Postdischarge Noninvasive Telemonitoring and Nurse Telephone Coaching Improve Outcomes in Heart Failure Patients With High Burden of Comorbidity.

BACKGROUND: Noninvasive telemonitoring and nurse telephone coaching (NTM-NTC) is a promising postdischarge strategy in heart failure (HF). Comorbid conditions and disease burden influence health outcomes in HF, but how comorbidity burden modulates the effectiveness of NTM-NTC is unknown. This study aims to identify patients with HF who may benefit from postdischarge NTM-NTC based on their burden of comorbidity. METHODS AND RESULTS: In the Better Effectiveness After Transition - Heart Failure trial, patients hospitalized for acute decompensated HF were randomized to postdischarge NTM-NTC or usual care. In this secondary analysis of 1313 patients with complete data, comorbidity burden was assessed by scoring complication and coexisting diagnoses from index admissions. Clinical outcomes included 30-day and 180-day readmissions, mortality, days alive, and combined days alive and out of the hospital. Patients had a mean of 5.7 comorbidities and were stratified into low (0-2), moderate (3-8), and high comorbidity (≥9) subgroups. Increased comorbidity burden was associated with worse outcomes. NTM-NTC was not associated with readmission rates in any comorbidity subgroup. Among high comorbidity patients, NTM-NTC was associated with significantly lower mortality at 30 days (hazard ratio 0.25, 95% confidence interval 0.07-0.90) and 180 days (hazard ratio 0.51, 95% confidence interval 0.27-0.98), as well as more days alive (160.1 vs 140.3, P = .029) and days alive out of the hospital (152.0 vs 133.2, P = .044) compared with usual care. CONCLUSIONS: Postdischarge NTM-NTC improved survival among patients with HF with a high comorbidity burden. Comorbidity burden may be useful for identifying patients likely to benefit from this management strategy.

Validation of a Food Frequency Questionnaire for Estimating Micronutrient Intakes in an Urban US Sample of Multi-Ethnic Pregnant Women.

OBJECTIVE(S): To validate the Block98 food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) for estimating antioxidant, methyl-nutrient and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) intakes in a pregnant sample of ethnic/racial minority women in the United States (US). METHODS: Participants (n = 42) were from the Programming of Intergenerational Stress Mechanisms study. Total micronutrient intakes from food and supplements was ascertained using the modified Block98 FFQ and two 24-h dietary recalls collected at random on nonconsecutive days subsequent to completion of the FFQ in mid-pregnancy. Correlation coefficients (r) corrected for attenuation from within-person variation in the recalls were calculated for antioxidants (n = 7), methyl-nutrients (n = 8), and PUFAs (n = 2). RESULT(S): The sample was largely ethnic minorities (38 % Black, 33 % Hispanic) with 21 % being foreign born and 41 % having less than or equal to a high school degree. Significant and adequate deattenuated correlations (r ≥ 0.40) for total dietary intakes of antioxidants were observed for vitamin C, vitamin E, magnesium, and zinc. Reasonable deattenuated correlations were also observed for methyl-nutrient intakes of vitamin B6, betaine, iron, and n:6 PUFAs; however, they did not reach significance. Most women were classified into the same or adjacent quartiles (≥70 %) for total (dietary + supplements) estimates of antioxidants (5 out of 7) and methyl-nutrients (4 out of 5). CONCLUSIONS: The Block98 FFQ is an appropriate dietary method for evaluating antioxidants in pregnant ethnic/minorities in the US; it may be less efficient in measuring methyl-nutrient and PUFA intakes.

Barriers to drug use behavior change among primary care patients in urban United States community health centers.

In 2011 and 2012, 147 patients in urban United States Community Health Centers who misused drugs, but did not meet criteria for drug dependence, received a brief intervention as part of a National Institute on Drug Abuse-funded clinical trial of a screening and brief intervention protocol. Potential study participants were identified using the World Health Organization (WHO) Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test. Data gathered during brief interventions were analyzed using grounded theory strategies to identify barriers patients believed inhibited drug use behavior change. Numerous perceived barriers to drug use behavior change were identified. Study implications and limitations are discussed.

Natural Supplements for COVID19-Background, Rationale, and Clinical Trials.

Worldwide, the turmoil of the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic has generated a burst of research efforts in search of effective prevention and treatment modalities. Current recommendations on natural supplements arise from mostly anecdotal evidence in other viral infections and expert opinion, and many clinical trials are ongoing. Here the authors review the evidence and rationale for the use of natural supplements for prevention and treatment of COVID-19, including those with potential benefit and those with potential harms. Specifically, the authors review probiotics, dietary patterns, micronutrients, antioxidants, polyphenols, melatonin, and cannabinoids. Authors critically evaluated and summarized the biomedical literature published in peer-reviewed journals, preprint servers, and current guidelines recommended by expert scientific governing bodies. Ongoing and future trials registered on clinicaltrials.gov were also recorded, appraised, and considered in conjunction with the literature findings. In light of the controversial issues surrounding the manufacturing and marketing of natural supplements and limited scientific evidence available, the authors assessed the available data and present this review to equip clinicians with the necessary information regarding the evidence for and potential harms of usage to promote open discussions with patients who are considering dietary supplements to prevent and treat COVID-19.

Unexpected shift in circadian and septadian variation of sudden cardiac arrest: the Oregon Sudden Unexpected Death Study.

BACKGROUND: Earlier studies have reported both early morning and Monday peaks in occurrence of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) in the community and appropriate defibrillator shocks in patients with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD). However, a more recent analysis of ICD shocks reported absence of these peaks. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to perform a contemporary evaluation of the circadian and septadian variation of SCA in the general population. METHODS: The analysis was performed from an ongoing, population-based study of SCA in a Northwestern US community of approximately 1 million residents. To maximize accuracy, we focused on consecutive patients who presented with witnessed SCA and were attended by emergency medical services (EMS). The specific time of each SCA event was determined based on the time of the 911 call to EMS. RESULTS: During 2002-2014, we identified 1535 patients age ≥18 years who suffered witnessed SCA, with time of first EMS contact recorded. There was no morning (6 AM to 12 PM) peak, and we observed a nadir in SCA events during 12 AM to 6 AM, with only 13.9% of events occurring during this 6-hour block (P <.0001). There was no peak on Mondays, but a nadir was observed on Sundays that accounted for only 11.3% of SCA events during the week (P = .004). CONCLUSION: in this contemporary community-based study, we failed to observe the expected morning peak or the Monday peak in SCA, duplicating recent findings in primary prevention defibrillator patients. The significant public health implications of these findings merit further investigation.

Acupuncture and Cardiovascular Disease: Focus on Heart Failure.

Symptomatic heart failure is managed with interdisciplinary approaches to reduce acute exacerbations and to improve mortality. Acupuncture is a standardized treatment of Traditional Chinese Medicine that has been shown to have beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system via a neurohumoral pathway known as the long-loop pathway. This article serves to examine recent evidence supporting the long-loop pathway as the physiologic mechanism of acupuncture and the sympatholytic, vasodilatory, and cardioprotective effects of acupuncture that could specifically improve cardiac function and quality of life measures in the management of congestive heart failure.

Ginger consumption enhances the thermic effect of food and promotes feelings of satiety without affecting metabolic and hormonal parameters in overweight men: a pilot study.

Evidence suggests that ginger consumption has anti-inflammatory, anti-hypertensive, glucose-sensitizing, and stimulatory effects on the gastrointestinal tract. This study assessed the effects of a hot ginger beverage on energy expenditure, feelings of appetite and satiety and metabolic risk factors in overweight men. Ten men, age 39.1±3.3 y and body mass index (BMI) 27.2±0.3 kg/m(2), participated in this randomized crossover study. Resting state energy expenditure was measured using indirect calorimetry and for 6h after consumption of a breakfast meal with or without 2 g ginger powder dissolved in a hot water beverage. Subjective feelings of satiety were assessed hourly using visual analog scales (VAS) and blood samples were taken fasted and for 3 h after breakfast consumption. There was no significant effect of ginger on total resting energy expenditure (P=.43) or respiratory quotient (P=.41). There was a significant effect of ginger on thermic effect of food (ginger vs control=42.7±21.4 kcal/d, P=.049) but the area under the curve was not different (P=.43). VAS ratings showed lower hunger (P=.002), lower prospective food intake (P=.004) and greater fullness (P=.064) with ginger consumption versus control. There were no effects of ginger on glucose, insulin, lipids, or inflammatory markers. The results, showing enhanced thermogenesis and reduced feelings of hunger with ginger consumption, suggest a potential role of ginger in weight management. Additional studies are necessary to confirm these findings.