Effect of Yoga on Clinical Outcomes and Quality of Life in Patients With Vasovagal Syncope (LIVE-Yoga).

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to determine the impact of yoga as an adjunct to standard therapy versus standard therapy alone on the symptomatic burden in patients with recurrent vasovagal syncope (VVS). BACKGROUND: There is a significant reduction in the quality of life (QoL) of patients with recurrent VVS. Existing management therapies have been largely ineffective. Recent trials have demonstrated the efficacy of yoga in diseases with autonomic imbalance, suggesting its possible utility in VVS. METHODS: Patients with recurrent VVS were randomized to receive either a specialized yoga training program in addition to current guideline-based therapy (intervention arm, group 1) or current guideline-based therapy alone (control arm, group 2). The primary outcome was a composite of the number of episodes of syncope and presyncope at 12 months. Secondary outcomes included QoL assessment by World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief Field questionnaire (WHOQoL-BREF) scores and Syncope Functional Status Questionnaire scores at 12 months, head up tilt test, and heart rate variability at 6 weeks. RESULTS: A total of 55 patients underwent randomization. The mean number of syncopal or presyncopal events at 12 months was 0.7 ± 0.7 in the intervention arm compared to 2.52 ± 1.93 in the control arm (P < 0.01). In the intervention arm, 13 (43.3%) patients remained free of events versus 4 (16.0%) patients in the control arm (P = 0.02). QoL at 12 months showed significant improvement of all Syncope Functional Status Questionnaire scores and 2 domains of WHOQoL-BREF scores (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Yoga as adjunctive therapy is superior to standard therapy alone in reducing the symptomatic burden and improving QoL in patients with recurrent VVS.

Incidence and predictors of de novo late-onset persistent atrial fibrillation in postoperative rheumatic heart disease patients (LOAF-RHD study).

PURPOSE: Late-onset atrial fibrillation (LOAF) after valve surgery for degenerative mitral valve disease often with underlying mitral valve prolapse is a known phenomenon. However, there is no similar data for postoperative rheumatic heart disease (RHD) patients. We sought to assess the incidence and predictors of LOAF during postoperative follow-up in RHD patients. METHODS: This single-center retrospective case-control study included a total of 384 RHD patients with normal sinus rhythm (NSR) who underwent rheumatic valve surgery between 1st July 2008 and 30th June 2013. Patients detected with de novo persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) after 2 months of valve surgery were diagnosed as having LOAF. Presurgical demographic and echocardiographic parameters were compared between the LOAF and NSR groups to identify risk factors for LOAF. RESULTS: The incidence of de novo LOAF after rheumatic valve surgery was 9.63% at an average of 2.67 ± 1.32 years follow-up. Age ≥ 32 years [OR 2.4 (95% CI 1.2-5.1); P = 0.01] and left atrial (LA) size ≥ 51 mm [OR 5.9 (95% CI 2.8-12.4); P < 0.0001] were the most significant and independent predictors of LOAF. Moreover, significant mitral valve disease was associated with a higher risk of LOAF than significant aortic valve disease (P = 0.037). LA size ≥ 51 mm at surgery showed a fair discriminative power [AUC = 0.75; sensitivity = 68%, specificity = 70%] to identify patients at high risk for LOAF. CONCLUSIONS: Late-onset AF develops in almost a tenth of the RHD patients postoperatively following corrective valve surgery. Preoperative LA size can be used to identify patients at high risk for LOAF.

Role of inflammation in initiation and maintenance of atrial fibrillation in rheumatic mitral stenosis - An analytical cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Inflammation has been implicated in the initiation and perpetuation of non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AF). However, there is a lack of similar data on AF in rheumatic heart disease (RHD). The objective of this study was to analyze the association of inflammation as measured by serum inflammatory biomarkers with AF in rheumatic mitral stenosis (Rh-MS). METHODS: A comparative cross-sectional analytical study was conducted on 181 Rh-MS patients in normal sinus rhythm (NSR; n = 69), subclinical transient AF (SCAF; detected by 24-hours Holter monitoring; n = 30) and chronic AF (n = 82). Serum hs-CRP, IL-6, and sCD-40L were assessed using ELISA immunoassay and compared in all groups of Rh-MS with or without AF. RESULTS: We found significantly higher serum hs-CRP and sCD-40L levels in the overall AF (Chronic AF + SCAF) group (hs-CRP: 4.5 ± 3.4 vs 2.3 ± 2.9 mg/L, P < .01; sCD-40L: 6.4 ± 4.8 vs 3.1 ± 3.4 ng/mL, P < .01) and chronic AF subgroup (hs-CRP: 4.9 ± 3.4 vs 2.3 ± 2.9 mg/L, P < .01; sCD-40L: 6.9 ± 5.1 vs 3.1 ± 3.4 ng/mL, P < .01) compared to patients with sinus rhythm. There was a statistically significant graded increase of serum IL-6 level from the NSR to the SCAF (vs NSR: 6.8 ± 3.9 vs 4.0 ± 2.2 pg/mL, P = .03), and chronic AF subgroups (vs NSR: 9.3 ± 6.5 vs 4.0 ± 2.2 pg/mL, P < .01; vs SCAF: 9.3 ± 6.5 vs 6.8 ± 3.9, P = .05) of atrial fibrillation. CONCLUSIONS: Elevated levels of serum hs-CRP, IL-6, and sCD-40L were strongly associated with overall AF and also with SCAF and chronic AF in Rh-MS patients indicating a potential role of inflammation in the pathophysiology of rheumatic AF.

Friedel-Crafts alkylations of electron-rich aromatics with 3-hydroxy-2-oxindoles: scope and limitations.

A Lewis acid-catalyzed nucleophilic addition of electron rich aromatics with 3-hydroxy-2-oxindoles 5 was developed. The reaction is believed to proceed through the 2H-indol-2-one ring system 9, which eventually reacts with various electron-rich aromatics to afford a variety of 2-oxindoles with an all-carbon quaternary center at the pseudobenzylic position (4, 8, 13, and 16) in high yields. The methodology provides an expeditious route to the tetracyclic core (3) of diazonamide (1), and azonazine (2) as well as the tricyclic core of asperazine (6a), idiospermuline (6b), and calycosidine (6c) viz. C(3a)-arylpyrroloindolines 7 having an all-carbon quaternary center on further synthetic elaboration.