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Background: Admissions for acute myocardial infarction (MI) have declined significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic. The changes in the presentation, management, and outcomes of MI during the pandemic period are not well recognized, and data from low- and middle-income countries are limited. Methods: In this two-timepoint cross-sectional study involving 187 hospitals across India, patients admitted with MI between 15th March to 15th June in 2020 were compared with those admitted during the corresponding period of 2019. We sought to determine the changes in the number of admissions, management practices, and outcomes. Findings: We included 41,832 consecutive adults with MI. Admissions during the pandemic period (n = 16414) decreased by 35·4% as compared to the corresponding period in 2019 (n = 25418). We observed significant heterogeneity in this decline across India with the North zone reporting greater decline (-44·8%) than the South zone (-27·7%). The weekly average decrease in MI admissions in 2020 which peaked around the mid- study period, correlated negatively with the number of COVID cases (r = -0·48; r 2 = 0·2), but strongly correlated with the stringency of lockdown index (r = 0·95; r 2 = 0·90). On a multi-level logistic regression, admissions were lower in 2020 with older age categories, tier 1 cities, and centers with high patient volume, and teaching programs. Adjusted utilization rate of coronary angiography, and percutaneous coronary intervention decreased by 11·3%, and 5·9% respectively. However, the in-hospital mortality rates did not differ. Interpretation: The magnitude of reduction in MI admissions across India was not uniform. The nature, time course, and the patient demographics were different compared to reports from other countries, suggesting a significant impact due to the lockdown. These findings have important implications in managing MI admissions during the pandemic. Funding Statement: The study is funded by cardiological society of India. Declaration of Interests: Nothing to declare for all the authors. Ethics Approval Statement: Individual participating centres either obtained an ethical approval from respective Institutional ethics committees or a no objection certificate from the administration.

Women are underrepresented in groups of patients seeking hypertension care in India. The present paper reports trends in office and ambulatory blood pressure measurement (OBPM, ABPM) and 24-h heart rate (HR) with sex in 14,977 subjects untreated for hypertension (aged 47.3 +/- 13.9 years, males 69.4%) visiting primary care physicians. Results showed that, for systolic blood pressure (SBP), females had lower daytime ABPM (131 +/- 16 vs. 133 +/- 14 mm Hg,P

Background Given the shortage of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs in India and poor uptake worldwide, there is an urgent need to find alternative models of CR that are inexpensive and may offer choice to subgroups with poor uptake (e.g., women and elderly). Objectives This study sought to evaluate the effects of yoga-based CR (Yoga-CaRe) on major cardiovascular events and self-rated health in a multicenter randomized controlled trial. Methods The trial was conducted in 24 medical centers across India. This study recruited 3,959 patients with acute myocardial infarction with a median and minimum follow-up of 22 and 6 months. Patients were individually randomized to receive either a Yoga-CaRe program (n = 1,970) or enhanced standard care involving educational advice (n = 1,989). The co-primary outcomes were: 1) first occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) (composite of all-cause mortality, myocardial infarction, stroke, or emergency cardiovascular hospitalization); and 2) self-rated health on the European Quality of Life–5 Dimensions–5 Level visual analogue scale at 12 weeks. Results MACE occurred in 131 (6.7%) patients in the Yoga-CaRe group and 146 (7.4%) patients in the enhanced standard care group (hazard ratio with Yoga-CaRe: 0.90; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.71 to 1.15; p = 0.41). Self-rated health was 77 in Yoga-CaRe and 75.7 in the enhanced standard care group (baseline-adjusted mean difference in favor of Yoga-CaRe: 1.5; 95% CI: 0.5 to 2.5; p = 0.002). The Yoga-CaRe group had greater return to pre-infarct activities, but there was no difference in tobacco cessation or medication adherence between the treatment groups (secondary outcomes). Conclusions Yoga-CaRe improved self-rated health and return to pre-infarct activities after acute myocardial infarction, but the trial lacked statistical power to show a difference in MACE. Yoga-CaRe may be an option when conventional CR is unavailable or unacceptable to individuals. (A study on effectiveness of YOGA based cardiac rehabilitation programme in India and United Kingdom; CTRI/2012/02/002408)., Central Illustration

Patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) have a high risk of subsequent adverse cardiovascular outcomes, particularly within the first 30 days. Although it is well documented that initiation of statin therapy in the setting of ACS improves short- and long-term cardiovascular outcomes, and achievement of lower levels of low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) incrementally improves outcomes, many patients with ACS have persistent hypercholesterolemia after discharge from the hospital. This is a missed opportunity that prompted the Lipid Association of India to develop recommendations for earlier initiation of more aggressive LDL-C lowering treatment, particularly for patients of South Asian descent who are well-documented to have earlier onset of more aggressive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. The Lipid Association of India recommends individualized aggressive LDL-C goals after ACS, which can be rapidly achieved with high intensity statin therapy and subsequent goal-directed adjunctive treatment with ezetimibe and PCSK9 inhibitors. Improved treatment of hypercholesterolemia achieved within weeks after ACS has the potential to reduce the high rate of morbidity and mortality in these high risk patients.

Stroke is the second most common cause of death worldwide. The rates of stroke are increasing in less affluent countries predominantly because of a high prevalence of modifiable risk factors. The Lipid Association of India (LAI) has provided a risk stratification algorithm for patients with ischaemic stroke and recommended low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) goals for those in very high risk group and extreme risk group (category A) of

Background COVID-19 pandemic has affected around 20million patients worldwide and 2.0 million cases from India. The lockdown was employed to delay the pandemic. However, it had an unintentional impact on acute cardiovascular care, especially acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Observational studies have shown a decrease in hospital admissions for AMI in several developed countries during the pandemic period. We aimed to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on the AMI admissions patterns across India. Methods In this multicentric, retrospective, cross-sectional study, we included all AMI cases admitted to participating hospitals during the study period 15th March to 15th June 2020 and compared them using a historical control of all cases of AMI admitted during the corresponding period in the year 2019. Major objective of the study is to analyze the changes inthe number of hospital admissions for AMI in hospitals across India. In addition, we intend to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on the weekly AMI admission rates, and other performance measures like rates of thrombolysis/primary percutaneous interventions (PCI), window period, door to balloon time, and door to needle time. Other objectives include evaluation of changes in the major complications and mortality rates of AMI and its predictors during COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusions This CSI-AMI study will provide scientific evidence about the impact of COVID-19 on AMI care in India. Based on this study, we may be able to suggest appropriate changes to the existing MI guidelines and to educate the public regarding emergency care for AMI during COVID-19 pandemic.

The burden of atherosclerotic cardiovascular (CV) disease is alarmingly high and increasing in our country. Dyslipidemia is one of the major modifiable risk factors, and INTERHEART study showed that dyslipidemia had the highest population attributable risk for myocardial infarction. In the management of dyslipidemia, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is the primary therapeutic target. In addition to therapeutic lifestyle changes, statins and ezetimibe effectively lower LDL-C and consequently improve CV outcomes. However, there are situations where these drugs fall short of achieving the target or they may not be well tolerated.

There is limited national-level data on the prevalence of hypertension among Indian adults; with few studies reporting prevalence according to the 2017 ACC/AHA criteria. This study was conducted to study the impact of a lowered cut-off on hypertension prevalence. A national-level survey was

A male patient in his early 20s with recent onset of crescendo angina was referred for coronary angiography (CAG) in view of his young age and significant symptoms. His risk factors included tobacco use and dyslipidaemia (total cholesterol 240 mg/dL, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) 170 mg/dL, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) 32 mg/dL and triglyceride 190 mg/dL). He was non-diabetic with normal fasting blood sugar and glycosylated haemoglobin levels, and family history of premature coronary artery disease (CAD) was negative. General, physical and cardiovascular examinations, resting ECG and two-dimensional echocardiogram were normal. CAG revealed 80–90% left main (LM) stem stenosis (figure 1). Left anterior descending, circumflex and right coronary artery were normal with right dominant system (figure 2). During contrast injection, the patient experienced an episode of chest pain which responded …