Permanent pacing is a risk factor for the development of heart failure.

No previous study has examined the importance of right ventricular pacing as a risk factor for the development of heart failure (HF) in subjects without a history of HF. A cohort study of patients who underwent initial pacemaker implantation (n = 11,426) was conducted to test the hypothesis that patients with ventricular dyssynchrony created by permanent pacing would develop HF, as shown by new HF hospitalizations or HF-related deaths, at a higher rate than matched controls

Long-term effect of diuretic-based therapy on fatal outcomes in subjects with isolated systolic hypertension with and without diabetes.

Diuretic-based antihypertensive therapy is associated with the development of diabetes but with improved clinical outcomes. It has been proposed that the duration of clinical trials has been too short to detect the adverse effects of diabetes. We assessed the long-term mortality rate of subjects in the Systolic Hypertension in the Elderly Program (n = 4,732) who were randomized to stepped-care therapy with 12.5 to 25.0 mg/day of chlorthalidone or matching placebo. If blood pressure remained above the goal, atenolol or matching placebo was added. At a mean follow-up of 14.3 years, cardiovascular (CV) mortality rate was significantly lower in the chlorthalidone group (19%) than in the placebo group (22%; adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 0.854, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.751 to 0.972). Diabetes at baseline (n = 799) was associated with increased CV mortality rate (adjusted HR 1.659, 95% CI 1.413 to 1.949) and total mortality rate (adjusted HR 1.510, 95% CI 1.347 to 1.693). Diabetes that developed during the trial among subjects on placebo (n = 169) was also associated with increased CV adverse outcome (adjusted HR 1.562, 95% CI 1.117 to 2.184) and total mortality rate (adjusted HR 1.348, 95% CI 1.051 to 1.727). However, diabetes that developed among subjects during diuretic therapy (n = 258) did not have significant associations with CV mortality rate (adjusted HR 1.043, 95% CI 0.745 to 1.459) or total mortality rate (adjusted HR 1.151, 95% CI 0.925 to 1.433). Diuretic treatment in subjects who had diabetes was strongly associated with lower long-term CV mortality rate (adjusted HR 0.688, 95% CI 0.526 to 0.848) and total mortality rate (adjusted HR 0.805, 95% CI 0.680 to 0.952). Thus, chlorthalidone-based treatment improved long-term outcomes, especially among subjects who had diabetes. Subjects who had diabetes associated with chlorthalidone had no significant increase in CV events and had a better prognosis than did those who had preexisting diabetes

Cardiovascular outcomes in patients with intraventricular conduction blocks: A sixteen-year follow-up in a state-wide database

Background: To assess the adverse clinical effects of left anterior hemiblock alone or in combination with right bundle branch block and of complete left bundle branch block in comparison with isolated right bundle branch block and the relationship of these effects with altered mechanoelectric factors resulting in left ventricular dysfunction. Methods: In a 16-year follow-up study using a statewide database, we studied the occurrence of mortal and morbid cardiovascular (CV) events among patients without apparent ischemic heart disease who had left anterior hemiblock (LAHB, n=4273, right bundle branch block (RBBB) with LAHB (BFBB, n=1857) and left bundle branch block (LBBB, n=9484 compared to isolated RBBB (n=25288). Results: After adjustment for demographics, co-morbidities and insurance, LAHB was associated with a significant excess risk of all-cause death (HR 1.134, 95% CI 1.061-1.213, p=0.0002) and CV death (HR 1.329, 95% CI 1.174-1.501, p<0.0001). BFBB was associated with excess HF (HR 1.190, 95% CI 1.048-1.351, p<0.0071), all-cause death (HR 1.440, 95% CI 1.045-1.252, p=0.0036) and CV death (HR 1.210, 95% CI 1.020-1.436, p<0.0001). LBBB was associated with an excess risk of MR (HR 1.307, 95% CI 1.116-1.530, p<0.0009), HF 1.177, 95% CI1.097-1.263, p<0.0001) and CV death (HR 1.220, 95% CI 1.106-1.345, p<0.0001). Conclusions: In patients without apparent ischemic heart disease, the presence of LAHB alone or in combination with RBBB imparts increased risk of CV and all-cause death compared to isolated RBBB. BFBB is also associated with an increased risk of HF

Comparison of rate versus rhythm control for atrial fibrillation in patients with left ventricular dysfunction (from the AFFIRM Study).

Optimal treatment for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and left ventricular (LV) dysfunction is not well defined. It is unclear if sinus rhythm is of greater benefit in patients with significantly reduced ejection fraction (EF) than in patients with normal or mildly depressed LV function. The Atrial Fibrillation Follow-up Investigation of Rhythm Management (AFFIRM) study compared 2 treatment strategies: rhythm control, attempting to maintain sinus rhythm, principally with antiarrhythmic drugs, and rate control, allowing AF to persist or recur while controlling the ventricular rate. We sought to determine if rhythm control was superior to rate control for patients in the AFFIRM study with various degrees of LV dysfunction. The present study analyzed outcome data of 3,032 subjects from the AFFIRM study with LV dysfunction by 3 EF strata: 40% to 49%, 30% to 39%, an

Role of Niacin in Current Clinical Practice: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Niacin, a potent high-density lipoprotein cholesterol-raising drug, seems an attractive approach to reduce cardiac events in patients with or at risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. However, previous evidence for niacin has been challenged recently by negative outcomes in 2 large, randomized, controlled trials comparing niacin to placebo with background statin therapy. We studied the currently available evidence for the role of niacin treatment for reducing the risk of cardiovascular events in current practice. METHODS: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials in the MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Cochrane databases comparing niacin alone or combined with statin therapy was performed. We extracted trial level data, including basic characteristics and number of patients enrolled, duration of follow up, occurrence of adverse events, and cardiovascular-related outcomes. Random effects meta-analysis was conducted to estimate the risk ratio (RR) for individual trial endpoints. RESULTS: Thirteen trials (N = 35,206) were selected for final analysis. The mean follow-up duration was 32.8 months. Overall, niacin led to significant increases in serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels from baseline trial enrolment by 21.4%, 9.31 (95% confidence interval [CI] 5.11-13.51) mg/dL. However, we did not observe any differences in all-cause mortality rates (RR 0.99; 95% CI 0.88-1.12) between niacin and control arms. Further, niacin treatment was associated with a trend toward lower risk of cardiovascular mortality (RR 0.91; 95% CI 0.81-1.02), coronary death (RR 0.93; 95% CI 0.78-1.10), nonfatal myocardial infarction (RR 0.85; 95% CI 0.73-1.0), revascularization (coronary and noncoronary) (RR 0.83; 95% CI 0.65-1.06), and stroke (RR 0.89; 95% CI 0.72-1.10), compared with control. CONCLUSION: Niacin therapy does not lead to significant reductions in total or cause-specific mortality or recurrent cardiovascular events among persons with or at risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease

Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials of Percutaneous Coronary Intervention With Drug-Eluting Stents versus Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting in Left Main Coronary Artery Disease.

Few randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies had shown acceptable short-term efficacy and safety of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with drug eluting stents (DES) as compared to coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in selected patients with left main coronary artery disease (LMCAD). We aimed to evaluate long-term outcomes of PCI using DES compared with CABG in patients with LMCAD. On November 1st, 2016, we searched available databases for published RCTs directly comparing DES PCI with CABG in patients with LMCAD. Odds ratios (OR) were used as the metric of choice for treatment effects using a random-effects models. I-squared index was used to assess heterogeneity across trials. Pre-specified end-points were all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, myocardial infarction (MI), stroke and repeat revascularization at maximal available follow-up. We identified 5 RCTs including a total of 4,595 patients, with a median follow-up of 60 months. The risk of all-cause mortality [OR 1.01; 95% CI 0.76-1.34] and cardiovascular mortality [OR 1.02; 95% CI 0.73-1.42] were comparable between PCI with DES and CABG. Similarly, there were no statistically significant differences between PCI with DES and CABG for MI [OR 1.45; 95% CI 0.87-2.40] and stroke [OR 0.87; 95% CI 0.38-1.98]. Conversely, repeat revascularization was significantly higher with PCI as compared with CABG [OR 1.82; 95% CI 1.51-2.21]. In conclusion, in patients with LMCAD, PCI with DES appears to be a viable alternative to CABG at long-term follow-up, with similar risks of ischemic adverse events (mortality, MI and stroke) but a higher risk of repeat revascularization