360 research outputs found
Systolic blood pressure visit-to-visit variability and major adverse outcomes in atrial fibrillation. The AFFIRM study (Atrial Fibrillation Follow-Up Investigation of Rhythm Management)
No full textHypertension and atrial fibrillation predict major adverse events independently. Visit-to-visit variability (VVV) in systolic blood pressure (SBP) predicts outcomes beyond SBP itself, but risk associated with SBP-VVV in atrial fibrillation remains uncertain. We evaluated relationships between SBP-VVV, quality of oral anticoagulation control, and outcomes in patients with atrial fibrillation. Data from the AFFIRM trial (atrial fibrillation follow-up investigation of rhythm management) were analyzed. SBP-VVV was defined according to SD of SBP (SBP-SD) during follow-up. SBP-VVV was categorized by quartiles (1st, <10.09; 2nd, 10.09-13.85; 3rd, 13.86-17.33; and 4th, >= 17.34 mm Hg) and as a continuous variable. Among the original cohort, 3843 (94.7%) patients were eligible. Time in therapeutic range and percentage of international normalized ratio in range were progressively lower by quartiles (both P<0.001). An inverse linear association existed between SBP-SD and time in therapeutic range/percentage of international normalized ratio in range (P<0.001). After a median (interquartile range) follow-up of 3.6 (2.7-4.6) years, stroke and major bleeding rates progressively increased by SBP-VVV quartile (both P<0.001). Patients in the 4th quartile had the highest rate of cardiovascular and all-cause death (P=0.005 and P<0.001). A Cox multivariate analysis confirmed that 3rd and 4th quartiles were associated independently with a higher risk for stroke (P=0.042 and P=0.004) and major bleeding (P=0.009 and P<0.001). Patients in 4th quartile had also a higher risk for all-cause death (P=0.048). SBP-SD as a continuous variable was associated with increased risk for all outcomes. In conclusion, SBP-VVV is inversely associated with quality of anticoagulation control and independently predicts major adverse outcomes. Management of blood pressure variability may improve outcomes in atrial fibrillation
Polypharmacy and major adverse events in atrial fibrillation: observations from the AFFIRM trial
No full textBACKGROUND:
Polypharmacy, as the use of five or more drugs, has commonly been associated with the elderly and multiple co-morbidities and related to impairment of clinical state and adverse outcomes, in general population. Limited data are available on the relationship between polypharmacy and adverse outcomes in atrial fibrillation (AF). We describe the prevalence of polypharmacy and AF, and its association with major adverse events, such as stroke and cardiovascular (CV) death.
METHODS AND RESULTS:
For this study, we analysed all AFFIRM Trial patients with complete pharmacological data. Polypharmacy was recorded in 40 % of 4056 AF patients. The crude incidence of CV death was 3.45 % patient-years among patients with polypharmacy, vs 1.65 % patient-years without polypharmacy. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that patients with polypharmacy had a higher cumulative incidence of CV death (p < 0.001). Cox regression analysis demonstrated that female gender (p = 0.038), diabetes mellitus (p = 0.029), previous myocardial infarction (MI) (p = 0.004), prior stroke (p = 0.011) and polypharmacy (p = 0.029) were independently associated with CV death. Polypharmacy was associated with an adjusted relative risk of 1.30 (95 % CI 1.03-1.64) for CV death. A linear increase in the number of drugs was significantly associated with CV death. No significant association was found with stroke occurrence.
CONCLUSIONS:
Polypharmacy is highly prevalent in AF patients and associated with a worse clinical outcome, conferring 30 % excess relative risk for CV death. Thus, polypharmacy may be a health status marker. Strategies to reduce inappropriate prescription and polypharmacy should be tested in prospective longitudinal studies of AF patients
2015 heart rhythm society expert consensus statement on the diagnosis and treatment of postural tachycardia syndrome, inappropriate sinus tachycardia, and vasovagal syncope
No full textAbstract not availableRobert S. Sheldon, Blair P. Grubb II, Brian Olshansky, Win-Kuang Shen, Hugh Calkins, Michele Brignole, Satish R. Raj, Andrew D. Krahn, Carlos A. Morillo, Julian M. Stewart, Richard Sutton, Paola Sandroni, Karen J. Friday, Denise Tessariol Hachul, Mitchell I. Cohen, Dennis H. Lau, Kenneth A. Mayuga, Jeffrey P. Moak, Roopinder K. Sandhu, Khalil Kanjwa
Improved outcomes by integrated care of anticoagulated patients with atrial fibrillation using the simple ABC (Atrial fibrillation Better Care) pathway
No full textBackground Integrated care for the clinical management of atrial fibrillation patients is advocated as a holistic way to improve outcomes; the simple Atrial fibrillation Better Care (ABC) pathway has been proposed. The ABC pathway streamlines care as follows: ‘A’ Avoid stroke; ‘B’ Better symptom management; ‘C’ Cardiovascular and Comorbidity optimization. Methods We performed a post hoc analysis of the Atrial Fibrillation Follow-Up Investigation of Rhythm Management (AFFIRM) trial. An ‘integrated care’ approach was defined according to the ABC pathway. Patients fulfilling all criteria were categorized as the ‘ABC’ group; those not fulfilling all criteria were the ‘non-ABC’ group. Trial-adjudicated all-cause death, composite outcome of stroke/major bleeding/cardiovascular death, and first hospitalization were the main study outcomes. Results Among the 4060 patients in the original cohort, 3169 (78%) had available data to compare integrated care (ABC; n = 222; 7%) vs non-ABC (n = 2947; 93%) management. Over a median follow-up of 3.7 (interquartile range, 2.8-4.6) years, atrial fibrillation patients managed with integrated care (ABC group) had lower rates for all study outcomes (all P < .001) compared with the non-ABC group. A Cox multivariable regression analysis showed that atrial fibrillation patients managed in the ABC group had a significantly lower risk of all-cause death (hazard ratio [HR], 0.35; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.17-0.75), composite outcome (HR, 0.35; 95% CI, 0.18-0.68), and first hospitalization (HR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.53-0.80). Conclusions The simple ABC pathway allows the streamlining of integrated care for atrial fibrillation patients in a holistic manner and is associated with a lower risk of adverse outcomes (including mortality, stroke/major bleeding/cardiovascular death, and hospitalization)
Relation of female sex to left atrial diameter and cardiovascular death in atrial fibrillation: The AFFIRM Trial
No full textBACKGROUND:
Female sex is associated with thromboembolism related to atrial fibrillation (AF). Left atrial (LA) diameter independently predicted incident cardiovascular (CV) major events in the general population. In AF patients, LA enlargement is associated to AF occurrence and recurrence. No data have previously been reported on the relationship between LA enlargement, sex and CV death in AF patients.
METHODS AND RESULTS:
All patients enrolled in the AFFIRM Trial with available data about LA dimension were included in this post-hoc analysis. Of the 2615 eligible for the present analysis, LA enlargement was recorded in 67.0%, more commonly in women than in men (p=0.032). Patients with LA enlargement had higher body mass index (BMI), and were more frequently hypertensive, diabetic, and diagnosed with a structural heart disease, prior coronary artery disease (CAD) and heart failure (HF). BMI, left ventricular mass, female sex and mitral valve insufficiency (p<0.001) were associated with LA enlargement. AF female patients with LA enlargement had a higher risk for CV death (p=0.011). LA diameter showed a significant association with CV death (p<0.001). Cox regression analysis demonstrated that LA diameter was an independent predictor of CV death in female AF patients (p=0.003).
CONCLUSIONS:
LA diameter enlargement is associated with female sex, and carries a higher risk for CV death, particularly in females. LA diameter was an independent predictor of CV death in female AF patients
Comprehensive management with the ABC (Atrial Fibrillation Better Care) pathway in clinically complex patients with atrial fibrillation. A post hoc ancillary analysis from the AFFIRM Trial
No full textBackground For patients with atrial fibrillation, a comprehensive care approach based on the Atrial fibrillation Better Care (ABC) pathway can reduce the occurrence of adverse outcomes. The aim of this paper was to investigate if an approach based on the ABC pathway is associated with a reduced risk of adverse events in "clinically complex" atrial fibrillation patients, including those with multiple comorbidities, polypharmacy, and prior hospitalizations. Methods and Results We performed a post hoc analysis of the AFFIRM (Atrial Fibrillation Follow-up Investigation of Rhythm Management) trial. The principal outcome was the composite of all-cause hospitalization and all-cause death. An integrated care approach (ABC group) was used in 3.8% of the multimorbidity group, 4.0% of the polypharmacy group, and 4.8%, of the hospitalized groups. In all "clinically complex" groups, the cumulative risk of the composite outcome was significantly lower in patients managed consistent with the ABC pathway versus non-ABC pathway-adherent (all P<0.05). Cox regression analysis showed a reduction of composite outcomes in ABC pathway-adherent versus non-ABC pathway-adherent for multimorbidity (hazard ratio [HR], 0.61, 95% CI, 0.44-0.85), polypharmacy (HR, 0.68, 95% CI, 0.47-1.00), and hospitalization (HR, 0.59, 95% CI, 0.42-0.85) groups. Secondary analyses showed that the higher number of ABC criteria fulfilled the larger associated reduction in relative risk, even for secondary outcomes considered. Conclusions Use of an ABC consistent pathway is associated with fewer major adverse events in patients with atrial fibrillation who have multiple comorbidities, use of polypharmacy, and prior hospitalization
Tradeoffs between the hands-on approach and giving money/charity
No full textThis project investigates the University of Illinois’ involvement with Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts and aims to answer the following questions: Who benefits from the University’s approach, the university or the residents of New Orleans? On the basis of five interviews, including different faculty, the results indicate that the primary focus is on research rather than direct participation with local citizens. Although there are likely many tangible benefits to the residents themselves, the university is the main beneficiary through the promotion of its research.Submitted by Stephanie Renne ([email protected]) on 2007-08-22T04:03:01Z
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Previous issue date: 2006-12-15unpublishe
Combination therapy of beta-blockers and digoxin is associated with increased risk of major adverse cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality in patients with atrial fibrillation: a report from the GLORIA-AF registry
No full textThe effect of digoxin and beta-blockers on cardiovascular outcomes and mortality remains unclear. The study aimed to determine differences in cardiovascular (CV) outcomes and death rates among patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) who were prescribed with beta-blockers, digoxin or combination therapy. Data from phase II/III of the prospective Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Anti-thrombotic Treatment in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation (GLORIA-AF) were analysed. The risk of major cardiovascular events (MACE) and death among patients with different prescriptions using COX proportional hazard regression was considered. Propensity score (PS) matching and weighting were further used to adjust for potential confounders of prescription use. A total of 14,201 patients [median age: 71.0 (IQR 64.0-77.0) years; 46.2% female] were recruited. After a median follow-up of 3.0 (IQR 2.4-3.1) years, 864 MACE, and 988 all-cause deaths were recorded. The incidence rate (IR) of MACE was 22.4 (95%CI 21.0-24.0) per 1000 person-years, while the IR of all-cause death was 25.4 (95%CI 23.8-27.0) per 1000 person-years. After multivariate adjustment with Cox regression, the risk of MACE (HR 1.35, 95% CI 1.09-1.68) and the risk of all-cause death (HR 1.28, 95%CI 1.04-1.57) were significantly higher in the combination therapy group, compared to the beta-blockers alone group. The risks of MACE and all-cause death remained significant in both PS matched and PS weighted cohort Among AF patients, combination therapy of beta-blockers and digoxin was associated with higher risks of MACE and all-cause death compared to beta-blockers alone
Combining ablation of atrial fibrillation with ablation of atrial flutter: are we there yet?**Editorials published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiologyreflect the views of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of JACCor the American College of Cardiology.
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