Health-related qualify of life, angina type and coronary artery disease in patients with stable chest pain.

Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is impaired in patients with stable angina but patients often present with other forms of chest pain. The aim of this study was to compare the pre-diagnostic HRQoL in patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) according to angina type, gender, and presence of obstructive CAD. From the pilot study for the European DISCHARGE trial, we analysed data from 24 sites including 1263 patients (45.9% women, 61.1 ± 11.3 years) who were clinically referred for invasive coronary angiography (ICA; 617 patients) or coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA; 646 patients). Prior to the procedures, patients completed HRQoL questionnaires: the Short Form (SF)-12v2, the EuroQoL (EQ-5D-3 L) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Fifty-five percent of ICA and 35% of CTA patients had typical angina, 23 and 33% had atypical angina, 18 and 28% had non-anginal chest discomfort and 5 and 5% had other chest discomfort, respectively. Patients with typical angina had the poorest physical functioning compared to the other angina groups (SF-12 physical component score; 41.2 ± 8.8, 43.3 ± 9.1, 46.2 ± 9.0, 46.4 ± 11.4, respectively, all age and gender-adjusted p < 0.01), and highest anxiety levels (8.3 ± 4.1, 7.5 ± 4.1, 6.5 ± 4.0, 4.7 ± 4.5, respectively, all adjusted p < 0.01). On all other measures, patients with typical or atypical angina had lower HRQoL compared to the two other groups (all adjusted p < 0.05). HRQoL did not differ between patients with and without obstructive CAD while women had worse HRQoL compared with men, irrespective of age and angina type. Prior to a diagnostic procedure for stable chest pain, HRQoL is associated with chest pain characteristics, but not with obstructive CAD, and is significantly lower in women. Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT02400229

Comparative effectiveness of initial computed tomography and invasive coronary angiography in women and men with stable chest pain and suspected coronary artery disease: multicentre randomised trial

To assess the comparative effectiveness of computed tomography and invasive coronary angiography in women and men with stable chest pain suspected to be caused by coronary artery disease

Health-related qualify of life, angina type and coronary artery disease in patients with stable chest pain

Background Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is impaired in patients with stable angina but patients often present with other forms of chest pain. The aim of this study was to compare the pre-diagnostic HRQoL in patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) according to angina type, gender, and presence of obstructive CAD. Methods From the pilot study for the European DISCHARGE trial, we analysed data from 24 sites including 1263 patients (45.9% women, 61.1 +/- 11.3 years) who were clinically referred for invasive coronary angiography (ICA; 617 patients) or coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA; 646 patients). Prior to the procedures, patients completed HRQoL questionnaires: the Short Form (SF)-12v2, the EuroQoL (EQ-5D-3 L) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Results Fifty-five percent of ICA and 35% of CTA patients had typical angina, 23 and 33% had atypical angina, 18 and 28% had non-anginal chest discomfort and 5 and 5% had other chest discomfort, respectively. Patients with typical angina had the poorest physical functioning compared to the other angina groups (SF-12 physical component score; 41.2 +/- 8.8, 43.3 +/- 9.1, 46.2 +/- 9.0, 46.4 +/- 11.4, respectively, all age and gender-adjusted p < 0.01), and highest anxiety levels (8.3 +/- 4.1, 7.5 +/- 4.1, 6.5 +/- 4.0, 4.7 +/- 4.5, respectively, all adjusted p < 0.01). On all other measures, patients with typical or atypical angina had lower HRQoL compared to the two other groups (all adjusted p < 0.05). HRQoL did not differ between patients with and without obstructive CAD while women had worse HRQoL compared with men, irrespective of age and angina type. Conclusions Prior to a diagnostic procedure for stable chest pain, HRQoL is associated with chest pain characteristics, but not with obstructive CAD, and is significantly lower in women

Inter-Species Rescue of Mutant Phenotype&mdash;The Standard for Genetic Analysis of Human Genetic Disorders in Drosophila melanogaster Model

Drosophila melanogaster (the fruit fly) is arguably a superstar of genetics, an astonishing versatile experimental model which fueled no less than six Nobel prizes in medicine. Nowadays, an evolving research endeavor is to simulate and investigate human genetic diseases in the powerful D. melanogaster platform. Such a translational experimental strategy is expected to allow scientists not only to understand the molecular mechanisms of the respective disorders but also to alleviate or even cure them. In this regard, functional gene orthology should be initially confirmed in vivo by transferring human or vertebrate orthologous transgenes in specific mutant backgrounds of D. melanogaster. If such a transgene rescues, at least partially, the mutant phenotype, then it qualifies as a strong candidate for modeling the respective genetic disorder in the fruit fly. Herein, we review various examples of inter-species rescue of relevant mutant phenotypes of the fruit fly and discuss how these results recommend several human genes as candidates to study and validate genetic variants associated with human diseases. We also consider that a wider implementation of this evolutionist exploratory approach as a standard for the medicine of genetic disorders would allow this particular field of human health to advance at a faster pace

Exhaustion while teleworking during COVID-19: a moderated-mediation model of role clarity, self-efficacy, and task interdependence

Research background: The global COVID-19 pandemic created an unprecedented challenge not only for employees' well-being, but also for the nature of their work, as teleworking became the norm for many of them almost overnight. Thus, there is a need to a more fine-grained understanding of the specific job demands experienced while teleworking during COVID-19, and the specific resources that mitigate the detrimental effects of demands and help employees to adopt resilient responses during and beyond COVID-19. Purpose of the article: Drawing upon the job demands-resources model, the present study aims at investigating the link between work overload (a job demand) and employee well-being (i.e., burnout), considering role clarity (a job resource) as a mediator, and task interdependence and self-efficacy as two potential boundary conditions. Methods: In order to examine the link between work overload, role clarity and emotional exhaustion moderated by task interdependence and self-efficacy, we used survey data from 701 Romanian employees at a large information technology company, who worked from home during COVID-19. We employed regression-based path analysis to examine the hypothesized relations. Findings &amp; value added: The results reveal that role clarity partially mediates the relation between work overload and emotional exhaustion while teleworking during COVID-19. Moreover, the results from the moderated mediation analysis show that role clarity, self-efficacy, and task interdependence interact in their effects on emotional exhaustion. This study has important theoretical and managerial implications for employee well-being that go beyond the pandemic. As this study shows, when high levels of workload and task interdependence cannot be avoided, employees' personal (self-efficacy) and job (role clarity) resources might be particularly useful to reduce their exhaustion while teleworking. Based on these results, managers can design better jobs for remote workers and more flexible work arrangements in the future

New Developments in Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Myocardial Diseases – Technical Aspects and Clinical Applications

Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging is an evolving imaging method that can be used in cardiovascular pathology evaluation. Technological developments have increased the clinical utility of cardiac magnetic resonance in the exploration of various cardiac abnormalities. The most important imaging techniques and their utility will be presented in this review, together with the advantages and limitations of cardiac magnetic resonance and with a brief presentation of common cardiac disorders that can be assessed by cardiac magnetic resonance including ischemic heart disease, cardiomyopathies and myocarditis

Epicardial Adipose Tissue Role as a Marker of Higher Vulnerability in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease

Background: Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) has been recently identified as a major player in the development of the atherosclerotic process. This study aimed to investigate the role of EAT as a marker associated with a higher vulnerability of atheromatous coronary plaques in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) as compared to patients with stable angina