Growth differentiation factor-15 and the effect of dapagliflozin in heart failure: insights from the DAPA-HF trial.

Background: Growth differentiation factor (GDF)-15, a stress-induced cytokine implicated in systemic energy homeostasis, is associated with adverse outcomes in heart failure (HF). This study evaluated the associations between baseline GDF-15 and clinical characteristics and outcomes in patients with HF with reduced ejection fraction in the DAPA-HF trial. The effect of the sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor dapagliflozin on circulating GDF-15 levels and the effect of dapagliflozin on clinical outcomes in relation to baseline GDF-15 concentration were also examined.

Latent Cytomegalovirus Infection Is Associated With Impaired Left Ventricular Function After ST-Segment-Elevation Myocardial Infarction.

Background: Human cytomegalovirus is a herpes virus that affects most individuals globally and may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Whether cytomegalovirus influences outcomes after ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is unknown. Our objective was to investigate the association between latent cytomegalovirus infection and outcomes after STEMI.

Artificial intelligence fully automated analysis of handheld echocardiography in real-world patients with suspected heart failure.

Aims: Echocardiography is a rate-limiting step in the timely diagnosis of heart failure (HF). Automated reporting of echocardiograms has the potential to streamline workflow. The aim of this study was to test the diagnostic accuracy of fully automated artificial intelligence (AI) analysis of images acquired using handheld echocardiography and its interchangeability with expert human-analysed cart-based echocardiograms in a real-world cohort with suspected HF.

Association of sociodemographic factors and comorbidity with non-receipt of medications for secondary prevention: a cohort study of 12,204 myocardial infarction survivors.

Background: Clinical guidelines recommend use of (1) antiplatelet, (2) lipid-lowering, and (3) beta blocker medication, and (4) angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ACEi/ARB) for secondary prevention following myocardial infarction (MI). This study examines whether sociodemographic factors and comorbidity were associated with receipt of guideline-recommended medication, and whether receipt was associated with all-cause mortality.

Methods: A cohort study was conducted on West of Scotland patients aged 53 years or above who were discharged from hospital alive after an incident MI between 2014 and 2022.

Supersaturated oxygen therapy using radial artery access to prevent left ventricular remodeling after anterior ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: a randomized, controlled trial.

Background: Novel strategies to limit the size of infarction and prevent adverse remodeling and heart failure in patients following acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) are lacking. Supersaturated oxygen (SSO) therapy is approved for patients presenting within 6 h of onset of anterior STEMI using femoral artery access. The feasibility of SSO therapy via radial access is unknown.

The relationship of baseline high-sensitivity C-reactive protein with incident cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality over 20 years.

Background: The prediction of future cardiovascular events in those with risk factors is important for the appropriate optimisation of preventative therapies for those at greatest risk. The value of high sensitivity C-reactive Protein (hsCRP) has been questioned in this regard. The objectives of this post-hoc analysis of a randomised controlled trial were to investigate the usefulness of baseline serum hsCRP for predicting very long-term cardiovascular events in patients with hypertension in the Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial (ASCOT) Legacy Study.

Cellular Adhesion Molecules and Adverse Outcomes in Chronic Heart Failure: Findings From the DAPA-HF Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1) and intracellular cell adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) are responsible for immune cell-cell interactions. Systemic levels of VCAM-1 are associated with incident heart failure (HF).

Objectives: To determine if VCAM-1 and ICAM-1 levels are associated with progression of established HF.

Discordance between Cystatin C-Based and Creatinine-Based Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate and Mortality in the General Population.

Background: The consequences for health outcomes of the discordance in cystatin C-based (eGFRcys) and creatinine-based (eGFRcr) estimated glomerular filtration rates are gaining attention. However, the association of discordance with all-cause mortality in the general population has not been explored.

Methods: A total of 325 356 UK Biobank participants, 40 to 69 years of age, were followed for a median of 13.

Sex-Specific Risk of Smoking for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm and Exploration of Potential Mechanism: Meta-Analysis and Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: Smoking is the strongest modifiable risk factor for the development of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). This study aims to confirm whether smoking is a stronger risk factor in women than men and identify contributory reasons, including inflammation, for any sex-specific difference observed.

Methods: Systematic review and meta-analysis, conducted according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidance.

Discordance between cystatin C-based and creatinine-based estimated glomerular filtration rate and health outcomes in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: The intra-individual difference in cystatin C-based and creatinine-based estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFRcys and eGFRcr, respectively), i.e. eGFR discordance, has recently been demonstrated to have prognostic implications.

Cardiac Troponins and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Prediction: An Individual-Participant-Data Meta-Analysis.

Background: The extent to which high-sensitivity cardiac troponin can predict cardiovascular disease (CVD) is uncertain.

Objectives: We aimed to quantify the potential advantage of adding information on cardiac troponins to conventional risk factors in the prevention of CVD.

Methods: We meta-analyzed individual-participant data from 15 cohorts, comprising 62,150 participants without prior CVD.

Vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitor-induced cardiotoxicity: prospective multimodality assessment incorporating cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging.

Background: Vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitors (VEGFIs) are effective anticancer agents, but are associated with cancer therapy-related cardiac dysfunction (CTRCD) and hypertension. The timing, frequency and magnitude of these toxicities are poorly defined. The objective of this study is therefore to investigate the incidence, time course and mechanisms of VEGFI-associated CTRCD and hypertension.

Interleukin-6 in Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction and the Effect of Dapagliflozin: An Exploratory Analysis of the Dapagliflozin and Prevention of Adverse Outcomes in Heart Failure Trial.

Background: Inflammation may play an important pathophysiological role in the development and progression of heart failure (HF). Interleukin (IL)-6 is a circulating cytokine and is the main regulator of the release of C-reactive protein (CRP).

Objectives: The authors examined the association between IL-6 and high-sensitivity (hs)-CRP and outcomes in patients with HFrEF in the DAPA-HF trial and their relationship with the effect of dapagliflozin.

Cardiac Troponin I and T Ratio and Risk of Cardiovascular or Non-Cardiovascular Events in a General Population.

Background: Emerging evidence suggests that the ratio between cardiac troponin (cTn) I and T may provide information on the risk of adverse outcomes in individuals with cardiovascular disease. Whether the cTn I/T ratio provides prognostic insights in the general population is unknown.

Methods: The cTn I/T ratio was calculated in 8855 participants (43% female, median age 56 years) from the Generation Scotland Study where both cTnI and cTnT concentrations were above the limit of blank.

Anxiety disorder, depression and coronary artery disease: associations and modification by genetic susceptibility.

Background: Associations of anxiety disorder and depression with coronary artery disease (CAD) are heterogeneous between populations. This study investigated how genetic susceptibility to CAD alters these associations with incident CAD, comparing and combining anxiety disorder and depression.

Methods: This is a prospective cohort study using UK Biobank.

Association of GLP1R locus with mental ill-health endophenotypes and cardiometabolic traits: A trans-ancestry study in UK Biobank.

Aims: Glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP1RA), used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity, have been associated with off-target behavioural effects. We systematically assessed genetic variation in the GLP1R locus for impact on mental ill-health (MIH) and cardiometabolic phenotypes across diverse populations within UK Biobank.

Materials And Methods: All genetic variants with minor allele frequency >1% in the GLP1R locus were investigated for associations with MIH phenotypes and cardiometabolic phenotypes.

Updating the Scottish national cardiovascular risk score: ASSIGN version 2.0.

Background: The Assessing cardiovascular risk using Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (ASSIGN) risk score, developed in 2006, is used in Scotland for estimating the 10-year risk of first atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Rates of ASCVD are decreasing, and an update is required. This study aimed to recalibrate ASSIGN (V.

Refining PREVENT prediction models for 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease using measures of anxiety and depression.

Background: Anxiety and depression are associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD). We aimed to investigate whether adding measures of anxiety and depression to the American Heart Association Predicting Risk of Cardiovascular Disease Events (PREVENT) predictors improves the prediction of CVD risk.

Methods: We developed and internally validated risk prediction models using 60% and 40% of the cohort data from the UK Biobank, respectively.

Effect of exercise on kidney-relevant biomarkers in the general population: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: Physical activity (PA) has been generally recognised as beneficial for health. The effect of a change in PA on kidney biomarkers in healthy individuals without kidney disease remains unclear. This manuscript synthesised the evidence of the association of changes in PA with kidney biomarkers in the general population free from kidney disease.

Maternal and pregnancy factors contributing to the association between area deprivation and infant mortality in England: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Socioeconomic inequality in infant mortality in the UK is rising. This study aims to identify contributory maternal and pregnancy factors that can explain the known association between area deprivation and infant mortality.

Methods: A cohort study was conducted using Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) primary care data between 2004 and 2019 linked to the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD), and infant mortality from the Office for National Statistics death data.