The Canadian journal of cardiology
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The burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in Canada and other developed countries is growing, in part because of the aging of the population and the alarming rise of obesity. Studying Canada's contribution to the global body of CVD research output will shed light on the effectiveness of investments in Canadian CVD research and inform if Canada has been responding to its CVD burden. Search was conducted using the Web-of-Science database for publications during 1981 through 2010 on major areas and specific interventions in CVD. ⋯ Canada's contribution to the global pool of CVD research is on par with France and close to the UK, Japan, and Germany. Canada's contribution in global CVD research is higher than its average contribution in all fields of research (6% vs 3%). As the burden of chronic diseases including CVD rises with Canada's aging population, the increase in Canadian research into CVD is encouraging.
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Comparative Study
Hemodynamic stability after transitioning between endothelin receptor antagonists in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension.
Maintenance of a favourable hemodynamic profile is central to therapeutic success in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). There is little information about the safety of transitioning patients between oral therapies for PAH. Endothelin receptor antagonists (ERAs) have been a therapeutic mainstay in PAH, providing benefit to many patients. Three ERAs, bosentan, sitaxsentan, and ambrisentan have been approved for clinical use. Sitaxsentan was voluntarily withdrawn from the market in late 2010 resulting in the need to quickly transition a large number of stable patients. ⋯ Transitioning between ERAs in stable PAH patients does not result in hemodynamic or clinical deterioration during the first 4 months posttransition. A minority of patients have developed increased cardiac filling pressures.
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It is unclear whether diabetes mellitus or use of particular glucose-lowering agents is associated with increased risk of mortality after noncardiac surgery in patients with known cardiac disease. ⋯ Neither diabetes nor exposure to common classes of glucose-lowering drugs preoperatively were associated with increased perioperative mortality in cardiac patients undergoing noncardiac surgery. However, cardiac patients not using angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptor blockers, β-blockers, or statins preoperatively exhibited higher mortality rates, emphasizing the importance of optimizing evidence-based therapy before elective surgery in these patients.
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Streptococcus pneumoniae endocarditis is uncommon. It has a predilection for the aortic valve and is associated with high mortality. ⋯ This case series illustrates the aggressive nature of pneumococcal endocarditis and the need for early diagnosis. Echocardiography should be considered in all individuals with persistent extracardiac pneumococcal infections.
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Review Meta Analysis
A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials comparing percutaneous coronary intervention with medical therapy in stable angina pectoris.
There continues to remain uncertainty regarding the effect of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) vs medical therapy in patients with stable angina. We therefore performed a systematic review and study-level meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials of patients with stable angina comparing PCI vs medical therapy for each of the following individual outcomes: all-cause mortality, cardiovascular (CV) mortality, myocardial infarction (MI), and angina relief. We used 8 strategies to identify eligible trials including bibliographic database searches of MEDLINE, PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Controlled Trials Registry until November 2011. ⋯ We did not detect differences between PCI vs medical therapy for all-cause mortality (663 events; relative risk [RR], 0.97 [confidence interval (CI), 0.84-1.12]; I(2) = 0%), CV mortality (214 events; RR, 0.91 [CI, 0.70-1.17]; I(2) = 0%), MI (472 events; RR, 1.09 [CI, 0.92-1.29]; I(2) = 0%), or angina relief at the end of follow-up (2016 events; RR, 1.10 [CI, 0.97-1.26]; I(2)=85%). PCI was not associated with reductions in all-cause or CV mortality, MI, or angina relief. Considering the cost implication and the lack of clear clinical benefit, these findings continue to support existing clinical practice guidelines that medical therapy be considered the most appropriate initial clinical management for patients with stable angina.