are needed to optimize the management of thromboembolism prophylaxis in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seasonal Variations of Arrhythmias and Their Impact on Mortality in Cancer Patients with Health Disparities: A Propensity Score Adjusted Machine Learning Analysis of over 100 Million Hospitalizations Across 3 Years Arrhythmias are observed to increase during high influenza activity seasons (HIA, December to February) with significant clinical impact among high-risk patients, so their outcomes may be optimized through closer monitoring of these populations. It is unknown if cancer is such a risk factor. This is a retrospective analysis of arrhythmia-related mortality and the effect of health disparities in patients with cancer during HIA and non-HIA seasons in a nationally representative database. Machine learning-augmented propensity score adjusted multivariable regression (ML-PSr) was performed using the 2016-2018 National Inpatient Sample (NIS), the United States' largest all-payer hospitalized dataset. A number of 16,795,379 (18.48%) patients presented with arrhythmia of whom 3,214,914 (19.14%) were during HIA. In ML-PSr, HIA did not significantly increase the odds of arrhythmia for cancer patients (OR 1.01, 95%CI 0.99-1.03, p=0.37), but the odds of arrhythmia-related mortality were higher during HIA seasons (OR 1.19, 95%CI 1.12-1.27, p<0.001) compared to non-HIA seasons (OR 1.17, 95%CI 1.13-1.22, p<0.001). Primary malignancies with the highest prevalence of arrhythmias during HIA were that of the lung (19.60%), leukemia (11.49%), non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) (8.24%), prostate (8.15%), and multiple myeloma (MM) (6.21%) (p<0.001). HIA increased arrhythmia-related mortality most for the following primary malignancies by year: gastrointestinal in 2016 (OR 1.15, 95%CI 1.01-1.32, p=0.039), leukemia in 2017 (OR 1.31, 95%CI 1.10-1.54, p=0.002), GI in 2018 (OR 1.14, 95%CI 1.01-1.29, p=0.029), and renal in 2018 (OR 1.54, 95%CI 1.06-2.23, p=0.025). Among patients with active cancer and arrhythmia, African Americans had significantly greater mortality than Caucasians (OR 1.13, 95%CI 1.03-1.23, p=0.013), independent of socioeconomic and clinical confounders. This study suggests arrhythmia-related mortality was higher during HIA seasons compared to non-HIA seasons in cancer patients and showed notable disparities by race and worse outcomes by primary malignancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Disease from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) remains the seventh leading cause of death in the United States. Many patients infected with this virus develop later cardiovascular complications including myocardial infarctions, stroke, arrhythmia, heart failure, and sudden cardiac death (20–28%). The purpose of this study is to understand the primary mechanism of myocardial injury in patients infected with SARS-CoV-2. Methods: We investigated a consecutive cohort of 48 medical examiner cases who died with PCR-positive SARS-CoV-2 (COVpos) infection in 2020. We compared them to a consecutive cohort of 46 age- and sex-matched controls who were PCR-negative for SARS-CoV-2 (COVneg). Clinical information available at postmortem examination was reviewed on each patient. Formalin-fixed sections were examined using antibodies directed against CD42 (platelets), CD15 (myeloid cells), CD68 (monocytes), C4d, fibrin, CD34 (stem cell antigen), CD56 (natural killer cells), and myeloperoxidase (MPO) (neutrophils and neutrophil extracellular traps(NETs)). We used a Welch 2-sample T-test to determine significance. A cluster analysis of marker distribution was also done. Results: We found a significant difference between COVpos and COVneg samples for CD42, CD15, CD68, C4d, fibrin, and MPO, all of which were significant at p < 0.001. The most prominent features were neutrophils (CD15, MPO) and MPO-positive debris suggestive of NETs. A similar distribution of platelets, monocytes, fibrin and C4d was seen in COVpos cases. Clinical features were similar in COVpos and COVneg cases for age, sex, and body mass index (BMI). Conclusion: These findings suggest an autoinflammatory process is likely involved in cardiac damage during SARS-CoV-2 infection. No information about clinical cardiac disease was available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Identification of epilepsy patients with elevated risk for atrial fibrillation (AF) is critical given the heightened morbidity and premature mortality associated with this arrhythmia. Epilepsy is a worldwide health problem affecting nearly 3.4 million people in the United States alone. The potential for increased risk for AF in patients with epilepsy is not well appreciated, despite recent evidence from a national survey of 1.4 million hospitalizations indicating that AF is the most common arrhythmia in people with epilepsy. Methods: We analyzed inter‐lead heterogeneity of P‐wave morphology, a marker reflecting arrhythmogenic nonuniformities of activation/conduction in atrial tissue. The study groups consisted of 96 patients with epilepsy and 44 consecutive patients with AF in sinus rhythm before clinically indicated ablation. Individuals without cardiovascular or neurological conditions (n = 77) were also assessed. We calculated P‐wave heterogeneity (PWH) by second central moment analysis of simultaneous beats from leads II, III, and aVR ("atrial dedicated leads") from standard 12‐lead electrocardiography (ECG) recordings from admission day to the epilepsy monitoring unit (EMU). Results: Female patients composed 62.5%, 59.6%, and 57.1% of the epilepsy, AF, and control subjects, respectively. The AF cohort was older (66 ± 1.1 years) than the epilepsy group (44 ± 1.8 years, p <.001). The level of PWH was greater in the epilepsy group than in the control group (67 ± 2.6 vs. 57 ± 2.5 μV, p =.046) and reached levels observed in AF patients (67 ± 2.6 vs. 68 ± 4.9 μV, p =.99). In multiple linear regression analysis, PWH levels in individuals with epilepsy were mainly correlated with the PR interval and could be related to sympathetic tone. Epilepsy remained associated with PWH after adjustments for cardiac risk factors, age, and sex. Significance: Patients with chronic epilepsy have increased PWH comparable to levels observed in patients with AF, while being ~20 years younger, suggesting an acceleration in structural change and/or cardiac electrical instability. These observations are consistent with emerging evidence of an "epileptic heart" condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cardiovascular and cerebrovascular safety of ranibizumab, bevacizumab, and aflibercept for ocular diseases is unclear. This study aimed to evaluate and compare the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular safety in patients receiving ranibizumab, bevacizumab, and aflibercept for ocular disease. A cross‐sectional study was conducted from 2017 (Q1) to 2021 (Q4) in the US Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) database. The outcomes of interest were central nervous system vascular disorders, ischemic heart disease, hypertension, pulmonary hypertension, torsade de pointes/QT prolongation, embolic and thrombotic events, cardiac arrhythmias, cardiac failure, and cardiomyopathy. Data mining was performed by a disproportional method with a compression, using compressed reporting odds ratios (sRORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to measure signals. The results showed 1462 cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events associated with aflibercept, 834 with ranibizumab, and 150 with bevacizumab. Ranibizumab, bevacizumab, and aflibercept were linked to central nervous system vascular disorders (sROR, 5.57[95%CI, 4.95‐6.26] vs sROR, 2.23 [95%CI, 1.75‐2.85] vs sROR, 2.73[95%CI, 2.43–3.06]), ischemic heart disease (sROR, 3.31[95%CI, 2.65–4.13] vs sROR, 1.98 [95%CI, 1.24‐3.16] vs sROR, 3.00 [95%CI, 2.46‐3.65]), embolic and thrombotic (sROR, 3.36 [95%CI, 3.04‐3.72] vs sROR, 2.16 [95%CI, 1.70‐2.74] vs sROR, 5.25 [95%CI, 4.82‐5.72]). Both ranibizumab and bevacizumab produced hypertension (sROR, 1.73 [95%CI, 1.41‐2.12] vs sROR, 1.46 [95%CI, 1.03‐2.06]) and arrhythmias (sROR, 2.82 [95%CI, 1.99‐3.99] vs sROR, 2.13 [95%CI, 1.08‐4.22]) signals. The signals of heart failure were detected in ranibizumab (sROR, 5.64 [95%CI, 4.08‐7.79]) and aflibercept (sROR, 2.80 [95%CI, 2.03‐3.86]). Ranibizumab, bevacizumab, and aflibercept for ocular disease have different safety profiles in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular. The overall cardiovascular and cerebrovascular risk of the patient should be thoroughly assessed in order to select the safest drug for treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Black Americans have a higher risk of nonischemic cardiomyopathy (NICM) than White Americans. We aimed to evaluate differences in the risk of tachyarrhythmias among patients with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD). METHODS: The study population comprised 3895 ICD recipients in the United States enrolled in primary prevention ICD trials. Outcome measures included ventricular tachyarrhythmia (VTA), atrial tachyarrhythmia (ATA), ICD therapies, VTA burden (using Andersen-Gill recurrent event analysis), death, and the predicted benefit of the ICD. All events were adjudicated blindly. Outcomes were compared between self-reported Black patients versus White patients with cardiomyopathy (ischemic and NICM). RESULTS: Black patients were more likely to be female (35% versus 22%) and younger (57±12 versus 62±12 years) with a higher frequency of comorbidities. In NICM, Black patients had a higher rate of first VTA, fast VTA, ATA, and appropriate and inappropriate ICD therapy (VTA ≥170 bpm, 32% versus 20%; VTA ≥200 bpm, 22% versus 14%; ATA, 25% versus 12%; appropriate therapy, 30% versus 20%; and inappropriate therapy, 25% versus 11%; P <0.001 for all). Multivariable analysis showed that Black patients with NICM experienced a higher risk of all types of arrhythmia or ICD therapy (VTA ≥170 bpm, hazard ratio [HR] 1.71; VTA ≥200 bpm, HR 1.58; ATA, HR 1.87; appropriate therapy, HR 1.62; inappropriate therapy, HR 1.86; P ≤0.01 for all), higher burden of tachyarrhythmias or therapies (VTA, HR 1.84; appropriate therapy, HR 1.84; P <0.001 for both), and a higher risk of death (HR 1.92; P =0.014). In contrast, in ischemic cardiomyopathy, the risk of all types of tachyarrhythmia, ICD therapy, or death was similar between Black patients and White patients. Both Black patients and White patients derived a significant and similar benefit from ICD implantation. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with NICM with an ICD for primary prevention, Black patients compared with White patients had a high risk and burden of VTA, ATA, and ICD therapies with a lower survival rate. Nevertheless, the overall benefit of the ICD was maintained and was similar to that of White patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Ventricular fibrillation and flutter (VF/VFL)‐related mortality trends in the United States (US) population have not yet been investigated. We aimed to assess the trends of VT/VFL‐related mortality from 1999 to 2019 among subjects aged more than 15 years old in the US. Methods: Data derived from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) WONDER were analyzed between 1999 and 2019 for VF/VFL‐related mortality in subjects aged more than 15 years of age. Adjusted mortality rates (AAMRs) per 100,000 people by year, sex, race and urban‐rural status with relative confidence intervals (CIs) were determined. Both the average annual percent change (AAPC) and the annual percent change (APC) with 95% Cis were calculated. Results: Between 1999 and 2019, 242,125 VT/VFL‐related deaths occurred in the US. The overall AAMR steadily declined [AAPC −4.4% (95% CI: −4.7 to −4.0, p <.0001)]. Women showed a more pronounced AAMRs decline [AAPC: −4.8% (95% CI: −5.3 to −4.3, p <.0001). AAMR steadily declined in white subjects and in those of other races [AAPC: −4.5 (95% CI: −4.7 to −4.2, p <.0001) and AAPC: −4.3 (95% CI: −5.1 to −3.5, p <.001), respectively]. Conversely, African Americans showed a steadily AMMR decline between 1999 and 2007 [APC: −8.3 (95% CI: −9.2 to −7.3, p <.0001)], followed by a period of stability from 2007 to 2019 (p =.73). A similar decline was observed for the AAMR among subjects living in urban and rural areas. Conclusions: VT/VFL‐related mortality steadily decreased between 1999 and 2019 in US. Despite the encouraging results, further efforts are needed to prevent VF/VFL‐related mortality in US subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia; at least more than two million individuals suffer from AF in the United States alone. AF is associated with high disease morbidity, mortality, a higher risk of stroke and thromboembolism. There are limited data on the role of Interleukin 6 (IL-6) as a prognostic factor in atrial fibrillation. So, we aimed to assess Interleukin 6(IL-6) level in AF subtypes and identify the relationship between IL 6 level, and shortterm outcomes in AF. Results: Our results included three groups paroxysmal AF (19 cases), persistent AF (19 cases), and 19 in the control group; IL-6 level had the highest mean value in persistent AF at admission, after 24 h and after 7 days.13patients(68.4%) patients with paroxysmal AF experienced normal sinus rhythm and 6 patients (31.6%) developed ischemic stroke .4 cases(66.66%) from a total of 6 patients developed stroke after 24h while 2 cases (33.33%) developed stroke after 7 days. IL-6 level at admission was significantly related to the occurrence of stroke (RR: 2.571, CI: 0.5-1.1, p :0.002), and also at 24h (RR:2.267, CI: 2.267 (0.4-1.21), p: 0.0374). IL-6 equal to or more than 6.6 pg/ml was a statistically significant predictor of stroke occurrence with a sensitivity of 84.4%, and specificity of 66.7%P: 0.001. Conclusions: PlasmaIL-6 level was associated with the initiation and perpetuation of AF, and also was associated with the prognosis of AF. Admission of IL-6 at a cutoff value ≥ 6.6 pg/ml was a predictor of stroke occurrence in paroxysmal AF patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and objectives: This study examined the occurrence rate of specific types of premature ventricular complex (PVC) alarms and whether patient demographic and/or clinical characteristics were associated with PVC occurrences. Background: Because PVCs can signal myocardial irritability, in‐hospital electrocardiographic (ECG) monitors are typically configured to alert nurses when they occur. However, PVC alarms are common and can contribute to alarm fatigue. A better understanding of occurrences of PVCs could help guide alarm management strategies. Design: A secondary quantitative analysis from an alarm study. Methods: The Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) checklist was followed. Seven PVC alarm types (vendor‐specific) were described, and included isolated, couplet, bigeminy, trigeminy, run PVC (i.e. VT >2), R‐on‐T and PVCs/min. Negative binomial and hurdle regression analyses were computed to examine the association of patient demographic and clinical characteristics with each PVC type. Results: A total of 797,072 PVC alarms (45,271 monitoring hours) occurred in 446 patients, including six who had disproportionately high PVC alarm counts (40% of the total alarms). Isolated PVCs were the most frequent type (81.13%) while R‐on‐T were the least common (0.29%). Significant predictors associated with higher alarms rates: older age (isolated PVCs, bigeminy and couplets); male sex and presence of PVCs on the 12‐lead ECG (isolated PVCs). Hyperkalaemia at ICU admission was associated with a lower R‐on‐T type PVCs. Conclusions: Only a few distinct demographic and clinical characteristics were associated with the occurrence rate of PVC alarms. Further research is warranted to examine whether PVCs were associated with adverse outcomes, which could guide alarm management strategies to reduce unnecessary PVC alarms. Relevance to clinical practice: Targeted alarm strategies, such as turning off certain PVC‐type alarms and evaluating alarm trends in the first 24 h of admission in select patients, might add to the current practice of alarm management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prokinetic agents, specifically 5-hydroxytryptamine type 4 (5-HT4) receptor agonists, have been shown to provide relief in chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC). The first-generation 5-HT4 agonists were initially withdrawn from use owing to associations with serious cardiovascular (CV) events. This review summarizes CV safety data for prucalopride, a high-affinity 5-HT4 agonist approved in the United States in 2018 for adults with CIC. No significant effects of prucalopride on CV safety were observed in animal models or early-phase clinical studies, including a thorough QT study at therapeutic (2 mg) or supratherapeutic (10 mg) doses. Among 1,750 patients with CIC who received prucalopride (2-4 mg) in 5 phase 3 studies, no trends in CV adverse events, electrocardiogram parameters, or blood pressure were documented; £1.0%–2.0% of patients had prolonged QT interval corrected for heart rate (HR) using Fridericia formula after placebo or prucalopride treatment, and low HR occurred in £6.1% and £3.3% of these patients, respectively. In two 24-month observational studies among 2,468 patients, changes in electrocardiogram parameters over time were minor, except at occasional time points when significant changes from baseline were reported for HR or QT interval. In a real-world European CV safety study among 35,087 patients (prucalopride, 5,715; polyethylene glycol 3350 [PEG3350], 29,372), results were consistent for no evidence of increased risk of major adverse CV events among patients treated with prucalopride vs PEG3350 (incidence rate ratio 5 0.64; 95% confidence interval 0.36-1.14). Studies to date have not raised concerns regarding the impact of prucalopride treatment on CV parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is one of the most common dysrhythmias managed in the emergency department (ED) setting. Due to the variety of patient presentations and disease severity, most patients in the United States are admitted to the hospital.Clinical Question: In patients who present with AF, is there a reliable decision tool that clinicians can use to predict the risk of adverse outcome and determine who may be appropriate for discharge?Evidence Review: Studies retrieved included two prospective observational cohort studies and four retrospective observational studies. These studies evaluate the use of risk decision tools in predicting adverse outcomes in patients with AF.Conclusion: Based on the available literature, RED-AF, AFFORD, and the AFTER (complex, modified, and pragmatic) scores demonstrate modest predictive discrimination in predicting adverse events, but further validation is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia in the United States, affecting approximately 1 in 10 adults, and its prevalence is expected to rise as the population ages. Treatment options for AF are limited; moreover, the development of new treatments is hindered by limited (1) knowledge regarding human atrial electrophysiological endpoints (e.g., conduction velocity [CV]) and (2) accurate experimental models. Here, we measured the CV and refractory period, and subsequently calculated the conduction wavelength, in vivo (four subjects with AF and four controls), and ex vivo (atrial slices from human hearts). Then, we created an in vitro model of human atrial conduction using induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. This model consisted of iPS‐derived human atrial cardiomyocytes plated onto a micropatterned linear 1D spiral design of Matrigel. The CV (34–41 cm/s) of the in vitro model was nearly five times faster than 2D controls (7–9 cm/s) and similar to in vivo (40–64 cm/s) and ex vivo (28–51 cm/s) measurements. Our iPS‐derived in vitro model recapitulates key features of in vivo atrial conduction and may be a useful methodology to enhance our understanding of AF and model patient‐specific disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We sought to investigate the prevalence of triptan use among patients with migraine who have contraindications to triptan usage, and to explore specifics of the medication prescribed, dosage, and route of administration. Background: Triptan medications are a mainstay of acute migraine therapy, but little is known about prevalence and patterns of triptan prescribing among patients with contraindications in the United States. Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, we used data from the IBM Marketscan database to identify patients aged ≥ 18 years with migraine from January 1, 2016, to December 31, 2017, using International Classification of Diseases, Clinical Modification 10 codes. Contraindications to triptan medications were identified by review of package labels as listed on the US Food and Drug Administration website. Triptan medications were identified from the IBM Micromedex Redbook linked to prescription claims along with route of administration and dosage. Results: Of 1,038,472 individuals diagnosed with migraine, 400,112 (38.5%) were prescribed triptan medication, and of those who were prescribed a triptan, 55,707 (13.9%) had at least one contraindication, with the most common contraindication being cardiac arrhythmia (33,696/400,112 individuals, 8.4%) followed by cerebrovascular disease (14,787/400,112, 3.7%) and coronary artery disease (10,236/400,112, 2.6%). Sumatriptan was the most prescribed triptan (261,736/1,038,472, 25.2%), and the subcutaneous and intranasal routes were more commonly prescribed among those with contraindications compared with those without contraindications. Discussion: A substantial proportion of patients with migraine with contraindications were prescribed triptan medications. These findings call for further research on the outcomes of patients with medical contraindications who are prescribed triptan medications, and for greater clarity in prescribing guidelines about the optimal approach for acute therapy among patients with migraine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Every year, 80,000–100,000 ablation procedures take place in the United States and approximately 1% of these involve paediatric patients. As the paediatric population undergoing catheter ablation to treat dysrhythmia is constantly growing, involvement of anaesthesiologists in the cardiac electrophysiology laboratory is simultaneously increasing. Compared with the adult population, paediatric patients need deeper sedation or general anaesthesia (GA) to guarantee motionlessness and preserve comfort. As a result, the anaesthesiologist working in this setting should keep in mind heart physiopathology as well as possible interactions between anaesthetic drugs and arrhythmia. In fact, drug-induced suppression of accessory pathways (APs) conduction capacity is a major concern for completing a successful electrophysiology study (EPS). Nevertheless, the literature on this topic is scarce and the optimal type of anaesthesia in EPS and ablation procedures in children is still controversial. Thus, the main goal of the present review is to collect the literature published so far on the effects on cardiac conduction tissue of the drugs commonly employed for sedation/GA in the cath lab for EPS and ablation procedures to treat supraventricular tachycardia in patients aged <18 years. • Anaesthetics can influence procedural outcomes by potentially affecting arrhythmia inducibility. • Tailoring the anaesthetic plan to each patient is crucial to achieving successful arrhythmia ablation. • Children exhibit unique characteristics that cannot be directly extrapolated from the adult population. • While general anaesthesia is largely adopted in elethrophisiology procedures it may affect procedural outcomes. • Future studies should compare general anaesthesia vs. sedation in terms of successful arrhythmia ablation and safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heart failure affects over 6.2 million adults in the United States and is expected to affect over 8 million by 2030. The U.S. one-year mortality rate is almost 30% among Medicare beneficiaries. Technological advances have produced several new cardiac devices that are available for therapy and symptom management. This article reviews current device therapies for heart failure and uses a composite case to demonstrate how bedside nurses can help patients understand treatment options related to their disease process and care for them through this experience. The author reviews current device therapies for heart failure and uses a composite case to demonstrate how bedside nurses can help patients understand treatment options, potential complications of implantation, and post-op care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There are currently limited accurate national estimates for pediatric heart failure (HF).Objectives: This study aims to describe the current burden of primary and comorbid pediatric HF in the United States.Methods: International Classification of Diseases, Clinical Modification codes were used to identify HF cases and comorbidities from the Kids' Inpatient Database, National Inpatient Sample, National Emergency Department (ED) Sample, and National Vital Statistics System for 2012 and 2016. To describe HF events, all visits/events among pediatric and adult subjects were included in the analysis. HF events were classified into 1 of 3 groups: 1) no HF; 2) primary HF; or 3) comorbid HF. We compared patients with and without HF and calculated unique event rates with age and sex standardization.Results: Congenital heart disease, conduction disorders/arrhythmias, and cardiomyopathy were responsible for the majority of pediatric HF-related ED visits and hospitalizations. Compared to 2012, in 2016, there was an increase in comorbid HF ED visits (rate ratio: 1.93; P < 0.001) and primary HF hospitalizations (rate ratio: 1.14; P = 0.002). Pediatric HF burden was lower compared to adult HF; however, deaths in the ED and in-hospital were significantly more likely in children presenting with HF than adults.Conclusions: The burden of pediatric HF continues to increase. Compared to adults with HF presenting to the ED and in-hospital, outcomes are inferior and per patient resource use is higher for children hospitalized with HF. National initiatives to understand risk factors for morbidity and mortality in pediatric HF and continued surveillance and mitigation of preventable risk factors may attenuate this uptrend. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Insertable cardiac monitors (ICMs) are essential for ambulatory arrhythmia diagnosis. However, definitive diagnoses still require time‐consuming, manual adjudication of electrograms (EGMs). Objective: To evaluate the clinical impact of selecting only key EGMs for review. Methods: Retrospective analyses of randomly selected Abbott Confirm Rx™ devices with ≥90 days of remote transmission history were performed, with each EGM adjudicated as true or false positive (TP, FP). For each device, up to 3 "key EGMs" per arrhythmia type per day were prioritized for review based on ventricular rate and episode duration. The reduction in EGMs and TP days (patient‐days with at least one TP EGM), and any diagnostic delay (from the first TP), were calculated versus reviewing all EGMs. Results: In 1000 ICMs over a median duration of 8.1 months, at least one atrial fibrillation (AF), tachycardia, bradycardia, or pause EGM was transmitted by 424, 343, 190, and 325 devices, respectively, with a total of 95 716 EGMs. Approximately 90% of episodes were contributed by 25% of patients. Key EGM selection reduced EGM review burden by 43%, 66%, 77%, and 50% (55% overall), while reducing TP days by 0.8%, 2.1%, 0.2%, and 0.0%, respectively. Despite reviewing fewer EGMs, 99% of devices with a TP EGM were ultimately diagnosed on the same day versus reviewing all EGMs. Conclusion: Key EGM selection reduced the EGM review substantially with no delay‐to‐diagnosis in 99% of patients exhibiting true arrhythmias. Implementing these rules in the Abbott patient care network may accelerate clinical workflow without compromising diagnostic timelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sleep apnea is one of the most common sleep disorders in the United States (US). Although the prevalence, risk factors, and clinical presentations of sleep apnea vary by racial groups, the racial disparity in sleep apnea-related mortality remains unclear.Methods: Sleep apnea-related mortality for 1999-2019 was obtained from the National Center for Health Statistics provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We examined the mortality trends for sleep apnea using Joinpoint regression analysis and compared the associated outcomes and multiple causes of death between Blacks and Whites.Results: For 1999-2019, sleep apnea was documented as the underlying cause of death in 17,053 decedents, with 2593 Blacks and 14,127 Whites. The overall age-adjusted mortality rates in all population, Blacks, and Whites were 2.5, 3.5, and 2.4 per 1,000,000 population, respectively (P < 0.001). Both Blacks and Whites had the highest mortality rates in the Midwest and the lowest in the Northeast. Despite the flattened mortality trend in the last decade overall, Black males had a continuous mortality increase over the study period (Annual Percentage Change 2.7%, 95% CI: 1.2-4.2). For both genders of sleep apnea decedents, Blacks were more likely to have multiple cause of death of Cardiac Arrest, Hypertension, Obesity, and Chronic Renal Failure, but Arrhythmia was more common in Whites (P < 0.05).Conclusions: There is a significant racial disparity in sleep apnea-related mortality in the US. The uptrend in mortality in Black males and associated outcomes related to cardiovascular disease should raise concerns specifically in Blacks with sleep apnea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Physical activity (PA) is an important determinant of cardiovascular health that may be affected the COVID‐19 pandemic. Therefore, we examined the immediate and long‐term effects of the pandemic and lockdown on PA in patients with established cardiovascular risk. Methods: Objectively‐measured daily PA data was obtained from cardiovascular implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) from 3453 U.S patients (mean and standard deviations [SD] age, 72.65 [13.24] years; 42% women). Adjusted mixed‐effects models stratified by device type were used to compare daily PA from periods in 2020: pre‐lockdown (March 1–14), lockdown (March 15 to May 8), and the reopening phase of the pandemic (May 9 to December 31) versus 2019. Patient characteristics and events associated with inactivity during lockdown and the proportion of patients who returned to their 2019 PA‐level by the end of reopening phase (December 31, 2020) were examined. Results: Daily PA was significantly lower during the lockdown compared to the same period in 2019 (−15%; p <.0001), especially for pacemaker patients, adults aged <65, and patients more active prior to lockdown. Non‐COVID hospitalization and ICD shock were similarly associated with low PA during lockdown (p =.0001). In the reopening phase of the pandemic, PA remained 14.4% lower in the overall sample and only 23% of patients returned to their 2019 PA level by the end of follow‐up. Conclusions: In this large cohort of patients with CIEDs, PA was markedly lower during the lockdown and remained lower for months after restrictions were lifted. Strategies to maintain PA during a national emergency are urgently needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Palpitations are a common symptom managed by general practitioners and cardiologists; atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia in adults. The recent commercial availability of smartphone-based devices and wearable technologies with arrhythmia detection capabilities has revolutionized the diagnosis and management of these common medical issues, as it has placed the power of arrhythmia detection into the hands of the patient. Numerous mobile health (mHealth) devices that can detect, record, and automatically interpret irregularities in heart rhythm and abrupt changes in heart rate using photoplethysmography (PPG)- and electrocardiogram-based technologies are now commercially available. As opposed to prescription-based external rhythm monitoring approaches, these devices are more inexpensive and allow for longer-term monitoring, thus increasing sensitivity for arrhythmia detection, particularly for patients with infrequent symptoms possibly due to cardiac arrhythmias. These devices can be used to correlate symptoms with cardiac arrhythmias, assess efficacy and toxicities of arrhythmia therapies, and screen the population for serious rhythm disturbances such as AF. Although several devices have received clearance for AF detection from the United States Food & Drug Administration, limitations include the need for ECG confirmation for arrhythmias detected by PPG alone, false positives, false negatives, charging requirements for the battery, and financial cost. In summary, the growth of commercially available devices for remote, patient-facing rhythm monitoring represents an exciting new opportunity in the care of patients with palpitations and known or suspected dysrhythmias. Physicians should be familiar with the evidence that underlies their added value to patient care and, importantly, their current limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Context: We lack models that reliably predict 30-day postoperative adverse events (AEs) following spine surgery.Purpose: We externally validated a previously developed predictive model for common 30-day adverse events (AEs) after spine surgery.Study Design/setting: This prospective cohort study utilizes inpatient and outpatient data from a tertiary academic medical center.Patient Sample: We assessed a prospective cohort of all 276 adult patients undergoing spine surgery in the Department of Neurosurgery at a tertiary academic institution between April 1, 2018 and October 31, 2018. No exclusion criteria were applied.Outcome Measures: Incidence of observed AEs was compared with predicted incidence of AEs. Fifteen assessed AEs included: pulmonary complications, congestive heart failure, neurological complications, pneumonia, cardiac dysrhythmia, renal failure, myocardial infarction, wound infection, pulmonary embolus, deep venous thrombosis, wound hematoma, other wound complication, urinary tract infection, delirium, and other infection.Methods: Our group previously developed the Risk Assessment Tool for Adverse Events after Spine Surgery (RAT-Spine), a predictive model of AEs within 30 days following spine surgery using a cohort of approximately one million patients from combined Medicare and MarketScan databases. We applied RAT-Spine to the single academic institution prospective cohort by entering each patient's preoperative medical and demographic characteristics and surgical type. The model generated a patient-specific overall risk score ranging from 0 to 1 representing the probability of occurrence of any AE. The predicted risks are presented as absolute percent risk and divided into low (<17%), medium (17%-28%), and high (>28%).Results: Among the 276 patients followed prospectively, 76 experienced at least one 30-day postoperative AE. Slightly more than half of the cohort were women (53.3%). The median age was slightly lower in the non-AE cohort (63 vs. 66.5 years old). Patients with Medicaid comprised 2.5% of the non-AE cohort and 6.6% of the AE cohort. Spinal fusion was performed in 59.1% of cases, which was comparable across cohorts. There was good agreement between the predicted AE and observed AE rates, Area Under the Curve (AUC) 0.64 (95% CI 0.56-0.710). The incidence of observed AEs in the prospective cohort was 17.8% among the low-risk group, 23.0% in the medium-risk group, and 38.4% in the high risk group (p =.003).Conclusions: We externally validated a model for postoperative AEs following spine surgery (RAT-Spine). The results are presented as low-, moderate-, and high-risk designations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence that patients may avoid healthcare facilities for fear of COVID-19 infection has heightened the concern that true rates of myocardial infarctions have been under-ascertained and left untreated. We analyzed data from the National Emergency Medical Services Information System (NEMSIS) and incident COVID-19 infections across the United States (US) between January 1, 2020 and April 30, 2020. Grouping events by US Census Division, multivariable adjusted negative binomial regression models were utilized to estimate the relationship between COVID-19 and EMS cardiovascular activations. After multivariable adjustment, increasing COVID-19 rates were associated with less activations for chest pain and non-ST-elevation myocardial infarctions. Simultaneously, increasing COVID-19 rates were associated with more activations for cardiac arrests, ventricular fibrillation, and ventricular tachycardia. Although direct effects of COVID-19 infections may explain these discordant observations, these findings may also arise from patients delaying or avoiding care for myocardial infarction, leading to potentially lethal consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Recent observations indicate that cannabis use can result in cardiovascular complications including arrhythmias. We studied the relationship between cannabis use disorder (CUD) and arrhythmia hospitalization.Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (2010-2014). Patients (age 15-54) with a primary diagnosis for arrhythmia (N = 570,556) were compared with non-arrhythmia (N = 67,662,082) inpatients for odds ratio (OR) of CUD by the logistic regression model, adjusted for demographics and comorbid risk factors.Results: The incidence of CUD in arrhythmia inpatients was 2.6%. Among cannabis users, the most prevalent arrhythmia was atrial fibrillation (42%), followed by other arrhythmias (24%) and atrial flutter (8%). Patients with CUD were younger (15-24 years, OR: 4.23), male (OR: 1.70), and African American (OR: 2.70). CUD was associated with higher odds of arrhythmia hospitalization in the young population, 1.28 times in 15-24 years (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.229-1.346) and 1.52 times in 25-34 years (95% CI: 1.469-1.578).Conclusion and Scientific Significance: With the growing legalization in the United States, there is an increased use of medicinal/recreational cannabis. This is the first national study to our knowledge that found that CUD is associated with a 47%-52% increased likelihood of arrhythmia hospitalization in the younger population and the risk of association was controlled for potential confounders including other substances. The fact that atrial fibrillation is the most prevalent arrhythmia is of special concern since it can result in stroke and other embolic events. Physicians need to familiarize themselves with cannabis abuse or dependence as a risk factor for arrhythmia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heart complications are the main cause of morbidity and mortality in hemochromatosis, but the liver is the main site for iron deposition in these patients. Large multicenter studies have described cardiovascular (CV) manifestations in patients with secondary hemochromatosis. However, the overall prevalence and risk of CV manifestations in patients with hemochromatosis at the population level are unknown. To examine the prevalence and risk of CV manifestations in patients with hemochromatosis. A retrospective cohort from the National Inpatient Sample database between 2012 and 2014 was studied. We identified hemochromatosis using ICD-9-CM diagnostic codes. CV manifestations were defined by the presence of conduction disorders, arrhythmias, congestive heart failure (CHF), pulmonary hypertension, and non-ischemic cardiomyopathy (NISCM). Of the 63,846,188 weighted hospitalizations that met the inclusion criteria, 64,590 (0.1%) had hemochromatosis and 13,200,000 (20.7%) had one or more CV manifestations. Of those with hemochromatosis, 5.3% had primary and 94.7% had secondary hemochromatosis. 27.8% of all hemochromatosis patients had one or more CV manifestations, 16% cardiac arrhythmias, 10.6% supraventricular arrhythmias (SVA), 0.8% ventricular arrhythmias, 9.3% CHF, 7.4% pulmonary hypertension, 4.2% NISCM, 2% conduction disorders, and 0.4% cardiac arrest. SVA (14.6% vs 10.4%, P < 0.001) was more prevalent in primary hemochromatosis compared to secondary while pulmonary hypertension (7.7% vs 2.6%, P < 0.001) was more prevalent in secondary hemochromatosis compared to primary. In multivariate modelling, only the adjusted odds of composite CV manifestations (odds ratio [OR] 1.24, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03–1.48, P < 0.05) and SVA (OR 1.59, 95% CI: 1.28–1.96, P < 0.001) were significantly higher in patients with primary hemochromatosis compared with patients without hemochromatosis. In patients with secondary hemochromatosis, the adjusted odds of composite CV manifestations (OR 1.84, 95% CI: 1.74–1.95, P < 0.001), CHF (OR 1.46, 95% CI: 1.35–1.57, P < 0.001), conduction disorder (OR 1.52, 95% CI: 1.33–1.73, P < 0.001), pulmonary hypertension (OR 4.43, 95% CI: 3.97–4.94, P < 0.001), SVA (OR 1.39, 95% CI: 1.29–1.48, P < 0.001), and NISCM (OR 1.98, 95% CI: 1.79–2.20, P < 0.001) were significantly higher compared with patients without hemochromatosis. Supraventricular arrhythmias, congestive heart failure, and pulmonary hypertension were the most common CV disorders in hemochromatosis patients. Risk-adjusted burden of supraventricular arrhythmias was significantly higher in primary and secondary hemochromatosis while patients with secondary hemochromatosis had a higher risk of congestive heart failure, pulmonary hypertension, conduction disorders, and non-ischemic cardiomyopathy. • Data from a large nationwide database was used to identify prevalence and risk of major cardiovascular manifestations associated with hemochromatosis including conduction disorders, arrhythmias, cardiac arrest, heart failure and pulmonary hypertension. • Of the 64,590 (0.1% of total) weighted hospitalizations, 5.3% were of primary hemochromatosis. • Patients with hemochromatosis had cardiovascular manifestations with arrhythmias (16.0%), heart failure (9.3%), and pulmonary hypertension (7.4%) being the most common. • Conduction disorders were seen in 2.0% of hemochromatosis patients. • Arrhythmias and pulmonary hypertension were more prevalent in secondary hemochromatosis. • Risk-adjusted regression model identified that the odds of cardiac manifestations were significantly higher in hemochromatosis patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Loperamide, commonly sold under the brand name Imodium® (Johnson & Johnson, Fort Washington, PA), is a widely available, over-the-counter antidiarrheal medication that possesses µ-opioid agonist properties and can have catastrophic cardiac events when misused or abused. Since the start of the opioid epidemic in the United States, there has been an increasing number of case reports and deaths linking loperamide abuse with cardiac events such as torsades de pointes (TdP) and Brugada syndrome.Case Report: This case report presents a 22-year-old man who presented in cardiac arrest from polymorphic ventricular tachycardia consistent with TdP and a Type 1 Brugada pattern after intentional loperamide abuse. We discuss this patient's management and the proposed pathophysiology of these two cardiotoxicities, of which, to our knowledge, no previously published case report has displayed both in the same patient after a supratherapeutic loperamide ingestion. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: As the prevalence of opioid dependency and misuse has increased, so, too, has the misuse of un-scheduled medications such as loperamide to achieve central nervous system opioid effects. It is important for the emergency physician to know about and understand loperamide-associated cardiotoxicities such as prolongation of the QRS, unmasking of Brugada patterns, QT prolongation, or ventricular dysrhythmias such as TdP to be able to recognize and treat it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) may prolong the QT interval, a risk factor for torsade de pointes, a potentially fatal ventricular arrhythmia. This study was undertaken to examine the cardiovascular safety of HCQ in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods: We conducted an active comparator safety study of HCQ in a propensity score–matched cohort of 8,852 US veterans newly diagnosed as having RA between October 1, 2001 and December 31, 2017. Patients were started on HCQ (n = 4,426) or another nonbiologic disease‐modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD; n = 4,426) after RA diagnosis, up to December 31, 2018, and followed up for 12 months after therapy initiation, up to December 31, 2019. Results: Patients had a mean ± SD age of 64 ± 12 years, 14% were women, and 28% were African American. The treatment groups were balanced with regard to 87 baseline characteristics. There were 3 long QT syndrome events (0.03%), 2 of which occurred in patients receiving HCQ. Of the 56 arrhythmia‐related hospitalizations (0.63%), 30 occurred in patients in the HCQ group (hazard ratio [HR] associated with HCQ 1.16 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.68–1.95]). All‐cause mortality occurred in 144 (3.25%) and 136 (3.07%) of the patients in the HCQ and non‐HCQ groups, respectively (HR associated with HCQ 1.06 [95% CI, 0.84–1.34]). During the first 30 days of follow‐up, there were no long QT syndrome events, 2 arrhythmia‐related hospitalizations (none in the HCQ group), and 13 deaths (6 in the HCQ group). Conclusion: Our findings indicate that the incidence of long QT syndrome and arrhythmia‐related hospitalization is low in patients with RA during the first year after the initiation of HCQ or another nonbiologic DMARD. We found no evidence that HCQ therapy is associated with a higher risk of adverse cardiovascular events or death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this research was to conceptualize and develop a tool for identifying persons who are, or are likely to be, non-adherent to medications prescribed by their healthcare provider(s) by identifying concerns that patients have regarding their treatments. Patients and Methods: The target populations were persons diagnosed with atrial fibrillation or osteoarthritis, who were prescribed anticoagulants or over-the-counter or prescription pain medications, respectively. In this two-stage, multi-year, qualitative research study, relevant concepts were explored, confirmed and refined. The focus was on non-adherence due to active (thus potentially modifiable) patient decisions to forego taking medications as prescribed. Results: The most common concerns among participants with atrial fibrillation were medication-related side effects and fear of bleeding. Participants with osteoarthritis were most concerned about short-term stomach problems and long-term kidney and liver side effects. The Concerns Influencing Medication Adherence (CIMA) instrument was developed based on these concerns and those identified in the literature. It is comprised of 16 items: a core set of 11 items potentially applicable to multiple disease states, 3 items specific to atrial fibrillation, and 2 items unique to osteoarthritis. The instrument is intended to be completed electronically, and publicly available for use in direct patient care in the United States or in population health management. Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first instrument focused on medication adherence that includes documented details of patient input as recommended by the United States Food and Drug Administration guidance. Patient input is considered a key component of content validity. In this research, for example, the concerns that patients have regarding their treatments can be expected to have affected past medication adherence and can potentially impact future adherence. Although applicability outside atrial fibrillation or osteoarthritis was not assessed, the general items may be useful in assessing adherence in other chronic diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) commonly occurs in end-stage renal disease (ESRD), leading to vascular calcification and increased mortality. For SHPT refractory to medical management, parathyroidectomy improves symptoms and decreases mortality. Medical management has changed with the release of new guidelines and advent of novel medications. We investigate recent national trends in parathyroidectomy for SHPT. We used the National/Nationwide Inpatient Sample from 2004 to 2016 to identify hospitalizations including parathyroidectomy for SHPT and calculated parathyroidectomy rates utilizing data from the United States Renal Data System. Subgroup analysis was conducted by race. Risk factors for in-hospital mortality were identified with purposeful selection and multivariable logistic regression. From 2004 to 2016, the rate of parathyroidectomies for SHPT per 1000 ESRD patients decreased from 6.07 (95% CI: 4.83-7.32) to 3.67 (95% CI: 3.33-4.00). Black patients underwent parathyroidectomy for SHPT at a 1.8-fold higher rate than white and Hispanic patients (5.59 versus 3.04 and 3.07). Almost all tracked comorbidities increased in prevalence. In-hospital mortality trended lower (1.5% to 0.8%, P = 0.051). Risk factors for in-hospital mortality included weight loss (OR 4.19, 95% CI: 2.00-8.78) and cardiac arrhythmia (OR 3.38, 95% CI: 1.66-6.91), while additional calendar year (OR = 0.87, 95% CI: 0.80-0.95) was protective. The etiology of the declining parathyroidectomy rate for SHPT is unclear; possible factors include changing guidelines emphasizing medical management, widespread availability of cinacalcet, changing practice patterns, and inadequate surgical referral. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite widespread availability of plasmapheresis, the mortality in thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura remains high. Cardiovascular complications have been reported as an important cause of morbidity in these patients. The burden and prognostic implications of these complications have not been well studied. We analyzed the rates of cardiovascular complications in thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, temporal trends, and studied its impact on in-hospital mortality.Methods: We analyzed the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) from January 2005 to September 2015 to identify adult patients with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura. This group was further refined by excluding patients who did not receive therapeutic plasmapheresis, and other conditions that can mimic thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura. We identified the age- and sex-stratified rates of cardiac arrhythmias, cardiac conduction system disorders, heart failure, acute coronary syndrome, myocarditis, pericarditis, takotsubo cardiomyopathy, cardiogenic shock, cardiac arrest, and stroke. We also compared in-hospital mortality with and without cardiovascular complications.Results: Among 15,054 thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura hospitalizations (mean age 46.4 years, 69% in the 18- to 54-age group, 66.2% women, and 42.9% white), a cardiovascular complication was observed in 3802 (25.3%) hospitalizations. The following cardiovascular complications were identified: stroke (10.4%), heart failure (8.3%), acute coronary syndrome (6.4%), atrial tachyarrhythmia (5.9%), ventricular tachyarrhythmia (2.0%), cardiogenic shock (0.5%), takotsubo cardiomyopathy (0.1%), atrioventricular block (0.2%), myocarditis or pericarditis (0.3), and cardiac arrest (1.9%). Rates of several cardiovascular complications were significantly higher in patients 55 years or older compared to a younger age group, whereas males had higher rates of acute coronary syndrome and tachyarrhythmias compared to females. Overall, the cardiovascular complication rate was stable during the study period. The presence of a major cardiovascular complication was associated with a significantly higher in-hospital mortality (19.7%) as compared with no major cardiovascular complication (4.1%) (adjusted odds ratio 2.09, 95% confidence interval 1.41-3.09, P <0.001). Results were generally consistent in age and sex subgroups.Conclusion: Cardiovascular complications were frequently observed at a rate of 1 in 4 in patients hospitalized for thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura and were associated with substantially higher in-hospital mortality. These findings underscore the need to promptly identify and treat these complications to improve outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arrhythmias have been reported frequently in COVID-19 patients, but the incidence and nature have not been well characterized. Patients admitted with COVID-19 and monitored by telemetry were prospectively enrolled in the study. Baseline characteristics, hospital course, treatment and complications were collected from the patients' medical records. Telemetry was monitored to detect the incidence of cardiac arrhythmias. The incidence and types of cardiac arrhythmias were analyzed and compared between survivors and non-survivors. Among 143 patients admitted with telemetry monitoring, overall in-hospital mortality was 25.2% (36/143 patients) during the period of observation (mean follow-up 23.7 days). Survivors were less tachycardic on initial presentation (heart rate 90.6 ± 19.6 vs. 99.3 ± 23.1 bpm, p = 0.030) and had lower troponin (peak troponin 0.03 vs. 0.18 ng/ml. p = 0.004), C-reactive protein (peak C-reactive protein 97 vs. 181 mg/dl, p = 0.029), and interleukin-6 levels (peak interleukin-6 30 vs. 246 pg/ml, p = 0.003). Sinus tachycardia, the most common arrhythmia (detected in 39.9% [57/143] of patients), occurred more frequently in non-survivors (58.3% vs. 33.6% in survivors, p = 0.009). Premature ventricular complexes occurred in 28.7% (41/143), and non-sustained ventricular tachycardia in 15.4% (22/143) of patients, with no difference between survivors and non-survivors. Sustained ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation were not frequent (seen only in 1.4% and 0.7% of patients, respectively). Contrary to reports from other regions, overall mortality was higher and ventricular arrhythmias were infrequent in this hospitalized and monitored COVID-19 population. Either disease or management-related factors could explain this divergence of clinical outcomes, and should be urgently investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marijuana has become the most widely used illicit drug in the United States. Approximately 43.5 million Americans aged 12 or above have reported the use of marijuana in the last year. The use of cannabinoids and its relationship with cardiac effects are not well known. Many types of arrhythmias have been noted with the use of cannabis products with atrial fibrillation being the most common arrhythmia associated with the use of cannabis. We present a case of a 36-year-old male who presented with pounding chest pain, dyspnea, and diaphoresis following marijuana use. He was found to be in ventricular tachycardia which responded to amiodarone. Workup done was negative for any structural disease, and cardiac catheterization was negative for coronary artery disease. He was ultimately discharged on metoprolol. In this report, we focus on how marijuana can be associated with many arrhythmias including ventricular tachycardia with focus on mechanisms by which it can occur. We believe a detailed social history with screening for cannabis use can identify more cases of arrhythmias that can be potentially associated with marijuana use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) associated-chronic inflammation and autonomic dysregulation may predispose to arrhythmias. However, its exact prevalence is unknown. Thus, we aimed to ascertain the prevalence of arrhythmias in patients with IBD. Methods: We queried the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (the largest publicly available all-payer inpatient USA database) from 2012 to 2014. We used the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9 CM) discharge codes to identify adult patients (⩾18 years) with IBD and dysrhythmias (supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, ventricular tachycardia (VT), or ventricular fibrillation). Furthermore, we identified risk factors for cardiovascular disease. We divided patients into 2 cohorts, IBD cohorts, and non-IBD cohort. The independent effect of a diagnosis of IBD on the risk of dysrhythmias was examined using a multivariable logistic regression model controlling for multiple confounders. Results: We identified 847 235 and 84 757 349 weighted hospitalizations among patients with IBD and non-IBD cohorts, respectively. Patients with IBD were less likely to be hospitalized for dysrhythmias than the non-IBD (9.7% vs 14.2%, P <.001). The hospitalization odds for dysrhythmias among patients with IBD were less than the general population (OR 0.87; 95% CI 0.85-0.88). However, the prevalence of SVT and VT was indifferent between the 2 groups. Male sex, age of over 60, and white race were risk factors for dysrhythmias. Conclusion: Despite prior reports of a higher prevalence of arrhythmias among patients with IBD, in a nationwide inpatient database, we found lower rates of hospitalization-related-arrhythmias in the IBD population compared to that of the general population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ischemic heart disease and congestive heart failure are major contributors to high morbidity and mortality. Approximately 1.5 million cases of myocardial infarction occur annually in the United States; the yearly incidence rate is approximately 600 cases per 100,000 people. Although significant progress to improve the survival rate has been made by medications and implantable medical devices, damaged cardiomyocytes are unable to be recovered by current treatment strategies. After almost two decades of research, stem cell therapy has become a very promising approach to generate new cardiomyocytes and enhance the function of the heart. Along with clinical trials with stem cells conducted in cardiac regeneration, concerns regarding safety and potential risks have emerged. One of the contentious issues is the electrical dysfunctions of cardiomyocytes and cardiac arrhythmia after stem cell therapy. In this review, we focus on the cell sources currently used for stem cell therapy and discuss related arrhythmogenic risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Weight-based dosing strategy for norepinephrine in septic shock patients with extremes of body mass index has been lesser studied. Methods: This historical study of adult septic shock patients was conducted from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2015, at all intensive care units (ICUs) in Mayo Clinic, Rochester. Patients with documented body mass index were classified into underweight (body mass index <18.5 kg/m2), normal weight (18.5-24.9 kg/m2), and morbidly obese (≥40 kg/m2) patients. Patients with repeat ICU admissions, ICU stay <1 day, and body mass index 25 to 39.9 kg/m2 were excluded. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality, and secondary outcomes included cumulative norepinephrine exposure acute kidney injury, cardiac arrhythmias, and 1-year mortality. Two-tailed P <.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: From 2010 to 2015, 2016 patients met inclusion—145, 1406, and 466 patients, respectively, in underweight, normal weight, and morbidly obese cohorts. Underweight patients used the highest peak dose and absolute exposure was greatest for morbidly obese patients. In-hospital mortality decreased with increasing log10 body mass index: 41.4% (underweight), 28.4% (normal weight), and 24.7% (morbidly obese), respectively (P <.001); however, this relationship was not noted at 1 year. Unadjusted log10 norepinephrine cumulative exposure (mg) was associated with higher in-hospital mortality, acute kidney injury, cardiac arrhythmias, and 1-year mortality. After adjustment for demographics, body mass index, comorbidity, and illness severity, log10 norepinephrine exposure was an independent predictor of in-hospital mortality (odds ratio 2.4 [95% confidence interval, 2.0-2.8]; P <.001) and 1-year mortality (odds ratio 1.7 [95% confidence interval, 1.5-2.0]; P <.001). In a propensity-matched analysis of 1140 patients, log10 norepinephrine was an independent predictor of in-hospital mortality (odds ratio 2.2 [95% confidence interval, 1.8-2.6]; P <.001). Conclusions: Morbidly obese patients had lower in-hospital mortality but had higher 1-year mortality compared to normal weight and underweight patients. Cumulative norepinephrine exposure was highest in morbidly obese patients. Total norepinephrine exposure was an independent mortality predictor in septic shock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Takotsubo Syndrome (TS) patients are at high risk of developing atrial fibrillation. We sought to investigate the outcomes and economic impact of atrial fibrillation on TS patients utilizing the National Inpatient Sample.Methods: Patients with TS were identified in the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database between 2010 and 2014 using the International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM), and subsequently were divided into two groups, those with and without atrial fibrillation. The primary outcome was all-cause in-hospital mortality in the two groups. Secondary outcomes were in-hospital complications. We also evaluated the length of hospital stay and the cost of hospitalization. Propensity score-matched analysis was performed to address potential confounding factors.Results: Among the study population, the prevalence of atrial fibrillation was 17.57%. After matching, the atrial fibrillation group had no significant increase of in-hospital mortality (OR: 1.13; 95% CI: 0.94-1.35, p = 0.211). However, atrial fibrillation patients were more likely to develop cardiac arrest and ventricular arrhythmias (OR: 1.51, 95% CI: 1.26-1.80, p < 0.0001), have higher rate of major cardiac complications when combined as a single endpoint in-hospital complication (OR: 1.16, 95% CI: 1.04-1.29, p: 0.006), also they were more likely to stay longer in hospital (OR: 1.13, 95% CI: 1.08-1.19, p < 0.0001), and have increased cost of hospitalization (OR: 1.13, 95% CI 1.07-1.20, p < 0.0001).Conclusion: Atrial fibrillation does not increase in-hospital mortality in patients presenting with TS. However atrial fibrillation is associated with an increased risk of ventricular arrhythmias, length of stay, non-routine discharges and cost of hospitalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective  Pulmonary hypertension with left ventricular dysfunction commonly occurs in congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). Milrinone, a phosphodiesterase-III inhibitor with lusitropic and vasodilator effects, is used in up to 30% of CDH infants across the United States. No randomized trials have tested the efficacy or safety of milrinone in CDH neonates. Study Design  We performed a paired retrospective analysis of CDH infants to assess the efficacy of milrinone treatment (N  = 24 pairs). Efficacy was assessed by change in oxygenation index (OI) and calculated pulmonary artery pressure (PAP). We evaluated safety on the basis of risks factors such as nonoperative bleeding, dysrhythmia, hypokalemia, and thrombocytopenia. Results  The median age of milrinone initiation was 18 hours (interquartile range [IQR]: 9–38) and the median duration was 127 hours (IQR: 95–194). PAP did not change from the baseline of 49 ± 11 mm Hg (milrinone) and 53 ± 11 mm Hg (no milrinone; p  = 0.327). Baseline OI was 9.6 ± 6.5. There was a similar decrease in OI (median [IQR]; milrinone: 58% [16–74]; vs. no milrinone: 65% [50–71]; p  = 0.221 between groups; p  < 0.005 within groups). Baseline left ventricle measurements were similar. Both groups showed significant improvement over time. No adverse events were noted. Conclusion  In OI-matched untreated neonates with mild-to-moderate CDH, milrinone use was associated with neither improved OI, PAP, or left ventricular measurements, nor adverse events. Study limitations warrant prospective randomized controlled trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We sought to examine incidence and mortality trends of drowning-related hospitalizations in children aged <20 years and to study the presence of risk factors associated with in-hospital mortality. Retrospective analysis of the 2003-2016 Health Care Cost and Utilization Project National Inpatient Sample and Kids' Inpatient Database was performed. The estimated annual incidence rate of drowning hospitalizations declined 31.5% from 2.73 to 1.87 per 100 000 population. Most drowning-related hospitalizations were seen in <5-year-old children (66.4%) and in males (65.3%), Caucasians (41.7%), and public insurance (46%). In-hospital mortality declined 46% from an estimated 290 deaths in 2003 to 156 deaths in 2016. On multivariate analysis, age <5 years, Caucasian ethnicity, uninsured status, pool/bathtub or undetermined location, arrhythmia (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.3, P =.001), acute kidney injury (aOR = 3.4, P <.001), cerebral edema (aOR = 2.8, P <.001), cardiopulmonary resuscitation (aOR = 12.1, P <.001), and invasive mechanical ventilation (aOR = 28.4, P <.001) were found to be independent predictors of mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: As the average life expectancy increases, anesthesiologists confront unique challenges in the perioperative care of elderly patients who have significant comorbidities. In this study, we evaluated Elixhauser comorbidity measures-based risk factors associated with 30-day mortality in patients aged 66 years and older who underwent femur fracture surgery. Methods: We used the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care III which contains the medical records of patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in the United States between 2001 and 2012 to identify patients admitted to the ICU after femur fracture surgery (n=209). Patients who died within 30 days of admission (case group, n=49) were propensity score-matched to patients who did not (control group, n=98). The variables for matching were age, sex, race, anemia (hemoglobin =10 g/dl), and malignancy. We attempted to explain mortality via nine independent factors: hypertension, uncomplicated diabetes, complicated diabetes, congestive heart failure (CHF), cardiac arrhythmias, chronic pulmonary disease, renal failure, neurological disorders other than paralysis, and peripheral vascular disease. Results: Logistic regression identified three significant risk factors: CHF, arrhythmias, and neurological disorders other than paralysis. The odds ratio (OR) for the 30-day mortality of CHF was 4.99 (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.18 to 12.06). The equivalent ORs for cardiac arrhythmias and neurological disorders other than paralysis were 2.61 (95% CI, 1.14 to 6.21) and 2.40 (95% CI, 0.95 to 6.48), respectively. Conclusions: Identifying patients with these risk factors (CHF, arrhythmias, and neurological disorders other than paralysis) will assist clinicians with perioperative planning and provide caregivers with valuable information for decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) associated-chronic inflammation and autonomic dysregulation may predispose to arrhythmias. However, its exact prevalence is unknown. Thus, we aimed to ascertain the prevalence of arrhythmias in patients with IBD. Methods: We queried the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (the largest publicly available all-payer inpatient USA database) from 2012 to 2014. We used the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9 CM) discharge codes to identify adult patients (⩾18 years) with IBD and dysrhythmias (supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, ventricular tachycardia (VT), or ventricular fibrillation). Furthermore, we identified risk factors for cardiovascular disease. We divided patients into 2 cohorts, IBD cohorts, and non-IBD cohort. The independent effect of a diagnosis of IBD on the risk of dysrhythmias was examined using a multivariable logistic regression model controlling for multiple confounders. Results: We identified 847 235 and 84 757 349 weighted hospitalizations among patients with IBD and non-IBD cohorts, respectively. Patients with IBD were less likely to be hospitalized for dysrhythmias than the non-IBD (9.7% vs 14.2%, P <.001). The hospitalization odds for dysrhythmias among patients with IBD were less than the general population (OR 0.87; 95% CI 0.85-0.88). However, the prevalence of SVT and VT was indifferent between the 2 groups. Male sex, age of over 60, and white race were risk factors for dysrhythmias. Conclusion: Despite prior reports of a higher prevalence of arrhythmias among patients with IBD, in a nationwide inpatient database, we found lower rates of hospitalization-related-arrhythmias in the IBD population compared to that of the general population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Psychostimulants and atomoxetine have been shown to increase blood pressure, heart rate, and QT interval in children and adolescents; however, based on current literature, it is unclear if these "attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medications" are also associated with serious cardiovascular (SCV) events. We addressed this question in commonly exposed groups of children and adolescents with either ADHD or autism spectrum disorder (ASD).Methods: Using commercial (years 2000-2016) and Medicaid (years 2012-2016) administrative claims data from the United States (US), we conducted two case-control studies, nested within respective cohorts of ADHD and ASD children aged 3-18 years. We defined cases by a composite outcome of stroke, myocardial infarction, or serious cardiac arrhythmia. For each case, we matched ten controls on age, sex, and insurance type. We conducted conditional logistic regression models to test associations between SCV outcomes and a primary exposure definition of current ADHD medication use. Additionally, we controlled for resource use, cardiovascular and psychiatric comorbidities, and use of medications in a variety of sensitivity analyses.Results: We identified 2,240,774 children for the ADHD cohort and 326,221 children for the ASD cohort. For ADHD, 33.9% of cases (63 of 186) versus 32.2% of controls (598 of 1860) were exposed, which yielded an odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of 1.08 (0.78-1.49). For ASD, 12.5% of cases (6 of 48) versus 22.1% of controls (106 of 480) were exposed [OR 0.49 (0.20-1.20)]. Covariate-adjusted results and results for individual outcomes and other exposure definitions were consistent with no increased risk of SCV events.Conclusion: Using large US claims data, we found no evidence of increased SCV risk in children and adolescents with ADHD or ASD exposed to ADHD medications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia with a prevalence of 15% of patients over 80 years. Coronary artery disease co-exists in 20-30% of patients with atrial fibrillation. The need for triple anticoagulation therapy makes the management of these patients challenging following PCI.Methods: Nationwide inpatient sample which is a set of longitudinal hospital inpatient databases was used to evaluate the outcome of patients with AF who underwent PCI. All patients undergoing PCI between 2002 and 2011 were included in the study. Specific ICD-9-CM codes were used to identify the study patients and their outcomes.Results: There were 3,226,405 PCIs during the time period of the study of which 472,609 (14.6%) patients had AF. AF patients were older and predominantly male (60%). The number of PCIs had a declining trend from 2002 to 2011. Age adjusted inpatient mortality was significantly higher in PCI AF group compared to the PCI non-AF group (100.82 ± 9.03 vs 54.07 ± 8.96 per 100,000; P < 0.01). Post PCI predictors of mortality were AF (OR 1.56, CI 1.53-1.59), CKD (OR 1.41, CI 1.37-1.46), PAD (OR 1.20, CI 1.15-1.24), acute myocardial infarction (OR 2.42 CI 2.37-2.46 and cardiogenic shock (OR 13.92 CI 13.60-14.24) P < 0.001.Conclusion: AF is common in patients undergoing PCI and those AF patients have a higher age-adjusted all cause inpatient mortality. There is a decline in total number of PCIs over time in US. Atrial fibrillation, chronic kidney disease, peripheral artery disease, MI and cardiogenic shock were associated with increased mortality following PCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Atrial fibrillation is frequently seen in sepsis-related hospitalizations. However, large-scale contemporary data from the United States comparing outcomes among sepsis-related hospitalizations with versus without atrial fibrillation are limited. The aim of our study was to assess the frequency of atrial fibrillation and its impact on outcomes of sepsis-related hospitalizations.Design: Retrospective cohort study.Setting: The National Inpatient Sample databases (2010-2014).Patients: Primary discharge diagnosis of sepsis with and without atrial fibrillation were identified using prior validated International Classification of Diseases, 9th Edition, Clinical Modification codes.Interventions: None.Measurements and Main Results: Overall, 5,808,166 hospitalizations with the primary diagnosis of sepsis, of which 19.4% (1,126,433) were associated with atrial fibrillation. The sepsis-atrial fibrillation cohort consisted of older (median [interquartile range] age of 79 yr [70-86 yr] vs 67 yr [53-79 yr]; p < 0.001) white (80.9% vs 68.8%; p < 0.001) male (51.1% vs 47.5%; p < 0.001) patients with an extended length of stay (median [interquartile range] 6 d [4-11 d] vs 5 d [3-9 d]; p < 0.001) and higher hospitalization charges (median [interquartile range] $44,765 [$23,234-$88,657] vs $35,737 [$18,767-$72,220]; p < 0.001) as compared with the nonatrial fibrillation cohort. The all-cause mortality rate in the sepsis-atrial fibrillation cohort was significantly higher (18.4% and 11.9%; p = 0.001) as compared with those without atrial fibrillation. Although all-cause mortality (20.4% vs 16.6%) and length of stay (median [interquartile range] 7 d [4-11 d] vs 6 d [4-10 d]) decreased between 2010 and 2014, hospitalization charges increased (median [interquartile range] $41,783 [$21,430-$84,465] vs $46,251 [$24,157-$89,995]) in the sepsis-atrial fibrillation cohort. The greatest predictors of mortality in the atrial fibrillation-sepsis cohort were African American race, female gender, advanced age, and the presence of medical comorbidities.Conclusions: The presence of atrial fibrillation among sepsis-related hospitalizations is a marker of poor prognosis and increased mortality. Although we observed rising trends in sepsis and sepsis-atrial fibrillation-related hospitalizations during the study period, the rate and odds of mortality progressively decreased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardiovascular disease remains the single largest cause of natural death in the United States, with a significant cause of mortality associated with cardiac arrhythmias. Presently, options for treating and preventing myocardial electrical dysfunction, including sudden cardiac death, are limited. Recent studies have indicated that conduction of electrical activation in the heart may have an ephaptic component, wherein intercellular coupling occurs via electrochemical signaling across narrow extracellular clefts between cardiomyocytes. The perinexus is a 100-200 nm-wide stretch of closely apposed membrane directly adjacent to connexin 43 gap junctions. Electron and super-resolution microscopy studies, as well as biochemical analyses, have provided evidence that perinexal nanodomains may be candidate structures for facilitating ephaptic coupling. This work has included characterization of the perinexus as a region of close inter-membrane contact between cardiomyocytes (<30 nm) containing dense clusters of voltage-gated sodium channels. Here, we review what is known about perinexal structure and function and the potential that the perinexus may have novel and pivotal roles in disorders of cardiac conduction. Of particular interest is the prospect that cell adhesion mediated by the cardiac sodium channel β subunit (Scn1b) may be a novel anti-arrhythmic target. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Challenging differential diagnosis Background: Atrial fibrillation is considered the most common cardiac arrhythmias in the United States with rate and rhythm control strategies traditionally used for management. If patients are intolerant to class I or class III anti-arrhythmic medications, catheter ablation may be used as a rhythm control strategy. As catheter ablation becomes more commonplace, so too do the procedure-related complications, which include tamponade, total arteriovenous fistula, pulmonary vein stenosis, and atrial-esophageal fistula. Case Report: A 67-year-old male underwent catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation and subsequently presented with complaints of fever and chills. Initial workup for a source of infection included a computed tomography (CT) scan and transesophageal echocardiogram which did not reveal any abnormalities. Antibiotic therapy was initiated, and multiple CT scans were performed; eventually patient was found to have an atrial-esophageal fistula, secondary to thermal injury. The patient underwent thoracotomy and full thickness necrosis of the posterior left atrium and pericardium near the base of the left inferior pulmonary vein was visualized, with a roughly nickel sized orifice, which was repaired. The patient had an uneventful recovery and was doing well on follow-up. Conclusions: Atrial-esophageal fistula is a rare but lethal complication of atrial fibrillation ablation. While imaging modalities have improved and can detect the condition, they can also yield ambivalent findings which can challenge patient care. It is important for clinicians to maintain a heightened awareness of this complication in post-ablation patients and utilize clinical history and not rely solely on imaging to diagnose and treat this complication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Computerized interpretation of the electrocardiogram (ECG) began in the 1950s when conversion of its analog signal to digital form became available. Since then, automatic computer interpretations of the ECG have become routine, even at the point of care, by the addition of interpretive algorithms to portable ECG carts. Now, more than 100 million computerized ECG interpretations are recorded yearly in the United States. These interpretations have contributed to medical care by reducing physician reading time and accurately interpreting most normal ECGs. But errors do occur. The computer cannot be held responsible for misinterpretations due to recording errors, such as muscle artifacts or lead reversal. But, in many abnormal ECGs, the computer makes its own errors-sometimes critical-in its incorrect detection of arrhythmias, pacemakers, and myocardial infarctions. These errors require that all computerized statements be over-read by trained physicians who have the advantage of clinical context, unavailable to the computer. Together, the computer and over-readers now provide the most accurate ECG interpretations available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) is a common arrhythmia following cardiac surgery and is associated with increased health-care costs, complications, and mortality. The etiology of POAF is incompletely understood and its prediction remains suboptimal. Using data from published studies, we performed a systemic review and meta-analysis to identify preoperative clinical risk factors associated with patients at increased risk of POAF. Methods A systematic search of PubMed, MEDLINE, and EMBASE databases was performed. Results Twenty-four studies that reported univariate analysis results regarding POAF risk factors, published from 2001 to May 2017, were included in this meta-analysis with a total number of 36,834 subjects. Eighteen studies were performed in the United States and Europe and 16 studies were prospective cohort studies. The standardized mean difference (SMD) between POAF and non-POAF groups was significantly different (reported as [SMD: 95% confidence interval, CI]) for age (0.55: 0.47–0.63), left atrial diameter (0.45: 0.15–0.75), and left ventricular ejection fraction (0.30: 0.14–0.47). The pooled odds ratios (ORs) (reported as [OR: 95% CI]) demonstrated that heart failure (1.56: 1.31–1.96), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (1.36: 1.13–1.64), hypertension (1.29: 1.12–1.48), and myocardial infarction (1.18: 1.05–1.34) were significant predictors of POAF incidence, while diabetes was marginally significant (1.06: 1.00–1.13). Conclusion The present analysis suggested that older age and history of heart failure were significant risk factors for POAF consistently whether the included studies were prospective or retrospective datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the United States, the population aged 65 and older is rapidly growing, and this group uses more healthcare resources and has unique healthcare needs that do not exist in younger populations. However, it was reported that older adults are excluded or underrepresented in clinical trials for several diseases. We examined phase III clinical trials funded by the National Institutes of Health found in www.clinicaltrials.gov from 1965 to 2015 that addressed top causes for hospitalization and/or disability‐adjusted life years in older adults: congestive heart failure (n = 45), cardiac dysrhythmias (n = 24), coronary atherosclerosis (n = 106), heart attack (n = 76), stroke (n = 113), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (n = 14), pneumonia (n = 48), lung cancer (n = 117), prostate cancer (n = 65), and osteoarthritis (n = 15). We then analyzed the representation of older adults in these studies. We found that 33% of studies had arbitrary upper age limits, and 67% of studies reported mean and/or median ages that skewed younger than expected for the disease or condition of interest. Beyond explicit exclusion by age, older adults were often implicitly excluded based on various comorbid conditions such as polypharmacy/concomitant medication (37%) or cardiac issues (30%). We conclude that outcomes of these trials may not be fully generalizable to the general population of older adults. J Am Geriatr Soc 67:218–222, 2019. See related Editorial by George Kuchel in this issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]