Long-term outcome after closure of an atrial shunt in patients aged 60 years or older with ischemic stroke: A nationwide, registry-based, case-control study

Background: According to the current guidelines, evidence of the effects of transcatheter closure in patients aged ≥60 years with an atrial shunt and cryptogenic stroke is still limited. Methods: Using Swedish health registries, patients aged ≥60 years who had previously developed a cryptogenic cerebrovascular event and undergone transcatheter closure were identified. Patients with atrial fibrillation were excluded, and the remaining patients were propensity score-matched with patients of the same age and risk profile who had only undergone medical treatment and with controls from the general population. They were then followed up until 2017 (mean period of 7.1 ± 3.9 years). Results: In total, 100 patients of the intervention group were matched with 100 patients of the medical treatment group and with 100 controls and followed up. The hazard ratio for a recurrent ischemic stroke in the intervention group compared with the medical treatment group was 0.8 (95% confidence interval, 0.3–2.1), and that compared with the controls was 2.3 (95% confidence interval, 0.6–8.9). Atrial fibrillation occurred at the same rate in the two treatment groups (odds ratio, 0.8; 95% confidence interval, 0.4–1.7). However, patients in the intervention group developed vascular disease at a lower rate (odds ratio, 0.5; 95% confidence interval, 0.25–0.85). Conclusions: Patients aged ≥60 years with cryptogenic stroke may undergo transcatheter closure of an atrial shunt after thorough screening for other potential causes of stroke. The incidence of vascular disease seems to be mitigated in these patients relative to medically treated patients

Impact of Down Syndrome on Survival Among Patients With Congenital Heart Disease

Background Increasing survival among patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) has recently been reported. However, the impact of Down syndrome (DS) in patients with CHD is still debated. We aimed to estimate survival in patients with CHD with versus without DS compared with matched controls from the general population without CHD or DS. Methods and Results We linked data from Swedish health registries to identify patients with CHD born between 1970 and 2017. Data from the Total Population Register were used to match each patient with CHD by sex and birth year with 8 controls without CHD or DS. A Cox proportional regression model was used to estimate mortality risk, and Kaplan–Meier curves were analyzed for the survival analysis. We identified 3285 patients with CHD‐DS, 64 529 patients with CHD without DS, and 26 128 matched controls. The mortality risk was 25.1 times higher (95% CI, 21.3–29.5) in patients with CHD‐DS versus controls. The mortality rate was 2 times higher (95% CI, 1.94–2.31) for patients with CHD with versus without DS. Lower mortality was found during the second versus first birth periods in patients with CHD‐DS compared with controls; hazard ratio: 46.8 (95% CI, 29.5–74.0) and 17.7 (95% CI, 12.8–24.42) in those born between 1970 and 1989 versus 1990 and 2017, respectively. Conclusions In this retrospective cohort study, the mortality risk among patients with CHD‐DS was 25 times higher compared with matched controls and 2 times higher compared with patients with CHD without DS. Survival was higher in patients with CHD‐DS born after versus before 1990, coinciding with the modern era of congenital heart care

Healthcare consumption in congenital heart disease: A temporal life-course perspective following pediatric cases to adulthood

Background: Improvements in diagnosis, intervention, and care of congenital heart disease (CHD) have led to increased survivability and lifelong dependence on healthcare. This study aims to determine the extensiveness of inpatient care episodes across different life-stages and CHD severity compared to matched controls, and to explore how healthcare utilization among pediatric CHD cases have changed over time. Methodology: National registry data was used to conduct a 1:9 matching analysis with age and sex matched controls. Then, Poisson timeseries analysis was used to conduct trend analysis for inpatient healthcare utilization among pediatric cases <18 years of age. Results: Most CHD cases were non-complex (87.3%), with highest hospitalization rates occurring in infancy. Mean number of hospitalizations among complex cases were over twice that of non-complex cases. Also, as age progressed, mean hospitalization for non-complex cases began converging to the control population. In terms of trend analysis within this study period, healthcare utilization increased by 34% among the infant categories, but decreased by 12% and 32% among children between 1-9 years and 10–17 years, respectively. Also, utilization was not trending in one direction substantiating the claim that multiple time periods are required to assess temporal changes within this population. Conclusion: Inpatient healthcare utilization among the CHD population appears to be decreasing over time in most cases, where non-complex cases transitioning to adult care are increasingly converging to the general population. Additionally, this study validates the need to use multiple time-periods when conducting longitudinal studies across the CHD population

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: Survival in children and young adults over 30 years, a nationwide registry-based cohort study

Objectives: We studied short-term (30-day) and long-term (up to ten-year) survival among children and young adults following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in Sweden over the course of the past 30 years. We also studied the causes of OHCA in children and examined predictors of survival. SETTING This was a nationwide, registry-based cohort study, using the Swedish Registry of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation. Our study comprised a cohort of 4,804 individuals aged 0 to 30 years who suffered OHCA between 1990 and 2020, in whom cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was initiated. We stratified the study cohort to distinct age groups and time periods. Results: We found an increase in 30-day survival from 7% to 20% over the span of 30 years. In those under 1 year of age, survival increased from 2% to 19%. Time to CPR decreased from 14 to 2 minutes. The 10-year survival was high among those who survived 30 days. The etiology of cardiac arrests exhibited significant variations across different age groups but remained relatively consistent over time. Causes linked to mental illness constituted a substantial percentage of these cases. Compared to the reference period (1990-1994), the odds of survival in 2015-2020 was 3.00 (95% CI: 1.43, 6.94; p = 0.006). Conclusion: Survival rate after OHCA in children and young adults has increased three-fold over the past 30 years. Still overall mortality is high underscoring the need for continued efforts to mitigate risk factors and optimize survival

The impact of time-updated resting heart rate on cause-specific mortality in a random middle-aged male population : a lifetime follow-up

Background A high resting heart rate (RHR) is associated with an increase in adverse events. However, the long-term prognostic value in a general population is unclear. We aimed to investigate the impact of RHR, based on both baseline and time-updated values, on mortality in a middle-aged male cohort. Methods A random population sample of 852 men, all born in 1913, was followed from age 50 until age 98, with repeated examinations including RHR over a period of 48 years. The impact of baseline and time-updated RHR on cause-specific mortality was assessed using Cox proportional hazard models and cubic spline models. Results A baseline RHR of ≥ 90 beats per minute (bpm) was associated with higher all-cause mortality, as compared with an RHR of 60–70 bpm (hazard ratio [HR] 1.60, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.17–2.19, P = 0.003), but not with cardiovascular (CV) mortality. A time-updated RHR of &lt; 60 bpm (HR 1.41, 95% CI 1.07–1.85, P = 0.014) and a time-updated RHR of 70–80 bpm (HR 1.34, 95% CI 1.02–1.75, P = 0.036) were both associated with higher CV mortality as compared with an RHR of 60–70 bpm after multivariable adjustment. Analyses using cubic spline models confirmed that the association of time-updated RHR with all-cause and CV mortality complied with a U-shaped curve with 60 bpm as a reference. Conclusion In this middle-aged male cohort, a time-updated RHR of 60–70 bpm was associated with the lowest CV mortality, suggesting that a time-updated RHR could be a useful long-term prognostic index in the general population

Risk factors for and risk of all-cause and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease mortality in people with type 2 diabetes and peripheral artery disease: an observational, register-based cohort study

Abstract Background Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and peripheral artery disease (PAD) are recognized as independent risk factors contributing to excess mortality. Contemporary observational studies exploring the associations of risk factors, and risk of all-cause and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease mortality in persons with T2D following the onset of incident peripheral artery disease are limited. The objectives of this study were to investigate the associations of risk factors, and assess mortality risks in people with T2D compared with controls without T2D after the onset of PAD. Methods All persons with T2D (n = 150,215) registered in the Swedish National Diabetes Register between 2005 and 2009 were included, along with 346,423 controls without T2D matched for sex and age. Data were retrieved from several national registries, capturing information on risk factors, onset of incident peripheral artery disease, other comorbidities, socioeconomic factors, and outcomes. To compare persons with T2D and controls following the onset of peripheral artery disease regarding the risk of all-cause, and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease mortality, Cox proportional hazard models and Kaplan-Meier curves were employed. A gradient-boosting model was utilized to estimate the relative statistical contribution of risk factors to the modeling of incident mortality risk in people with both T2D and peripheral artery disease. Results Crude rates of incident all-cause mortality were higher in individuals with T2D compared with controls, following the onset of PAD (600.4 (95% CI, 581.4-619.8) per 10,000 person-years versus 549.1 (95% CI, 532.1-566.5) per 10,000 person-years). Persons with T2D had an adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for all-cause mortality of 1.12 (95% CI, 1.05–1.19, P < 0.01) compared with controls after onset of incident PAD. The comparable adjusted HR for cardiovascular mortality was 1.13 (95% CI, 1.07–1.19, P < 0.01). High age and hyperglycemia at baseline played a significant role in contributing to the predictive models for incident all-cause and cardiovascular mortality among individuals with both T2D and PAD. Conclusions The presence of T2D with concomitant PAD is related to an increased risk of both all-cause and cardiovascular mortality compared with individuals with only PAD. This argues for implementing optimized and intensive treatment strategies for individuals with both conditions

Long-term survival in patients with univentricular heart: A nationwide, register-based cohort study

Background: Children with univentricular heart (UVH) have a limited life expectancy without early treatment. Long-term survival in UVH, in an unselected nationwide cohort, is unclear. Objectives: To determine long-term survival in patients with UVH including non-operated patients compared with a control population in Sweden. Methods: Patients with UVH born between 1970 and 2017 were identified from the National Registers and were matched for birth year and sex with 10 individuals without congenital heart disease. Follow-up was from birth until death, transplantation, or the end of study. Mortality risk was estimated by Cox proportional regression models and Kaplan–Meier survival analysis. Results: We included 5075 patients with UVH including 758 (14.9%) patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), and 50,620 matched controls. Median follow-up time was 13.6 (IQR 0.7; 26.8) years. The hazard ratio for death in patients with UVH was 53.0 (95% confidence interval, 48.0–58.6), and for HLHS, 163.5 (95% CI, 124.3–215.2). In patients with HLHS, 84% of those who were born between 1982 and 1993 died or had transplantation during the first year of life compared with 29% born between 2006 and 2017. In patients with UVH without HLHS, death/transplantation in the first year of life declined from 36% in those born between 1970 and 1981 to 8.7% in those born between 2006 and 2017. Conclusions: The risk of mortality was >50 times higher in patients with UVH than in controls. The survival rate increased with a later decade of birth but was still <75% in patients born with HLHS