Efficacy of a Mobile Health App (eMOTIVA) Regarding Compliance With Cardiac Rehabilitation Guidelines in Patients With Coronary Artery Disease: Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.

BACKGROUND: Cardiac rehabilitation is fundamental among patients recovering from a coronary event, and mHealth technology may constitute a useful tool that provides guidelines based on scientific evidence in an entertaining, attractive, and user-friendly format. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to compare the efficacy of an mHealth intervention involving the eMOTIVA app and that of usual care regarding compliance with cardiac rehabilitation guidelines in terms of lifestyle, cardiovascular risk factors, and satisfaction among patients with acute coronary syndrome. METHODS: A randomized controlled clinical trial with a parallel group design was conducted. It included 300 patients (mHealth group, 150; control group, 150) who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention for acute coronary syndrome. Both groups underwent evaluations initially (during hospitalization) and after 3 and 6 months (face-to-face consultations). The eMOTIVA app incorporates a virtual classroom providing audio and video information about a healthy lifestyle, a section for self-recording cardiovascular risk factors, and a section for feedback messages and gamification. The primary outcome variables were (1) adherence to the Mediterranean diet and the frequency of consumption of food; (2) physical activity level, sedentary time, and exercise capacity; (3) smoking cessation and nicotine dependence; (4) level of knowledge about cardiovascular risk factors; and (5) app satisfaction and usability. RESULTS: The study analyzed 287 patients (mHealth group, 145; control group, 142). Most participants were male (207/300, 69.0%), and the mean age was 62.53 (SD 8.65) years. Significant improvements were observed in the mHealth group compared with the control group at 6 months in terms of (1) adherence to the Mediterranean diet (mean 11.92, SD 1.70 vs 8.92, SD 2.66 points; P<.001) and frequency of eating foods (red meat [≤1/week]: 141/143, 97.9% vs 96/141, 68.1%; industrial pastries [<2/week]: 129/143, 89.6% vs 80/141, 56.8%; oily fish [≥2/week]: 124/143, 86.1% vs 64/141, 41.4%; vegetables [≥2/day]: 130/143, 90.3% vs 78/141, 55.3%; fruit [≥2/day]: 128/143, 88.9% vs 85/141, 60.2%; all P<.001); (2) physical activity (mean 2112.66, SD 1196.67 vs 1372.60, SD 944.62 metabolic equivalents/week; P<.001) and sedentary time (mean 8.38, SD 1.88 vs 9.59, SD 2.09 hours; P<.001); (3) exercise capacity (distance: mean 473.49, SD 102.28 vs 447.25, SD 93.68 meters; P=.04); and (4) level of knowledge (mean 117.85, SD 3.83 vs 111.00, SD 7.11 points; P<.001). App satisfaction was high (mean 42.53, SD 6.38 points), and its usability was excellent (mean 95.60, SD 4.03 points). CONCLUSIONS: With the eMOTIVA app, favorable results were obtained in the intervention group in terms of adherence to the Mediterranean diet, frequency of eating certain foods, physical activity, sedentary time, exercise capacity, knowledge level, systolic blood pressure, heart rate, and blood sugar level. Furthermore, participants reported high app satisfaction and rated its usability as excellent. Thus, this innovative tool is very promising. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05247606; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05247606.

Effectiveness of an Interactive mHealth App (EVITE) in Improving Lifestyle After a Coronary Event: Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Coronary heart disease is one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide. Secondary prevention is essential, as it reduces the risk of further coronary events. Mobile health (mHealth) technology could become a useful tool to improve lifestyles. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of an mHealth intervention on people with coronary heart disease who received percutaneous coronary intervention. Improvements in lifestyle regarding diet, physical activity, and smoking; level of knowledge of a healthy lifestyle and the control of cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs); and therapeutic adherence and quality of life were analyzed. METHODS: This was a randomized controlled trial with a parallel group design assigned 1:1 to either an intervention involving a smartphone app (mHealth group) or to standard health care (control group). The app was used for setting aims, the self-monitoring of lifestyle and CVRFs using measurements and records, educating people with access to information on their screens about healthy lifestyles and adhering to treatment, and giving motivation through feedback about achievements and aspects to improve. Both groups were assessed after 9 months. The primary outcome variables were adherence to the Mediterranean diet, frequency of food consumed, patient-reported physical activity, smoking, knowledge of healthy lifestyles and the control of CVRFs, adherence to treatment, quality of life, well-being, and satisfaction. RESULTS: The study analyzed 128 patients, 67 in the mHealth group and 61 in the control group; most were male (92/128, 71.9%), with a mean age of 59.49 (SD 8.97) years. Significant improvements were observed in the mHealth group compared with the control group regarding adherence to the Mediterranean diet (mean 11.83, SD 1.74 points vs mean 10.14, SD 2.02 points; P<.001), frequency of food consumption, patient-reported physical activity (mean 619.14, SD 318.21 min/week vs mean 471.70, SD 261.43 min/week; P=.007), giving up smoking (25/67, 75% vs 11/61, 42%; P=.01), level of knowledge of healthy lifestyles and the control of CVRFs (mean 118.70, SD 2.65 points vs mean 111.25, SD 9.05 points; P<.001), and the physical component of the quality of life 12-item Short Form survey (SF-12; mean 45.80, SD 10.79 points vs mean 41.40, SD 10.78 points; P=.02). Overall satisfaction was higher in the mHealth group (mean 48.22, SD 3.89 vs mean 46.00, SD 4.82 points; P=.002) and app satisfaction and usability were high (mean 44.38, SD 6.18 out of 50 points and mean 95.22, SD 7.37 out of 100). CONCLUSIONS: The EVITE app was effective in improving the lifestyle of patients in terms of adherence to the Mediterranean diet, frequency of healthy food consumption, physical activity, giving up smoking, knowledge of healthy lifestyles and controlling CVRFs, quality of life, and overall satisfaction. The app satisfaction and usability were excellent. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT04118504; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04118504.

The evolving role of multi-modality imaging in transcatheter tricuspid valve interventions.

Tricuspid valve pathophysiology is not well-understood. Emergence of novel transcatheter tricuspid therapies has fueled the requirements for improved imaging visualization techniques and interventional imaging physician skillsets in guiding these complex transcatheter procedures. There is growing understanding on the clinical significance of tricuspid regurgitation which expanded the interest for percutaneous tricuspid valve interventions. The present review concentrates on three essential aspects of tricuspid valve pathophysiology: anatomical considerations for tricuspid interventions, optimal timing of tricuspid interventions by imaging guidance, and the role of interventional imaging physicians' skillset and knowledge in this field.

Long-term clinical, angiographic, and optical coherence tomography findings of Mg-based bioresorbable scaffold in patients with acute coronary syndrome.

BACKGROUND: This study sought to evaluate the clinical outcomes of patients treated with magnesium-based bioresorbable scaffolds (MgBRS) in the context of acute coronary syndromes (ACS) at long-term follow-up (24 months). The study also aims to investigate the MgBRS performance by angiography and the healing and bioresorption pattern by optical coherence tomography (OCT) at 18 months. METHODS: Between December 2016 and December 2018, a total of 90 patients admitted for ACS and treated with MgBRS (Magmaris, Biotronik AG, Bülach, Switzerland) were enrolled in a multicenter prospective study. Clinical follow-up was performed in all patients at 24 months and angiographic and OCT follow-up in 51.5% of patients at 18 months. Serial OCT was available in 33 patients (36.7%). RESULTS: At a 2-year follow-up, 88.8% were free of symptoms, no cardiac death was reported, and the device-oriented composite event (DOCE): consisting of cardiac death, target vessel myocardial infarction, and target lesion revascularization (TLR) was 13.3%. Stent thrombosis and TLR were observed in 2.2 and 11.1%, respectively. Binary restenosis was observed in 21.7% of cases and in-stent late lumen loss was 0.61 ± 0.75 mm. By serial OCT imaging, the minimal lumen area was significantly reduced greater than 40% (from 6.12 ± 1.59 to 3.5 ± 1.55 mm2, p < .001). At follow-up, area stenosis was 44.33 ± 23.07% and half of the patients presented indiscernible struts. The principal observed mechanism of restenosis was scaffold collapse. CONCLUSIONS: At long-term follow-up, MgBRS implantation in ACS patients showed a high rate of DOCE, mainly caused by clinically driven TLR. MgBRS restenosis was caused by scaffold collapse in most of the cases.

Disección coronaria espontánea e hipotiroidismo / Spontaneous coronary artery dissection and hypothyroidism

Introducción y objetivos: La hormona tiroidea afecta al metabolismo de todos los tejidos del organismo. El objetivo es analizar la prevalencia y las implicaciones de las alteraciones tiroideas en una cohorte de pacientes consecutivos con disección coronaria espontánea (DCE). Métodos: Se evaluó a 73 pacientes diagnosticados de DCE y se compararon las características y la evolución clínica de los pacientes eutiroideos frente a los hipotiroideos. Se comparó posteriormente la prevalencia de alteraciones tiroideas y las características clínicas de estos pacientes con las de 73 pacientes con síndrome coronario agudo pero sin DCE emparejados por edad, sexo y presentación clínica. Resultados: La media de edad fue 55 +/- 12 años y el 26% tenía hipotiroidismo. Los pacientes con DCE e hipotiroidismo eran todas mujeres (el 100 frente al 69%; p = 0,01), tenían disecciones más distales (el 74 frente al 41%; p = 0,03), en arterias en tirabuzón (el 68 frente al 41%; p = 0,03) y recibieron tratamiento más conservador (el 79 frente al 41%; p = 0,007). Durante un seguimiento medio de 4,1 +/- 3,8 años, la tasa de eventos adversos fue del 23%, sin diferencias según el estado de la función tiroidea. La prevalencia de hipotiroidismo fue significativamente mayor en los pacientes con DCE que en el grupo con síndrome coronario agudo sin DCE (el 26 frente al 8%; p = 0,004). Conclusiones: Hay una elevada prevalencia de hipotiroidismo en los pacientes con DCE. Los pacientes hipotiroideos con DCE son más frecuentemente mujeres, tienen disecciones más distales y en arterias en tirabuzón y reciben tratamiento más conservador

Introduction and objectives: Thyroid hormone affects the metabolism of all tissues in the body. The aim of this study was to analyze the prevalence and implications of thyroid disorders in a cohort of consecutive patients with spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD). Methods: A total of 73 patients with SCAD were analyzed. Baseline characteristics and clinical outcomes were compared between euthyroid and hypothyroid patients. Subsequently, the prevalence of thyroid function abnormalities and the clinical characteristics of SCAD patients were compared with those in 73 patients with acute coronary syndrome but without SCAD, matched by age, sex, and presentation. Results: Mean age was 55 +/- 12 years and 26% had hypothyroidism. Compared with patients with normal thyroid function, patients with SCAD and hypothyroidism were all women (100% vs 69%, P = .01), more frequently had dissection in distal (74% vs 41%, P = .03) and tortuous coronary segments (68% vs 41%, p = .03), and more frequently received conservative medical management (79% vs 41%, P = .007). During a mean clinical follow-up of 4.1 +/- 3.8 years, 23% of the patients had adverse cardiac events irrespective of thyroid function status. The prevalence of hypothyroidism was higher in patients with SCAD than in matched patients with acute coronary syndrome without SCAD (26% vs 8%, P = .004). Conclusions: There is a high prevalence of hypothyroidism in patients with SCAD. Patients with SCAD and hypothyroidism are more frequently women, more frequently have distal dissections in tortuous vessels, and are more frequently managed with a conservative medical strategy

Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection and Hypothyroidism.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Thyroid hormone affects the metabolism of all tissues in the body. The aim of this study was to analyze the prevalence and implications of thyroid disorders in a cohort of consecutive patients with spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD). METHODS: A total of 73 patients with SCAD were analyzed. Baseline characteristics and clinical outcomes were compared between euthyroid and hypothyroid patients. Subsequently, the prevalence of thyroid function abnormalities and the clinical characteristics of SCAD patients were compared with those in 73 patients with acute coronary syndrome but without SCAD, matched by age, sex, and presentation. RESULTS: Mean age was 55 ± 12 years and 26% had hypothyroidism. Compared with patients with normal thyroid function, patients with SCAD and hypothyroidism were all women (100% vs 69%, P = .01), more frequently had dissection in distal (74% vs 41%, P = .03) and tortuous coronary segments (68% vs 41%, p = .03), and more frequently received conservative medical management (79% vs 41%, P = .007). During a mean clinical follow-up of 4.1 ± 3.8 years, 23% of the patients had adverse cardiac events irrespective of thyroid function status. The prevalence of hypothyroidism was higher in patients with SCAD than in matched patients with acute coronary syndrome without SCAD (26% vs 8%, P = .004). CONCLUSIONS: There is a high prevalence of hypothyroidism in patients with SCAD. Patients with SCAD and hypothyroidism are more frequently women, more frequently have distal dissections in tortuous vessels, and are more frequently managed with a conservative medical strategy.