Vascular Diseases in Women: Do Women Suffer from Them Differently?

According to the World Health Organization, cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death among women worldwide, yet its magnitude is often underestimated. Biological and gender differences affect health, diagnosis, and healthcare in numerous ways. The lack of sex and gender awareness in health research and healthcare is an ongoing issue that affects not only research but also treatment and outcomes. The importance of recognizing the impacts of both sex and gender on health and of knowing the differences between the two in healthcare is beginning to gain ground. There is more appreciation of the roles that biological differences (sex) and sociocultural power structures (gender) have, and both sex and gender affect health behavior, the development of diseases, their diagnosis, management, and the long-term effects of an illness. An important issue is the knowledge and awareness of women about vascular diseases. The risk of cardiovascular events is drastically underestimated by women themselves, as well as by those around them. The purpose of this review is to draw attention to improving the medical care and treatment of women with vascular diseases.

Clinical outcomes of ultrasound-assisted coagulation monitoring-adjusted catheter-directed thrombolysis for acute pulmonary embolism.

BACKGROUND: Ultrasound-assisted catheter-directed thrombolysis (USAT) may reverse right ventricular dysfunction due to acute pulmonary embolism (PE) with a favorable safety profile. METHODS: We studied intermediate-high- and high-risk acute PE patients who underwent USAT at the University Hospital Zurich, 2018-2022. The USAT regimen included alteplase 10 mg per catheter over 15 h, therapeutic-dosed heparin, and dosage adaptations based on routinely monitored coagulation parameters, notably anti-factor Xa activity and fibrinogen. We focused on the mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP) and the National Early Warning Score (NEWS) before and after USAT, and reported the incidence of hemodynamic decompensation, PE recurrence, major bleeding, and death over 30 days. RESULTS: We included 161 patients: 96 (59.6 %) were men and the mean age was 67.8 (SD 14.6) years. Mean PAP decreased from a mean of 35.6 (SD 9.8) to 25.6 (SD 8.2) mmHg, whereas the NEWS decreased from a median of 5 (Q1-Q3 4-6) to 3 (Q1-Q3 2-4) points. No cases of hemodynamic decompensation occurred. One (0.6 %) patient had an episode of recurrent PE. Two (1.2 %) major bleeding events occurred, including one (0.6 %) intracranial, fatal hemorrhage in a patient with high-risk PE, severe heparin overdosing, and a recent head trauma (with negative CT scan of the brain performed at baseline). No other deaths occurred. CONCLUSIONS: USAT resulted in a rapid improvement of hemodynamic parameters among patients with intermediate-high risk acute PE and selected ones with high-risk acute PE, without any recorded deaths related to PE itself. A strategy including USAT, therapeutic-dosed heparin, and routinely monitored coagulation parameters may partly explain the overall very low rate of major bleeding.

Fixed-Dose Ultrasound-Assisted Catheter-Directed Thrombolysis for Acute Pulmonary Embolism Associated with COVID-19.

Background. Fixed-dose ultrasound-assisted catheter-directed thrombolysis (USAT) rapidly improves hemodynamic parameters and reverses right ventricular dysfunction caused by acute pulmonary embolism (PE). The effectiveness of USAT for acute PE associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is unknown. Methods and results. The study population of this cohort study consisted of 36 patients with an intermediate-high- or high-risk acute PE treated with a fixed low-dose USAT protocol (r-tPA 10-20 mg/15 h). Of these, 9 patients tested positive for COVID-19 and were age-sex-matched to 27 patients without COVID-19. The USAT protocol included, beyond the infusion of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator, anti-Xa-activity-adjusted unfractionated heparin therapy (target 0.3-0.7 U/mL). The study outcomes were the invasively measured mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP) before and at completion of USAT, and the National Early Warning Score (NEWS), according to which more points indicate more severe hemodynamic impairment. Twenty-four (66.7%) patients were men; the mean age was 67 ± 14 years. Mean  ±  standard deviation mPAP decreased from 32.3 ± 8.3 to 22.4 ± 7.0 mmHg among COVID-19 patients and from 35.4 ± 9.7 to 24.6 ± 7.0 mmHg among unexposed, with no difference in the relative improvement between groups (p = 0.84). Within 12 h of USAT start, the median NEWS decreased from six (Q1-Q3: 4-8) to three (Q1-Q3: 2-4) points among COVID-19 patients and from four (Q1-Q3: 2-6) to two (Q1-Q3: 2-3) points among unexposed (p = 0.29). One COVID-19 patient died due to COVID-19-related complications 14 days after acute PE. No major bleeding events occurred. Conclusions. Among patients with COVID-19-associated acute PE, mPAP rapidly decreased during USAT with a concomitant progressive improvement of the NEWS. The magnitude of mPAP reduction was similar in patients with and without COVID-19.

Outcomes with revascularization and medical therapy in patients with coronary disease and chronic kidney disease: A meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) confers a high risk for poor cardiovascular outcomes. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the effects of revascularization as the initial management strategy compared with medical therapy among patients with CKD and coronary artery disease. METHODS: A Medline/PubMed literature research was conducted to identify randomized studies comparing early coronary revascularization with optimal medical therapy or medical therapy alone in patients with CKD (estimated glomerular filtration rate <60 mL/min/1.73 m2 or maintenance dialysis). The primary outcome was myocardial infarction. The secondary outcomes were all-cause mortality or progression to kidney failure. The risk ratio (RR) was estimated using a random-effects model. RESULTS: Eleven randomized trials were included (3422 patients). Revascularization was associated with lower incidence of myocardial infarction compared with medical therapy in patients with CKD: RR 0.71 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.54-0.94; p=0.02). This result was mainly driven from a significantly lower incidence of myocardial infarction with early revascularization among patients with stable coronary artery disease: RR 0.59; 95% CI 0.37-0.93. A similar incidence of all-cause mortality was observed with both treatment strategies: RR 0.88 (95% CI 0.72-1.08; p=0.22). A trend towards lower incidence of all-cause mortality was observed with revascularization in the subgroup of patients presenting with NSTE-ACS: RR 0.73 (95% CI 0.51-1.04; p=0.08) but not among patients with stable coronary disease. There was no difference in progression to kidney failure between the two strategies. CONCLUSIONS: Coronary revascularization may be superior to medical therapy among patients with CKD and coronary disease.

[Arteriofit: a supervised exercise training program, recommended as a first-line treatment in intermittent claudication]. / Artériofit : un programme recommandé en première intention pour le traitement de la claudication intermittente.

Lower extremities arterial disease (LEAD) is the third most common manifestation of atherosclerosis. The number of cardiovascular events in this population is similar to that of coronary artery disease. Management consists mainly of strict control of cardiovascular risk factors, optimal pharmacological treatment and supervised exercise training. Supervised exercise training is superior to other exercise modalities in terms of increased walking time, maximum walking distance, pain-free walking distance and quality of life scores. In association with revascularization, the benefits are enhanced. In Switzerland, federal programs have been created on this basis and exist in many cities. They are little known and yet essential.

L'insuffisance artérielle des membres inférieurs est la troisième manifestation la plus fréquente de l'athérosclérose. Le nombre d'événements cardiovasculaires dans cette population est similaire à celui des malades coronariens. La prise en charge consiste en un contrôle strict des facteurs de risque cardiovasculaires, un traitement pharmacologique optimal et l'entraînement supervisé à la marche. L'entraînement supervisé est supérieur aux autres modalités d'exercices en termes d'augmentation du temps de marche, de la distance maximale de marche, de la distance de marche sans douleur et des scores de qualité de vie. En association avec une revascularisation, les bénéfices sont majorés. En Suisse, des programmes fédéraux ont été créés sur ces bases et existent dans de nombreuses villes. Ils sont méconnus et pourtant essentiels.

[Understanding renal functional reserve]. / Comprendre la réserve fonctionnelle rénale.

Renal function is usually estimated through the blood measurement of creatinine, which allows estimating the glomerular filtration rate (GFR). However, this value only decreases when half the nephrons are damaged, limiting the detection of early renal disease. The ingestion of an important amount of protein can increase the GFR. The renal functional reserve concept is the difference between the maximal GFR, stimulated by an important protein intake, and the baseline GFR. A diminished renal functional reserve could mean glomerular hyperfiltration and early renal disease. This value could help predicting patients more likely to present with acute renal injury and evaluating the capacity of the kidney to increase their function before a nephrectomy.

La fonction rénale est habituellement calculée à partir du dosage sanguin de la créatinine qui permet d'estimer le débit de filtration glomérulaire (DFG). Toutefois, cette valeur ne diminue que lorsque la moitié des néphrons est atteinte, la rendant peu sensible pour la détection de maladies rénales débutantes. L'ingestion de protéines permet d'augmenter le DFG par différents mécanismes. La réserve fonctionnelle rénale est la différence entre le DFG maximal, stimulé par une prise importante de protéines, et le DFG de base. Une diminution de cette réserve peut être un marqueur d'hyperfiltration glomérulaire et ainsi de maladie rénale débutante. Cette valeur peut être intéressante pour identifier les patients à risque de développer une insuffisance rénale aiguë ou évaluer le risque d'insuffisance rénale avant une néphrectomie.