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Background: Limited data exist on the long-term impact of beta-blocker therapy after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD) and preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). Objectives: The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of early beta-blocker initiation vs no initiation following PCI in patients with stable CAD and preserved LVEF. Methods: This retrospective cohort study employed target trial emulation and incident user design, utilizing the TriNetx database (2009-2024). Early beta-blocker initiation (within days 1 and 7) was compared with no initiation using 1:1 greedy propensity score matching. The outcomes included all-cause mortality, hospitalization for myocardial infarction, heart failure, atrial fibrillation/flutter, stroke, and safety endpoints. Hospitalization for bone fracture and acute appendicitis served as falsification endpoints. In the intention-to-treat analysis, outcomes were analyzed over 5 years using Cox-proportional hazards. Results: Out of 11,681 matched patients per group, beta-blocker therapy was associated with increased all-cause mortality (HR: 1.11 [95% CI: 1.09-1.18]). No significant differences were found in hospitalization for myocardial infarction (HR: 1.03 [95% CI: 0.97-1.09]), stroke (HR: 0.98 [95% CI: 0.91-1.05]), heart failure (HR: 0.99 [95% CI: 0.95-1.03]), and atrial fibrillation/flutter (HR: 0.97 [95% CI: 0.93-1.01]). Hospitalization for hypotension was higher with beta-blockers (HR: 1.10 [95% CI: 1.06-1.14]). Hospitalization for bone fracture (HR: 1.02 [95% CI: 0.85-1.22]) and acute appendicitis (HR: 1.17 [95% CI: 0.95-1.45]) showed no significant associations. Several sensitivity analyses showed consistent results. Conclusions: Early beta-blocker initiation after PCI for stable CAD with preserved LVEF was associated with higher mortality, with no impact on cardiovascular events.

Therapeutic Area: Pharmacologic Therapy Background: Patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and concurrent type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are at an increased risk for adverse cardiovascular outcomes, and derive significant mortality benefit from secondary prevention therapies. Despite this, utilization of evidence-based optimal medical therapy (OMT) remains suboptimal in this cohort. Therefore, we sought to determine contemporary patterns in utilization of OMT for secondary prevention in patients with ASCVD and T2DM. Methods: Houston Methodist Cardiovascular Disease Learning Health System Registry, an EMR-linked registry was queried to obtain data of adult population between 2016-2022. All patients with established ASCVD (i.e. coronary artery disease, peripheral artery disease and/or stroke) and T2DM diagnosis based on ICD-10 CM codes were included. OMT was defined as any patient utilizing high-intensity statin, antithrombotic (antiplatelet or anticoagulant), ACEi and/or ARB [angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor and/or angiotensin II receptor blocker], and SGLT2 inhibitor and/or GLP1 RA [sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 and/or glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist]. Patients with glomerular filtration rate

Objective: To assess trends of stroke hospitalization rates, inpatient mortality, and health care resource use in young (aged ≤44 years), midlife (aged 45-64 years), and older (aged ≥65 years) adults. Patients and Methods: We studied the National Inpatient Sample database (January 1, 2002 to December 31, 2017) to analyze stroke-related hospitalizations. We identified data using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth/Tenth Revision codes. Results: Of 11,381,390 strokes, 79% (n=9,009,007) were ischemic and 21% (n=2,372,383) were hemorrhagic. Chronic diseases were more frequent in older adults; smoking, alcoholism, and migraine were more prevalent in midlife adults; and coagulopathy and intravenous drug abuse were more common in young patients with stroke. The hospitalization rates of stroke per 10,000 increased overall (31.6 to 33.3) in young and midlife adults while decreasing in older adults. Although mortality decreased overall and in all age groups, the decline was slower in young and midlife adults than older adults. The mean length of stay significantly decreased in midlife and older adults and increased in young adults. The inflation-adjusted mean cost of stay increased consistently, with an average annual growth rate of 2.44% in young, 1.72% in midlife, and 1.45% in older adults owing to the higher use of health care resources. These trends were consistent in both ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke. Conclusion: Stroke-related hospitalization and health care expenditure are increasing in the United States, particularly among young and midlife adults. A higher cost of stay counterbalances the benefits of reducing stroke and mortality in older patients.

Objective: To investigate the association between using febuxostat and cardiovascular events. Methods: Systematic search of randomized controlled trials was performed using PubMed/MEDLINE, Cochrane review, and EMBASE databases through April 17, 2019. Meta-analysis was performed using random effect model and estimates were reported as risk difference (RD) with 95% CIs. The certainty of evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach. The main outcomes of interest were cardiovascular mortality and all-cause mortality. Results: A total of 15 randomized controlled trials (16,070 participants) were included. The mean ± SD age was 58.1±11.7 years. At the median follow-up of 6.4 months, use of febuxostat was not associated with statistically significant risk of cardiovascular mortality (RD, 0.12%; 95% CI, -0.25% to 0.49%; I2=48%; low certainty evidence), all-cause mortality (RD, 0.20%; 95% CI, -0.28% to 0.68%; I2 =60%; very low certainty evidence), major adverse cardiovascular events (RD, 0.40%; 95% CI, -0.34% to 1.13%; I2=26%; low certainty evidence), myocardial infarction (RD, -0.06%; 95% CI, -0.29% to 0.17%; I2 =0%; moderate certainty evidence), stroke (RD, 0.10%; 95% CI, -0.15% to 0.35%; I2=0%; moderate certainty evidence), or new-onset hypertension (RD, 1.58%; 95% CI, -0.63% to 3.78%; I2=58%; very low certainty evidence). These findings were consistent in patients with existing cardiovascular disease. Conclusion: This meta-analysis suggested that use of febuxostat was not associated with higher risk of mortality or adverse cardiovascular outcomes in patients with gout and hyperuricemia. The results were limited by low to moderate certainty of evidence.