No abstract

BackgroundAtrial fibrillation is associated with higher mortality. Identification of causes of death and contemporary risk factors for all‐cause mortality may guide interventions.Methods and ResultsIn the Rivaroxaban Once Daily Oral Direct Factor Xa Inhibition Compared with Vitamin K Antagonism for Prevention of Stroke and Embolism Trial in Atrial Fibrillation (ROCKET AF) study, patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation were randomized to rivaroxaban or dose‐adjusted warfarin. Cox proportional hazards regression with backward elimination identified factors at randomization that were independently associated with all‐cause mortality in the 14 171 participants in the intention‐to‐treat population. The median age was 73 years, and the mean CHADS 2 score was 3.5. Over 1.9 years of median follow‐up, 1214 (8.6%) patients died. Kaplan–Meier mortality rates were 4.2% at 1 year and 8.9% at 2 years. The majority of classified deaths (1081) were cardiovascular (72%), whereas only 6% were nonhemorrhagic stroke or systemic embolism. No significant difference in all‐cause mortality was observed between the rivaroxaban and warfarin arms (P=0.15). Heart failure (hazard ratio 1.51, 95% CI 1.33–1.70, P<0.0001) and age ≥75 years (hazard ratio 1.69, 95% CI 1.51–1.90, P<0.0001) were associated with higher all‐cause mortality. Multiple additional characteristics were independently associated with higher mortality, with decreasing creatinine clearance, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, male sex, peripheral vascular disease, and diabetes being among the most strongly associated (model C‐index 0.677).ConclusionsIn a large population of patients anticoagulated for nonvalvular atrial fibrillation, ≈7 in 10 deaths were cardiovascular, whereas <1 in 10 deaths were caused by nonhemorrhagic stroke or systemic embolism. Optimal prevention and treatment of heart failure, renal impairment, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and diabetes may improve survival.Clinical Trial Registration URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/. Unique identifier: NCT00403767.

Aim:to study myocardial function in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (PEF) by speckle tracking echocardiography and tissue doppler imaging.Materials and methods.We examined 80 patients aged 50–70 years with verified NYHA class I–IIa CHF and PEF due to arterial hypertension and ischemic heart disease, and 35 healthy persons. Examination included echocardiography, and speckle-tracking echocardiography.Results.According to 6-min walk test 26.9 % of patients had functional class (FC) I CHF, 48.3 % – FC II CHF, and 24.8 – FC III CHF. The mean left ventricular ejection fraction (Simpson’s method) was 62.3±5.35 %, mean end systolic left atrial volume index – 45±8.1 ml / m2. All patients had left ventricular diastolic dysfunction: 60 patients – abnormal relaxation pattern, 20 patients – pseudonormal pattern. Other findings were reduced global longitudinal strain (GLS, –16.56±2.61 %) and GLS rate (GLSR, –0.75±0.11 s–1) of the left ventricle and reduced segmental strain and strain rate in basal anteroseptal (–13.62±3.44 % and –0.77±0.04 s–1, respectively) and basal anterolateral (–14.17±3.31 % and –0.81±0.11 s–1, respectively) segments. Lowering of global circular left ventricular strain and strain rate (–15.63±4.8% and –1.4±0.23 s–1, respectively) was found to be smaller than that of GLS (p<0.05). There was positive correlation between left ventricular systolic GLS and left atrial volume (r=0.601, р<0.01).Conclusions.In patients with CHF and PEF we revealed alterations of diastolic function (abnormal relaxation and pseudonormal patterns), reductions of global and segmental strain and strain rate of the left ventricle. More pronounced lowering of segmental strain and strain rate was registered in left ventricular basal anteroseptal and basal anterolateral segments. Circular strain was found to be slightly reduced, while radial strain was unchanged.

Hypertension (HTN) remains one of the most important risk factors for cardiovascular events. Modification of additional risk factors, along with a blood pressure decrease, significantly affects the risk of cardiovascular events. Hyperuricemia is one of the new factors that has a high prevalence in the population and affects the risk for cardiovascular events in hypertensive patients. In the treatment with fixed-dose combinations in patients with hypertension and hyperuricemia, metabolic neutrality is of particular importance. When prescribing diuretics, the practitioner faces additional difficulties. These drugs are highly synergistic when added to other major antihypertensives’ classes, but, in some cases, may worsen the metabolic profile. The use of the thiazide-like diuretic indapamide largely avoids a negative effect on the metabolic profile, making it the preferred choice for patients with hyperuricemia.