Acute myocardial infarction can be triggered by acute respiratory infections. Previous studies have suggested an association between influenza and acute myocardial infarction, but those studies used ...nonspecific measures of influenza infection or study designs that were susceptible to bias. We evaluated the association between laboratory-confirmed influenza infection and acute myocardial infarction.
We used the self-controlled case-series design to evaluate the association between laboratory-confirmed influenza infection and hospitalization for acute myocardial infarction. We used various high-specificity laboratory methods to confirm influenza infection in respiratory specimens, and we ascertained hospitalization for acute myocardial infarction from administrative data. We defined the "risk interval" as the first 7 days after respiratory specimen collection and the "control interval" as 1 year before and 1 year after the risk interval.
We identified 364 hospitalizations for acute myocardial infarction that occurred within 1 year before and 1 year after a positive test result for influenza. Of these, 20 (20.0 admissions per week) occurred during the risk interval and 344 (3.3 admissions per week) occurred during the control interval. The incidence ratio of an admission for acute myocardial infarction during the risk interval as compared with the control interval was 6.05 (95% confidence interval CI, 3.86 to 9.50). No increased incidence was observed after day 7. Incidence ratios for acute myocardial infarction within 7 days after detection of influenza B, influenza A, respiratory syncytial virus, and other viruses were 10.11 (95% CI, 4.37 to 23.38), 5.17 (95% CI, 3.02 to 8.84), 3.51 (95% CI, 1.11 to 11.12), and 2.77 (95% CI, 1.23 to 6.24), respectively.
We found a significant association between respiratory infections, especially influenza, and acute myocardial infarction. (Funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and others.).
Ischemic heart disease is the leading cause of death globally. Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) are the revascularization options for ischemic ...heart disease. However, the choice of the most appropriate revascularization modality is controversial in some patient subgroups.
To summarize the current evidence comparing the effectiveness of CABG surgery and PCI in patients with unprotected left main disease (ULMD, in which there is >50% left main coronary stenosis without protective bypass grafts), multivessel coronary artery disease (CAD), diabetes, or left ventricular dysfunction (LVD).
A search of OvidSP MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases between January 2007 and June 2013, limited to randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and meta-analysis of trials and/or observational studies comparing CABG surgery with PCI was performed. Bibliographies of relevant studies were also searched. Mortality and major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE, defined as all-cause mortality, myocardial infarction, stroke, and repeat revascularization) were reported wherever possible.
Thirteen RCTs and 5 meta-analyses were included. CABG surgery should be recommended in patients with ULMD, multivessel CAD, or LVD, if the severity of coronary disease is deemed to be complex (SYNTAX >22) due to lower cardiac events associated with CABG surgery. In cases in which coronary disease is less complex (SYNTAX ≤22) and/or the patient is a higher surgical risk, PCI should be considered. For patients with diabetes and multivessel CAD, CABG surgery should be recommended as standard therapy irrespective of the severity of coronary anatomy, given improved long-term survival and lower cardiac events (5-year MACCE, 18.7% for CABG surgery vs 26.6% for PCI; P = .005). Overall, the incidence of repeat revascularization is higher after PCI, whereas stroke is higher after CABG surgery. Current literature emphasizes the importance of a heart-team approach that should consider coronary anatomy, patient characteristics, and local expertise in revascularization options. Literature pertaining to revascularization options in LVD is scarce predominantly due to LVD being an exclusion factor in most studies.
Both CABG surgery and PCI are reasonable options for patients with advanced CAD. Patients with diabetes generally have better outcomes with CABG surgery than PCI. In cases of ULMD, multivessel CAD, or LVD, CABG surgery should be favored in patients with complex coronary lesions and anatomy and PCI in less complicated coronary disease or deemed a high surgical risk. A heart-team approach should evaluate coronary disease complexity, patient comorbidities, patient preferences, and local expertise.
Abstract Observational studies using propensity-score methods have been increasing in the cardiovascular literature because randomized controlled trials are not always feasible or ethical. However, ...propensity-score methods can be confusing, and the general audience may not fully understand the importance of this technique. The objectives of this review are to describe (1) the fundamentals of propensity score methods, (2) the techniques to assess for propensity-score model adequacy, (3) the 4 major methods for using the propensity score (matching, stratification, covariate adjustment, and inverse probability of treatment weighting IPTW) using examples from previously published cardiovascular studies, and (4) the strengths and weaknesses of these 4 techniques. Our review suggests that matching or IPTW using the propensity score have shown to be most effective in reducing bias of the treatment effect.
The prognostic importance of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) as a specific risk factor for cardiovascular (CV) disease has been challenged by recent clinical trials and genetic studies.
...This study sought to reappraise the association of HDL-C level with CV and non-CV mortality using a "big data" approach.
An observational cohort study was conducted using the CANHEART (Cardiovascular Health in Ambulatory Care Research Team) dataset, which was created by linking together 17 different individual-level data sources. People were included if they were between 40 and 105 years old on January 1, 2008, living in Ontario, Canada, without previous CV conditions or severe comorbidities, and had an outpatient fasting cholesterol measurement in the year prior to the inception date. The primary outcome was cause-specific mortality.
A total of 631,762 individuals were included. The mean age of our cohort was 57.2 years, 55.4% were women, and mean HDL-C level was 55.2 mg/dl. There were 17,952 deaths during a mean follow-up of 4.9 ± 0.4 years. The overall all-cause mortality rate was 8.1 per 1,000 person-years for men and 6.6 per 1,000 person-years for women. Individuals with lower HDL-C levels were more likely to have low incomes, unhealthy lifestyle, higher triglycerides levels, other cardiac risk factors, and medical comorbidities. Individuals with lower HDL-C levels were independently associated with higher risk of CV, cancer, and other mortality compared with individuals in the reference ranges of HDL-C levels. In addition, individuals with higher HDL levels (>70 mg/dl in men, >90 mg/dl in women) had increased hazard of non-CV mortality.
Complex associations exist between HDL-C levels and sociodemographic, lifestyle, comorbidity factors, and mortality. HDL-C level is unlikely to represent a CV-specific risk factor given similarities in its associations with non-CV outcomes.
Readmission rates after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and heart failure (HF) hospitalizations have decreased in the United States since the implementation of the Hospital Readmissions Reduction ...Program.
This study was designed to examine the temporal trends of readmission and mortality after AMI and HF in Ontario, Canada, where reducing hospital readmissions has not had a policy incentive.
The cohort was comprised of AMI or HF patients 65 years of age or older who had been hospitalized from 2006 to 2017. Primary outcomes were 30-day readmission and post-discharge mortality. Secondary outcomes included in-hospital mortality, 30-day mortality from admission, and in-hospital mortality or 30-day mortality post-discharge. Adjusted monthly trends for each outcome were examined over the study period.
Our cohorts included 152,808 AMI and 223,283 HF patients. Age- and sex-standardized AMI hospitalization rates in Ontario declined 32% from 2006 to 2017 while HF hospitalization rates declined slightly (9.1%). For AMI, risk-adjusted 30-day readmission rates declined from 17.4% in 2006 to 14.7% in 2017. All AMI risk-adjusted mortality rates also declined from 2006 to 2017 with 30-day post-discharge mortality from 5.1% to 4.4%. For HF, overall risk-adjusted 30-day readmission was largely unchanged from 2006 to 2014 at 21.9%, followed by a decline to 20.8% in 2017. Risk-adjusted 30-day post-discharge mortality declined from 7.1% in 2006 to 6.6% in 2017.
The patterns of outcomes in Ontario are consistent with the United States for AMI, but diverge for HF. For AMI and HF, admissions, readmissions, and mortality rates declined over this period. The reasons for the country-specific patterns for HF need further exploration.
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Few longitudinal studies have delineated the association between traditional cardiovascular risk factors and development of aortic stenosis (AS).
The authors examined the association between ...traditional cardiovascular risk factors and incident severe AS in a large, unselected elderly population.
This observational cohort study used multiple linked health care population-based databases of individuals older than 65 years on April 1, 2002, without prior valvular disease, coronary artery disease, heart failure, cardiac arrhythmia, cerebrovascular disease, congenital heart disease, or admissions with cardiac symptoms. The relationship between hypertension (HTN), diabetes, dyslipidemia, and incident severe AS requiring hospitalization or surgical or interventional treatment was examined.
Among 1.12 million individuals followed for a median of 13 years, 20,995 subjects developed severe AS. Overall absolute incidence was 144 per 100,000 person-years (169 and 127 per 100,000 person-years in men and women, respectively). In cause-specific hazard models, HTN (adjusted hazard ratio HR: 1.71; 95% confidence interval CI: 1.66 to 1.76), diabetes (HR: 1.49; 95% CI: 1.44 to 1.54), and dyslipidemia (HR: 1.17; 95% CI: 1.14 to 1.21) were all significantly associated with increased risk of developing severe AS (all p < 0.001). There was a positive dose-response relationship between the number and duration of cardiac risk factors and risk of AS. In the Fine-Gray model, all 3 risk factors were independently associated with a higher incidence of AS. The population-attributable risk of AS associated with 3 cardiac risk factors was 34.4% (95% CI: 32.8 to 36.0).
HTN, diabetes, and dyslipidemia have independent and dose-response associations with incident AS in an unselected population of older individuals, and together accounted for approximately one-third of the incidence of severe AS.
Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is associated with a poor prognosis and poses a significant burden to the healthcare system, but few studies have evaluated whether OHCA incidence and survival ...have changed over time.
A population-based cohort study was conducted, including 34 291 OHCA patients >20 years of age who were transported alive to the emergency department of an acute-care hospital from April 1, 2002, to March 31, 2012, in Ontario, Canada. Patients with life-threatening trauma and those who died before hospital arrival were excluded. The overall age- and sex-standardized incidence of OHCA patients who were transported alive was 36 cases per 100 000 persons and did not significantly change over the study period. Cardiac risk factor prevalence increased significantly, whereas the rate of most cardiovascular conditions decreased significantly. The 30-day survival improved from 9.4% in 2002 to 13.6% in 2011; 1-year survival improved from 7.7% to 11.8% (P<0.001). Patients hospitalized in 2011 were significantly more likely to survive 30 days (adjusted odds ratio, 1.47 95% CI, 1.22-1.77) and 1 year (adjusted odds ratio, 1.55 95% CI, 1.27-1.91) compared with 2002. A significant interaction between temporal trends in survival improvement and age group was observed in which the improvement in survival was largest in the youngest age groups.
OHCA patients who were transported alive are increasingly likely to have cardiovascular risk factors but less likely to have previous cardiovascular conditions. The overall incidence of OHCA patients transported to hospital alive did not change over the past decade. Short- and longer-term survival after OHCA has substantially improved, with younger patients experiencing the greatest improvement.
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