Depression and Cardiovascular Disease in Women

Abstract The prevalence of depression varies from 1 to 17% in different geographic regions, and its incidence is 70% higher in women than men. Today, depression affects more than 300 million people worldwide, affecting twice as many women from adolescence to adulthood. In addition to this earlier onset, depression in women tends to be more severe. Cardiovascular disease and depression are chronic diseases that have a major impact on cardiovascular and all-cause morbidity and mortality, with evidence of a two-way relationship between them, in which depression is a predictor of cardiovascular disease and vice versa. In females, the degree of illness and prognosis are more severe when both diseases are present, than when diagnosed alone. In patients with acute or chronic cardiovascular disease, especially women, a systematic screening for depression should be considered as a preventive strategy of cardiovascular events, aiming to reduce the risk of future events. There are still no clinical studies designed to assess the impact of antidepressant treatment on cardiovascular outcomes in women.

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children: a cross-sectional study of cases and factors associated with deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil, 2020. / Síndrome inflamatória multissistêmica pediátrica: estudo seccional dos casos e fatores associados aos óbitos durante a pandemia de COVID-19 no Brasil, 2020.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the clinical-epidemiological profile of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children temporally associated with COVID-19 (MIS-C), and to identify factors associated with MIS-C deaths in Brazil, 2020. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study, using national MIS-C monitoring data. Logistical regression was performed to estimate crude and adjusted odds ratios (OR). RESULTS: Median case (n=652) age was 5 years, 57.1% were male, 52.0% were of brown race/skin color and 6.4% died. Likelihood of death was greater among those who presented O2 saturation <95% (ORa=4.35 - 95%CI 1.69;11.20) and altered urea results (ORa=5.18 - 95%CI 1.91;14.04); likelihood of death was lower when red skin blotches were not present (ORa=0.23 - 95%CI 0.09;0.62), when anticoagulants were used (ORa=0.32 - 95%CI 0.12;0.89) and when immunoglobulins were used (ORa=0.38 - 95%CI 0.15;1.01). CONCLUSION: Fatality ratios were higher among cases that presented O2 saturation <95% and altered urea results. Fatality ratios were lower among those with red skin blotches, and those who used immunoglobulins and anticoagulants.

The REBECGA brazilian registry of pregnancy and heart disease: rationale and design

BACKGROUND: Maternal mortality rates in Brazil remain above the goals established by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Heart disease is estimated to affect 4% of all pregnancies and remains by itself the main indirect obstetric cause of maternal death. In the last decades, a significant improvement in the prognosis of heart diseases has made pregnancy possible in women with heart disease and provided better maternal and fetal outcomes. OBJECTIVES: To establish a multicenter Brazilian Registry of pregnant women with heart disease; to study the causes of immediate and late maternal mortality; and to assess the prevalence of heart disease in the country's macro-regions. METHODS: This is an observational study, with retrospective and prospective stages, of the clinical and obstetric progression of pregnant women with heart disease. These women consecutively received care during pregnancy and will be followed up for up to a year after delivery at public and private hospitals with infrastructure for the execution of this project, a principal investigator, and approval by Ethics and Research Committees. RESULTS: Our results will be presented after data collection and statistical analysis, aiming to demonstrate immediate and late maternal mortality rates, as well as the prevalence of heart disease in the country and its cardiovascular and obstetric complications during pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: REBECGA will be the Brazilian Registry of heart disease and pregnancy and it will contribute to planning preventive measures, raising financial resources for the improvement of high-risk prenatal care, and reducing immediate and late maternal mortality due to heart disease.

Pediatric multisystem SARS COV2 with versus without cardiac involvement: a multicenter study from Latin America.

Latin America (LATAM) children offer special insight into Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS COV2) due to high-risk race/ethnicity, variability in medical resources, diverse socioeconomic background, and numerous involved organ systems. This multinational study of LATAM youth examined the distinguishing features of acute or late multisystem SARS COV2 with versus without cardiac involvement. A consecutive sample of youth 0-18 years old (N = 98;50% male) presenting with multisystem SARS COV2 to 32 centers in 10 Latin American countries participating in a pediatric cardiac multi-imaging society were grouped as with versus without cardiac involvement, defined as abnormal echocardiographic findings or arrhythmia. Collected clinical data were analyzed by Student's t-test or Fisher's exact test. Cardiac (N = 48, 50% male) versus no cardiac (N = 50, 50% male) were similar in age; weight; nonrespiratory symptoms; and medical history. The cardiac group had 1 death and symptoms including coronary artery dilation, ejection fraction <50%, pericardial effusion, peripheral edema, arrhythmia, and pulmonary artery thrombus. The cardiac group had higher risk of ICU admission (77% vs 54%, p = 0.02); invasive ventilation (23% vs 4%,p = 0.007); vasoactive infusions (27% vs 4%, p = 0.002); prominent respiratory symptoms (60% vs 36%, p < 0.03); abnormal chest imaging (69% vs 34%, p = 0.001); troponin (33% vs 12%, p = 0.01); alanine aminotransferase (33% vs 12%, p = 0.02); and thrombocytopenia (46% vs 22%, p = 0.02). Receiver operating curve analysis showed that abnormal laboratories had 94% sensitivity and 98% negative predictive value on the need for ICU interventions.Conclusion: In LATAM children with multisystem SARS COV2, cardiac involvement was prevalent. Cardiac involvement was more likely to require ICU interventions, certain abnormal labs, and respiratory involvement. What is Known: • SARS COV2 can be asymptomatic in children but in some cases can have serious multisystemic involvement. • Hispanic ethnicity is purportedly at high risk of SARS COV2 in nations where they are often disadvantaged minority populations. What is New: • Latin American children presenting with multisystem SARS COV2 frequently have cardiac involvement which was associated with ICU interventions; prominent respiratory symptoms; abnormal chest X-ray; elevated troponin, ALT, and thrombocytopenia. • Elevated troponin, ALT or thrombocytopenia had high sensitivity and negative predictive value on the need for intensive care interventions.

Síndrome inflamatória multissistêmica pediátrica: estudo seccional dos casos e fatores associados aos óbitos durante a pandemia de COVID-19 no Brasil, 2020 / Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children: a cross-sectional study of cases and factors associated with deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil, 2020

Objetivo: Caracterizar o perfil clínico-epidemiológico da síndrome inflamatória multissistêmica pediátrica temporalmente associada à COVID-19 (SIM-P) e identificar fatores associados aos óbitos de SIM-P no Brasil, 2020. Métodos: Estudo seccional, utilizando dados do monitoramento nacional da SIM-P. Empregou-se regressão logística para estimar razões de chances (OR, odds ratios ) brutas e ajustadas. Resultados: Os casos (n=652) apresentaram mediana de idade de 5 anos; 57,1% eram do sexo masculino e 52,0% de raça/cor da pele parda; 6,4% evoluíram a óbito. A chance de óbito foi significativamente maior nos que apresentaram saturação de O2<95% (ORa=4,35 - IC95% 1,69;11,20) e resultado alterado de ureia (ORa=5,18 - IC95% 1,91;14,04); e menor na ausência de manchas vermelhas pelo corpo (ORa=0,23 - IC95% 0,09;0,62), com uso de anticoagulantes (ORa=0,32 - IC95% 0,12;0,89) e imunoglobulinas (ORa=0,38 - IC95% 0,15;1,01). Conclusão: A letalidade foi maior entre casos que apresentaram saturação de O2<95% e ureia alterada; e menor nos que apresentaram manchas vermelhas, usaram imunoglobulinas e anticoagulantes.

Objetivo: Caracterizar el perfil clínico-epidemiológico de los casos por síndrome inflamatorio multisistémico pediátrico asociado temporalmente a la COVID-19 (SIM-PedS) e identificar factores asociados a los óbitos por SIM-PedS en Brasil, 2020. Métodos: Estudio transversal basado en datos del monitoreo nacional de la SIM-PedS, Brasil, 2020. Se utilizó regresión logística para estimar razones de probabilidades brutas y ajustadas (OR, odds ratio). Resultados: Los casos (n=652) presentaron edad mediana de 5 años, 57,1% eran hombres, 52,0% de raza/color pardo y 6,4% falleció. La probabilidad de muerte fue significativamente mayor entre aquellos con saturación de O2<95% (ORa=4,35 - IC95%1,69;11,20) y resultado alterado de urea (ORa=5,18 - IC95% 1,91;14,04); menor en ausencia de manchas rojas como erupción (ORa=0,23 - IC95% 0,09;0,62), con uso de anticoagulantes (ORa=0,32 - IC95% 0,12;0,89) e inmunoglobulinas (ORa=0,38 - IC95%0,15;1,01). Conclusión: La letalidad fue mayor entre casos que presentaron saturación de O2<95% y urea alterada, y menor entre aquellos con manchas rojas, que usaron inmunoglobulinas y anticoagulantes.

Objective: To characterize the clinical-epidemiological profile of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children temporally associated with COVID-19 (MIS-C), and to identify factors associated with MIS-C deaths in Brazil, 2020. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study, using national MIS-C monitoring data. Logistical regression was performed to estimate crude and adjusted odds ratios (OR). Results: Median case (n=652) age was 5 years, 57.1% were male, 52.0% were of brown race/skin color and 6.4% died. Likelihood of death was greater among those who presented O2 saturation <95% (ORa=4.35 - 95%CI 1.69;11.20) and altered urea results (ORa=5.18 - 95%CI 1.91;14.04); likelihood of death was lower when red skin blotches were not present (ORa=0.23 - 95%CI 0.09;0.62), when anticoagulants were used (ORa=0.32 - 95%CI 0.12;0.89) and when immunoglobulins were used (ORa=0.38 - 95%CI 0.15;1.01). Conclusion: Fatality ratios were higher among cases that presented O2 saturation <95% and altered urea results. Fatality ratios were lower among those with red skin blotches, and those who used immunoglobulins and anticoagulants.

Clinical value of myocardial performance index in patients with isolated diastolic dysfunction.

AIMS: The Doppler-derived myocardial performance index (MPI) has been considered as a diagnostic and prognostic Doppler marker for many different clinical conditions. The purpose of this study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of traditional Pulsed-wave Doppler (PWD-MPI) and Pulsed-wave tissue Doppler imaging (TDI-MPI) and the degree of agreement between these methods in patients with grade-I diastolic dysfunction (DDI) and a normal ejection fraction. METHODS: Forty-seven consecutive ambulatory patients with DDI were compared to 51 healthy subjects with normal echocardiograms. All subjects underwent measurement of time intervals and MPI with PWD and pulsed TDI. RESULTS: TDI-MPI and PWD-MPI were significantly higher in patients with DDI than in control subjects: 0.49 ± 0.14 vs. 0.40 ± 0.09 (P < 0.001) and 0.45 ± 0.11 vs. 0.37 ± 0.08 (P < 0.001), respectively. Cutoff values of TDI-MPI > 0.42 and PWD-MPI > 0.40 identified DDI subjects, with sensitivities of 74 and 64%; specificities of 61 and 69%; positive likelihood ratios of 1.9 and 2.0; and negative likelihood ratios of 0.42 and 0.53, respectively; no significant difference was noted between the areas under the ROC curves of TDI-MPI and PWD-MPI (P = 0.77). Bland-Altman plots showed wide limits of agreement between these indices: - 0.17 to 0.23 in healthy subjects and - 0.24 to 0.32 in DDI patients. CONCLUSION: PWD-MPI and TDI-MPI showed poor clinical agreement and were not reliable parameters for the assessment of left ventricular diastolic function.

Efeitos cardíacos agudos da pré-eclâmpsia grave / Acute cardiac effects of severe pre-eclampsia

Introdução: A pré-eclâmpsia com características graves (PECG) é uma síndrome específica da gravidez caracterizada por hipertensão grave e disfunção de órgãos-alvo e está associada a eventos cardiovasculares adversos a curto prazo, incluindo insuficiência cardíaca, edema pulmonar e acidente vascular cerebral. Objetivos: Os autores tiveram como objetivo caracterizar as alterações ecocardiográficas, clínicas e laboratoriais de curto prazo em mulheres com PEC, concentrando-se na pressão sistólica do ventrículo direito (PSVD) e nos parâmetros diastólico, sistólico e de rastreamento diastólico, sistólico e de salpicos derivados do ecocardiograma. Métodos: Neste estudo observacional prospectivo, os autores recrutaram 63 mulheres com PEC e 36 pacientes controle grávidas. Resultados: A coorte PEC apresentou maior PSVD (31,0 ± 7,9 mm Hg vs. 22,5 ± 6,1 mm Hg; p <0,001) e diminuição da tensão sistólica longitudinal global do VD (RVLSS) (19,6 ± 3,2% vs. 23,8 ± 2,9% [p < 0,0001]) quando comparado com a coorte controle. Para os parâmetros cardíacos do lado esquerdo, houve diferenças (p <0,001) na velocidade e 'septal mitral (9,6 ± 2,4 cm / s vs. 11,6 ± 1,9 cm / s), relação E / e' septal (10,8 ± 2,8 vs. 7,4 ± 1,6), tamanho da área atrial esquerda (20,1 ± 3,8 cm2 vs. 17,3 ± 2,9 cm2) e espessura da parede posterior e septal (mediana [intervalo interquartil]: 1,0 cm [0,9 a 1,1 cm] vs. 0,8 cm [0,7 a 0,9 cm] e 1,0 cm [0,8 a 1,2 cm] vs. 0,8 cm [0,7 a 0,9 cm]). Oito mulheres (12,7%) com PEC apresentaram disfunção diastólica grau II e 6 mulheres (9,5%) apresentaram edema pulmonar periparto. Conclusões: Mulheres com PEC apresentam maior PSVD, maiores taxas de função diastólica anormal, menor RVLSS global, maior remodelamento da câmara do lado esquerdo e maiores taxas de edema pulmonar periparto, quando comparadas a mulheres grávidas saudáveis.

Introduction: Pre-eclampsia with severe features (PEC) is a pregnancy-specific syndrome characterized by severe hypertension and end-organ dysfunction, and is associated with short-term adverse cardiovascular events, including heart failure, pulmonary edema, and stroke. Objectives: The authors aimed to characterize the short-term echocardiographic, clinical, and laboratory changes in women with PEC, focusing on right ventricular (RV) systolic pressure (RVSP) and echocardiographic-derived diastolic, systolic, and speckle tracking parameters. Methods: In this prospective observational study, the authors recruited 63 women with PEC and 36 pregnant control patients. Results: The PEC cohort had higher RVSP (31.0 ± 7.9 mm Hg vs. 22.5 ± 6.1 mm Hg; p < 0.001) and decreased global RV longitudinal systolic strain (RVLSS) (19.6 ± 3.2% vs. 23.8 ± 2.9% [p < 0.0001]) when compared with the control cohort. For left-sided cardiac parameters, there were differences (p < 0.001) in mitral septal e' velocity (9.6 ± 2.4 cm/s vs. 11.6 ± 1.9 cm/s), septal E/e' ratio (10.8 ± 2.8 vs. 7.4 ± 1.6), left atrial area size (20.1 ± 3.8 cm2 vs. 17.3 ± 2.9 cm2 ), and posterior and septal wall thickness (median [interquartile range]: 1.0 cm [0.9 to 1.1 cm] vs. 0.8 cm [0.7 to 0.9 cm], and 1.0 cm [0.8 to 1.2 cm] vs. 0.8 cm [0.7 to 0.9 cm]). Eight women (12.7%) with PEC had grade II diastolic dysfunction, and 6 women (9.5%) had peripartum pulmonary edema. Conclusions: Women with PEC have higher RVSP, higher rates of abnormal diastolic function, decreased global RVLSS, increased left-sided chamber remodeling, and higher rates of peripartum pulmonary edema, when compared with healthy pregnant women. (J Am Coll Cardiol 2018;72:1­11) © 2018 by the American College of Cardiology Foundation.

Left ventricular mass and cardiothoracic index in patients with chronic renal disease on hemodialysis.

INTRODUCTION: Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is an independent predictor of cardiovascular risk in patients with chronic renal disease (CRD) on hemodialysis (HD). OBJECTIVE: To show the usefulness of chest radiography in the diagnosis of LVH in CRD patients on HD. METHODS: Cross-sectional study including 100 patients (58 men and 42 women), mean age 46.2 ± 14.0 years, with CRD of all causes, for at least six months on HD. Were obtained echocardiogram and chest x-rays of patients, always up to one hour after the end of HD sessions. RESULTS: LVH was detected in 83 patients (83%), of whom 56 (67.4%) had the concentric pattern and 27 (32.6%) with eccentric pattern of LVH. Cardiomegaly - defined by cardiothoracic index (CTI) > 0.5 - was present in 61 patients (61%). The following were the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy, respectively, for the variable ICT: 66.2%, 70.5% and 68.0%. The Pearson correlation between ICT and index of left ventricular mass (LVMI) was 0.552 (p < 0.05) and positive likelihood ratio of 2.2. CONCLUSION: Chest radiography is a safe and useful as a diagnostic tool of LVH in CKD patients on HD.