Publications by authors named "Michael Shechter"

Article Synopsis
  • Incomplete revascularization (ICR) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) can lead to higher risks of mortality and morbidity, and this study aimed to compare the effects of ICR in different arteries (LAD vs. RCA/LCX) and in patients with chronic total occlusion (CTO) versus those without.
  • The research included 2,651 patients from the RIVER-PCI trial and found that about 66.5% had ICR involving the left anterior descending artery, and follow-up showed similar rates of hospitalization for ischemia regardless of the artery affected.
  • However, patients with a CTO experienced increased hospitalizations for ischemia, heart failure, and myocardial infarction compared to those without CTO
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Background: Low serum magnesium (sMg) is associated with cardiovascular risk factors and atherosclerotic disease.

Objective: To evaluate the association between sMg levels on admission and clinical outcomes in hospitalized non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) patients.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of all patients admitted to a single tertiary center with a primary diagnosis of NSTEMI.

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Background: In the face of the global pandemic that the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has created, readily available prognostic markers may be of great use.

Objective: To evaluate the association between serum magnesium (sMg) levels on admission and clinical outcomes in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed all patients admitted to a single tertiary center with a primary de novo diagnosis of COVID-19.

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Background: Although endothelial function is a marker for cardiovascular risk, endothelial dysfunction assessment is not routinely used in daily clinical practice. A growing challenge has emerged in identifying patients prone to cardiovascular events. We aim to investigate whether abnormal endothelial function may be associated with adverse 5-year outcomes in patients presenting to a chest pain unit (CPU).

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Purpose: Serum magnesium is the most frequently used laboratory test for evaluating clinical magnesium status. Hypomagnesemia (low magnesium status), which is associated with many chronic diseases, is diagnosed using the serum magnesium reference range. Currently, no international consensus for a magnesemia normal range exists.

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Aims: While genetic and biological studies indicated a potential association between proprotein-convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 inhibitors (PCSK9i) and hyperglycaemia, real-world data are limited. Therefore, we sought to investigate this association using the FDA adverse event reporting system (FAERS).

Methods And Results: The FAERS database (2015-2020) was retrospectively queried to characterize reporting of hyperglycaemic adverse events (AEs) with PCSK9i.

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Background: Magnesium supplements are widely used for prophylaxis and treatment of nocturnal leg cramps (NLC). However, there is little evidence in support of their effectiveness. The main impediment stems from the lack of assessments of cellular absorption.

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Modern life and the Western industrial diet has enhanced the reduction of magnesium in our food, which may contribute to a marginal or absolute magnesium deficiency. Magnesium deficiency is evident in, among others, the elderly population, those after myocardial infarction and/or chronic heart failure, and diabetics. In Israel, over 60% of the drinking water originates from desalinated seawater lacking magnesium, which may cause hypomagnesemia.

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Despite the impressive decline in mortality from atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases (ASCVD), these diseases still account for a large proportion of the overall morbidity and mortality worldwide. A vast amount of research has demonstrated the key role played by circulating lipoproteins, and especially low-density lipoprotein (LDL), in the etiology of atherosclerosis, and numerous studies have proven the efficacy of interventions that lower the atherogenic lipoproteins in reducing morbidity and mortality from ASCVD. While previous guidelines placed an emphasis on the use HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins) for the treatment of dyslipidemia, recent studies have shown that other LDL cholesterol lowering drugs, including ezetimibe and the PCSK9 inhibitors, can provide additional benefit when used in combination with (and in certain cases instead of) statins.

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The substantial burden of heart disease promotes an interest in new ways of screening for early disease diagnosis, especially by means of noninvasive imaging. Increasing evidence for association between retinal microvascular signs and heart disease prompted us to systematically investigate the relevant current literature on the subject. We scrutinized the current literature by searching PubMed and Embase databases from 2000 to 2020 for clinical studies of the association between retinal microvascular signs and prevalent or incident heart disease in humans.

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Context: Experimental studies suggest that magnesium levels in pregnant women may affect the length of gestation, as magnesium affects the activity of smooth muscle in the uterus. Little is known about the association between magnesium levels or supplementation and the rate of preterm birth.

Objective: The aim of this systematic review was to summarize the data on magnesium soil levels and preterm birth rates from ecological, observational, and interventional studies.

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Article Synopsis
  • Endothelial cells are crucial for cardiovascular health but their function declines with risk factors and improves when these risks are managed.
  • This paper emphasizes the need for more research on the different types of endothelial cells and their impact on cardiovascular disease, highlighting the absence of a perfect method for assessing endothelial function.
  • It suggests adopting standardized protocols for existing techniques like flow-mediated dilatation, exploring newer and simpler methods, and integrating these measurements with genetic and biomarker data for better patient diagnosis and treatment.
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Hypomagnesemia is commonly observed in heart transplant (HT) recipients receiving calcineurin inhibitors. Since low serum magnesium (s-Mg) has been implicated in the progression of atherosclerosis, potentially leading to worsening coronary heart disease, arrhythmias and sudden death, we investigated the association between s-Mg and HT outcomes. Between 2002 and 2017, 150 HT patients assessed for s-Mg were divided into high (≥1.

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Background: In Europe cardiovascular disease (CVD) is responsible for 3.9 million deaths (45% of deaths), being ischaemic heart disease, stroke, hypertension (leading to heart failure) the major cause of these CVD related deaths. Periodontitis is also a chronic non-communicable disease (NCD) with a high prevalence, being severe periodontitis, affecting 11.

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Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality following heart transplantation (HT), with 21% and 35% of survivors being affected within 1 and 5 years following HT, respectively. Magnesium deficiency is common among HT patients treated with calcineurin inhibitors and is a known risk factor for DM in non-HT patients. We therefore investigated the association between serum Mg (s-Mg) levels and new-onset diabetes after transplantation (NODAT).

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Drinking water (DW) is an important dietary source of magnesium. Israel has recently increased desalinated seawater (DSW) production for DW, but negligible magnesium content in DSW may pose a risk of hypomagnesemia and consequential adverse cardiovascular effects. Consecutive acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients (n = 380, age 35-75 years), hospitalized in 2015-2017 with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), were divided into two groups based on their domicile region having a major supply of DSW (n = 250, 65%) or not (non-DSW; n = 130, 35%).

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Background: While physical rehabilitation has been shown to be beneficial and safe for patients suffering from heart failure, data on rehabilitation for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) patients are limited.

Methods: Forty-five HCM patients participated in an exercise rehabilitation program. Exercise capacity was measured in metabolic equivalent of task (METs) units and functional status was defined according to the New York Heart Association (NYHA).

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Background And Aims: The beneficial effect of statin therapy has been well established for both primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease. Nevertheless, it remains under-used among patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). We aimed to investigate the impact of statin therapy across a wide spectrum of CKD patients presenting with acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

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Background: While women ≥80 years old have a high prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD), little data exist regarding their outcome following acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

Methods: In a retrospective study based on data of 3518 ACS women patients who were enrolled in the ACS Israel Survey (ACSIS), we first evaluated and compared the clinical outcomes of 858 ACS women ≥80 years with 2660 ACS women <80 years, hospitalized during 2000-2016. Secondly, we evaluated the clinical outcome of 450 women ≥80 years hospitalized during 2000-2006 ('early period') and compared them with 408 ACS women of the same age group hospitalized during 2008-2016 ('late period').

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Background: Drinking water (DW) is an important dietary source of magnesium. Recently, Israel has increased its use of desalinated seawater (DSW) as DW country-wide. Its negligible magnesium content, however, raises concern that consumption of DSW may be associated with hypomagnesemia and increase the risk of ischemic heart disease (IHD), diabetes mellitus (DM), and colorectal cancer (CRC).

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Prediction of cardiovascular adverse events is challenging. It became apparent that traditional coronary artery disease (CAD) risk factors are the cornerstones of the European 10-year CAD risk SCRORE and the Framingham score. However, despite their importance, the prediction value of general assessment tools such as the SCORE and Framingham options in an individual subject is limited, especially in young adults and women.

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Although patients ≥80 years old constitute the fastest-growing segment of the population and have a high prevalence of coronary artery disease, few data exist regarding the outcome of octogenarians with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). In a retrospective study based on data of 13,432 ACS patients who were enrolled in the ACS Israel Survey, we first evaluated the clinical outcome of 1,731 ACS patients ≥80 years (13%) compared with 11,701 ACS patients <80 years (87%) hospitalized during 2000 to 2013. Second, we evaluated the clinical outcome of patients ≥80 years hospitalized during the 2000 to 2006 ("early") period (n = 1,037) compared with those of the same age group of patients hospitalized during the 2008 to 2013 ("late") period (n = 694).

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To our knowledge, the effect of magnesium supplementation on blood pressure (BP) in individuals with preclinical or noncommunicable diseases has not been previously investigated in a meta-analysis, and the findings from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have been inconsistent. We sought to determine the pooled effect of magnesium supplementation on BP in participants with preclinical or noncommunicable diseases. We identified RCTs that were published in English before May 2017 that examined the effect of magnesium supplementation on BP in individuals with preclinical or noncommunicable diseases through PubMed, ScienceDirect, Cochrane, clinicaltrials.

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