Search

AIMS Atrial fibrillation (AF) has been highlighted as a growing epidemic. Evidence is lacking on the role of different risk factors within both genders especially in AF patients referred for catheter ablation (CA). The objective was the evaluation of differences between men and women in the associations with aging, obesity and hypertension as the most highly contributing factors to AF onset and progression. METHODS Cases selected among patients scheduled for CA as a rhythm-control strategy and controls from a recent Italian national survey on the population's health conditions were analysed to quantify the strength of association and to assess the existence of gender differences. To reduce the effect of possible confounding factors, both cases and controls were selected without preexisting comorbidities other than hypertension. RESULTS At multivariate logistic regression analysis, cases (534 patients, 166 women) were significantly associated with the male sex, higher age, presence of obesity and hypertension in comparison to controls (17,983 subjects, 9,409 women). At analyses gender-stratified, age and obesity had a significant greater association in women than men. On the contrary, hypertension was relatively more frequent in men than women. CONCLUSION Although mechanisms linking risk factors and AF are complex, this study suggests the existence of differences mediated by gender in AF drug-refractory patients who underwent CA. A tailored public health programme to reduce the growing burden of AF needs to be designed to prevent and counter the increasing epidemic of the most common cardiac arrhythmia as well as its progression in more resistant forms.

Background and Purpose— Prediction of outcome after stroke rehabilitation may help clinicians in decision-making and planning rehabilitation care. We developed and validated a predictive tool to estimate the probability of achieving improvement in physical functioning (model 1) and a level of independence requiring no more than supervision (model 2) after stroke rehabilitation. Methods— The models were derived from 717 patients admitted for stroke rehabilitation. We used multivariable logistic regression analysis to build each model. Then, each model was prospectively validated in 875 patients. Results— Model 1 included age, time from stroke occurrence to rehabilitation admission, admission motor and cognitive Functional Independence Measure scores, and neglect. Model 2 included age, male gender, time since stroke onset, and admission motor and cognitive Functional Independence Measure score. Both models demonstrated excellent discrimination. In the derivation cohort, the area under the curve was 0.883 (95% confidence intervals, 0.858–0.910) for model 1 and 0.913 (95% confidence intervals, 0.884–0.942) for model 2. The Hosmer–Lemeshow χ 2 was 4.12 ( P =0.249) and 1.20 ( P =0.754), respectively. In the validation cohort, the area under the curve was 0.866 (95% confidence intervals, 0.840–0.892) for model 1 and 0.850 (95% confidence intervals, 0.815–0.885) for model 2. The Hosmer–Lemeshow χ 2 was 8.86 ( P =0.115) and 34.50 ( P =0.001), respectively. Both improvement in physical functioning (hazard ratios, 0.43; 0.25–0.71; P =0.001) and a level of independence requiring no more than supervision (hazard ratios, 0.32; 0.14–0.68; P =0.004) were independently associated with improved 4-year survival. A calculator is freely available for download at https://goo.gl/fEAp81 . Conclusions— This study provides researchers and clinicians with an easy-to-use, accurate, and validated predictive tool for potential application in rehabilitation research and stroke management.

We thank Dijkland et al for their interest in our article1 on prediction of functional outcome after stroke rehabilitation. Dr Dijkland raises some issues about the outcome measures and the predictive model for the secondary outcome. In general, models predictive of dichotomous clinical outcomes are most relevant in medical applications. Consistently, dichotomized outcome measures, including the Barthel index and the modified Rankin Scale, have been used to assess the effects of stroke treatment in clinical trials. For patients undergoing rehabilitation after a moderate-to-severe stroke, regaining minimal levels of disability or physical independence are clinically highly relevant outcomes. According to the article of Altman cited by Dijkland, we did not convert continuous explanatory variables to 2 (dichotomization) or multiple (categorization) groups, but …

Objective: To evaluate the effects of prophylactic perioperative corticosteroid administration, compared with placebo, on postoperative mortality and clinical outcomes (renal dysfunction, duration of mechanical ventilation, and ICU length of stay) in pediatric patients undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. Data Sources: MEDLINE and Cochrane Library were screened through August 2013 for randomized controlled trials in which perioperative steroid treatment was adopted. Study Selection: Included were randomized controlled trials conducted on pediatric population that reported clinical outcomes about mortality and morbidity. Data Extraction: Eighty citations (PubMed, 48 citations; Cochrane, 32 citations) were identified, of which 14 articles were analyzed in depth and six articles fulfilled eligibility criteria and reported mortality data (232 patients), two studies reported ICU length of stay and mechanical ventilation duration (60 patients), and two studies reported renal dysfunction (49 patients). Data Synthesis: A nonsignificant trend of reduced mortality was observed in steroid-treated patients (11 [4.7%] vs 4 [1.7%] patients; odds ratio, 0.41; 95% CI, 0.14–1.15; p = 0.089). Steroids had no effects on mechanical ventilation time (117.4 ± 95.9 hr vs 137.3 ± 102.4 hr; p = 0.43) and ICU length of stay (9.6 ± 4.6 d vs 9.9 ± 5.9 d; p = 0.8). Perioperative steroid administration reduced the prevalence of renal dysfunction (13 [54.2%] vs 2 [8%] patients; odds ratio, 0.07; 95% CI, 0.01–0.38; p = 0.002). Conclusion: Despite a demonstrated attenuation of cardiopulmonary bypass–induced inflammatory response by steroid administration, a systematic review of randomized controlled trials performed so far reveals that steroid administration has potential clinical advantages (lower mortality and significant reduction of renal function deterioration). A larger prospective randomized study is needed to verify clearly the effects of steroid prophylaxis in pediatric patients.

BACKGROUND The offspring of hypertensive families are characterized by higher arterial blood pressure values and a depressed autonomic control of heart rate. The present study aimed to verify whether these differences are associated with a different genotype distribution of functionally relevant polymorphisms of the alpha- and beta-adrenergic receptor (AR) genes. METHODS We selected 109 age- and sex-matched young normotensive subjects with (FH+, n = 56) and without (FH-, n = 53) a family history of hypertension who underwent evaluation of arterial pressure; 24-h electrocardiogram monitoring to assess time-domain parameters of autonomic heart rate control [i.e. mean RR interval (NN), SD of RR intervals (SDNN) and mean square root of the differences of consecutive RR intervals (rMSSD)]; spectral baroreflex sensitivity measurement; and echo-Doppler to assess diastolic function and left ventricular mass. They were also characterized for the following polymorphisms by means of polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment polymorphism analysis: Arg492Cys in the alpha1a-AR; Del301-303 in the alpha2b-AR; Ser49Gly and Arg389Gly in the beta1-AR; and the 5' leader cistron Arg19Cys, Arg16Gly and Gln27Glu in the beta2-AR. RESULTS FH+ individuals showed a higher systolic pressure, a lower SDNN and a greater isovolumic relaxation time compared to normotensive offspring. No differences were found between the two groups when genotype distribution of the studied polymorphisms was considered. Subjects carrying alpha1a-AR Cys492 allelic variant showed lower values of NN, SDNN and rMSSD, independent of age, gender and body mass index. CONCLUSIONS The functionally relevant polymorphisms of alpha2b-, beta1- and beta2-AR genes are not associated with a family history of essential hypertension. The Arg492Cys polymorphism of the alpha1a-AR gene, although not associated with a family history of hypertension, was strongly related to autonomic control of heart rate.

Abnormalities in the natriuretic peptide system could play a key role in the genesis of hypertension. We evaluated the associations between a family history of hypertension, cardiovascular phenotype and allelic variants of Npr1 and Npr3, two candidate genes that codify for natriuretic peptide receptors.We genotyped 45 young normotensive subjects (19 males, 26.8 +/- 3.7 years) with accurately assessed family history of hypertension (FH+) and 52 (26 males, 26.1 +/- 3.1 years) without (FH-) for the known variants of Npr1 and Npr3 genes, and for a novel length difference (3C/4C) polymorphism at position 15129 in the 3'-untranslated region of the Npr1 gene. Blood pressure, echocardiography and plasma brain natriuretic peptide were assessed.Both the novel Npr1 3C allele (59 versus 33%, P0.001) and the 3C/3C genotype (31 versus 8%; P0.001) were significantly more frequent in FH+ than in FH-. The inverse distribution of the 4C/4C genotype suggested that a casual association was very unlikely. Moreover, the 3C/3C homozygous had significantly higher systolic blood pressure (121.1 +/- 6.3 versus 115.6 +/- 7.8 mmHg in 4C/4C; P0.05) and a longer left ventricular isovolumic relaxation time (67 +/- 10 versus 61 +/- 9 ms; P0.05). The Npr3 C(-55) allele variant was also more frequent in FH+ (88 versus 76%, P0.05), but was not associated with the cardiovascular phenotype.The novel Npr1 gene 3C variant and the Npr3 gene C(-55) allele are associated with hypertensive family history. Moreover, the functional Npr1 3C variant, when homozygous, is also associated with higher systolic blood pressure and prolonged ventricular relaxation.

OBJECTIVE To verify in a unitary view whether autonomic control of heart rate and cardiac structure and function are modified early in offspring of hypertensive families. METHODS AND RESULTS We selected 87 age- and sex-matched young normotensive subjects with (n = 45) and without (n = 42) a family history of hypertension who underwent evaluations of arterial pressure, time-domain parameters of autonomic heart rate control (24-h ECG monitoring), spectral baroreflex sensitivity, left ventricular geometry and function (echo-Doppler) and plasma brain natriuretic peptide levels (BNP). The group with a family history of hypertension significantly differed from their counterparts for systolic pressure (119 +/- 11 versus 114 +/- 9 mmHg, P< 0.05), heart rate (RR interval, 766 +/- 64 versus 810 +/- 93 ms, P< 0.05), heart rate variability [the standard deviation of normal RR intervals (SDNN), 147 +/- 29 versus 171 +/- 33 ms, P < 0.051, diastolic function (isovolumetric relaxation time, 65 +/- 9 versus 60 +/- 8 ms, P< 0.05) and BNP (23 +/- 13 versus 37 +/- 10 pg/ml, P< 0.05). Baroreflex sensitivity values did not differ between the two groups. When gender was considered, all the above-mentioned measures, as well as baroreflex sensitivity, were significantly different between males with and without a family history of hypertension but not between females, except for BNP, which was lower in males and females with a history of hypertension (males, 24 +/- 11 versus 38 +/- 8 pg/ml, P< 0.01; females 21 +/- 14 versus 36 +/- 13 pg/ml, P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Male, but not female, hypertensive offspring have modified diastolic function and autonomic control of heart rate; BNP is the only parameter able to characterize hypertensive offspring independently from the influence of gender. This provides the hypothesis that the impaired production of this hormone could play a primary role in the pre-hypertensive state.