Journal of the American Heart Association
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Prior studies suggest that circulating fatty acids may influence the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF), but little is known about the associations of circulating saturated fatty acids with risk of AF. ⋯ Results from this prospective cohort study of older adults demonstrate divergent associations of circulating 16:0 versus longer-chain saturated fatty acids with incident AF, highlighting the need to investigate both determinants of these levels and potential pathways of the observed differential risk.
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Observational Study
The American Heart Association Life's Simple 7 and incident cognitive impairment: The REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study.
Life's Simple 7 is a new metric based on modifiable health behaviors and factors that the American Heart Association uses to promote improvements to cardiovascular health (CVH). We hypothesized that better Life's Simple 7 scores are associated with lower incidence of cognitive impairment. ⋯ Compared with low CVH, intermediate and high CVH were both associated with substantially lower incidence of cognitive impairment. We did not observe a dose-response pattern; people with intermediate and high levels of CVH had similar incidence of cognitive impairment. This suggests that even when high CVH is not achieved, intermediate levels of CVH are preferable to low CVH.
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The reported incidence of peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) in the United States varies widely. Furthermore, limited information is available on the temporal trends in incidence and outcomes of PPCM. ⋯ From 2004 to 2011, the incidence of PPCM has increased in the United States. Maternal MAE rates overall have remained unchanged while cardiogenic shock, utilization of mechanical circulatory support, and in-hospital mortality have increased during the study period. Further study of the mechanisms underlying these adverse trends in the incidence and outcomes of PPCM are warranted.
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Therapeutic hypothermia (TH) is recommended to reduce ischemic brain injury after cardiac arrest. The variables that predict heat generation by patients receiving TH are uncertain, as is how this heat generation relates to neurologic outcome. We hypothesized that patient characteristics, medication use, inflammation, and organ injury would be associated with heat generation. We further hypothesized that neurologic outcome would be most strongly associated with heat generation. ⋯ In cardiac arrest patients receiving TH, greater heat generation is associated with better baseline health, reduced ischemic injury, and improved neurologic function, which results in higher metabolism. HI can control for confounding effects of patient heat generation in future clinical trials of rapid TH and offers early prognostic information.
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Interventions to reduce early readmissions have focused on patient characteristics and the importance of early follow-up; however, less is known about the characteristics of health systems, including quality, capacity, and intensity, and their influence on readmission rates in the United States. Therefore, we examined the association of hospital patterns of medical care with rates of 30-day readmission. ⋯ In addition to quality of care, high 30-day readmission rates are associated with hospital-level measures of capacity and intensity. Efforts to reduce readmission rates may need to address these broader patterns of medical care.