Incidence and predictors of new-onset atrial fibrillation in noncardiac intensive care unit patients.

BACKGROUND: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is thought to be a relatively common arrhythmia in the setting of noncardiac intensive care unit (ICU). However, data concerning AF deriving from such populations are scarce. In addition, it is unclear which of the wide spectrum of AF predictors are relevant to the ICU setting. OBJECTIVES: The aim of our study was to evaluate the incidence of new-onset AF and investigate the factors that contribute to its occurrence in ICU patients. METHODS: We prospectively studied all patients admitted to our ICU during a 1-year period. Patients admitted for brief postoperative monitoring and patients with chronic or intermittent AF and AF present upon admission were excluded. A number of conditions incriminated as AF risk factors or "triggers" from demographics, medical history, present disease, and cardiac echocardiography as well as circumstances of AF onset were recorded. RESULTS: The study population consisted of 133 patients (90 males). Atrial fibrillation was observed in 15% of them. Age older than 65 years (P=.001), arterial hypertension (P=.03), systemic inflammatory response syndrome (P<.001), sepsis (P=.001), left atrial dilatation (P=.01), and diastolic dysfunction (P=.04) were significantly associated with the occurrence of AF. By multivariate analysis, it was demonstrated that only older than 65 years (odds ratio, 7.0; 95% confidence interval, 2.0-24.6; P=.003) and sepsis (odds ratio, 6.5; 95% confidence interval, 2.0-21.1; P=.002) independently predict new-onset AF. Patients manifesting AF were frequently hypovolemic (30%) and had electrolyte disorders (40%) as well as elevated and rising serum C-reactive protein (70%). CONCLUSION: A significant fraction of ICU patients manifest AF. The predictors of interest for the ICU patients might be considerably different than those of the general population and other subgroups with systemic inflammation possibly having a pivotal role.

Effect of statin pretreatment on the outcome of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction in patients without prior history of coronary artery disease.

INTRODUCTION: Early statin treatment has beneficial effects on the prognosis after acute coronary syndromes. We investigated the impact of prior statin treatment on the outcome of patients without a prior history of coronary artery disease (CAD) who presented with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and were treated with thrombolysis. METHODS: The study enrolled 1032 consecutive patients who satisfied the above criteria. They were categorized into two groups, based on their prior statin treatment for at least 3 months before admission: the statin pretreatment group (n=124) and the statin-naïve group (n=908). All patients received high-dose statins during hospitalization and were prescribed statins after discharge. The primary outcome was the incidence of successful thrombolysis, as expressed by the percentage of patients with 50% ST-segment resolution and complete retrosternal pain resolution at 90 minutes. Secondary outcomes included reduction in high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and CK-MB levels, and in-hospital, short- and long-term cardiovascular mortality. RESULTS: ST-segment resolution 50% was observed in 63.7% of the statin-pretreatment group and in 49.1% of statin-naïve patients (p<0.01). Statin pretreatment was associated with lower hs-CRP and peak CK-MB levels (p<0.001). The statin-pretreatment group had lower 30-day mortality (5.6% vs. 12.3%, p<0.05), whereas no significant differences were detected in in-hospital or 3-year mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Prior statin treatment in patients without a history of CAD who present with STEMI is associated with successful thrombolysis, decreased systemic inflammation, a lesser degree of myocardial damage, and a possible reduction in short-term mortality.

Arterial stiffness predicts risk for long-term recurrence in patients with type 2 diabetes admitted for acute coronary event.

OBJECTIVES: to investigate the predictive value of arterial stiffness (AS) estimation for long-term recurrences in patients with type 2 diabetes (DM2) following acute coronary event. PATIENTS AND METHODS: prospective observational study involving 119 DM2 patients without history of coronary heart disease admitted with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Medical history, anthropometrics, smoking, HbA1c, lipid profile, troponine-I levels, and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) were recorded. Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cf-PWV) was measured 1 month after discharge. Patients were followed up for 36 months or to reach an end-point: cardiovascular death, acute coronary event, angioplasty or hospitalization for acute heart failure. To facilitate analysis, patients were divided into two groups according to cf-PWV, using the accepted cut-off value of 12m/s. RESULTS: overall, 34 patients had a recurrence. In Kaplan-Meier analysis patients with cf-PWV>12m/s had mean time-to-event 353±43 days compared to 505±115 days for patients with cf-PWV≤12m/s, log rank=0.0252. In multivariate analysis factors independently associated with recurrence were age (66.53±6.87 vs. 61.54±10.77 years, p=0.015), LVEF (41.66±8.21 vs. 47.58±8.11%, p=0.001) and cf-PWV (13.94±2.91 vs. 12.35±2.77m/s, p=0.008). CONCLUSIONS: AS estimation in patients with DM2 after STEMI discriminate patients at higher risk for 3-year recurrence, and maybe valuable for distinguishing patients likely to require a more rigorous therapeutic intervention.

Prognostic usefulness of serial C-reactive protein measurements in ST-elevation acute myocardial infarction.

It has been reported that increased levels of C-reactive protein are related to adverse long-term prognosis in the setting of ST-segment elevation acute myocardial infarction (MI). In previous studies, the timing of C-reactive protein determination has varied widely. In the present study, serial high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) measurements were performed to investigate if any of the measurements is superior regarding long-term prognosis. A total of 861 consecutive patients admitted for ST-segment elevation MI and treated with intravenous thrombolysis within the first 6 hours from the index pain were included. HsCRP levels were determined at presentation and at 24, 48, and 72 hours. The median follow-up time was 3.5 years. New nonfatal MI and cardiac death were the study end points. By the end of follow-up, cardiac death was observed in 22.4% and nonfatal MI in 16.1% of the patients. HsCRP levels were found to be increasing during the first 72 hours. Multivariate Cox regression analysis demonstrated that hsCRP levels at presentation were an independent predictor of the 2 end points (relative risk [RR] 2.8, p = 0.002, and RR 2.1, p = 0.03, for MI and cardiac death, respectively), while hsCRP levels at 24 hours did not yield statistically significant results (RR 1.4, p = 0.40, and RR 1.1, p = 0.80, for MI and cardiac death, respectively). The corresponding RRs at 48 hours were 1.2 (p = 0.5) for MI and 3.2 (p = 0.007) for cardiac death and at 72 hours were 1.6 (p = 0.30) for MI and 3.9 (p <0.001) for cardiac death. In conclusion, hsCRP levels at presentation represent an independent predictor for fatal and nonfatal events during long-term follow-up. HsCRP levels at 48 and 72 hours, which are close to peak hsCRP levels, independently predict only cardiac death.

Impact of ADMA, endothelial progenitor cells and traditional cardiovascular risk factors on pulse wave velocity among prediabetic individuals.

BACKGROUND: Central arterial stiffness represents a well-established predictor of cardiovascular disease. Decreased circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), increased asymmetric dimethyl-arginine (ADMA) levels, traditional cardiovascular risk factors and insulin resistance have all been associated with increased arterial stiffness. The correlations of novel and traditional cardiovascular risk factors with central arterial stiffness in prediabetic individuals were investigated in the present study. METHODS: The study population consisted of 53 prediabetic individuals. Individuals were divided into groups of isolated impaired fasting glucose (IFG), isolated impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and combined IGT-IFG. Age, sex, family history of diabetes, smoking history, body mass index (BMI), waist to hip ratio (WHR), waist circumference (WC), blood pressure, lipid profile, levels of high sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP), glomerular filtration rate (GFR), and history of antihypertensive or statin therapy were obtained from all participants. Insulin resistance was evaluated using the Homeostatic Model Assessment (HOMA-IR). Carotid -femoral pulse wave velocity was used as an index of arterial stiffness. Circulating EPC count and ADMA serum levels were also determined. RESULTS: Among studied individuals 30 (56.6%) subjects were diagnosed with isolated IFG, 9 (17%) with isolated IGT (17%) and 14 with combined IFG-IGT (26.4%). In univariate analysis age, mean blood pressure, fasting glucose, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and ADMA levels positively correlated with pulse-wave velocity while exercise and GFR correlated negatively. EPC count did not correlate with PWV. In multivariate stepwise regression analysis PWV correlated independently and positively with LDL-Cholesterol (low density lipoprotein) and ADMA levels and negatively with exercise. CONCLUSIONS: Elevated ADMA and LDL-C levels are strongly associated with increased arterial stiffness among pre-diabetic subjects. In contrast exercise inversely correlated with arterial stiffness.

Inadequate heart rate control is associated with worse quality of life in patients with coronary artery disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The RYTHMOS study.

INTRODUCTION: Significant evidence shows that elevated heart rate (HR) is an independent risk factor in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and influences their prognosis. In addition, patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have more frequent episodes of angina and their compliance with heart rate agents, such as beta blockers, is poor. The purpose of the multicenter observational RYTHMOS study was to evaluate the role of heart rate management in the prognosis and quality of life in patients with CAD and COPD. METHODS: Baseline data from 280 patients, enrolled in 22 hospitals representing all types of hospital and all geographical areas of the country, were analyzed. All patients had either a prior myocardial infarction or angiographically documented CAD, and COPD verified either after spirometry or from a clinical evaluation by pulmonologists. RESULTS: The mean age of the enrolled patients was 71.8 ± 9.3 years, 76% were males, mean body mass index was 28.6 ± 7.9 kg/m2, 76.3% had hypertension, 31% had diabetes mellitus, and 53.5% of them suffered from heart failure. About 31% of the patients had an angina episode the week before the enrollment and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CSS) classification was class I, II, III and IV in 55%, 30%, 14% and 1%, respectively. The mean resting HR was 72.5 bpm; 51% of the patients had resting HR>70 bpm and 22% of them had HR80 bpm. Only 52.8% of the study patients were receiving beta-blockade (BB) therapy; they were more likely to have resting HR70 bpm (57.4% vs. 42.7%, p<0.001). 16.4% of the patients were receiving ivabradine and they had a higher initial HR compared to the others (78.5 vs. 71.3, p<0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that diabetes mellitus was independently associated with HR>70 bpm. Patients with resting HR>70 bpm had significantly more frequent angina episodes (p<0.001), were less satisfied with treatment (p<0.001), and had a lower quality of life (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: The baseline data of this study showed that patients with CAD and COPD present inadequate HR control and frequent angina episodes. Apart from the special characteristics of these patients related to COPD management, underuse of BB therapy largely contributes to the inadequate control of HR. Patients with HR>70 bpm had significantly worse quality of life.