Sports Cardiology: Core Curriculum for Providing Cardiovascular Care to Competitive Athletes and Highly Active People.

The last few decades have seen substantial growth in the populations of competitive athletes and highly active people (CAHAP). Although vigorous physical exercise is an effective way to reduce the risk of cardiovascular (CV) disease, CAHAP remain susceptible to inherited and acquired CV disease, and may be most at risk for adverse CV outcomes during intense physical activity. Traditionally, multidisciplinary teams comprising athletic trainers, physical therapists, primary care sports medicine physicians, and orthopedic surgeons have provided clinical care for CAHAP. However, there is increasing recognition that a care team including qualified CV specialists optimizes care delivery for CAHAP. In recognition of the increasing demand for CV specialists competent in the care of CAHAP, the American College of Cardiology has recently established a Sports and Exercise Council. An important primary objective of this council is to define the essential skills necessary to practice effective sports cardiology.

Sex Differences in Fractional Flow Reserve-Guided Revascularization: A Nationwide Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Women with coronary artery disease are less likely to be revascularized than men based on angiography alone. Recent studies have shown that female patients have higher fractional flow reserve (FFR) values for a given severity of coronary stenosis. However, gender differences in coronary revascularization rates following FFR assessment are unknown. METHODS: The nationwide inpatient sample database was used to identify all patients who underwent FFR in the United States between January 2009 and December 2010. We used propensity score matching to compare revascularization rates and in-hospital outcomes among men and women undergoing FFR measurements. RESULTS: Among 3712 patients who underwent FFR during the study period, 1235 matched pairs of men and women were identified. The overall revascularization rates were lower in women than men (40.1% vs. 52.8%, p < 0.01). Women were less likely to undergo either percutaneous (35.2% vs. 45.6%, p < 0.01) or surgical revascularization following FFR than men (5.2% vs. 7.4%, p = 0.03). Women had a nonsignificant trend toward higher in-hospital mortality (0.8% vs. 0.5%, p = 0.32) and significantly higher rates of access site hematoma formation (2.7% vs. 0.8%, p < 0.01) compared to men. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, this large nationwide study reveals that coronary revascularization rates are significantly lower in women than in men even after functional assessment with FFR.

Pulmonary Aspects of Exercise and Sports.

Although the lungs are a critical component of exercise performance, their response to exercise and other environmental stresses is often overlooked when evaluating pulmonary performance during high workloads. Exercise can produce capillary leakage, particularly when left atrial pressure increases related to left ventricular (LV) systolic or diastolic failure. Diastolic LV dysfunction that results in elevated left atrial pressure during exercise is particularly likely to result in pulmonary edema and capillary hemorrhage. Data from race horses, endurance athletes, and triathletes support the concept that the lungs can react to exercise and immersion stress with pulmonary edema and pulmonary hemorrhage. Immersion in water by swimmers and divers can also increase stress on pulmonary capillaries and result in pulmonary edema. Swimming-induced pulmonary edema and immersion pulmonary edema in scuba divers are well-documented events caused by the fluid shifts that occur with immersion, elevated pulmonary venous pressure during extreme exercise, and negative alveolar pressure due to inhalation resistance. Prevention strategies include avoiding extreme exercise, avoiding over hydration, and assuring that inspiratory resistance is minimized.

Can asthmatic subjects dive?

Recreational diving with self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (scuba) has grown in popularity. Asthma is a common disease with a similar prevalence in divers as in the general population. Due to theoretical concern about an increased risk for pulmonary barotrauma and decompression sickness in asthmatic divers, in the past the approach to asthmatic diver candidates was very conservative, with scuba disallowed. However, experience in the field and data in the current literature do not support this dogmatic approach. In this review the theoretical risk factors of diving with asthma, the epidemiological data and the recommended approach to the asthmatic diver candidate will be described.

Factors Influencing Physician Counseling on Cardiovascular Risk.

BACKGROUND AND IMPORTANCE: A significant reduction in cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality is related to aggressive management of modifiable CVD risk factors. Therefore, patients at increased risk for CVD should not only benefit from standard pharmacotherapy but also from counseling regarding lifestyle behavioral changes. OBJECTIVE: To determine the patient factors that influence provision of cardiovascular risk reduction counseling from physicians, as well as the frequencies of counseling. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Secondary analysis of a prospective, randomized trial among an underserved inner-city and rural population (n = 388) with a 10% or greater CVD risk (Framingham 10-year risk score). Subjects were followed for 1 year and were seen for quarterly assessments, which included evaluation of weight, blood pressure, lipid, and glucose status. At each of the 4 quarterly visits, subjects were asked if their physician had discussed or made recommendations regarding lifestyle behaviors, specifically diet, weight loss, and exercise. RESULTS: The average patient age was 61.3 ± 10.1 years, average A1c was 6.7 ± 1.6%, average total cholesterol was 201 ± 44 mg/dL. The average body mass index (BMI) was 31.8 ± 6.4 kg/m2, and the average blood pressure was 146 ± 18/82 ±11 mm Hg. Using binary logistic regression analysis, BMI (P < .025) was the only clinical factor related to physician lifestyle counseling. All other risk factors showed no statistical relationship. CONCLUSION: The data indicate that BMI is the major factor associated with whether or not physicians provide counseling regarding nutrition and weight loss. Physicians may be missing important opportunities to influence behavior in patients at high risk for CVD by limiting their focus to obese patients.

Impact of Institutional Volume on Outcomes of Catheter Directed Thrombolysis in the Treatment of Acute Proximal Deep Vein Thrombosis: A 6-Year US Experience (2005-2010).

BACKGROUND: The use of catheter-directed thrombolysis (CDT) in the treatment of acute proximal lower-extremity deep vein thrombosis is increasing in the United States and has been linked to higher bleeding rates. Whether this relationship is interrelated with institution volume of CDT is unknown. METHODS AND RESULTS: The Nationwide Inpatient Sample database was used to identify all patients admitted with a principal diagnosis of proximal or inferior vena caval deep vein thrombosis and treated with CDT from 2005 to 2010. Institutions were divided into high-volume (≥6 procedures a year) and low-volume (<6 procedures a year) centers. Propensity score matching was used to create 2 matched groups for comparative analysis. A total of 90 618 patients were hospitalized for proximal lower-extremity deep vein thrombosis, and 3649 patients (4.1%) underwent CDT. In-hospital mortality was significantly lower at high-volume centers (0.6% versus 1.5%; P=0.04) with a trend toward lower intracranial hemorrhage rates compared with low-volume centers (0.4% versus 1%; P=0.07). No significant difference was seen with blood transfusion (10.4% versus 10.8%; P=0.70), gastrointestinal bleeding (1.4% versus 1.8%; P=0.35), or pulmonary embolism rates (18.4% versus 17.9%; P=0.72). Median length of stay was similar (6 days) and hospital charges were higher ($65 500 versus $75 870) at high-volume centers. CONCLUSIONS: In this observational study, we found that an increase in institutional volume of CDT was associated with lower in-hospital mortality and lower intracranial hemorrhage rates. Further studies are needed to assess whether standardization of CDT protocols across all institutions in the United States improves outcomes.

Cardiovascular Concerns in Water Sports.

The cardiac effects of aquatic sports have increased in interest with the experience of cardiac responses to swimming and diving. The syndrome of swimming-induced pulmonary edema is likely caused by a combination of central blood shifts, sudden onset of high exercise demands, and impaired diastolic relaxation of the left ventricle. Divers also develop venous gas emboli caused by nitrogen supersaturation in blood and tissues during ascent from depth. The physiology and physics of water immersion and diving are unique. Knowledge of pressure effects, gas solubility, and changes in gas volumes with depth is needed to understand the disorders related to these activities.

2015 ACC Health Policy Statement on Cardiovascular Team-Based Care and the Role of Advanced Practice Providers.

The mission of the American College of Cardiology is "to transform cardiovascular care and improve heart health." Cardiovascular team-based care is a paradigm for practice that can transform care, improve heart health, and help meet the demands of the future. One strategic goal of the College is to help members successfully transition their clinical practices to the future, with all its complexity, challenges, and opportunities. The ACC's strategic plan is aligned with the triple aim of improved care, improved population health, and lower costs per capita. The traditional understanding of quality, access, and cost is that you cannot improve one component without diminishing the others. With cardiovascular team-based care, it is possible to achieve the triple aim of improving quality, access, and cost simultaneously to also improve cardiovascular health. Striving to serve the best interests of patients is the true north of our guiding principles. Cardiovascular team-based care is a model that can improve care coordination and communication and allow each team member to focus more on the quality of care. In addition, the cardiovascular team-based care model increases access to cardiovascular care and allows expansion of services to populations and geographic areas that are currently underserved. This document will increase awareness of the important components of cardiovascular team-based care and create an opportunity for more discussion about the most creative and effective means of implementing it. We hope that this document will stimulate further discussions and activities within the ACC and beyond about team-based care. We have identified areas that need improvement, specifically in APP education and state regulation. The document encourages the exploration of collaborative care models that should enable team members to optimize their education, training, experience, and talent. Improved team leadership, coordination, collaboration, engagement, and efficiency will enable the delivery of higher-value care to the betterment of our patients and society.

Elevated Cardiac Troponin in Acute Stroke without Acute Coronary Syndrome Predicts Long-Term Adverse Cardiovascular Outcomes.

Background. Elevated cardiac troponin in acute stroke in absence of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) has unclear long-term outcomes. Methods. Retrospective analysis of 566 patients admitted to Temple University Hospital from 2008 to 2010 for acute stroke was performed. Patients were included if cardiac troponin I was measured and had no evidence of ACS and an echocardiogram was performed. Of 200 patients who met the criteria, baseline characteristics, electrocardiograms, and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) were reviewed. Patients were characterized into two groups with normal and elevated troponins. Primary end point was nonfatal myocardial infarction during follow-up period after discharge. The secondary end points were MACE and death from any cause. Results. For 200 patients, 17 patients had positive troponins. Baseline characteristics were as follows: age 63.1 ± 13.8, 64% African Americans, 78% with hypertension, and 22% with previous CVA. During mean follow-up of 20.1 months, 7 patients (41.2%) in elevated troponin and 6 (3.3%) patients in normal troponin group had nonfatal myocardial infarction (P = 0.0001). MACE (41.2% versus 14.2%, P = 0.01) and death from any cause (41.2% versus 14.5%, P = 0.017) were significant in the positive troponin group. Conclusions. Elevated cardiac troponin in patients with acute stroke and no evidence of ACS is strong predictor of long-term cardiac outcomes.

Comparative outcomes of catheter-directed thrombolysis plus anticoagulation vs anticoagulation alone to treat lower-extremity proximal deep vein thrombosis.

IMPORTANCE: The role of catheter-directed thrombolysis (CDT) in the treatment of acute proximal deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is controversial, and the nationwide safety outcomes are unknown. OBJECTIVES: The primary objective was to compare in-hospital outcomes of CDT plus anticoagulation with those of anticoagulation alone. The secondary objective was to evaluate the temporal trends in the utilization and outcomes of CDT in the treatment of proximal DVT. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Observational study of patients with a principal discharge diagnosis of proximal or caval DVT from 2005 to 2010 in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) database. We compared patients treated with CDT plus anticoagulation with the patients treated with anticoagulation alone. We used propensity scores to construct 2 matched groups of 3594 patients in each group for comparative outcomes analysis. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary study outcome was in-hospital mortality. The secondary outcomes included bleeding complications, length of stay, and hospital charges. RESULTS: Among a total of 90,618 patients hospitalized for DVT (national estimate of 449,200 hospitalizations), 3649 (4.1%) underwent CDT. The CDT utilization rates increased from 2.3% in 2005 to 5.9% in 2010. Based on the propensity-matched comparison, the in-hospital mortality was not significantly different between the CDT and the anticoagulation groups (1.2% vs 0.9%) (OR, 1.40 [95% CI, 0.88-2.25]) (P = .15). The rates of blood transfusion (11.1% vs 6.5%) (OR, 1.85 [95% CI, 1.57-2.20]) (P < .001), pulmonary embolism (17.9% vs 11.4%) (OR, 1.69 [95% CI, 1.49-1.94]) (P < .001), intracranial hemorrhage (0.9% vs 0.3%) (OR, 2.72 [95% CI, 1.40-5.30]) (P = .03), and vena cava filter placement (34.8% vs 15.6%) (OR, 2.89 [95% CI, 2.58-3.23]) (P < .001) were significantly higher in the CDT group. The CDT group had longer mean (SD) length of stay (7.2 [5.8] vs 5.0 [4.7] days) (OR, 2.27 [95% CI, 1.49-1.94]) (P < .001) and higher hospital charges ($85,094 [$69,121] vs $28,164 [$42,067]) (P < .001) compared with the anticoagulation group. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this study, we did not find any difference in the mortality between the CDT and the anticoagulation groups, but evidence of higher adverse events was noted in the CDT group. In the context of this observational data and continued improvements in technology, a randomized trial with outcomes such as mortality and postthrombotic syndrome is needed to definitively address this comparative effectiveness.

Clinical utility of central venous saturation for the calculation of cardiac index in cardiac patients.

BACKGROUND: Mixed venous saturation (MVS) obtained from the distal pulmonary artery (PA) during Swan-Ganz catheterization is the criterion standard for calculating cardiac output (CO) and cardiac index (CI) with the use of the Fick method. We think that calculating CI with the use of central venous saturation (CVS) instead of PA-MVS is both feasible and accurate. Earlier studies were small, enrolled heterogeneous patient populations, and resulted in inconsistent findings. METHODS: All patients undergoing right heart catheterization from January 2011 to January 2012 in our catheterization lab with simultaneous measurements of MVS obtained from the distal PA and CVS obtained from the superior vena cava (SVC) or right atrium (RA) were included. Out of the 902 patients enrolled, we excluded patients (n = 50) who had known cardiac shunt or dialysis fistula, had duplicate medical records, or were septic. We calculated the CI with the use of the assumed Fick method using both MVS (criterion standard) and CVS (SVC or RA saturations) in the remaining 852 patients. We measured the correlation and the agreement between the 2 methods with the use of the Pearson correlation coefficient and Bland-Altman analysis. RESULTS: Totals of 112 patients with simultaneous PA and RA saturation measurements (group I) and 740 patients with simultaneous PA and SVC saturation measurements (group II) were included. We found an excellent linear correlation between SVC and PA saturation (r = 0.928) and between RA and PA saturation (r = 0.95). There was also an excellent correlation between CI calculated with the use of PA saturation and CI calculated with the use of SVC (r = 0.87) or RA (r = 0.93) saturation. The mean bias of CVS-derived CI compared with MVS-derived CI (criterion standard) was -0.1 (95% limits of agreement [LOA] -1 to +0.77) in the SVC group and -0.006 (LOA -0.68 to +0.69) in the RA group. Patients with low CI had stronger correlation and smaller bias between the 2 methods compared with those with normal or high CI. The presence of baseline hypoxemia, valvular heart disease, or acute coronary syndrome had no significant effect on the correlation or the bias between the 2 methods. CONCLUSIONS: In cardiac patients, CVS can be used as a surrogate to true MVS in the calculation of CI. This method is readily available in patients who have central venous access, and may aid in early goal-directed treatment when cardiogenic shock is suspected.

Carcinoid heart disease: current understanding and future directions.

Carcinoid tumors are rare and aggressive malignancies. A multitude of vasoactive agents are central to the systemic effects of these tumors. The additional burden of cardiac dysfunction heralds a steep decline in quality of life and survival. Unfortunately, by the time carcinoid syndrome surfaces clinically, the likelihood of cardiac involvement is 50%. Although medical therapies such as somatostatin analogues may provide some symptom relief, they offer no mortality benefit. On the other hand, referral to surgery following early detection has shown increased survival. The prompt recognition of this disease is therefore of the utmost importance.

Diving medicine.

Exposure to the undersea environment has unique effects on normal physiology and can result in unique disorders that require an understanding of the effects of pressure and inert gas supersaturation on organ function and knowledge of the appropriate therapies, which can include recompression in a hyperbaric chamber. The effects of Boyle's law result in changes in volume of gas-containing spaces when exposed to the increased pressure underwater. These effects can cause middle ear and sinus injury and lung barotrauma due to lung overexpansion during ascent from depth. Disorders related to diving have unique presentations, and an understanding of the high-pressure environment is needed to properly diagnose and manage these disorders. Breathing compressed air underwater results in increased dissolved inert gas in tissues and organs. On ascent after a diving exposure, the dissolved gas can achieve a supersaturated state and can form gas bubbles in blood and tissues, with resulting tissue and organ damage. Decompression sickness can involve the musculoskeletal system, skin, inner ear, brain, and spinal cord, with characteristic signs and symptoms. Usual therapy is recompression in a hyperbaric chamber following well-established protocols. Many recreational diving candidates seek medical clearance for diving, and healthcare providers must be knowledgeable of the environmental exposure and its effects on physiologic function to properly assess individuals for fitness to dive. This review provides a basis for understanding the diving environment and its accompanying disorders and provides a basis for assessment of fitness for diving.

Cardiovascular disease in patients with chronic human immunodeficiency virus infection.

In 2012, the United Nations estimated that globally, 34 million people were living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection at the end of 2011. About 6.5% of AIDS-related mortality is attributable to cardiovascular disease. HIV related cardiovascular disease is diverse. In this review we explore the different disease states associated with HIV such as cardiomyopathy, coronary artery disease, dyslipidemia, electrocardiographic abnormalities, prolonged QT interval and sudden death. The pathophysiology of these numerous diseases is complex and multifactorial. Current management of these patients is challenging due to multiple drug-drug interactions and side effects. However, the approach to prevention is quite familiar, taking on the same rules that apply for any patient to minimize cardiovascular disease risk. The challenges are many, therefore for HIV patients who present after a cardiovascular event, or for prevention of cardiovascular disease, the concept of a heart team is essential, where cardiovascular specialists and the HIV care team work side by side to ensure safety of medications (avoid drug interactions) and to institute a goal directed prevention plan of care.