International journal of cardiology
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Remote ischemic preconditioning (RIPC) has been associated with reduced risk of myocardial injury in patients undergoing cardiovascular surgery, but uncertainty about clinical outcomes remains, particularly in the light of 2 recent large randomized clinical trials (RCTs) which were neutral. We performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy of RIPC on clinically relevant outcomes in patients undergoing cardiovascular surgery. ⋯ RIPC did not decrease overall mortality, but was associated with less MI and acute renal failure and shorter hospitalizations in patients undergoing cardiac or vascular surgery.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Discharge BNP is a stronger predictor of 6-month mortality in acute heart failure compared with baseline BNP and admission-to-discharge percentage BNP reduction.
Prior studies found a significant relationship between admission B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), discharge BNP and admission-to-discharge percentage BNP reduction and post-discharge mortality in acute heart failure (HF). ⋯ The absolute BNP value at discharge is a more accurate predictor of 6-month mortality than the magnitude of percentage in-hospital BNP reduction and baseline BNP.
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The Absorb bioresorbable vascular scaffold (BVS) was developed to address long-term safety issues of metallic drug-eluting stents. However, it may be associated with an increased event risk during the first year. ⋯ During the first year of follow-up, patients treated with BVS had a higher incidence of MI and scaffold thrombosis. The risk of DOCE was not significantly different. As BVS may pay off later, future robust data on long-term clinical outcome will be of paramount importance.
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Digoxin is widely used as symptomatic treatment in heart failure (HF), but the role in contemporary treatment of HF with sinus rhythm (SR) is debatable. We investigated the risk of death and hospital readmission, according to digoxin use, in a nationwide cohort of digoxin-naïve patients with HF and SR. ⋯ In chronic HF with SR, digoxin was associated with a slightly increased risk of death and was not associated with decreased HF readmission rates.