Race-Ethnic Differences of ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction: Findings from a New York Health System Registry.

Background: Race and ethnicity are major considerations in the incidence, management, and long-term outcome of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) in the United States, but there is limited existing comparative data. Methods: We assembled a registry in a health system serving Bronx, NY of STEMI patients from 2008-2014 and analyzed differences in presentation, treatment and mortality between Hispanic/Latino (H/L), non-Hispanic Black (NHB) and non-Hispanic White (NHW). Upon discharge post-treatment for STEMI, all patients were followed for a median of 4.4 years (interquartile range 2.5, 6.0). Out of 966 STEMI patients, mean age was 61 years, 46% were H/L and 65% were male. H/Ls and NHBs had a higher prevalence of hypertension and diabetes mellitus than their NHW counterparts, coinciding with a lower socioeconomic status (SES). Results: The number of critically diseased vessels found at cardiac catheterization and mean troponin levels did not vary by race-ethnicity; neither did the adjusted hazard ratios (HR) for death. However, age-sex adjusted rates of general hospital readmission were higher in NHBs vs NHWs (HR 1.30, P=.03). Age-sex adjusted cardiovascular readmissions rates were higher in H/Ls than NHWs (HR 1.42, P=.03). Age-sex adjusted heart failure readmissions were increased for both H/Ls (HR 2.14, P=.01) and NHBs (HR 2.12, P=.02) over NHWs. Conclusions: Among STEMI patients, a higher prevalence of modifiable cardiovascular risk factors and a lower SES was seen among NHBs and H/Ls compared to NHWs. Despite similar coronary disease severity and in-hospital death, NHBs and H/Ls had a greater risk of general, cardiovascular and heart failure readmissions post-STEMI compared to NHWs.

Cumulative burden of clinically significant aortic stenosis in community-dwelling older adults.

OBJECTIVES: Current estimates of aortic stenosis (AS) frequency have mostly relied on cross-sectional echocardiographic or longitudinal administrative data, making understanding of AS burden incomplete. We performed case adjudications to evaluate the frequency of AS and assess differences by age, sex and race in an older cohort with long-term follow-up. METHODS: We developed case-capture methods using study echocardiograms, procedure and diagnosis codes, heart failure events and deaths for targeted review of medical records in the Cardiovascular Health Study to identify moderate or severe AS and related procedures or hospitalisations. The primary outcome was clinically significant AS (severe AS or procedure). Assessment of incident AS burden was based on subdistribution survival methods, while associations with age, sex and race relied on cause-specific survival methods. RESULTS: The cohort comprised 5795 participants (age 73±6, 42.2% male, 14.3% Black). Cumulative frequency of clinically significant AS at maximal 25-year follow-up was 3.69% (probable/definite) to 4.67% (possible/probable/definite), while the corresponding 20-year cumulative incidence was 2.88% to 3.71%. Of incident cases, about 85% had a hospitalisation for severe AS, but roughly half did not undergo valve intervention. The adjusted incidence of clinically significant AS was higher in men (HR 1.62 [95% CI 1.21 to 2.17]) and increased with age (HR 1.08 [95% CI 1.04 to 1.11]), but was lower in Blacks (HR 0.43 [95% CI 0.23 to 0.81]). CONCLUSIONS: In this community-based study, we identified a higher burden of clinically significant AS than reported previously, with differences by age, sex and race. These findings have important implications for public health resource planning, although the lower burden in Blacks merits further study.

Hyperglycaemia, adverse outcomes and impact of intravenous insulin therapy in patients presenting with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction in a socioeconomically disadvantaged urban setting: The Montefiore STEMI Registry.

BACKGROUND: Hyperglycaemia occurs frequently in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and is associated with poor outcomes, for which continuous insulin infusion therapy (CIIT) may be beneficial. Information is limited regarding hyperglycaemia in acute STEMI affecting urban minority populations, or how CIIT fares in such real-world settings. METHODS AND RESULTS: We assembled an acute STEMI registry at an inner-city health system, focusing on patients with initial blood glucose ≥180 mg/dL to determine the impact of CIIT vs usual care. Clinical and outcomes data were added through linkage to electronic records. Inverse-probability-of-treatment weighting using propensity scores (PS) was used to compare CIIT vs no CIIT. The 1067 patients included were mostly Hispanic or African American; 356 had blood glucose ≥180 mg/dL. Such pronounced hyperglycaemia was related to female sex, minority race-ethnicity and lower socioeconomic score, and associated with increased death and death or CVD readmission. CIIT was preferentially used in patients with marked hyperglycaemia and was associated with in-hospital hypoglycaemia (21% vs 11%, P = .019) and, after PS weighting, with increased in-hospital (RR 3.23, 95% CI 0.94, 11.06) and 1-year (RR 2.26, 95% CI 1.02, 4.98) mortality. No significant differences were observed for death at 30 days or throughout follow-up, or death and readmission at any time point. CONCLUSIONS: Pronounced hyperglycaemia was common and associated with adverse prognosis in this urban population. CIIT met with selective use and was associated with hypoglycaemia, together with increased mortality at specific time points. Given the burden of metabolic disease, particularly among race-ethnic minorities, assessing the benefits of CIIT is a prerogative that requires evaluation in large-scale randomized trials.

Assessment of atherosclerotic plaque activity in patients with sleep apnea using hybrid positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI): a feasibility study.

PURPOSE: Evidence suggests that the inflammatory state of an atherosclerotic plaque is important in predicting future risk of plaque rupture. This study aims to investigate the feasibility of measuring plaque inflammation in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) utilizing advanced vascular imaging - hybrid positron-emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI) with fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) tracer-before and after continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). METHODS: Patients with newly diagnosed moderate to severe OSA underwent baseline PET/MRI for assessment of vascular inflammation of the carotid arteries and thoracic aorta prior to initiation of CPAP. Those adherent to CPAP returned for repeat imaging after 3-6 months of CPAP use. Atherosclerotic plaque activity, as measured by arterial wall FDG uptake, was calculated using target-to-background ratios (TBR) before and after CPAP. RESULTS: Five patients were recruited as part of a focused project. Mean age was 52 years (80% male), and mean apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) was 33. Three patients were objectively adherent with CPAP. In the pre-CPAP phase, all patients had focal FDG uptake in the carotid arteries and aorta. After CPAP, there was an average reduction in TBR of 5.5% (TBRmean) and 6.2% (TBRmax) in carotid and aortic plaque inflammation, similar in magnitude to the reduction observed with statin therapy alone in non-OSA patients (previously reported by others). CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrate the feasibility of using hybrid PET/MRI to assess atherosclerotic plaque inflammation in patients with OSA before and after CPAP. Use of the vascular PET/MRI platform in patients with OSA may provide better insight into the role of OSA and its treatment in reducing atherosclerotic inflammation.

Natriuretic peptides and integrated risk assessment for cardiovascular disease: an individual-participant-data meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Guidelines for primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases focus on prediction of coronary heart disease and stroke. We assessed whether or not measurement of N-terminal-pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) concentration could enable a more integrated approach than at present by predicting heart failure and enhancing coronary heart disease and stroke risk assessment. METHODS: In this individual-participant-data meta-analysis, we generated and harmonised individual-participant data from relevant prospective studies via both de-novo NT-proBNP concentration measurement of stored samples and collection of data from studies identified through a systematic search of the literature (PubMed, Scientific Citation Index Expanded, and Embase) for articles published up to Sept 4, 2014, using search terms related to natriuretic peptide family members and the primary outcomes, with no language restrictions. We calculated risk ratios and measures of risk discrimination and reclassification across predicted 10 year risk categories (ie, <5%, 5% to <7·5%, and ≥7·5%), adding assessment of NT-proBNP concentration to that of conventional risk factors (ie, age, sex, smoking status, systolic blood pressure, history of diabetes, and total and HDL cholesterol concentrations). Primary outcomes were the combination of coronary heart disease and stroke, and the combination of coronary heart disease, stroke, and heart failure. FINDINGS: We recorded 5500 coronary heart disease, 4002 stroke, and 2212 heart failure outcomes among 95 617 participants without a history of cardiovascular disease in 40 prospective studies. Risk ratios (for a comparison of the top third vs bottom third of NT-proBNP concentrations, adjusted for conventional risk factors) were 1·76 (95% CI 1·56-1·98) for the combination of coronary heart disease and stroke and 2·00 (1·77-2·26) for the combination of coronary heart disease, stroke, and heart failure. Addition of information about NT-proBNP concentration to a model containing conventional risk factors was associated with a C-index increase of 0·012 (0·010-0·014) and a net reclassification improvement of 0·027 (0·019-0·036) for the combination of coronary heart disease and stroke and a C-index increase of 0·019 (0·016-0·022) and a net reclassification improvement of 0·028 (0·019-0·038) for the combination of coronary heart disease, stroke, and heart failure. INTERPRETATION: In people without baseline cardiovascular disease, NT-proBNP concentration assessment strongly predicted first-onset heart failure and augmented coronary heart disease and stroke prediction, suggesting that NT-proBNP concentration assessment could be used to integrate heart failure into cardiovascular disease primary prevention. FUNDING: British Heart Foundation, Austrian Science Fund, UK Medical Research Council, National Institute for Health Research, European Research Council, and European Commission Framework Programme 7.

Longitudinal assessment of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide and risk of diabetes in older adults: The cardiovascular health study.

INTRODUCTION: Natriuretic peptides have a well-recognized role in cardiovascular homeostasis. Recently, higher levels of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) have also been associated with decreased risk of diabetes in middle-aged adults. Whether this association persists into older age, where the pathophysiology of diabetes changes, has not been established, nor has its intermediate pathways. METHODS: We investigated the relationship between N-terminal (NT)-proBNP and incident diabetes in 2359 older adults free of cardiovascular disease or chronic kidney disease in the Cardiovascular Health Study. RESULTS: We documented 348 incident cases of diabetes over 12.6years of median follow-up. After adjusting for age, sex, race, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, anti-hypertensive treatment, smoking, alcohol use, and LDL, each doubling of NT-proBNP was associated with a 9% lower risk of incident diabetes (HR=0.91 [95% CI: 0.84-0.99]). Additional adjustment for waist circumference, physical activity, estimated glomerular filtration rate or C-reactive protein did not influence the association. Among putative mediators, HDL and triglycerides, adiponectin, and especially homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance, all appeared to account for a portion of the lower risk associated with NT-proBNP. CONCLUSION: In older adults without prevalent cardiovascular or kidney disease, higher NT-proBNP is associated with decreased risk of incident diabetes even after adjustment for traditional risk factors. These findings suggest that the metabolic effects of natriuretic peptides persist late in life and offer a potential therapeutic target for prevention of diabetes in older people.

Cardiovascular health among diverse Hispanics/Latinos: Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) results.

BACKGROUND: Seven national 2020 Strategic Impact Goals for cardiovascular health (Life's Simple 7 [LS7]) estimates for major ethnic/racial groups are available, but not for diverse Hispanics/Latinos. Herein, we describe and examine LS7 profiles of diverse Hispanic/Latino groups. METHODS: HCHS/SOL (analytic n = 15,825; ages 18-74 years) data were used to estimate LS7 metrics. LS7 metrics were operationalized as Ideal, Intermediate, or Poor and indexed as an additive score. We calculated Hispanic/Latino group and sex-specific prevalence estimates for LS7 metrics and used survey-based regression models to examine (1) associations between LS7 scores and pertinent sociocultural characteristics and (2) relationships between LS7 scores and coronary heart disease, and stroke and transient ischemic attacks prevalence. RESULTS: Few HCHS/SOL participants met all 7 Ideal LS7 criteria (<1%), and a similarly small proportion did not meet any Ideal LS7 criteria (1.1%). We found significant variability in LS7 distributions between men and women and across HCHS/SOL Hispanic/Latino heritages. We also found a substantial sex-adjusted age gradient in LS7 cardiovascular health (ie, ≥4 Ideal LS7s). Finally, higher Ideal LS7 scores were associated with decreased odds of both coronary heart disease and self-reported stroke/transient ischemic attack; these associations persisted after model covariate adjustments. CONCLUSIONS: Hispanic/Latino LS7s compared favorably with existing national estimates; however, we found areas for improvement. Several Hispanic/Latino LS7 strengths and weaknesses varied by sex and heritage, providing important information to guide targeted health promotion efforts toward achieving 2020 goals.

Echocardiographic assessment of the right ventricle and associated hemodynamics.

Echocardiographic imaging of the right ventricle has inherent challenges stemming from the chamber's complex shape. More focus has been placed on right ventricular function recently because it is an independent prognostic indicator of morbidity and mortality in heart failure and pulmonary hypertension. Echocardiography is a widely available, inexpensive, and well-validated tool that allows for comprehensive evaluation of the right ventricle's size and function. With improvements in ultrasound techniques and methods, there are many qualitative and quantitative indices that, when used in conjunction with noninvasive pulmonary hemodynamics, provide important diagnostic and prognostic information to the clinician. As echocardiographic modalities - particularly three-dimensional imaging - improve, enhanced assessment of the right ventricle will lead to a better understanding of the pathophysiology of right heart failure and enhanced ability to follow responses to therapy.