Effects of oral semaglutide on cardiovascular outcomes in individuals with type 2 diabetes and established atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and/or chronic kidney disease: Design and baseline characteristics of SOUL, a randomized trial

Aim: To describe the design of the SOUL trial (Semaglutide cardiOvascular oUtcomes triaL) and the baseline clinical data of its participants. Materials and methods: In SOUL, the effects of oral semaglutide, the first oral glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist, on the risk of cardiovascular (CV) events in individuals with type 2 diabetes and established atherosclerotic CV disease (ASCVD) and/or chronic kidney disease (CKD) will be assessed. SOUL is a randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, placebo-controlled CV outcomes trial comparing oral semaglutide (14 mg once daily) with placebo, both in addition to standard of care, in individuals aged ≥50 years with type 2 diabetes and evidence of ASCVD (coronary artery disease [CAD], cerebrovascular disease, symptomatic peripheral arterial disease [PAD]) and/or CKD (estimated glomerular filtration rate <60 mL/min/1.73 m2). The primary outcome is time from randomization to first occurrence of a major adverse CV event (MACE; a composite of CV death, nonfatal myocardial infarction or nonfatal stroke). This event-driven trial will continue until 1225 first adjudication-confirmed MACEs have occurred. Enrolment has been completed. Results: Overall, 9650 participants were enrolled between June 17, 2019 and March 24, 2021 (men 71.1%, White ethnicity 68.9%, mean age 66.1 years, diabetes duration 15.4 years, body mass index 31.1 kg/m2, glycated haemoglobin 63.5 mmol/mol [8.0%]). The most frequently used antihyperglycaemic medications at baseline were metformin (75.7%), insulin and insulin analogues (50.5%), sulphonylureas (29.1%), sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (26.7%) and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (23.0%). At randomization, 70.7% of participants had CAD, 42.3% had CKD, 21.1% had cerebrovascular disease and 15.7% had symptomatic PAD (categories not mutually exclusive). Prevalent heart failure was reported in 23.0% of participants. Conclusion: SOUL will provide evidence regarding the CV effects of oral semaglutide in individuals with type 2 diabetes and established ASCVD and/or CKD

The Canadian Women's Heart Health Alliance Atlas on the epidemiology, diagnosis, and management of cardiovascular disease in women - Chapter 5 : sex- and gender-unique manifestations of cardiovascular disease.

This Atlas chapter summarizes sex- and some gender-associated, and unique aspects and manifestations of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in women. CVD is the primary cause of premature death in women in Canada and numerous sex-specific differences related to symptoms and pathophysiology exist. A review of the literature was done to identify sex-specific differences in symptoms, pathophysiology, and unique manifestations of CVD in women. Although women with ischemic heart disease might present with chest pain, the description of symptoms, delay between symptom onset and seeking medical attention, and prodromal symptoms are often different in women, compared with men. Nonatherosclerotic causes of angina and myocardial infarction, such as spontaneous coronary artery dissection are predominantly identified in women. Obstructive and nonobstructive coronary artery disease, aortic aneurysmal disease, and peripheral artery disease have worse outcomes in women compared with men. Sex differences exist in valvular heart disease and cardiomyopathies. Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction is more often diagnosed in women, who experience better survival after a heart failure diagnosis. Stroke might occur across the lifespan in women, who are at higher risk of stroke-related disability and age-specific mortality. Sex- and gender-unique differences exist in symptoms and pathophysiology of CVD in women. These differences must be considered when evaluating CVD manifestations, because they affect management and prognosis of cardiovascular conditions in women.Dans le présent chapitre d’Atlas sont récapitulés les aspects et les manifestations uniques, associés au sexe et certains associés au genre, des maladies cardiovasculaires (MCV) chez les femmes. Les MCV sont la cause principale de décès prématurés chez les femmes au Canada. De nombreuses différences quant aux symptômes et à la physiopathologie existent entre les sexes. Nous avons réalisé une revue de la littérature pour déterminer les différences entre les sexes dans les symptômes et la physiopathologie, et les manifestations uniques des MCV chez les femmes. Bien que les femmes atteintes d’une cardiopathie ischémique puissent éprouver des douleurs thoraciques, la description des symptômes, le délai entre l’apparition des symptômes et l’obtention de soins médicaux, et les symptômes prodromiques sont souvent différents de ceux des hommes. Les causes de l’angine et de l’infarctus du myocarde non liées à l’athérosclérose telles que la dissection spontanée de l’artère coronaire sont principalement observées chez les femmes. La coronaropathie obstructive et non obstructive, l’anévrisme aortique et la maladie artérielle périphérique montrent de plus mauvaises issues chez les femmes que chez les hommes. Des différences entre les sexes sont observées dans la cardiopathie valvulaire et les cardiomyopathies. Le diagnostic d’insuffisance cardiaque avec fraction d’éjection préservée est plus souvent posé chez les femmes qui présentent un meilleur taux de survie après un diagnostic d’insuffisance cardiaque. L’accident vasculaire cérébral (AVC) pourrait survenir tout au long de la vie des femmes, qui sont exposées à un risque plus élevé d’incapacités liées à l’AVC et de mortalité par âge. Il existe des différences uniques entre les sexes et les genres pour ce qui est des symptômes et de la physiopathologie des MCV chez les femmes. Lors de l’évaluation des manifestations des MCV, il faut tenir compte de ces différences puisqu’elles influencent la prise en charge et le pronostic des maladies cardiovasculaires chez les femmes

The Canadian Women's Heart Health Alliance atlas on the epidemiology, diagnosis, and management of cardiovascular disease in women - Chapter 6 : sex- and gender-specific diagnosis and treatment

This chapter summarizes the sex- and gender-specific diagnosis and treatment of acute/unstable presentations and nacute/stable presentations of cardiovascular disease in women. Guidelines, scientific statements, systematic reviews/meta-analyses, and primary research studies related to diagnosis and treatment of coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease (stroke), valvular heart disease, and heart failure in women were reviewed. The evidence is summarized as a narrative, and when available, sex- and gender-specific practice and research recommendations are provided. Acute coronary syndrome presentations and emergency department delays are different in women than they are in men. Coronary angiography remains the gold-standard test for diagnosis of obstructive coronary artery disease. Other diagnostic imaging modalities for ischemic heart disease detection (eg, positron emission tomography, echocardiography, single-photon emission computed tomography, cardiovascular magnetic resonance, coronary computed tomography angiography) have been shown to be useful in women, with their selection dependent upon both the goal of the individualized assessment and the testing resources available. Noncontrast computed tomography and computed tomography angiography are used to diagnose stroke in women. Although sex-specific differences appear to exist in the efficacy of standard treatments for diverse presentations of acute coronary syndrome, many cardiovascular drugs and interventions tested in clinical trials were not powered to detect sex-specific differences, and knowledge gaps remain. Similarly, although knowledge is evolving about sex-specific difference in the management of valvular heart disease, and heart failure with both reduced and preserved ejection fraction, current guidelines are lacking in sex-specific recommendations, and more research is needed.Ce chapitre présente un résumé sur le diagnostic et le traitement des tableaux cliniques aigus/instables et non aigus/stables des maladies cardiovasculaires chez les femmes, et les différences propres à chacun des deux sexes. Les lignes directrices, les énoncés scientifiques, les revues systématiques/méta-analyses et les études de recherche originale sur le diagnostic et le traitement des coronaropathies, des maladies vasculaires cérébrales (AVC), des valvulopathies cardiaques et de l’insuffisance cardiaque chez les femmes ont été examinés. Les données probantes sont résumées sous forme narrative et, lorsqu’elles sont disponibles, des recommandations en matière de pratique et de recherche pour chacun des deux sexes sont présentées. Les tableaux cliniques du syndrome coronarien aigu et les délais d’attente à l’urgence sont différents selon qu’une femme ou un homme en est atteint. L’angiographie coronarienne reste l’examen de référence pour le diagnostic des coronaropathies obstructives. D’autres examens d’imagerie diagnostique (p. ex. la tomographie par émission de positons, l’échocardiographie, la tomographie d'émission à photon unique, la résonance magnétique cardiovasculaire, l’angiographie coronarienne par tomodensitométrie) se sont avérés utiles pour la détection des cardiopathies ischémiques chez les femmes. Le recours à ces modalités dépend de l’objectif de l’évaluation personnalisée et des ressources disponibles. La tomodensitométrie sans agent de contraste et l’angiographie par tomodensitométrie sont utilisées pour le diagnostic des AVC chez les femmes. Malgré les différences entre les sexes quant à l’efficacité des traitements de référence des divers tableaux cliniques du syndrome coronarien aigu, bon nombre des médicaments et des interventions cardiovasculaires qui ont fait l’objet d’essais cliniques n’avaient pas la puissance statistique nécessaire pour détecter des différences selon les sexes, de sorte que les connaissances restent fragmentaires sur ce sujet. De même, malgré l’évolution des connaissances sur les différences sexuelles quant à la prise en charge des valvulopathies cardiaques et de l’insuffisance cardiaque avec fraction d’éjection réduite ou préservée, on ne trouve pas de recommandations pour chaque sexe dans les lignes directrices actuelles, d’où la pertinence d’études supplémentaires portant sur cette question

Vivienne Westwood and the ethics of consuming fashion

Our paper examines ethical consumption using the case study of Vivienne Westwood, the fashion designer, and her eponymous firm, and shows how consumers of fashion might be considered ethical. The fashion industry has figured prominently in ethical debates, notably its role in encouraging overconsumption of resources and promoting an idealised lifestyle that is often neither materially nor psychically sustainable for consumers (Buchholz, 1998). We acknowledge this, yet suggest the purchase and use of clothing carries with it the potential to be ethical insofar as customers find themselves personally implicated with and caring for a designers' work

Cardiovascular magnetic resonance in pericardial diseases

The pericardium and pericardial diseases in particular have received, in contrast to other topics in the field of cardiology, relatively limited interest. Today, despite improved knowledge of pathophysiology of pericardial diseases and the availability of a wide spectrum of diagnostic tools, the diagnostic challenge remains. Not only the clinical presentation may be atypical, mimicking other cardiac, pulmonary or pleural diseases; in developed countries a shift for instance in the epidemiology of constrictive pericarditis has been noted. Accurate decision making is crucial taking into account the significant morbidity and mortality caused by complicated pericardial diseases, and the potential benefit of therapeutic interventions. Imaging herein has an important role, and cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is definitely one of the most versatile modalities to study the pericardium. It fuses excellent anatomic detail and tissue characterization with accurate evaluation of cardiac function and assessment of the haemodynamic consequences of pericardial constraint on cardiac filling. This review focuses on the current state of knowledge how CMR can be used to study the most common pericardial diseases

Impact of Diabetes on Postinfarction Heart Failure and Left Ventricular Remodeling

Diabetes mellitus, the metabolic syndrome, and the underlying insulin resistance are increasingly associated with diastolic dysfunction and reduced stress tolerance. The poor prognosis associated with heart failure in patients with diabetes after myocardial infarction is likely attributable to many factors, important among which is the metabolic impact from insulin resistance and hyperglycemia on the regulation of microvascular perfusion and energy generation in the cardiac myocyte. This review summarizes epidemiologic, pathophysiologic, diagnostic, and therapeutic data related to diabetes and heart failure in acute myocardial infarction and discusses novel perceptions and strategies that hold promise for the future and deserve further investigation

2012 ACCF/AHA/ACP/AATS/PCNA/SCAI/STS guideline for the diagnosis and management of patients with stable ischemic heart disease

The recommendations listed in this document are, whenever possible, evidence based. An extensive evidence review was conducted as the document was compiled through December 2008. Repeated literature searches were performed by the guideline development staff and writing committee members as new issues were considered. New clinical trials published in peer-reviewed journals and articles through December 2011 were also reviewed and incorporated when relevant. Furthermore, because of the extended development time period for this guideline, peer review comments indicated that the sections focused on imaging technologies required additional updating, which occurred during 2011. Therefore, the evidence review for the imaging sections includes published literature through December 2011