Journal of the American Heart Association
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Multicenter Study
Renin-Angiotensin System Blockers and Adverse Outcomes of Influenza and Pneumonia: A Danish Cohort Study.
Background Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE-Is) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) may worsen the prognosis of coronavirus disease 2019, but any association could be confounded by the cardiometabolic conditions indicating ACE-I/ARB use. We therefore examined the impact of ACE-Is/ARBs on respiratory tract infection outcomes. Methods and Results This cohort study included all adult patients hospitalized with influenza or pneumonia from 2005 to 2018 in Denmark using population-based medical databases. ⋯ In propensity score-weighted analyses, ACE-I/ARB users had marginally lower 30-day mortality than users of calcium channel blockers (13.9% versus 14.5%; RD, -0.6%; 95% CI, -1.0 to -0.1; RR, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.93-0.99), and a lower risk of admission to the intensive care unit (8.0% versus 9.6%; RD, -1.6%; 95% CI, -2.0 to -1.2; RR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.80-0.87). Compared with nonusers, current ACE-I/ARB users had lower mortality (RD, -2.4%; 95% CI, -2.8 to -2.0; RR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.83-0.87), but similar risk of admission to the intensive care unit (RD, 0.4%; 95% CI, 0.0-0.7; RR, 1.04; 95% CI, 1.00-1.09). Conclusions Among patients with influenza or pneumonia, ACE-I/ARB users had no increased risk of admission to the intensive care unit and slightly reduced mortality after controlling for confounding.
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Observational Study
Who Has Seen Patients With ST-Segment-Elevation Myocardial Infarction? First Results From Italian Real-World Coronavirus Disease 2019.
Background After the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak, social isolation measures were introduced to contain infection. Although there is currently a slowing down of the infection, a reduction of hospitalizations, especially for myocardial infarction, was observed. The aim of our study is to evaluate the impact of the infectious disease on ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) care during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, through the analysis of recent cases of patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention. ⋯ Procedural data and in-hospital outcomes were similar between the 2 groups, whereas the length of hospitalization was longer in patients of 2020. In this group, we also observed higher levels of cardiac biomarkers and a worse left ventricular ejection fraction at baseline and discharge. Conclusions The coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak induced a reduction of hospital access for STEMI with an increase in treatment delay, longer hospitalization, higher levels of cardiac biomarkers, and worse left ventricular function.
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Background Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is an important endogenous physiological signaling molecule and exerts protective properties in the cardiovascular system. Cystathionine γ-lyase (CSE), 1 of 3 H2S producing enzyme, is predominantly localized in the vascular endothelium. However, the regulation of CSE in vascular endothelium remains incompletely understood. ⋯ However, myocardial-reperfusion injury was not affected by genetic deletion of endothelial cell CSE. Conclusions CSE-derived H2S production in endothelial cells is critical in maintaining endothelial function, exercise capacity, and protecting against myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury. Our data suggest that the endothelial NO synthase-NO pathway is likely involved in the beneficial effects of overexpression of CSE in the endothelium.
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Background Coronary artery disease (CAD) has been recognized as a serious and potentially life-threatening complication of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infection. High on-treatment platelet reactivity has been associated with high risk of ischemic events in patients with CAD, but data regarding the association with HCV infection are still lacking. This post hoc analysis aims to assess high on-treatment platelet reactivity, severity of CAD, and long-term outcomes of patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) who were infected with HCV. ⋯ In addition, thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) major bleeding rates were higher in HCV-infected patients (11% versus 3%; P=0.043) compared with noninfected patients. Multivariable analysis demonstrated that HCV infection was an independent predictor of high on-treatment platelet reactivity, severity of CAD, and long-term outcome. Conclusions In this hypothesis-generating study, patients with ACS and HCV infection showed increased on-treatment platelet reactivity, more severe CAD, and worse prognosis compared with patients without HCV.