Deprescribing: a challenge for clinical cardiologists.

Deprescribing is a holistic process to identify medications that can be ceased, substituted or reduced. This process can improve the health of older patients and also enhance their compliance to the prescribed medications which are actually beneficial. Recommendations and guidelines have been elaborated for extensively prescribed drugs. In clinical cardiology the process of deprescribing is a challenge for doctors because of withdrawal-related adverse effects, but it may be applied in certain clinical conditions such as the discontinuation of statin prescription in patients with advanced senile dementia and those with limited life expectancy. Deprescribing is also focussed on the scarcely known effects of prolonged therapy after the acute phase of a disease is over, especially when continuation may signify potential life-long treatment. There needs to be collaboration between the consultant cardiologist who first prescribes medications and family doctors who are responsible for the long-term care of the patient and reviewing prescribed medications may be necessary.

[Medication adherence in cardiovascular diseases.] / Aderenza alla terapia farmacologica nelle malattie cardiovascolari.

Nonadherence to medications is common in cardiovascular diseases because of their long duration, the patient age and the complexity of therapy. Its prevalence depends on the population, the types of drugs and the disease under study. Adherence decreases from the initial prescription and it is usually under 80%, a value defined as satisfactory. Adverse outcomes of nonadherence consist of an increase in ambulatory visits and hospitalization and death rates. The causes of nonadherence are multiple and depend on the patient, the type of medication, the healthcare professional, and the health system. Methods adopted to reduce nonadherence include sanitary education, direct patient-doctor-pharmacist interactions and the use of electronic devices of alert. "Deprescribing", a mechanism proposed to reduce unnecessary or redundant medications, may improve the situation of long-term drug use in patients with cardiovascular disease, thus increasing adherence. Recommendations from the guidelines are sometimes confounding and the role of polypill therapy is still controversial.

[Cardiovascular complications of cancer chemotherapy. The need for cardio-oncology.] / Complicazioni cardiovascolari della chemioterapia antitumorale. Necessità della cardio-oncologia.

Traditional chemotherapic agents as antraciclines and radiumtherapy are known to be the cause of cardiovascular complications from many years. Nevertheless also recent drugs, which were initially considered effective only on cancer cells are now recognized to exert negative effects also on the cardiovascular system. The frequency and the entity of the effects are variable for each drug and depend from the clinical status of the patient. It is therefore necessary the creation of a team of oncologists and cardiologists for the prevention and therapy of cardiovascular complications.

Improving survival rates of patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy in Tuscany over 3 decades: impact of evidence-based management.

BACKGROUND: Contemporary therapeutic options have led to substantial improvement in survival of patients with heart failure. However, limited evidence is available specifically on idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. We thus examined changes in prognosis of a large idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy cohort systematically followed during the past 30 years. METHODS AND RESULTS: From 1977 to 2011, 603 consecutive patients (age, 53±12 years; 73% men; left ventricular ejection fraction, 32±10%) fulfilling World Health Organization criteria for idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy, including negative coronary angiography, were followed up for 8.8±6.3 years. Patients were subdivided in 4 enrollment periods on the basis of heart failure treatment eras: (1) 1977-1984 (n=66); (2) 1985-1990 (n=102); (3) 1991-2000 (n=197); (4) 2001-2011 (n=238). Rates of patients receiving angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptors blockers, ß-blockers, and devices at final evaluation increased from 56%, 12%, 8% (period 1) to 97%, 86%, 17% (period 4), respectively (P<0.05). There was a trend toward enrollment of older patients with less severe left ventricular dilatation and dysfunction during the years. During follow-up, 271 patients (45%) reached a combined end point including death (heart failure related, n=142; sudden death, n=71; and noncardiac, n=22) or cardiac transplant (n=36). A more recent enrollment period represented the most powerful independent predictor of favorable outcome {period 2 versus 1 (hazard ratio [HR], 0.64; P=0.04), period 3 versus 1 (HR, 0.35; P<0.001), period 4 versus 1 (HR, 0.14; P<001)}. Each period was associated with a 42% risk reduction versus the previous one (HR, 0.58; 95% confidence interval, 0.50-0.67; P<0.001), reflecting marked decreases in heart failure-related mortality and sudden death (period 4 versus 1: HR, 0.10; P<001 and HR, 0.13; P<0.0001, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Evidence-based treatment has led to dramatic improvement in the prognosis of idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy during the past 3 decades. The benefits of controlled randomized trials can be replicated in the real world, emphasizing the importance of tailored follow-up and long-term continuity of care.

Endomyocardial biopsy (1962-2012) celebrates 50 years. 'Adelante Pedro, si puedes'.

A brief history of endomyocardial biopsy as seen through the personal experience is herein reported. After 60 years from its introduction in clinical practice, the procedure still maintains its value as a tool for diagnosis and research, provided it is performed in qualified centers.

Short-term versus long-term outcomes after catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation: impact on clinical practice.

A review of recent articles dealing with long-term outcomes of catheter ablation in patients with atrial fibrillation has confirmed the success rates obtained in the short period. Repetition of the ablation procedure was necessary often in a high percentage of patients. Repeat ablation as well as continued vigilance for atrial fibrillation recurrence must be considered by clinicians when discussing the pros and cons of the ablation procedure with patients.

Ultrasonographic backscatter of the carotid artery wall in patients with HIV infection: a pilot study.

AIMS: The aim of our study was to measure carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) and risk factors associated with its development and progression, and to evaluate arterial wall characteristics through integrated backscatter analysis (IBS) in HIV patients. METHODS: Perspective cohort study enrolling 44 HIV patients treated with antiretroviral drugs who underwent standard B Mode cIMT measurement and tissue characterization of carotid wall by means of dedicated software by acoustic densitometry, at time 0 and 2 years later. MAJOR FINDINGS: Cross-sectional evaluation performed at baseline found that cIMT value correlated significantly with age (r = 0.42, p = 0.005) and systolic blood pressure (r = 0.31, p = 0.04). No correlation was found between cIMT and CD4, HIV-RNA, triglycerides or total cholesterol. There was no difference between the group with versus the group with no protease inhibitors treatment. cIMT progression during 2 years of observation was statistically significant (median, interquartile range [IQR]: 0.005, 0-0.031). No correlation was found between IBS and duration of disease and kind of therapy, whereas a significant association was found between cIMT and IBS (r = 0.33, p = 0.03). No noticeable changes of IBS were observed during 2 years observation. CONCLUSIONS: Classic risk factors greatly affect cIMT than time of HIV infection, duration of antiretroviral therapy exposure and use of protease inhibitors. IBS is a promising technique for the evaluation of arterial wall composition in HIV patients.

Controversies in the therapy of isolated congenital complete heart block.

Controversies in the therapy of congenital complete heart block are reviewed in terms of the timing of pacemaker implantation, the type and complications of pacing and its role in the presence of myocardial dysfunction. Drug treatment may be useful in selected cases in the presence of pleural effusions, ascites and hydrops of the fetus, but have no effect on complete heart block. Administration of fluorinated steroids in anti-Ro antibody-positive mothers with the aim of preventing complete heart block has given controversial results. Because of the variety of the clinical presentations, especially in regard to pacing therapy, it is mandatory to refer patients with congenital complete heart block to specialized centers with adequate resources and experienced personnel.

CD4 cell-guided scheduled treatment interruptions in HIV-infected patients with sustained immunologic response to HAART.

OBJECTIVE: To compare continuous HAART with a CD4 cell-driven scheduled treatment interruption (STI) strategy. METHODS: LOng Term Treatment Interruption study is a randomized, controlled, prospective trial. Patients with CD4 cell counts more than 700 cells/microl were eligible, and the immunologic threshold to resume HAART was 350 cells/microl. The primary end point was the development of an opportunistic disease, death from any cause or the occurrence of diseases, other than opportunistic, requiring hospital admission. Secondary end points were major adverse effects, virologic failures and therapeutic costs. RESULTS: Three hundred and twenty-nine patients were randomized 1: 1. Total follow-up was 1388 person-years (mean 4.2 years). Patients in the STI group stopped therapy for a total of 241 STI cycles, their mean off-therapy period was 65.3% of the follow-up. The primary end point occurred in 12.1% of patients on STI and in 11.6% of controls [odds ratio 1.05; 95% confidence interval 0.54-2.05]. A higher proportion of patients in the STI arm were diagnosed with pneumonia (P = 0.037), whereas clinical events influencing the cardiovascular risk of patients were significantly (P < 0.0001) more frequent among controls. Eight patients (4.8%) in the STI group and 11 (6.7%) controls developed viral resistance [odds ratio 0.79, 95% confidence interval 0.27-1.81]. The mean daily therapeutic cost was 20.29 euro for controls and dropped to 9.07 euro in the STI arm (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: The two strategies may be considered clinically equivalent. CD4 cell-guided STIs seem a possible alternative for chronically infected individuals responding to HAART provided that CD4 cell decrements would be steadily maintained above a safe threshold.

The decline of cardiac auscultation: 'the ball of the match point is poised on the net'.

A brief review of the history of cardiac auscultation confirms its decline. The intervention of healthcare institutions may avoid loss of medical culture and increased costs by adequate training of medical staff.

Acute cardiac failure following pacing in an adult patient with congenital complete heart block.

A case of an adult patient with congenital complete heart block is reported in whom acute heart failure followed pacemaker implantation. It is uncertain whether the associated cardiomyopathy was present since birth, although right ventricular pacing was probably responsible for further deterioration of myocardial function. Synchronous pacing of both ventricles might be recommended in these patients.

Avoiding haste in clinical cardiology.

This paper examines, from a thorough review of the literature, the negative effects of haste (excessive eagerness to act) in clinical cardiology such as early discharge from the hospital, premature timing in surgery, too much enthusiasm for new technologies, exaggerated emphasis on tests or pharmacological measures for prevention and inaccurate transfer of results of trials to daily clinical practice. Avoiding haste allows doctors and nurses to provide their patients with the best traditional diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, to guide them wisely to the new ones and to have time enough for an accurate evaluation of all their personal, familial and social problems.

Therapeutic implications of contractile reserve elicited by dobutamine echocardiography in symptomatic, low-gradient aortic stenosis.

BACKGROUND: In patients with heart failure, poor ejection fraction and estimated severe aortic stenosis because of a reduced aortic valve area (AVA) and low gradients, dobutamine echocardiography (DE) was proposed to distinguish afterload mismatch from primary left ventricular dysfunction. In this setting the feasibility and safety of DE and the outcome following management based on DE results were investigated. METHODS: Forty-eight patients (mean age 73 +/- 9 years; 79% males; AVA 0.7 +/- 0.2 cm2; mean aortic gradient 22 +/- 6 mmHg; ejection fraction 0.28 +/- 0.07; NYHA functional class 2.9 +/- 0.8) underwent DE and were followed up for 24 +/- 21 months. Aortic valve replacement (AVR) was offered to patients with left ventricular contractile reserve (ejection fraction increase > or = 30% at peak DE) and fixed aortic stenosis (AVA increase < or = 0.25 cm2). RESULTS: DE elicited a left ventricular contractile reserve in 38 patients (79%). Among these, fixed aortic stenosis was present in 28 patients, among whom 19 underwent AVR and 9 declined surgery. The 20 patients without contractile reserve or with relative stenosis (AVA increase > 0.25 cm2) were not considered eligible for surgery. During follow-up, 23 cardiovascular deaths occurred: 2/19 among operated patients, 7/9 among patients who declined surgery and 14/20 among non-eligible patients. Patients with AVR showed a significantly more favorable outcome and improved functional status as compared to the other two groups (NYHA class 1.2 +/- 0.4 vs 2.7 +/- 0.6 at baseline; p < 0.001). Conversely, non-surgical management was the strongest independent predictor of an adverse outcome (relative risk 3.6, 95% confidence interval 1.8-7.3; p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: In patients with heart failure and estimated severe aortic stenosis, DE could identify a subgroup with a left ventricular contractile reserve and fixed aortic stenosis who gained great benefit from AVR. The clinical outcome of patients who were not operated upon was unfavorable.

[Invitation to "slow medicine"]. / Invito ad una "slow medicine".

In clinical practice, hyperactivity is often unnecessary. Adopting a strategy of "slow medicine" may be more rewarding in many situations. Such an approach would allow health professionals and particularly doctors and nurses, to have a sufficiently long time to evaluate the personal, familial and social problems of patients extensively, to reduce anxiety whilst waiting for non urgent diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, to evaluate new methods and technologies carefully, to prevent premature dismissals from hospital and finally to offer an adequate emotional support to the terminal patients and their families.