| 51. |
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| 52. |
- Nieminen, Markku S., et al.
(författare)
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The patient perspective : Quality of life in advanced heart failure with frequent hospitalisations
- 2015
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Ingår i: International Journal of Cardiology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0167-5273 .- 1874-1754. ; 191, s. 256-264
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- End of life is an unfortunate but inevitable phase of the heart failure patients' journey. It is often preceded by a stage in the progression of heart failure defined as advanced heart failure, and characterised by poor quality of life and frequent hospitalisations. In clinical practice, the efficacy of treatments for advanced heart failure is often assessed by parameters such as clinical status, haemodynamics, neurohormonal status, and echo/MRI indices. From the patients' perspective, however, quality-of-life-related parameters, such as functional capacity, exercise performance, psychological status, and frequency of re-hospitalisations, are more significant. The effects of therapies and interventions on these parameters are, however, underrepresented in clinical trials targeted to assess advanced heart failure treatment efficacy, and data are overall scarce. This is possibly due to a non-universal definition of the quality-of-life-related endpoints, and to the difficult standardisation of the data collection. These uncertainties also lead to difficulties in handling trade-off decisions between quality of life and survival by patients, families and healthcare providers. A panel of 34 experts in the field of cardiology and intensive cardiac care from 21 countries around the world convened for reviewing the existing data on quality-of-life in patients with advanced heart failure, discussing and reaching a consensus on the validity and significance of quality-of-life assessment methods. Gaps in routine care and research, which should be addressed, were identified. Finally, published data on the effects of current i.v. vasoactive therapies such as inotropes, inodilators, and vasodilators on quality-of-life in advanced heart failure patients were analysed.
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| 53. |
- Nieminen, Markku S., et al.
(författare)
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The potential of the inodilator levosimendan in maintaining quality of life in advanced heart failure
- 2017
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Ingår i: European Heart Journal, Supplement. - : OXFORD UNIV PRESS. - 1520-765X .- 1554-2815. ; 19:C, s. C15-C21
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Maintaining adequate quality of life (QoL) is an important therapeutic objective for patients with advanced heart failure and, for some patients, may take precedence over prolonging life. Achieving good QoL in this context may involve aspects of patient care that lie outside the familiar limits of heart failure treatment. The inodilator levosimendan may be advantageous in this setting, not least because of its sustained duration of action, ascribed to a long-acting metabolite designated OR-1896. The possibility of using this drug in an outpatient setting is a notable practical advantage that avoids the need for patients to attend a clinic appointment. Intermittent therapy can be integrated into a wider system of outreach and patient monitoring. Practical considerations in the use of levosimendan as part of a palliative or end-of-life regimen focused on preserving QoL include the importance of starting therapy at low doses and avoiding bolus administration unless immediate effects are required and patients have adequate baseline arterial blood pressure.
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| 54. |
- Nieminen, Markku S, et al.
(författare)
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The role of levosimendan in acute heart failure complicating acute coronary syndrome: A review and expert consensus opinion.
- 2016
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Ingår i: International journal of cardiology. - : Elsevier BV. - 1874-1754 .- 0167-5273. ; 218, s. 150-157
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Acute heart failure and/or cardiogenic shock are frequently triggered by ischemic coronary events. Yet, there is a paucity of randomized data on the management of patients with heart failure complicating acute coronary syndrome, as acute coronary syndrome and cardiogenic shock have frequently been defined as exclusion criteria in trials and registries. As a consequence, guideline recommendations are mostly driven by observational studies, even though these patients have a particularly poor prognosis compared to heart failure patients without signs of coronary artery disease. In acute heart failure, and especially in cardiogenic shock related to ischemic conditions, vasopressors and inotropes are used. However, both pathophysiological considerations and available clinical data suggest that these treatments may have disadvantageous effects. The inodilator levosimendan offers potential benefits due to a range of distinct effects including positive inotropy, restoration of ventriculo-arterial coupling, increases in tissue perfusion, and anti-stunning and anti-inflammatory effects. In clinical trials levosimendan improves symptoms, cardiac function, hemodynamics, and end-organ function. Adverse effects are generally less common than with other inotropic and vasoactive therapies, with the notable exception of hypotension. The decision to use levosimendan, in terms of timing and dosing, is influenced by the presence of pulmonary congestion, and blood pressure measurements. Levosimendan should be preferred over adrenergic inotropes as a first line therapy for all ACS-AHF patients who are under beta-blockade and/or when urinary output is insufficient after diuretics. Levosimendan can be used alone or in combination with other inotropic or vasopressor agents, but requires monitoring due to the risk of hypotension.
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| 55. |
- Nieminen, Tuomo, et al.
(författare)
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Global analysis of continental boundary layer new particle formation based on long-term measurements
- 2018
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Ingår i: Atmospheric Chemistry And Physics. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1680-7316 .- 1680-7324. ; 18:19, s. 14737-14756
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Atmospheric new particle formation (NPF) is an important phenomenon in terms of global particle number concentrations. Here we investigated the frequency of NPF, formation rates of 10 nm particles, and growth rates in the size range of 10-25 nm using at least 1 year of aerosol number size-distribution observations at 36 different locations around the world. The majority of these measurement sites are in the Northern Hemisphere. We found that the NPF frequency has a strong seasonal variability. At the measurement sites analyzed in this study, NPF occurs most frequently in March-May (on about 30 % of the days) and least frequently in December-February (about 10 % of the days). The median formation rate of 10 nm particles varies by about 3 orders of magnitude (0.01-10 cm(-3) s(-1)) and the growth rate by about an order of magnitude (1-10 nm h(-1)). The smallest values of both formation and growth rates were observed at polar sites and the largest ones in urban environments or anthropogenically influenced rural sites. The correlation between the NPF event frequency and the particle formation and growth rate was at best moderate among the different measurement sites, as well as among the sites belonging to a certain environmental regime. For a better understanding of atmospheric NPF and its regional importance, we would need more observational data from different urban areas in practically all parts of the world, from additional remote and rural locations in North America, Asia, and most of the Southern Hemisphere (especially Australia), from polar areas, and from at least a few locations over the oceans.
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| 56. |
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| 57. |
- Okin, Peter M, et al.
(författare)
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Incidence of atrial fibrillation in relation to changing heart rate over time in hypertensive patients : the LIFE study
- 2008
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Ingår i: Circulation - Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology. - 1941-3149. ; 1:5, s. 337-343
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background— Onset of atrial fibrillation (AF) has been linked to changes in autonomic tone, with increasing heart rate (HR) immediately before AF onset in some patients suggesting a possible role of acute increases in sympathetic activity in AF onset. Although losartan therapy and decreasing ECG left ventricular hypertrophy are associated with decreased AF incidence, the relationship of HR changes over time to development of AF has not been examined. Methods and Results— HR was evaluated in 8828 hypertensive patients without AF by history or on baseline ECG in the Losartan Intervention for End Point Reduction in Hypertension (LIFE) study. Patients were treated with losartan- or atenolol-based regimens and followed with serial ECGs annually which were used to determine HR and ECG left ventricular hypertrophy by Cornell product and Sokolow-Lyon voltage criteria. During mean follow-up of 4.7±1.1 years, new-onset AF occurred in 701 patients (7.9%). Patients with new AF had smaller decreases in HR to last in-treatment ECG or last ECG before AF (−2.7±13.5 versus −5.2±12.5 bpm), whether on losartan- (−0.4±13.5 versus −2.2±11.7 bpm) or atenolol-based treatment (−5.3±12.8 versus −8.3±12.6 bpm, all P<0.001). In univariate Cox analyses, higher HR on in-treatment ECGs was associated with an increased risk of new-onset AF, with a 15% greater risk of AF for every 10 bpm higher HR (95% CI 8% to 22%). In alternative analyses, persistence or development of a HR≥84 (upper quintile of baseline HR) was associated with a 46% greater risk of developing AF (95% CI 19% to 80%). After adjusting for treatment with losartan versus atenolol, baseline risk factors for AF, baseline and in-treatment systolic and diastolic pressure and the known predictive value of baseline and in-treatment ECG left ventricular hypertrophy for new AF, higher in-treatment HR remained strongly associated with new AF with a 19% higher risk for every 10 bpm higher HR (95% CI 10% to 28%) or a 61% increased rate of AF in patients with persistence or development of a HR≥84 (95% CI 27% to 104%, all P<0.001). Conclusion— Higher in-treatment HR on serial ECGs is associated with an increased likelihood of new-onset AF, independent of treatment modality, blood pressure lowering, and regression of ECG left ventricular hypertrophy in patients with essential hypertension.
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| 58. |
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| 59. |
- Olsen, Michael H., et al.
(författare)
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Changes in subclinical organ damage vs. in Framingham risk score for assessing cardiovascular risk reduction during continued antihypertensive treatment : a LIFE substudy
- 2011
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Ingår i: Journal of Hypertension. - 0263-6352 .- 1473-5598. ; 29:5, s. 997-1004
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aim: To investigate whether in-treatment measurements of subclinical organ damage (SOD) assessed by elevated urine albumin/creatinine ratio (UACR) or electrocardiographic left ventricular hypertrophy improved the prediction of the composite cardiovascular endpoint of cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction and stroke beyond in-treatment Framingham risk score (FRS).Methods: Excluding patients with a composite cardiovascular endpoint within the first year of treatment, 598 endpoints occurred in 6460 patients from the Losartan Intervention For Endpoint reduction in hypertension (LIFE) study with baseline and 1 year values for UACR, left ventricular hypertrophy by electrocardiography and FRS available.Results: Using Cox-regression analyses, FRS1year [hazard ratio = 1.006 (0.98-1.04)] did not predict the endpoint independently of history of cardiovascular disease [hazard ratio = 1.76 (1.49-2.08)], FRSbaseline [hazard ratio = 1.07 (1.04-1.11)], UACR(baseline) [hazard ratio = 1.15 (1.07-1.23), all three P < 0.001], Sokolow-Lyon(baseline) [hazard ratio = 1.01 (1.006-1.02), P < 0.01] and treatment allocation, whereas Cornell product(1yea)r [hazard ratio = 1.01 (1.006-1.02), P < 0.001] and to some degree UACR(1year) [hazard ratio = 1.05 (0.99-1.10), P = 0.09] predicted the endpoint independently of history of cardiovascular disease [hazard ratio = 1.71 (1.44-2.02)], FRSbaseline [hazard ratio = 1.08 (1.06-1.10)], Sokolow-Lyon(baseline) [hazard ratio = 1.01 (1.007-1.02), both P < 0.001], UACR(baseline) [hazard ratio = 1.11 (1.03-1.20), P < 0.01] and treatment allocation decreasing -2 Log likelihood significantly (P < 0.01).Presence of left ventricular hypertrophy by Cornell product1year or UACR(1year) at least 1 mmol/l [hazard ratio = 1.40 (1.15-1.70), P = 0.001] but not FRS1year above the median baseline value of 20 [hazard ratio = 1.22 (0.94-1.57), not significant] was associated with higher risk of subsequent endpoint after adjustment for history of cardiovascular disease [hazard ratio = 1.82 (1.54-2.15)], FRSbaseline at least 20 [hazard ratio = 1.67 (1.30-2.16)], left ventricular hypertrophy by Sokolow-Lyonbaseline or UACR(baseline) at least 1 mmol/l [hazard ratio = 1.61 (1.33-1.94), all P < 0.001] and treatment allocation [hazard ratio = 0.93 (0.79-1.09), not significant]. In contrast to FRS1year at least 20 decreased, SOD1year decreased -2Log likelihood significantly (P < 0.01).Conclusion: Cornell product(1year) and UACR(1year) improved in contrast to FRS1year risk prediction based on FRSbaseline, Sokolow-Lyon(baseline) and UACR(baseline) significantly in LIFE patients during antihypertensive treatment.
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| 60. |
- Olsen, Michael Hecht, et al.
(författare)
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Effects of losartan compared with atenolol on lipids in patients with hypertension and left ventricular hypertrophy : the losartan intervention for endpoint reduction in hypertension (LIFE) study
- 2009
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Ingår i: Journal of Hypertension. - 0263-6352 .- 1473-5598. ; 27:3, s. 567-574
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: Beta-blockers and angiotensin II receptor blockers have different effects on lipids. Methods: We examined lipid levels in the Losartan Intervention For Endpoint reduction in hypertension study and their impact on the primary composite endpoint of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke. We measured total and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol at baseline and annually during 4.8 years of losartan-based compared with atenolol-based treatment in 8611 patients with hypertension and left ventricular hypertrophy. Results: Patients randomized to losartan-based or atenolol-based treatment had similar baseline total (6.04 ± 1.12 vs. 6.05 ± 1.13 mmol/l, NS) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (1.50 ± 0.44 vs. 1.49 ± 0.44 mmol/l, NS). Total cholesterol decreased significantly but equally (-0.37 ± 1.05 vs. -0.34 ± 1.09 mmol/l, NS), whereas HDL cholesterol decreased less during the first 2 years in patients randomized to losartan compared with atenolol (-0.13 ± 0.24 vs. -0.19 ± 0.25 mmol/l) and remained higher each year (1.38, 1.37, 1.42, 1.47, and 1.48 mmol/l vs. 1.32, 1.30, 1.36, 1.40, and 1.42 mmol/l, all P < 0.001) independent of hydrochlorothiazide or statin treatment. In Cox regression analysis, baseline total cholesterol [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.08 (1.02–1.14) per mmol/l, P < 0.01], HDL cholesterol [HR = 0.56 (0.48–0.66) per mmol/l, P < 0.001], and treatment allocation [HR = 0.86 (0.76–0.98), P < 0.05] predicted composite endpoint independently. Using time-varying analyses, the predictive strength of HDL cholesterol was increased [HR = 0.36 (0.30–0.44) per mmol/l, P < 0.001], whereas that of total cholesterol [HR = 1.03 (0.97–1.09) per mmol/l, NS] and treatment allocation [HR = 0.91 (0.80–1.03), NS] were reduced. Conclusion: Losartan blunted the decrease in HDL cholesterol during antihypertensive treatment in the LIFE study. Higher intreatment HDL cholesterol was associated with fewer composite endpoints and may partly explain the better outcome of losartan-based treatment.
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