1,721,597 research outputs found
Decompensated Heart Failure and Renal Failure: What Is the Current Evidence?
No full textPURPOSE OF REVIEW
Acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) is one of the biggest challenges in the management of chronic heart failure. Despite several advances in medical and device therapy, high readmission and mortality rates continue to be a burden on healthcare systems worldwide. The aim of the current review is to provide an overview on current as well as future approaches in cardiorenal interactions in patients with ADHF.
RECENT FINDINGS
One of the strongest predictors of adverse outcomes in ADHF is renal dysfunction, referred to as cardiorenal syndromes (CRS) or cardiorenal interactions. Patients with ADHF frequently develop worsening of renal function (WRF) and/or acute kidney injury (AKI). Recent studies brought new information about biomarkers in diagnosing and predicting prognosis of CRS. Among others, dry weight at hospital discharge is considered a surrogate marker of successful treatment in ADHF patients with/without renal dysfunction. The etiology of WRF appears to be an important factor for determining risk related to WRF as well as clinical management. The hypertonic saline used as adjunctive therapy for intravenous loop diuretics and/or induction of aquaresis (e.g., using tolvaptan) may be promising and efficient approaches in the future
Statins in the prevention of postoperative atrial fibrillation: is there really no effect?
No full textLetter by Banach et al regarding article, "postoperative treatment with carvedilol, a beta-adrenergic blocker, prevents paroxysmal atrial fibrillation after coronary artery bypass grafting"
No full textDofetilide for the prevention of postoperative atrial fibrillation after coronary surgery: is it a useful routine prophylaxis?
No full text
Angiotensin converting-enzyme inhibitors and candesartan have no effects on atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery: comment on: Mehmet Ozaydin et al. "Effect of renin-angiotensin aldosterone system blockers on postoperative atrial fibrillation"
No full textThe manuscript is a "Letter to the Editor" concerning the paper: "Ozaydin M, Dede O, Varol E, et al. Effect of renin-angiotensin aldosteron system blockers on postoperative atrial fibrillation. Int J Cardiol 2008; 127: 362-367"
Cholesterol in Relation to COVID-19: Should We Care about It?
No full textCurrent data suggest that infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causing corona virus disease-19 (COVID-19) seems to follow a more severe clinical course in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD), hypertension, and overweight/obesity. It appears that lipid-lowering pharmacological interventions, in particular statins, might reduce the risk of cardiovascular complications caused by COVID-19 and might potentially have an additional antiviral activity. It has been shown that high cholesterol levels are associated with more lipid rafts, subdomains of the plasma membrane that can harbour angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors for the S-protein of SARS-CoV-2. Evidence of the importance of cholesterol for viral entry into host cells could suggest a role for cholesterol-lowering therapies in reducing viral infectivity. In addition to their lipid-lowering and plaque-stabilisation effects, statins possess pleiotropic effects including anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, and antithrombotic activities. Lower rates of mortality and intubation have been reported in studies investigating statin therapy in influenza infection, and statin therapy was shown to increase viral clearance from the blood during chronic hepatitis C infection. Statins may also serve as potential SARS-CoV-2 main protease inhibitors, thereby contributing to the control of viral infection. In this review, we elaborate on the role of cholesterol level in the process of the coronavirus infection and provide a critical appraisal on the potential of statins in reducing the severity, duration, and complications of COVID-19
Effect of Pycnogenol on Blood Pressure. Findings From a PRISMA Compliant Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Clinical Studies
No full textResults of previous clinical trials evaluating the effect of pycnogenol supplementation on blood pressure (BP) are controversial. Therefore, we aimed to assess the impact of pycnogenol on BP through a systematic review of literature and meta-analysis of available randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical studies (randomized clinical trials [RCTs]). Literature search included SCOPUS, PubMed-Medline, ISI Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases up to January 10, 2019 to identify RCTs investigating the impact of pycnogenol on BP. Two investigators independently extracted data on study characteristics, methods, and outcomes. This systematic review and meta-analysis is registered in International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) under number CRD42018112172. Overall, the impact of pycnogenol on BP was reported in 7 trials involving 626 participants. Meta-analysis did not suggest any significant improvement in systolic BP (weighted mean difference [WMD]: -0.028 mm Hg; 95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.182 to 0.127; P = .726; I2 = 46%), diastolic BP (WMD: -0.144 mm Hg; 95% CI: -0.299 to 0.010; P = .067; I2 = 0%), mean arterial pressure (WMD: -0.091 mm Hg; 95% CI: -0.246 to 0.063; P = .246; I2 = 0%), and pulse pressure (WMD: -0.003 mm Hg; 95% CI: -0.151 to 0.158; P = .966; I2 = 0%) following pycnogenol treatment. Results persisted in the leave-one-out sensitivity analysis. Therefore, the present meta-analysis does not suggest any significant effect of pycnogenol on BP
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