Citations

Background: Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is defined as a non-traumatic separation of the epicardial coronary artery walls that creates a false lumen. SCAD poses a difficult challenge in management, as decisions regarding revascularization and medical management seem to be tailored to the individual patient. We evaluated and compared outcomes based on cardiogenic shock in patients with SCAD utilizing Nationwide Readmissions Database (NRD) between January 1, 2016, to December 30, 2020. Methods: We utilized the NRD 2016–2019 to carry out this study. We evaluated demographics (e.g., age, gender), conventional risk factors, comorbidities present on the index admission, and in-hospital outcomes using their specific ICD-10-CM codes. The primary outcomes were In-hospital mortality and 30-day readmission, and the secondary outcome was to compare the complications in SCAD patient with cardiogenic shock (CS) compared to those without CS. Results: We analyzed 2473 individuals with SCAD, 2199 of these individuals did not have cardiogenic shock whereas 274 of these individuals did have cardiogenic shock. When comparing SCAD with cardiogenic shock to SCAD without cardiogenic shock, there was a statistically significant increased odds ratio (OR) for death (propensity matched OR 24.93 (7.49–83.05), use of mechanical circulatory support (propensity matched OR 15.30 (6.87–34.04), ventricular tachycardia (propensity matched OR 4.45 (1.92–10.34), utilization of blood transfusions (propensity matched OR 3.82 (1.86–7.87), acute kidney injury (propensity matched OR 4.02 (1.45–11.13), need for mechanical ventilation (propensity matched OR 8.87 (3.53–22.31), and respiratory failure (propensity matched OR 4.95 (1.83–13.41)))))))). There was no statistically significant difference in 30-day readmission rates between the two groups. Conclusions: SCAD is a unique condition that can lead to many complications. In our analysis, we showed that SCAD associated with cardiogenic shock compared to SCAD not associated with cardiogenic shock results in greater odds of complications including death, use of mechanical circulatory support, need for blood transfusions, ventricular tachycardia, acute kidney injury, use of mechanical ventilation, and respiratory failure. SCAD with cardiogenic shock represents a significantly critical clinical scenario that requires a multi-disciplinary approach to prevent the many potential complications associated with this disease process.

Artificial intelligence, specifically advanced language models such as ChatGPT, have the potential to revolutionize various aspects of healthcare, medical education, and research. In this review, we evaluate the myriad applications of artificial intelligence in diverse healthcare domains. We discuss its potential role in clinical decision-making, exploring how it can assist physicians by providing rapid, data-driven insights for diagnosis and treatment. We review the benefits of artificial intelligence such as ChatGPT in personalized patient care, particularly in geriatric care, medication management, weight loss and nutrition, and physical activity guidance. We further delve into its potential to enhance medical research, through the analysis of large datasets, and the development of novel methodologies. In the realm of medical education, we investigate the utility of artificial intelligence as an information retrieval tool and personalized learning resource for medical students and professionals.

A growing body of research has begun to link exposure to environmental contaminants, such as heavy metals, with a variety of negative health outcomes. In this paper, we sought to review the current research describing the impact of certain common contaminant metals on cardiovascular (CV) health. We reviewed ten metals: lead, barium, nickel, chromium, cadmium, arsenic, mercury, selenium, zinc, and copper. After a literature review, we briefly summarized the routes of environmental exposure, pathophysiological mechanisms, CV health impacts, and exposure prevention and/or mitigation strategies for each metal. The resulting article discloses a broad spectrum of pathological significance, from relatively benign substances with little to no described effects on CV health, such as chromium and selenium, to substances with a wide-ranging and relatively severe spectrum of CV pathologies, such as arsenic, cadmium, and lead. It is our hope that this article will provide clinicians with a practical overview of the impact of these common environmental contaminants on CV health as well as highlight areas that require further investigation to better understand how these metals impact the incidence and progression of CV diseases.

Bifurcation lesions account for 20% of all percutaneous coronary interventions and represent a complex subset which are associated with lower procedural success and higher rates of restenosis [...]

The utilization of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has become the treatment of choice in patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) with intermediate-to-high surgical risk for surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) [...]

Primary care has the potential to be transformed by artificial intelligence (AI) and, in particular, machine learning (ML). This review summarizes the potential of ML and its subsets in influencing two domains of primary care: pre-operative care and screening. ML can be utilized in preoperative treatment to forecast postoperative results and assist physicians in selecting surgical interventions. Clinicians can modify their strategy to reduce risk and enhance outcomes using ML algorithms to examine patient data and discover factors that increase the risk of worsened health outcomes. ML can also enhance the precision and effectiveness of screening tests. Healthcare professionals can identify diseases at an early and curable stage by using ML models to examine medical pictures, diagnostic modalities, and spot patterns that may suggest disease or anomalies. Before the onset of symptoms, ML can be used to identify people at an increased risk of developing specific disorders or diseases. ML algorithms can assess patient data such as medical history, genetics, and lifestyle factors to identify those at higher risk. This enables targeted interventions such as lifestyle adjustments or early screening. In general, using ML in primary care offers the potential to enhance patient outcomes, reduce healthcare costs, and boost productivity.

AbstractBackground and ObjectivesSince publishing successful clinical trial results of mRNA coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) vaccines in December 2020, multiple reports have arisen about cardiovascular complications following the mRNA vaccination. This study provides an in‐depth account of various cardiovascular adverse events reported after the mRNA vaccines' first or second dose including pericarditis/myopericarditis, myocarditis, hypotension, hypertension, arrhythmia, cardiogenic shock, stroke, myocardial infarction/STEMI, intracranial hemorrhage, thrombosis (deep vein thrombosis, cerebral venous thrombosis, arterial or venous thrombotic events, portal vein thrombosis, coronary thrombosis, microvascular small bowel thrombosis), and pulmonary embolism.MethodsA systematic review of original studies reporting confirmed cardiovascular manifestations post‐mRNA COVID‐19 vaccination was performed. Following the PRISMA guidelines, electronic databases (PubMed, PMC NCBI, and Cochrane Library) were searched until January 2022. Baseline characteristics of patients and disease outcomes were extracted from relevant studies.ResultsA total of 81 articles analyzed confirmed cardiovascular complications post‐COVID‐19 mRNA vaccines in 17,636 individuals and reported 284 deaths with any mRNA vaccine. Of 17,636 cardiovascular events with any mRNA vaccine, 17,192 were observed with the BNT162b2 (Pfizer−BioNTech) vaccine, 444 events with mRNA‐1273 (Moderna). Thrombosis was frequently reported with any mRNA vaccine (n = 13,936), followed by stroke (n = 758), myocarditis (n = 511), myocardial infarction (n = 377), pulmonary embolism (n = 301), and arrhythmia (n = 254). Stratifying the results by vaccine type showed that thrombosis (80.8%) was common in the BNT162b2 cohort, while stroke (39.9%) was common with mRNA‐1273 for any dose. The time between the vaccination dosage and the first symptom onset averaged 5.6 and 4.8 days with the mRNA‐1273 vaccine and BNT162b2, respectively. The mRNA‐1273 cohort reported 56 deaths compared to the 228 with BNT162b2, while the rest were discharged or transferred to the ICU.ConclusionAvailable literature includes more studies with the BNT162b2 vaccine than mRNA‐1273. Future studies must report mortality and adverse cardiovascular events by vaccine types.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and cardiovascular diseases are both highly prevalent conditions around the world, and emerging data have shown an association between them. This review found several longitudinal and cross-sectional studies showing that NAFLD was associated with coronary artery disease, cardiac remodeling, aortic valve remodeling, mitral annulus valve calcifications, diabetic cardiomyopathy, diastolic cardiac dysfunction, arrhythmias, and stroke. Although the specific underlying mechanisms are not clear, many hypotheses have been suggested, including that metabolic syndrome might act as an upstream metabolic defect, leading to end-organ manifestations in both the heart and liver. Management of NAFLD includes weight loss through lifestyle interventions or bariatric surgery, and pharmacological interventions, often targeting comorbidities. Although there are no Food and Drug Administration–approved nonalcoholic steatohepatitis-specific therapies, several drug candidates have demonstrated effect in the improvement in fibrosis or nonalcoholic steatohepatitis resolution. Further studies are needed to assess the effect of those interventions on cardiovascular outcomes, the major cause of mortality in patients with NAFLD. In conclusion, a more comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach to diagnosis and management of patients with NAFLD and cardiovascular diseases is needed to optimize clinical outcomes.

Introduction: Theobromine is a naturally occurring substance found in cocoa products. Theobromine may have beneficial cardiovascular effects through various mechanisms. We used the NHANES database to analyze associations between theobromine consumption and cardiovascular health outcomes. Methods: The NHANES database represents a nationally representative population which was used to construct the study population from 1996-2016. We assessed multiple demographic factors and compared differences amongst those who consumed various amounts of theobromine to those who did not. The primary outcome measures were hypertension and lipid profiles. Results: Among 42,038 NHANES survey participants, 37569 and 4469 of the participants reported never consuming theobromine and consuming theobromine, respectively. Table 1 demonstrates baseline characteristics of those reporting no theobromine consumption in comparison to the theobromine consuming participants (100-400md/g and 400-850mg/d). Moderate to high amounts of theobromine consumption was observed in participants who were older with higher BMI and more education and were more likely to be tobacco users in comparison to those with no theobromine consumption (all p-values <0.05). Moderate to high theobromine consumption was also observed to be associated with a higher hemoglobin level, higher LDL cholesterol, lower HDL cholesterol, and prevalence of hypertension (all p-values <0.05). Conclusions: We observed that individuals who consumed moderate to high amounts of theobromine had associated improvements in lipid profile parameters as well as reduced blood pressure. Theobromine may represent a complementary non-pharmacologic supplementation to typical lifestyle modifications to improve cardiovascular outcomes. Further prospective studies are needed to better clarify this potential association.

Background: It is known that hypokalemia, hypocalcemia and hypomagnesemia cause a prolonged QTc interval and are associated with an increased risk of ventricular arrhythmias. However, there are limited data on optimal serum electrolytes for patients admitted to the coronary care unit (CCU). Objective: Here, we aimed to evaluate the relationship between serum potassium, ionized calcium and magnesium levels and in-hospital mortality in the CCU setting. Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 8,498 consecutive patients admitted to the CCU at an academic tertiary medical center from 2004 through 2013. The mean of serum electrolytes was categorized as <3.5, 3.5-<4.0, 4.0-<4.5 (reference), 4.5-<5.0, and ≥5.0 mEq/L for potassium; <4.4, 4.4-<4.6, 4.6-<4.8, 4.8-<5.0 (reference), and ≥5.0 mg/dL for ionized calcium; and <1.8, 1.8-<2.0, 2.0-<2.2 (reference), 2.2-<2.4, and ≥2.4 mg/dL for magnesium. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine the association between the mean of serum electrolytes and in-hospital mortality. Results: Of the 8,498 patients, 599 (7%) died during hospitalization. Relationship between mean serum potassium (U-shaped), ionized calcium (inverted J-shape) and magnesium (J-shaped) and in-hospital mortality was present in Figure. Serum potassium levels <3.5, 4.5-<5.0 and ≥5.0 mEq/L were independently associated with an increased risk of in-hospital mortality (adjusted OR 1.7 95% CI 1.1-2.5, OR 1.7 95% CI 1.3-2.2, and OR 3.4 95% CI 2.4-4.8, respectively), compared to the reference group. As for serum ionized calcium, the levels of <4.4, 4.4-<4.6, and 4.6-<4.8 mg/dL independently increased risk of mortality (adjusted OR 3.0 95% CI 2.3-4.0, OR 2.0 95% CI 1.5-2.6, and OR 1.4 95% CI, 1.1-1.8, respectively). As for serum magnesium, an only level above 2.4 mg/dL was associated with an increased mortality risk (OR 1.6 95% CI, 1.1-2.2). Conclusions: In the CCU setting, serum potassium 3.5-<4.5 mEq/L, ionized calcium ≥5.0 mg/dL and magnesium <2.4 mg/dL are associated with the lowest in-hospital mortality. These findings do not support supratherapeutic repletion of potassium and magnesium.