International journal of cardiology
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Multicenter Study
Rheumatoid arthritis and risk of acute myocardial infarction--a nationwide retrospective cohort study.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) imposes substantial social costs, including an increased risk of work-related disability and accelerated cardiovascular diseases. The aim of the study is to determine the risk of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) associated with RA in a nationwide retrospective cohort study. ⋯ This nationwide retrospective cohort study indicates that AMI risk increased by 38% in RA patients compared to the general population. Comorbidities increase the AMI risk independently.
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Multicenter Study
Serial changes in high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I in the early diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction.
Current guidelines require a change (rise and/or fall) in levels of cardiac troponin (cTn) for the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). It is unknown whether absolute or relative changes provide higher accuracy when using high-sensitivity cTnI assays. ⋯ As single variables early absolute changes in high-sensitivity cTnI levels have significantly higher diagnostic accuracy than relative changes. When combined with the baseline cTn level, reflecting clinical practice, both absolute and relative changes provided very high accuracy with much smaller differences between both approaches.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Determinants of quality of life of patients with heart failure and iron deficiency treated with ferric carboxymaltose: FAIR-HF sub-analysis.
Heart failure (HF) is a burden to patients and health care systems. The objectives of HF treatment are to improve health related quality of life (HRQoL) and reduce mortality and morbidity. We aimed to evaluate determinants of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with iron deficiency and HF treated with intravenous (i.v.) iron substitution or placebo. ⋯ In this study, i.v. iron substitution, exercise tolerance, stroke, country of residence and renal function influenced measures of HRQoL in patients with heart failure and iron deficiency.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Safety of pacemaker and implantable cardioverter-defibrillator implantation during uninterrupted warfarin treatment--the FinPAC study.
Periprocedural management of oral anticoagulation (OAC) in patients undergoing cardiac rhythm management (CRM) device implantation is controversial. Prior studies demonstrate that uninterrupted OAC may be safe, but limited data from randomized trials exist. ⋯ Our randomized study demonstrates that CRM devices can be safely implanted without discontinuation of warfarin treatment.
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Multicenter Study
Relationship of CRP, IL-6, and fibrinogen with right ventricular structure and function: the MESA-Right Ventricle Study.
Inflammation contributes to the pathogenesis of disease associated with the left ventricle (LV); yet, our understanding of the effect of inflammation on the right ventricle (RV) is quite limited. ⋯ Levels of CRP and IL-6 are independently associated with RV morphology even after adjustment for the respective LV measure in this multi-ethnic population free of clinical cardiovascular disease. Systemic inflammation may contribute to RV structural changes independent of effects on the LV.