Profile of Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Mortality in Patients with Symptomatic Peripheral Arterial Disease

INTRODUCTION: The present study examines cardiovascular risk factor profiles and 24-month mortality in patients with symptomatic peripheral arterial disease. DESIGN STUDY: Prospective observational study including 75 consecutive patients with PAD (67 ± 9.7 years of age; 52 men and 23 women) hospitalized for planned peripheral vascular reconstruction. Doppler echocardiograms were performed before surgery in 54 cases. Univariate analyses were performed using Student's t-test or Fisher's exact test. Survival analysis at 24-month follow-up was performed using the Cox regression model and Kaplan-Meier method including age and chronic use of aspirin as covariates. Survival curves were compared using the log-rank test. RESULTS: Hypertension and smoking were the most frequent risk factors (52 cases and 51 cases, respectively), followed by diabetes (32 cases). Undertreated dyslipidemia was found in 26 cases. Fasting glycine levels (131 ± 69.1 mg/dl) were elevated in 29 cases. Myocardial hypertrophy was found in 18 out of 54 patients. Thirty-four patients had been treated with aspirin. Overall mortality over 24 months was 24% and was associated with age (HR: 0.064; CI95: 0.014-0.115; p=0.013) and lack of use of aspirin, as no deaths occurred among those using this drug (p<0.001). No association was found between cardiovascular death (11 cases) and the other risk factors. CONCLUSION: There is a high prevalence of uncontrolled (treated or untreated) cardiovascular risk factors in patients undergoing planned peripheral vascular reconstruction, and chronic use of aspirin is associated with reduced all-cause mortality in these patients

Association between left ventricular diastolic dysfunction and severity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

OBJECTIVES: The prevalence of electrocardiographic and echocardiographic abnormalities in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease according to disease severity has not yet been established. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of electrocardiographic and echocardiographic abnormalities in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients according to disease severity. METHODS: The study included 25 mild/moderate chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients and 25 severe/very severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients. All participants underwent clinical evaluation, spirometry and electrocardiography/echocardiography. RESULTS: Electrocardiography and echocardiography showed Q-wave alterations and segmental contractility in five (10%) patients. The most frequent echocardiographic finding was mild left diastolic dysfunction (88%), independent of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease stage. The proportion of right ventricular overload (

Diastolic function and functional capacity after a single session of continuous positive airway pressure in patients with compensated heart failure

OBJECTIVE: The effects of acute continuous positive airway pressure therapy on left ventricular diastolic function and functional capacity in patients with compensated systolic heart failure remain unclear. METHODS: This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial included 43 patients with heart failure and a left ventricular ejection fractio

The critical dialogical method in Educommunication to develop narrative thinking

En la conceptualización de la Educomunicación se ha de avanzar hacia la integración de sus dos grandes perspectivas. Fomentar el diálogo crítico es un objetivo compartido por ambas, por lo que es preciso profundizar en sus propiedades, métodos y funciones educativas. Se presenta un modelo formativo en educomunicación que ha sido testado mediante una investigación empírica. Durante dos semanas, 246 niños entre seis y once años asisten a sesiones formativas con dos tipos de productos audiovisuales. La mitad de los niños sigue un proceso formativo según la metodología dialógicocrítica y la otra mitad una metodología de diálogo-conversacional. Los resultados muestran que los niños que siguen la formación dialógico-crítica se benefician significativamente en la construcción de su competencia mediática y pensamiento narrativo, en comparación con los niños de los grupos dialógico-conversacional. Los resultados revelan también que no todos los tipos de contenidos audiovisuales son beneficiosos para la formación del pensamiento del niño. Esta investigación pone de manifiesto cuáles son las propiedades del método dialógico-crítico propuesto que permiten al niño mejorar su competencia mediática e ilustra la complementariedad entre el proceso de diagnóstico-estático de competencias y el proceso formativo-dinámico que conduce al pensamiento crítico. Desde un punto de vista aplicado, este método ha mostrado su utilidad para ser utilizado por el profesor para fomentar en su grupo de alumnos una educación mediática que contribuya al desarrollo del pensamiento narrativoIn the conceptualization of Educommunication, progress must be made towards the integration of its two great perspectives. Encouraging critical dialogue is a goal shared by both, so it is necessary to delve into its educational properties, methods and functions. A training model in Educommunication that has been tested through empirical research is presented. For two weeks, 246 children between six and eleven years old, attended training sessions with two types of audiovisual products. Half of the children were involved in a training process using critical dialogical methodology, whereas the training process for the other half of the children followed conversational dialogue methodology. The results show that children who follow the critical dialogical training benefit significantly in the construction of their media competence and narrative thinking, compared to the children of the conversational dialogical groups. The results also reveal that not all types of audiovisual content are beneficial to the construction of children's thinking. This research reveals the properties of the proposed critical dialogical method that allows children to improve their media competence and illustrates the complementarity between the diagnostic-static process of competences and the formative-dynamic process that leads to critical thinking. From an applied point of view, the critical dialogical method has been useful for use by teachers to foster a media education in their group of students that contributes to the development of narrative thinkin

Clinical and echocardiographic predictors of left ventricular remodeling following anterior acute myocardial infarction

OBJECTIVES: Coronary artery disease is the primary cause of death and is responsible for a high number of hospitalizations worldwide. Ventricular remodeling is associated with worse prognosis following ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and is a risk factor for ventricular dysfunction and heart failure. This study aimed to identify the predictors of ventricular remodeling following STEMI. Additionally, we evaluated the clinical, laboratory, and echocardiographic characteristics of patients with anterior wall STEMI who underwent primary percutaneous intervention in the acute phase and at 6 months after the infarction. METHODS: This prospective, observational, and longitudinal study included 50 patients with anterior wall STEMI who were admitted to the coronary care unit (CCU) of a tertiary hospital in Brazil between July 2017 and August 2018. During the CCU stay, patients were evaluated daily and underwent echocardiogram within the first three days following STEMI. After six months, the patients underwent clinical evaluation and echocardiogram according to the local protocol. RESULTS: Differences were noted between those who developed ventricular remodeling and those who did not in the mean±standard deviation levels of creatine phosphokinase MB isoenzyme (CKMB) peak (no remodeling group: 323.7±228.2 U/L; remodeling group: 522.4±201.6 U/L; p=0.008) and the median and interquartile range of E/E’ ratio (no remodeling group: 9.20 [8.50–11.25] and remodeling group: 12.60 [10.74–14.40]; p=0.004). This difference was also observed in multivariate logistic regression. CONCLUSIONS: Diastolic dysfunction and CKMB peak in the acute phase of STEMI can be predictors of ventricular remodeling following STEMI

To what extent does frailty mediate the association between age and the outcomes of brain reperfusion following acute ischemic stroke?

ObjectiveWe evaluated the extent to which frailty mediated the association between age, poor functional outcomes, and mortality after acute ischemic stroke when patients were treated with brain reperfusion (thrombolytic therapy and/or thrombectomy).Materials and methodsThis retrospective cohort study included patients diagnosed with ischemic stroke who had undergone intravenous cerebral reperfusion therapy and/or mechanical thrombectomy. We created a mediation model by analyzing the direct natural effect of an mRS score &gt; 2 and death on age-mediated frailty according to the Frailty Index.ResultsWe enrolled 292 patients with acute ischemic stroke who underwent brain reperfusion. Their mean age was 67.7 ± 13.1 years. Ninety days after the stroke ictus, 54 (18.5%) participants died, and 83 (28.4%) lived with moderate to severe disability (2 &lt; mRS &lt; 6). In the mediation analysis of the composite outcome of disability (mRS score &gt; 2) or death, frailty accounted for 28% of the total effect of age. The models used to test for the interaction between age and frailty did not show statistically significant interactions for either outcome, and the addition of the interaction did not significantly change the direct or indirect effects, nor did it improve model fit.ConclusionFrailty mediated almost one-third of the effect of age on the composite outcome of disability or death after acute ischemic stroke

Challenges in adapting a stroke unit in a middle-income country: warning about costs and underfunding to achieve the Brazilian Ministry of Health’s benchmark

BackgroundSince the implementation of the stroke care line in Brazil, the relationship (adequacy) of costs spent during hospitalization with the Brazilian Ministry of Health indicators for a stroke unit have not yet been analyzed.AimsThis study aimed to assess the adequacy of a comprehensive stroke center for key performance indicators and analyze the costs involved in hospitalization. We verified the association between stroke severity at admission and care costs during hospitalization.MethodsA retrospective medical chart review of 451 patients was performed using semiautomatic electronic data from a single comprehensive stroke center in Brazil between July 2018 and January 2020. Clinical and resource utilization data were collected, and the mean acute treatment cost per person was calculated. The Kruskal–Wallis test with Dunn’s post-test was used to compare the total costs between stroke types and reperfusion therapies. A robust linear regression test was used to verify the association between stroke severity at hospital admission and the total hospitalization costs. Good adequacy rates were observed for several indicators.ResultsData from 451 patients were analyzed. The stroke unit had good adaptation to key performance indicators, but some critical points needed revision and improvement to adapt to the requirements of the Ministry of Health. The average total cost of the patient’s stay was the USD 2,637.3, with the daily hospitalization, procedure, operating room, and materials/medication costs equating to USD 2,011.1, USD 220.7, USD 234.1, and USD 98.8, respectively. There was a positive association between the total cost and length of hospital stay (p &lt; 0.001).ConclusionThe stroke unit complied with most of the main performance indicators proposed by the Brazilian Ministry of Health. Underfunding of the costs involved in the hospitalization of patients was verified, and high costs were associated with the length of stay, stroke severity, and mechanical thrombectomy

Alterações estruturais e funcionais cardíacas em gestantes com hipertensão arterial sistêmica

A gestação é um estado fisiológico e a hipertensão arterial (HA) é patológica, mas ambas têm efeito pró hipertrófico no coração. Suspeita-se que a associação das duas condições seja acompanhada de hipertrofia miocárdica. Avaliar o padrão de hipertrofia miocárdica e de função ventricular de gestantes portadoras de HA sistêmica e a interação dos efeitos da hipertensão e da gestação em variáveis morfométricas e funcionais cardíacas. Estudo transversal e prospectivo, incluindo 193 mulheres separadas em quatro grupos: GHT (n=S 7, gestantes hipertensas), GNT (n=47, gestantes normotensas), NGHT (n=41, não-gestantes hipertensas) e NGNT (n=48, não-gestantes normotensas). Todas foram submetidas à avaliação Doppler-ecocardiográfica entre a 35ª e a 37ª semana de gestação. As variáveis foram analisadas por meio da ANOVA de dupla via; teste do qui-quadrado e modelo de regressão logística multivariada, para identificar risco de hipertrofia miocárdica (nível de significância p<O,OS)Pregnancy is a physiological condition while arterial hypertension (AH) is pathological. However, both conditions exert a prohypertrophic effect on the heart. The association of both these conditions is suspected to cause a desproportional left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). Objective: to assess myocardial hypertrophy and LV function m pregnant women with chronic AH, as well as the interaction of hypertension and pregnancy on morphometric and cardiac function parameters. Cases and Methods: Cross-sectional, prospective study including 193 women allocated into 04 groups: HP (n=57, hypertensive pregnant women), NTP (n=47, normotensive pregnant women), HNP (n=41, hypertensive non-pregnant women), and NTNP (n=48, normotensive nonpregnant women). All women were submitted to Dopplerechocardiography at 35-37-week of gestation. Analyses were performed using two-way ANOVA,Chi-square test, and multivariate logistic regression model (significance at p<0,05)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES

Anemia, insuficiência cardíaca e manejo clínico baseado em evidências

Anemia is a prevalent comorbidity and marker of a poorer prognosis in patients with heart failure (HF). Its clinical relevance, as well as its pathophysiology and the clinical management of these patients are important subjects in the specialized literature. In the present review, we describe the current concepts on the pathophysiology of anemia in HF, its diagnostic criteria, and the recommendations for iron supplementation. Also, we make a critical analysis of the major studies showing evidences on the benefits of this supplementation. The four main components of anemia are addressed: chronic disease, dilutional, renal and malabsorption. In patients with HF, the diagnostic criteria are the same as those used in the general population: serum ferritin levels lower than 30 mcg/L in patients without kidney diseases and lower than 100 mcg/L or serum ferritin levels between 100-299 mcg/L with transferring saturation lower than 20% in patients with chronic kidney diseases. Finally, the therapeutic possibilities for anemia in this specific patient population are discussed.A anemia é uma comorbidade prevalente e marcadora de pior prognóstico em pacientes com insuficiência cardíaca (IC). Sua relevância clínica, bem como a fisiopatologia e abordagem terapêutica nesses pacientes são temas de destaque na literatura especializada. Nessa revisão são descritos os conceitos atuais sobre a fisiopatologia da anemia na IC, os critérios diagnósticos e as indicações da suplementação de ferro, ao mesmo tempo em que são analisados criticamente os principais estudos que ofereceram evidências sobre os benefícios dessa suplementação. São abordados os quatro componentes principais da anemia: doença crônica, dilucional, renal e disabsortiva. Nos pacientes com IC, os critérios para o diagnóstico são os mesmos utilizados na população geral: níveis de ferritina sérica inferiores a 30 mcg/L em pacientes não nefropatas e menores que 100 mcg/L ou ferritina sérica entre 100-299 mcg/L com saturação de transferrina menor que 20% em pacientes com doença renal crônica. Finalmente, são discutidas as possibilidades terapêuticas da anemia nessa população específica de pacientes