Insights Into Differences in Pulmonary Hemodynamics in Hispanic Patients With Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.

Background: Emerging data suggest that Hispanic patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) exhibit improved survival rates compared to individuals of other ethnicities with similar baseline hemodynamics. However, the underlying reasons for this survival advantage remain unclear. This study focused on comparing pulmonary hemodynamics in Hispanic and non-Hispanic PAH patients and how these differences may contribute to varied clinical outcomes. Methods: A retrospective analysis of right heart catheterization data was conducted on a treatment-naive PAH patient cohort from a single center. Results: Over a 10-year period, a total of 226 PAH patients were identified, of which 138 (61%) were Hispanic and 88 (39%) were non-Hispanic. Hispanic patients presented with lower pulmonary artery pressures, lower pulmonary vascular resistance, and exhibited significantly higher pulmonary arterial compliance (PAc). Hispanic patients had better 5-year survival rates. Conclusions: This study highlights the importance of exploring phenotypic differences in ethnically diverse PAH cohorts.

Optimizing Anesthetic Selection in Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement: Striking a Delicate Balance between Efficacy and Minimal Intervention.

Patients with severe calcific native aortic valve stenosis (AS) who require valve replacement have two options, surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) or transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). TAVR was approved in late 2011 for extremely high-risk patients and was subsequently approved for high-risk (2012), intermediate-risk (2016), and low-risk (2019) patients. In 2019, TAVR procedures surpassed SAVR procedures for the first time in the United States. The approach to anesthesia for this procedure has also evolved. Initially, general anesthesia (GA) was preferred, but currently, conscious sedation (CS) is favored. This review aims to clarify the indications and contraindications for both approaches, as well as the advantages of one approach over the other. Recent studies show that conscious sedation has better outcomes in terms of all-cause mortality, procedure complications such as stroke, myocardial infarction, infection requiring antibiotics, acute kidney injury, and the need for inotropes or vasopressors.

Anabolic androgenic steroids and cardiomyopathy: an update.

Anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) include endogenously produced androgens like testosterone and their synthetic derivatives. Their influence on multiple metabolic pathways across organ systems results in an extensive side effect profile. From creating an atherogenic and prothrombotic milieu to direct myocardial injury, the effects of AAS on the heart may culminate with patients requiring thorough cardiac evaluation and multi-disciplinary medical management related to cardiomyopathy and heart failure (HF). Supraphysiological doses of AAS have been shown to induce cardiomyopathy via biventricular dysfunction. Advancement in imaging including cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and additional diagnostic testing have facilitated the identification of AAS-induced left ventricular dysfunction, but data regarding the impact on right ventricular function remains limited. Emerging studies showed conflicting data regarding the reversibility of AAS-induced cardiomyopathy. There is an unmet need for a systematic long-term outcomes study to empirically evaluate the clinical course of cardiomyopathy and to assess potential targeted therapy as appropriate. In this review, we provide an overview of the epidemiology, pathophysiology and management considerations related to AAS and cardiomyopathy.

Physical Activity and Mortality in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Coronary artery disease (CAD) accounts for half of heart-related mortalities. Secondary prevention measures are aimed at enhancing the probability of survival in acute and chronic heart diseases. Physical activity (PA) has been shown to effectively reduce all-cause and cardiovascular (CV) mortality rates. This article reviews the relationship between PA and mortality in patients with CAD. Additionally, we discuss the process of vascular changes that contributes to survival benefits in physically active CAD patients, along with exercise dosing and guideline recommendations. RECENT FINDINGS: Recent studies have shown that physical inactivity poses a modifiable risk factor that impedes favorable vasculature remodeling, unlike active individuals. Recent meta-analyses provide strong evidence of the multifaceted advantages of PA in lowering mortality rates in patients with CAD, as opposed to physically inactive participants. In summary, substantial evidence indicates that PA is significantly associated with reduction in all-cause and CV mortality in CAD patients, with a dose-response relationship.

Post-COVID-19-associated multiorgan complications or "long COVID" with literature review and management strategy discussion: A meta-analysis.

Objective: To investigate the post-COVID-19 long-term complications or long COVID of various organ systems in patients after 3 months of the infection, specifically before the Omicron variant, with comparative literature analysis. Methods: A systemic literature search and meta-analysis were conducted using multiple electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane library) with predefined search terms to identify eligible articles. Eligible studies reported long-term complications of COVID-19 infection before the Omicron variant infection. Case reports, case series, observational studies with cross-sectional or prospective research design, case-control studies, and experimental studies that reported post-COVID-19 complications were included. The complications reported after 3 months after the recovery from COVID-19 infection were included in the study. Results: The total number of studies available for analysis was 34. The effect size (ES) for neurological complications was 29% with 95% confidence interval (CI): 19%-39%. ES for psychiatric complications was 24% with 95% CI: 7%-41%. ES was 9% for cardiac outcomes, with a 95% CI of 1%-18%. ES was 22%, 95% CI: 5%-39% for the gastrointestinal outcome. ES for musculoskeletal symptoms was 18% with 95% CI: 9%-28%. ES for pulmonary complications was 28% with 95% CI: 18%-37%. ES for dermatological complications was 25%, with a 95% CI of 23%-26%. ES for endocrine outcomes was 8%, with a 95% CI of 8%-9%. ES size for renal outcomes was 3% with a 95% CI of 1%-7%. At the same time, other miscellaneous uncategorized outcomes had ES of 39% with 95% CI of 21%-57%. Apart from analyzing COVID-19 systemic complications outcomes, the ES for hospitalization and intensive care unit admissions were found to be 4%, 95% CI: 0%-7%, and 11% with 95% CI: 8%-14%. Conclusion: By acquiring the data and statistically analyzing the post-COVID-19 complications during the prevalence of most virulent strains, this study has generated a different way of understanding COVID-19 and its complications for better community health.

Prognosis in Hispanic patient population with pulmonary arterial hypertension: An application of common risk stratification models.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a cardiovascular disease with high mortality rate. Current guidelines propose initiation and escalation of PAH-targeted treatment based on a goal-directed approach targeting hemodynamic, functional, and biochemical variables. This approach has been successfully validated in large Caucasian cohorts. However, given the low number of Hispanic patients enrolled in large PAH trials and registries, it is unknown if the same prognostic tools can be applied to this patient population. We analyzed a single-center outpatient cohort that consisted of 135 Hispanic patients diagnosed with PAH. Baseline characteristics were calculated based on COMPERA, COMPERA 2.0 and REVEAL 2.0 risk scores before the initiation of PAH-targeted therapies. The survival rate at 1 year after diagnosis was 88% for the entire cohort. The three established risk scores to predict PAH outcomes yielded similar results with reasonable discrimination of mortality in the different risk strata (all p < 0.001). Hispanic patients with PAH have a high mortality rate. Our analysis suggests that guideline proposed risk assessment at baseline yields important prognostic information in this patient population.

A Rare Culprit of Methemoglobinemia.

Methemoglobinemia is a rare cause of hypoxia and can be a diagnostic challenge early in the disease course. The incidence of medication-induced methemoglobinemia is more common than congenital-related methemoglobinemia. The most common cause of methemoglobinemia is exposure to household detergents, illicit drugs, or medications with nitrate or sulfonamide chemical groups. The 2 main medications accounting for up to 45% of medication-induced cases are dapsone and benzocaine. We report a case of hypoxia and diarrhea with an arterial blood gas (ABG) showing methemoglobinemia at 26%. Infectious and autoimmune workup were negative. Methemoglobinemia level returned to normal level within 2 weeks of hydrochlorothiazide discontinuation, suggesting medication-induced methemoglobinemia at appropriate hypertension dosage. In this case, there was an acute rise in methemoglobin levels following initiation of an hydrochlorothiazide-losartan combination, which improved following the discontinuation of hydrochlorothiazide. Extensive workup ruled out cytochrome b5 reductase (Cb5R) and Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency, which raised the suspicion of hydrochlorothiazide-induced methemoglobinemia, as it is part of the sulfa drug family.

Resolution of Symptomatic Intermittent Sinoatrial Exit Block Associated With Unstable Angina Following Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

Bradyarrhythmia commonly occurs because of degenerative fibrosis in the conductive system. Ischemic disease is a rare etiology and limited cases have demonstrated direct evidence of ischemia to the sinus node vessels. We report a 62-year-old Hispanic male with a significant medical history of diabetes mellitus type II (DM II), hypertension, and dyslipidemia who was admitted to our hospital for symptomatic sinoatrial (SA) exit block. Patient had no electrolyte abnormalities and our differential included ischemic vs. fibrotic or infiltrative pathologies, giving symptomatic bradycardia, cardiac chest pain, and high-risk factors for coronary artery disease. We decided to take him for cardiac catheterization which revealed sluggish, pulsatile flow into the SA nodal artery due to severe stenosis of the ostial right coronary along with sever distal left circumflex (LCX) lesion. The flow into the sinus nodal artery (SNA) markedly improved post percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of the right coronary artery (RCA) and distal LCX and restoration of flow into SNA. Resolution of his bradyarrhythmia and symptoms post intervention confirmed our suspicious for reversible ischemic sinus node dysfunctions. Therefore, ischemic pathologies should be thought of when other common etiologies are less likely. Coronary angiogram should be considered prior to pacemaker evaluation in these setting to avoid missing reversible causes of bradyarrhythmia.

Acute Myopericarditis After First Dose of mRNA-1273 SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine in a Young Adult.

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19 or SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has brought the global community to a halt. A return to normalcy is dependent on effective reopening strategies that encourage herd immunity through the implementation of vaccines. Cardiopulmonary inflammation has been reported in SARS-CoV-2 infection, independent of the severity, mainly amongst the juvenile population. Cardiovascular involvement following SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with higher mortality and morbidity. Cardiovascular complications following COVID-19 vaccination have been documented as less severe, with no link between cardiovascular injury and death. This case report describes the presentation of an otherwise healthy 18-year-old male who experienced retrosternal chest pain after receiving a first dose of the mRNA-1273 vaccine. The patient had a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for COVID-19 infection. An electrocardiogram revealed diffuse ST elevation and PR segment depression, with increased inflammatory markers consistent with pericarditis. Elevation of troponin (16 ng/mL), evidence of borderline reduced ejection fraction (50-55%), and global left ventricular hypokinesis were suggestive of myopericarditis. Infectious and autoimmune studies were negative. The patient was treated mainly with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and colchicine, which resulted in a significant improvement of clinical symptoms. As the administration of emergency COVID-19 vaccines continues worldwide, it is of paramount importance to be aware of possible adverse events, including those affecting the cardiovascular system.

The Enhanced Cardiac Outcome of Conjugated SGLT2 Inhibitors and GLP-1RA Therapy in Diabetic Patients.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Cardiovascular disease secondary to diabetes continues to threaten the survivability of many people all over the world. We assess the most recent findings of synergistic effects of combined glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) and sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors in lowering cardiac complications in the diabetic population. We describe drug therapies' mechanism of action, postulated cardioprotective process, the additive value of conjugated therapy, and analyze recently reported study and its limitation. RECENT FINDINGS: SGLT2 inhibitors and GLP-1RAs have gained popularity due to their ability to reduce major adverse cardiovascular events in diabetic patients. There is emerging evidence of the additional cardiovascular benefit from the combined application of SGLT2 inhibitors and GLP-1RAs therapy demonstrated by a recent real-world cohort study. Reducing cardiac mortality in patients with diabetes by administering dual antihyperglycemic therapies (GLP-1Rs and SGLT2 inhibitors) might play a key role in the future treatment of the diabetic population.

Epidemiology, Pathophysiology, and Management of Coronary Artery Disease in the Elderly.

Elderly patients over the age of ≥ 75 years are especially susceptible to coronary artery disease (CAD) as age is an important nonmodifiable risk factors for atherosclerosis and a predictor of poorer outcomes. In fact, CAD is a major cause of mortality and morbidity in this population. Due to concerns of functional frailty, comorbidities, and patient preference of conservative to no treatment have played a role in reducing the interest in pursuing prospective studies in this high-risk group. In this review, we provide an overview of the epidemiology, pathophysiology, and management of CAD in older adults.

Management of Stent Thrombosis Post-Percutaneous Coronary Intervention and Associated Rare Complications.

Stent thrombosis is a devastating complication of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Progressive technical advancements from balloon angioplasty to bare-metal stent and drug-eluting stent placement have reduced the incidence of stent thrombosis. Definitive management and preventive methods are still negligible. Here, we describe two cases of definite subacute stent thrombosis of the right coronary complicated by pericarditis and very late left anterior descending stent thrombosis after the intervention in the right coronary artery. In both cases, antiplatelet treatment with clopidogrel showed excellent compliance. Therefore, after successful PCI, we switched both cases from clopidogrel to potentially more potent antiplatelet treatment, such as ticagrelor, to reduce the occurrence of stent thrombosis in the future.