The association between sedentary time and the risk for CVD is nonlinear with an increased risk only at very high levels. These findings could have implications for guideline recommendations regarding the risks related to sedentary behavior.

Analyses of temporal changes in PAH care reveal a significant decrease in PAH-related hospitalizations in the United States, but hospital charges have increased substantially and are increasingly being borne by Medicare. In-hospital mortality remains unchanged, but length of hospitalization has increased. This study should help identify the characteristics of patients with PAH that are associated with increased risk of in-hospital mortality and longer length of hospitalization.

This study suggests that the majority of IV PPI prescriptions in hospital are inappropriate, particularly when initiated for non-UGI bleeding indications. Improving prescribing awareness through education of junior medical staff on non-medical wards could reduce inappropriate IV PPI use.

IMPORTANCE Volumetric measurements by transthoracic echocardiogram may better reflect left ventricular (LV) remodeling than conventional linear LV dimensions. However, the association of LV volumes with mortality in patients with chronic hemodynamically significant aortic regurgitation (AR) is unknown.OBJECTIVE To assess whether LV volumes and volume-derived LV ejection fraction (Vol-LVEF) are determinants of mortality in AR. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTSThis cohort study included consecutive asymptomatic patients with chronic moderately severe to severe AR from a tertiary referral center (January 2004 through April 2019.EXPOSURES Clinical and echocardiographic data were analyzed retrospectively. Aortic regurgitation severity was graded by comprehensive integrated approach. De novo disk-summation method was used to derive LV volumes and Vol-LVEF. MAIN OUTCOME AND MEASURESAssociations between all-cause mortality under medical surveillance and the following LV indexes: linear LV end-systolic dimension index (LVESDi), linear LVEF, LV end-systolic volume index (LVESVi), and Vol-LVEF. RESULTSOf 492 asymptomatic patients (mean [SD] age, 60 [17] years; 425 men [86%]), ischemic heart disease prevalence was low (41 [9%]), and 453 (92.1%) had preserved linear LVEF (Ն50%) with mean (SD) LVESVi of 41 (15) mL/m 2 . At a median (interquartile range) of 5.4 (2.5-10.1) years, 66 patients (13.4%) died under medical surveillance; overall survival was not different than the age-and sex-matched general population (P = .55). Separate multivariate models, adjusted for age, sex, Charlson Comorbidity Index, and AR severity, demonstrated that in addition to linear LVEF and LVESDi, LVESVi and Vol-LVEF were independently associated with mortality under surveillance (all P < .046) with similar C statistics (range, 0.83-0.84). Spline curves showed that continuous risks of death started to rise for both linear LVEF and Vol-LVEF less than 60%, LVESVi more than 40 to 45 mL/m 2 , and LVESDi above 21 to 22 mm/m 2 . As dichotomized variables, patients with LVESVi more than 45 mL/m 2 exhibited increased relative death risk (hazard ratio, 1.93; 95% CI, 1.10-3.38; P = .02) while LVESDi more than 20 mm/m 2 did not (P = .32). LVESVi more than 45 mL/m 2 showed a decreased survival trend compared with expected population survival. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCEIn this large asymptomatic cohort of patients with hemodynamically significant AR, LVESVi and Vol-LVEF worked equally as well as LVESDi and linear LVEF in risk discriminating patients with excess mortality. A LVESVi threshold of 45 mL/m 2 or greater was significantly associated with an increased mortality risk.

Aims  Cardiac power is a measure of cardiac performance that incorporates both pressure and flow components. Prior studies have shown that cardiac power predicts outcomes in patients with reduced left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (EF). We sought to evaluate the prognostic significance of peak exercise cardiac power and power reserve in patients with normal EF. Methods and results  We performed a retrospective analysis in 24 885 patients (age 59 ± 13 years, 45% females) with EF ≥50% and no significant valve disease or right ventricular dysfunction, undergoing exercise stress echocardiography between 2004 and 2018. Cardiac power and power reserve (developed power with stress) were normalized to LV mass and expressed in W/100 g of LV myocardium. Endpoints at follow-up were all-cause mortality and diagnosis of heart failure (HF). Patients in the higher quartiles of power/mass (rest, peak stress, and power reserve) were younger and had higher peak blood pressure and heart rate, lower LV mass, and lower prevalence of comorbidities. During follow-up [median 3.9 (0.6–8.3) years], 929 patients died. After adjusting for age, sex, metabolic equivalents (METs) achieved, ischaemia/infarction on stress test results, medication, and comorbidities, peak stress power/mass was independently associated with mortality [adjusted hazard ratio (HR), highest vs. lowest quartile, 0.5, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.4–0.6, P &lt; 0.001] and HF at follow-up [adjusted HR, highest vs. lowest quartile, 0.4, 95% CI (0.3, 0.5), P &lt; 0.001]. Power reserve showed similar results. Conclusion  The assessment of cardiac power during exercise stress echocardiography in patients with normal EF provides valuable prognostic information, in addition to stress test findings on inducible myocardial ischaemia and exercise capacity.

The incidence of prostate cancer increases with age. Current evidence suggests that prostate cancer is under treated in patients aged ≥70 years, despite evidence of efficacy and acceptable toxicity. Radical cystectomy and definitive radiotherapy are often denied owing to fears of post-operative complications and radiotherapy-associated gastrointestinal and genitourinary toxicity. However, modern radical prostatectomy techniques provide excellent clinical outcomes with low perioperative morbidity. Moreover, volume-restricted intensity-modulated radiation therapy is a significant improvement over previous 2D conformal radiotherapy with similar efficacy and lower toxicity. Androgen-deprivation therapy is also under-prescribed among the elderly, owing to concerns of increases in cardiac deaths and osteoporosis acceleration. However, prospective trials have not identified any increase in cardiovascular mortality among elderly men receiving androgen-deprivation therapy compared to age-matched controls. Most patients on androgen deprivation eventually progress to a castration-resistant state. At this stage, the disease still responds to newer agents that target the androgen pathway and to chemotherapy. Among the elderly, chemotherapy is under-prescribed even though it has been demonstrated to be palliative and improve survival. We describe the trends in prostate cancer management in the elderly and the importance of assessing comorbidity status, tumour characteristics, and health status, including a complete geriatric evaluation, before making treatment recommendations.

Objective To evaluate the safety and efficacy of balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA) in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) seen at a US medical center. Patients and Methods Patients with inoperable or residual postendarterectomy CTEPH who underwent BPA at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, between August 11, 2014, and May 17, 2018, were included. Invasive hemodynamic, clinical, laboratory, and echocardiographic data were collected and analyzed retrospectively. Results We identified 31 patients (26 with inoperable CTEPH and 5 with residual postendarterectomy CTEPH) who underwent 75 BPA procedures performed in a staged manner to reduce complications. The median number of sessions was 2 (interquartile range [IQR], 1-3) per patient, and the number of vessels treated per session was 3 (IQR, 2-3). Of the 31 patients, 24 (77.4%) were taking pulmonary vasodilators and 22 (71.0%) were taking riociguat. The mean pulmonary arterial pressure decreased from 40 mm Hg (IQR, 29-48 mm Hg) to 29 mm Hg (IQR, 25-37 mm Hg; P <.001); pulmonary vascular resistance decreased from 5.5 Wood units (WU) (IQR, 3.0-7.6 WU) to 3.3 WU (2.2-5.2 WU; P <.001). The follow-up 6-minute walk test was performed in 13 patients and improved from 402 m (IQR, 311-439 m) to 439 m (366-510 m; P =.001). Of the 31 patients, 19 (61.3%) had improvement in New York Heart Association functional class. The mean ± SD nadir of minute ventilation/carbon dioxide production decreased by 3.4±5.5 ( P =.03), reflecting improved ventilatory efficiency. Complications included hemoptysis requiring overnight intensive care unit observation (n=1) and cardiac tamponade requiring pericardiocentesis (n=1). One patient had reperfusion injury requiring intubation, recovered, and was dismissed to home but died unexpectedly within less than 30 days of the procedure. Serious complications occurred in 3 of the 75 BPA procedures (4.0%). Conclusion Our experience with BPA revealed that this procedure has acceptable risk and improves hemodynamics, functional class, and exercise tolerance in patients with inoperable or residual CTEPH.

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