Weale, R. A. (Robert Alexander)

Payne, Pedro R., 1964-

Vågnes, Øyvind, 1972-

Scherer, Manual

Gaboury, Paul R

Mruk, Christopher J

Pickover, Clifford A

Sawyer, R. Keith (Robert Keith)

Rotenstreich, Nathan, 1914-1993

This cohort study compares the characteristics and management of acute heart failure in global regions comprising 44 countries.

This study develops and validates a quantitative method to predict the pulmonary to systemic flow ratio in patients with congenital heart disease from chest radiographs using deep learning.

This cohort study assesses whether long-term variability and rate of change of blood pressure from young adulthood to midlife are associated with cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality by middle age.

This study developed and validated a prognostic prediction model for patients with heart failure.

In this issue of JAMA Cardiology, Lim and colleagues report on cardiovascular functional reserve in people with end-stage renal disease before and after kidney transplant. They performed a 3-arm, prospective, concurrent cohort study to assess change in cardiovascular functional reserve after kidney transplant using state-of-the-art cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET). They also assessed left ventricular morphologic findings 1 year after transplant. They enrolled 81 participants with stage 5 chronic kidney disease (CKD) who underwent kidney transplant, 85 wait-listed participants with stage 5 CKD who had not undergone transplant, and 87 controls treated for hypertension only. The authors quantified cardiovascular functional reserve using CPET in parallel with transthoracic echocardiography. One year after transplant, a significant improvement in maximum oxygen consumption was found in the transplant group compared with the nontransplant group. Moreover, left ventricular function improved but not the body mass index.

Lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels remains a mainstay of cardiovascular disease prevention, but gaps in treatment remain, even in persons with hypercholesterolemia and greatly elevated LDL-C levels. Although well-described gene variants in the apolipoprotein B (APOB), low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR), and proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) genes explain small but important fractions of monogenic hypercholesterolemia, recent attention has turned to prognostication of cardiovascular disease using polygenic risk scores (PRS) that incorporate common genetic variants derived from large-scale genome-wide association studies of lipid subfractions. Earlier PRS considered only variants with genome-wide significance, and newer studies have focused on methods that better capture the variance conferred by millions of variants, suggesting an ability to identify risk equivalent to monogenic mutations. There remains a gap in evidence from prospective observational studies or treatment trials regarding the appropriate placement of PRS in risk assessment and lipid treatment decisions relative to information on rare monogenic gene variants, particularly in multiethnic populations.

This randomized clinical trial assesses the effectiveness of an implantable loop recorder plus 24-hour Holter electrocardiographic monitoring vs standard 24-hour Holter electrocardiographic monitoring alone for detecting arrhythmias in pregnant women with structural heart disease and/or symptoms suggestive of arrhythmias.

Secondary mitral regurgitation (MR) has long been recognized as prognostically important. Even mild MR is associated with adverse outcomes. Yet, surgical trials have not shown improved survival with invasive therapy whereas medical therapy and cardiac resynchronization therapy are associated with improved outcomes. The 2018 publication of the Cardiovascular Outcomes Assessment of the MitraClip Percutaneous Therapy for Heart Failure Patients with Functional Mitral Regurgitation (COAPT) and Multicentre Study of Percutaneous Mitral Valve Repair MitraClip Device in Patients With Severe Secondary Mitral Regurgitation (MITRA-FR) trials and their apparently discordant results have focused attention on the differences in trial design as well as patient populations.

To the Editor We read with interest the study by Sepehrvand et al, which described secular trends in the conduct of pragmatic or explanatory cardiovascular randomized clinical trials over 2 decades. We believe extension of this thoughtful analysis can provide additional insights into pragmatic vs explanatory trials.

In Reply We thank Fernandes et al for their interest in our study and agree that this field requires further exploration. Explanatory trials are primed to maximize the likelihood of finding efficacy of an intervention by testing it in an ideal setting, whereas pragmatic trials aim to test effectiveness of an intervention in a more generalizable setting. Hence, they are expected to generate more generalizable results, with the risk understood that there may be more variation in less tightly controlled environments, which may result in differing results.

This Special Communication proposes a classification of patients with left-ventricular disease according to the severity of mitral regurgitation that is proportionate vs disproportionate to left-ventricular end-diastolic volume.

Hayden Library - PQ7123.W6 E88 2018

Movie stars in 2014's polls are a welcome addition to the fray. For those carping about how stars represent glamour and gloss, why not?

The Congress manifesto is the polar opposite of policies pursued by UPA-II. It promises to undo measures that clogged the economy and make economic growth the "overriding priority".

The disappearance of inflammatory communal slogans from political speeches suggests development is the agenda for 2014.

On the face of it the Fifa World Cup is all about quality football, generally recognised as the greatest sporting showpiece on earth.

Berkes, Fikret

Acha, Eduardo Marcelo

Hiscock, Keith, author

Australia. Bureau of Meteorology

Sedlak, David L

Block, Walter, 1941- author

Pickering, K. T. (Kevin T.), author