The American journal of cardiology
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Multicenter Study
Predictors of regional variations in hospitalizations following emergency department visits for atrial fibrillation.
The emergency department (ED) is often where atrial fibrillation (AF) is first detected and acutely treated and affected patients dispositioned. We used the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample to estimate the percentage of visits resulting in hospitalization and investigate associations between patient and hospital characteristics with hospitalization at the national and regional levels. We conducted a cross-sectional study of adults with AF listed as the primary ED diagnosis in the 2007 to 2009 Nationwide Emergency Department Sample. ⋯ After adjusting for age, privately insured (0.77, 95% CI 0.73 to 0.81) and self-pay (0.77 95% CI 0.66 to 0.90) patients had lower odds compared with Medicare recipients, whereas Medicaid (1.21, 95% CI 1.11 to 1.32) patients tended to have higher odds. Patients living in low-income zip codes (1.18, 95% CI 1.12 to 1.25) and patients treated at large metropolitan hospitals (1.75, 95% CI 1.59 to 1.93) had higher odds. In conclusion, our analysis showed considerable regional variation in the management of patients with AF in the ED and in associations between patient socioeconomic and hospital characteristics with ED disposition; adapting best practices from among these variations in management could reduce hospitalizations and health-care expenses.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Efficacy of antiarrhythmic drugs in adults with congenital heart disease and supraventricular tachycardias.
Supraventricular tachycardias (SVTs) are a major cause of morbidity in adults with congenital heart disease (CHD). Few data exist on safety and efficacy of antiarrhythmic drugs in this population. Our aim was to determine the efficacy of antiarrhythmic drugs in adults with CHD and first-onset SVT on maintaining sinus rhythm after conversion. ⋯ However, adverse effects of medication occurred in 22% of the patients, mainly in patients taking amiodarone. In conclusion, in adults with CHD and first-onset SVTs, class III antiarrhythmics are more efficacious in maintaining sinus rhythm after cardioversion than other antiarrhythmics. Sotalol may be considered as the first-choice therapy as this is associated with fewer adverse effects than amiodarone.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Prevalence and prognostic role of various conduction disturbances in patients with the Brugada syndrome.
Prevalence and prognostic value of conduction disturbances in patients with the Brugada syndrome (BrS) remains poorly known. Electrocardiograms (ECGs) from 325 patients with BrS (47 ± 13 years, 258 men) with spontaneous (n = 143) or drug-induced (n = 182) type 1 ECG were retrospectively reviewed. Two hundred twenty-six patients (70%) were asymptomatic, 73 patients (22%) presented with unexplained syncope, and 26 patients (8%) presented with sudden death or implantable cardioverter-defibrillator appropriated therapies at diagnosis or during a mean follow-up of 48 ± 34 months. ⋯ In multivariate analysis, first degree AVB was independently associated with sudden death or implantable cardioverter-defibrillator appropriated therapies (odds ratio 2.41, 95% confidence interval 1.01 to 5.73, p = 0.046) together with the presence of syncope and spontaneous type 1 ST elevation. In conclusion, conduction disturbances are frequent and sometimes diffuse in patients with BrS. First degree AVB is independently linked to outcome and may be proposed to be used for individual risk stratification.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Relation between preoperative renal dysfunction and cardiovascular events (stroke, myocardial infarction, or heart failure or death) within three months of isolated coronary artery bypass grafting.
Renal dysfunction is related to long-term mortality and myocardial infarction after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). We aimed to investigate the association between preoperative renal dysfunction and early risk of stroke, myocardial infarction, or heart failure after CABG. From the Swedish Web-system for Enhancement and Development of Evidence-based care in Heart disease Evaluated According to Recommended Therapies registry, we included all 36,284 patients who underwent primary isolated CABG from 2000 to 2008 in Sweden. ⋯ Odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals for cardiovascular events after adjustment for age, gender, atrial fibrillation, left ventricular ejection fraction, diabetes mellitus, peripheral vascular disease, and history of myocardial infarction, heart failure, or stroke was 1.24 (1.06 to 1.45) in patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate of 15 to 45 ml/min/1.73 m(2) but became nonsignificant after acute kidney injury was introduced into the statistical model. The risk of death was significantly increased in patients with estimated glomerular filtration rate of 15 to 45 ml/min/1.73 m(2) (odds ratio 1.76, 95% confidence interval 1.38 to 2.25) even after adjustment for all confounders. Renal dysfunction was associated with all-cause mortality but not with cardiovascular events during the first 3 postoperative months after primary isolated CABG.