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Outcomes in women vs men with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction

The epidemiologic finding that women with heart failure have better overall survival than men may be because of the higher prevalence of diastolic heart failure or heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HF-PEF) among women.

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The link between lifestyle factors and hypertension in adolescents

Dasgupta has demonstrated that adolescent Canadian boys experience an increased risk of hypertension during longitudinal follow-up compared with girls.

Are statins cardioprotective in patients undergoing major vascular surgery?

We evaluated the cardioprotective effects of intensive statin therapy before major vascular surgery in a prospective study of 359 subjects. After multivariate analysis, lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol was associated with decreased myocardial ischemia, troponin T release, and 30-day and late cardiac events. Furthermore, higher doses of statins were associated with better cardiac outcome, even after adjusting for LDL cholesterol.

What Role Do Muscle Building Supplements Play in Testicular Cancer

With muscle supplements being a popular addition to exercise regiments their potential health risks also remain a concern.

Survival after heart failure

We conducted a multi-hospital population-based study of 2445 residents of a large New England metropolitan area hospitalized with acute heart failure and found that the long-term prognosis for these patients remains poor. More than one third of patients died in the first year after hospital discharge,and nearly 4 of 5 patients died over the 5-year follow-up period. Several demographic and clinical factors were associated with an adverse prognosis. It is important to know the factors that negatively affect long-term survival after hospital discharge for decompensated heart failure so that treatment can be directed toward specific high-risk groups.

Contemporary cardiac imaging in hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy

Features of hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM) include obstruction at the left ventricular outflow tract (caused by a markedly thickened proximal interventricular septum) and systolic anterior motion of the mitral valve. The case discussed here illustrates several classic features of this disease including clinical presentation, diagnostic workup, and noninvasive and invasive management.

Atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery

We assessed preoperative cardiac physiology using echocardiography in patients undergoing cardiac surgery to identify predictors of postoperative atrial fibrillation. Subjects with enlarged left atrial volume had a 5-fold greater risk of postoperative atrial fibrillation, independent of age and other risk factors, than those without enlarged left atrial volume. Left atrial volume appears to be a powerful tool to stratify patients according to risk before surgery and to effectively target preventive therapy.

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A Caregiver's Perspective: Light Chain (AL) Amyloidosis Treatment

Susan Weisman, a light chain (AL) amyloidosis caregiver for her husband since 2009, touches on a few of her husband's treatments in an approximate timeline.

Medication adherence and meaningful clinical markers in diabetes mellitus

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease for which nonadherence to therapy is frequent.