The association of acylcarnitines and amino acids with age in Dutch and South-Asian Surinamese living in Amsterdam.

Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease occur more frequently, and at a younger age in South-Asians than Europeans. This may be related to differences in regulation of the fatty acid metabolism during aging. We compared age-related acylcarnitine and amino acid concentrations. We measured types of acylcarnitine and amino acid concentrations in plasma (by tandem-MS) in a random subsample of 350 Dutch and 350 South-Asian Surinamese origin participants of the HELIUS study (Amsterdam, The Netherlands). We derived principal components (PCs) from the metabolites. Linear regression was used to assess differences in PCs and individual metabolite concentrations, and their age-trends between the groups by sex. We adjusted for BMI and intake of fat and total energy. Mean age was 44.8 (SD 13.3) years. Many metabolite concentrations were higher among South-Asian Surinamese participants compared to Dutch participants; amino acids in women, and both acylcarnitines and amino acids in men. Metabolite levels increased similarly with age in both ethnic groups. Results remained similar after adjustment. Ethnic differences in metabolite concentrations suggest that fatty acid and amino acid metabolism are more dysregulated among South-Asian Surinamese compared to Dutch from a young age. During adulthood metabolites increase similarly in both ethnic groups

Patients' preferences for secondary prevention following a coronary event

Objective:Despite clear evidence on the effectiveness of secondary prevention, patients with coronary artery disease frequently fail to reach guideline-based risk factor targets. Integrating patients’ preferences into treatment decisions has been recommended to reduce this gap. However, this requires knowledge about patient treatment preferences. Therefore, through a survey study, we aimed to explore which risk factors patients self-perceived, prioritised for improvement, and needed support with after a recent hospitalisation for coronary heart disease. Methods: A digital questionnaire was presented to patients &gt; 18 years recently discharged (≤3 months) from an acute coronary care unit in the Netherlands (Europe). Patients could select from eight cardiovascular risk factors that they (1) self-perceived, (2) prioritised for improvement, and (3) needed support to improve. Patients’ perceived risk factors were compared to those documented in the medical records. Results: Respondents (N = 254, 26 % women), mean age 64 (SD 10) years, identified ‘physical inactivity’ more frequently than their medical records (140 patients vs. 91 records, p &lt; 0.001), while three other risk factors were reported with equal and four with lower frequency. ‘Physical inactivity’, ‘overweight’ and ‘stress’ were most frequently prioritised for improvement (82 %, 88 % and 78 %) and professional support (64 %, 50 % and 58 %), with 87 % preferring lifestyle optimisation if this would reduce drug use. Conclusions: Patients with a recent coronary event show significant disparities in identifying risk factors compared to their medical records. They tend to prefer improving lifestyle- over drug-modifiable risk factors, particularly physical inactivity, overweight and stress, and indicate the need for support in improving these factors.</p

Effect of a nurse-coordinated prevention programme on cardiovascular risk after an acute coronary syndrome: main results of the RESPONSE randomised trial

Objective To quantify the impact of a practical, hospital-based nurse-coordinated prevention programme on cardiovascular risk, integrated into the routine clinical care of patients discharged after an acute coronary syndrome, as compared with usual care only. Design RESPONSE (Randomised Evaluation of Secondary Prevention by Outpatient Nurse SpEcialists) was a randomised clinical trial. Setting Multicentre trial in secondary and tertiary healthcare settings. Participants 754 patients admitted for acute coronary syndrome. Intervention A nurse-coordinated prevention programme, consisting of four outpatient nurse clinic visits, focusing on healthy lifestyles, biometric risk factors and medication adherence, in addition to usual care. Main outcome measures The main outcome was 10-year cardiovascular mortality risk as estimated by Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation at 12 months follow-up. Secondary outcomes included Framingham Coronary Risk Score at 12 months, in addition to changes in individual risk factors. Risk factor control was classified as ‘poor’ if 0 to 3 factors were on target, ‘fair’ if 4 to 6 factors were on target, and ‘good’ if 7 to 9 were on target. Results The mean Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation at 12 months was 4.4 per cent (SD 4.5) in the intervention group and 5.4 per cent (SD 6.2) in the control group (p=0.021), representing a 17.4% relative risk reduction. At 12 months, risk factor control classified as ‘good’ was achieved in 35% of patients in the intervention group compared with 25% in the control group (p=0.003). Attendance to the nurse-coordinated prevention programme was 92%. In the intervention group, 86 rehospitalisations were observed against 132 in the control group (relative risk reduction 34.8%, p=0.023). Conclusions The nurse-coordinated hospital-based prevention programme in addition to usual care is a practical, yet effective method for reduction of cardiovascular risk in patients with coronary disease. Our data suggest that the counselling component of the programme may lead to a reduction in hospital readmissions

Validation of Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation 2 (SCORE2) and SCORE2-Older Persons in the EPIC-Norfolk prospective population cohort

Aims: The European Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation 2 (SCORE2) and SCORE2-Older Persons (OP) models are recommended to identify individuals at high 10-year risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Independent validation and assessment of clinical utility is needed. This study aims to assess discrimination, calibration, and clinical utility of low-risk SCORE2 and SCORE2-OP. Methods and results: Validation in individuals aged 40-69 years (SCORE2) and 70-79 years (SCORE2-OP) without baseline CVD or diabetes from the European Prospective Investigation of Cancer (EPIC) Norfolk prospective population study. We compared 10-year CVD risk estimates with observed outcomes (cardiovascular mortality, non-fatal myocardial infarction, and stroke). For SCORE2, 19 560 individuals (57% women) had 10-year CVD risk estimates of 3.7% [95% confidence interval (CI) 3.6-3.7] vs. observed 3.8% (95% CI 3.6-4.1) [observed (O)/expected (E) ratio 1.0 (95% CI 1.0-1.1)]. The area under the curve (AUC) was 0.75 (95% CI 0.74-0.77), with underestimation of risk in men [O/E 1.4 (95% CI 1.3-1.6)] and overestimation in women [O/E 0.7 (95% CI 0.6-0.8)]. Decision curve analysis (DCA) showed clinical benefit. Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation 2-Older Persons in 3113 individuals (58% women) predicted 10-year CVD events in 10.2% (95% CI 10.1-10.3) vs. observed 15.3% (95% CI 14.0-16.5) [O/E ratio 1.6 (95% CI 1.5-1.7)]. The AUC was 0.63 (95% CI 0.60-0.65) with underestimation of risk across sex and risk ranges. Decision curve analysis showed limited clinical benefit. Conclusion: In a UK population cohort, the SCORE2 low-risk model showed fair discrimination and calibration, with clinical benefit for preventive treatment initiation decisions. In contrast, in individuals aged 70-79 years, SCORE2-OP demonstrated poor discrimination, underestimated risk in both sexes, and limited clinical utility

Unexploited potential of risk factor treatment in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease

BACKGROUND: Most patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease remain at (very) high risk for recurrent events due to suboptimal risk factor control. AIMS: This study aimed to quantify the potential of maximal risk factor treatment on 10-year and lifetime risk of recurrent atherosclerotic cardiovascular events in patients 1 year after a coronary event. METHODS AND RESULTS: Pooled data from six studies are as follows: RESPONSE 1, RESPONSE 2, OPTICARE, EUROASPIRE IV, EUROASPIRE V, and HELIUS. Patients aged ≥45 years at ≥6 months after coronary event were included. The SMART-REACH score was used to estimate 10-year and lifetime risk of recurrent atherosclerotic cardiovascular events with current treatment and potential risk reduction and gains in event-free years with maximal treatment (lifestyle and pharmacological). In 3230 atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease patients (24% women), at median interquartile range (IQR) 1.1 years (1.0-1.8) after index event, 10-year risk was median (IQR) 20% (15-27%) and lifetime risk 54% (47-63%). Whereas 70% used conventional medication, 82% had ≥1 drug-modifiable risk factor not on target. Furthermore, 91% had ≥1 lifestyle-related risk factor not on target. Maximizing therapy was associated with a potential reduction of median (IQR) 10-year risk to 6% (4-8%) and of lifetime risk to 20% (15-27%) and a median (IQR) gain of 7.3 (5.4-10.4) atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease event-free years. CONCLUSIONS: Amongst patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, maximizing current, guideline-based preventive therapy has the potential to mitigate a large part of their risk of recurrent events and to add a clinically important number of event-free years to their lifetime

Long-Term Clopidogrel Therapy in Patients Receiving Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Background: The PCI-CURE (Percutaneous Coronary Intervention-Clopidogrel in Unstable Angina to Prevent Recurrent Events) and CREDO (Clopidogrel for the Reduction of Events During Observation) studies have demonstrated that, in addition to aspirin, pre-treatment with clopidogrel followed by long-term (i.e. 9-12 months) therapy significantly reduces the risk of atherothrombotic events in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Objective: To examine the economic implications, from the Dutch healthcare perspective, of the use of clopidogrel in patients undergoing PCI (elective procedures or in patients with acute coronary syndrome), comparing pre-treatment followed by long-term therapy with only 4 weeks of treatment. Methods: A lifetime Markov model was used to combine data from the PCI-CURE and CREDO trials with data from the literature concerning epidemiology, costs and quality of life. The model was run separately for each trial. Only direct healthcare costs (_, year 2004 values) were considered. Costs and outcomes were discounted at 4% per anum. For each trial, the cost effectiveness is expressed as costs per life-year and QALY gained. Uncertainties are addressed by uni- and probabilistic multivariate sensitivity analysis. Results: When starting with the data from the PCI-CURE trial, pre-treatment plus 9-month clopidogrel therapy was predicted to save _1119 and gain 0.03 life-years and 0.07 QALYs per patient compared with short-term treatment. When starting with the data from the CREDO trial, the combination of pre-treatment and prolonged clopidogrel therapy (1 year) was estimated to save _497 and gain 0.10 life-years and 0.14 QALYs per patient. Univariate and probabilistic multivariate sensitivity analyses suggested that the conclusions were generally robust, but that the expected gain in survival for the PCI-CURE population was very sensitive to the effects on mortality within the combined endpoint of myocardial infarction/stroke-free survival. Conclusions: In The Netherlands, pre-treatment plus long-term (9-12 months) therapy with clopidogrel is estimated to save costs and increase (quality-adjusted) survival in the prevention of ischaemic events among patients undergoing elective PCI (CREDO) and in patients with acute coronary syndrome (PCI-CURE) compared with short-term treatment with clopidogrel without pre-treatment.Cardiovascular-disorders, Cardiovascular-disorders, Clopidogrel, Cost-utility

A multilevel and multicenter assessment of health care system capacity to manage cardiovascular diseases in Africa: a baseline study of the Ghana Heart Initiative

Abstract Introduction Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) remain the leading cause of death worldwide, with over 70% of these deaths occurring in low- and middle-income regions such as Africa. However, most countries in Africa do not have the capacity to manage CVD. The Ghana Heart Initiative has been an ongoing national program since 2018, aimed at improving CVD care and thus reducing the death rates of these diseases in Ghana. This study therefore aimed at assessing the impact of this initiative by identifying, at baseline, the gaps in the management of CVDs within the health system to develop robust measures to bolster CVD management and care in Ghana. Methods This study employed a cross-sectional study design and was conducted from November 2019 to March 2020 in 44 health facilities in the Greater Accra region. The assessment covered CVD management, equipment availability, knowledge of health workers in CVD and others including the CVD management support system, availability of CVD management guidelines and CVD/NCD indicators in the District Health Information Management System (DHIMS2). Results The baseline data showed a total of 85,612 outpatient attendants over the period in the study facilities, 70% were women and 364(0.4%) were newly diagnosed with hypertension. A total of 83% of the newly diagnosed hypertensives were put on treatment, 56.3% (171) continued treatment during the study period and less than 10% (5%) had their blood pressure controlled at the end of the study (in March 2020). Other gaps identified included suboptimal health worker knowledge in CVD management (mean score of 69.0 ± 13.0, p < 0.05), lack of equipment for prompt CVD emergency diagnosis, poor management and monitoring of CVD care across all levels of health care, lack of standardized protocol on CVD management, and limited number of indicators on CVD in the National Database (i.e., DHIMS2) for CVD monitoring. Conclusion This study shows that there are gaps in CVD care and therefore, there is a need to address such gaps to improve the capacity of the health system to effectively manage CVDs in Ghana