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- Milovanovic, Micha, 1966-, et al.
(författare)
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Letter: Atrial fibrillation and platelet reactivity : in International Journal of Cardiology(ISSN 0167-5273)(EISSN 1874-1754)
- 2010
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Ingår i: International Journal of Cardiology. - Ireland : Elsevier. - 0167-5273 .- 1874-1754. ; 145:2, s. 357-358
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- BACKGROUND: The impact of atrial fibrillation (AF) upon platelet reactivity has not been investigated. METHODS: Subjects were 33 individuals with AF who consented to elective electrical cardioversion (ECV) immediately before ECV determination of surface-bound fibrinogen after stimulation i.e. platelet reactivity was carried out. A flow cytometer was employed. ADP (1.7 and 8.5mumol/L) and a thrombin receptor activating peptide (54 and 74mumol/L) were used as agonists. The analyses were repeated after 26+/-8(SD) months. RESULTS: Compared to day 1 subjects with AF (n=18) had a trend towards lower platelet reactivity at study end. It reached significance when using 1.7mumol/L ADP. In contrast, after 26+/-8(SD) months sinus rhythm (SR) (n=15) was associated with significant lower reactivity with all agonists. CONCLUSION: After 26+/-8(SD) months patients returning with AF had higher platelet reactivity than those who remained with SR.
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| 2. |
- Svensson, Staffan, 1972, et al.
(författare)
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Reasons for adherence with antihypertensive medication.
- 2000
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Ingår i: International journal of cardiology. - 0167-5273 .- 1874-1754. ; 76:2-3, s. 157-63
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Hypertension is often insufficiently controlled in clinical practice, a prominent reason for this being poor patient adherence with therapy. Little is known about the underlying reasons for poor adherence. We set out to investigate hypertensive patients' self-reported reasons for adhering to or ignoring medical advice regarding antihypertensive medication. METHODS: Qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews with 33 hypertensive patients in a general-practice centre and a specialist hypertension unit in Southern Sweden. Blood-pressure measurements and laboratory measurements of antihypertensive medication were performed. RESULTS: Nineteen out of 33 patients were classified as adherent. Adherence was a function of faith in the physician, fear of complications of hypertension, and a desire to control blood pressure. Non-adherence was an active decision, partly based on misunderstandings of the condition and general disapproval of medication, but mostly taken in order to facilitate daily life or minimize adverse effects. Adherent patients gave less evidence of involvement in care than non-adherent patients. There was no obvious relation between reported adherence, laboratory markers of adherence and blood-pressure levels. CONCLUSIONS: The interview is a powerful tool for ascertaining patients' concepts and behaviour. To optimize treatment of hypertension, it is important to form a therapeutic alliance in which patients' doubts and difficulties with therapy can be detected and addressed. For this, effective patient-physician communication is of vital importance.
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| 3. |
- Agvall, Björn, et al.
(författare)
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Resource use and cost implications of implementing a heart failure program for patients with systolic heart failure in Swedish primary health care
- 2014
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Ingår i: International Journal of Cardiology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0167-5273 .- 1874-1754. ; 176, s. 731-738
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aim: Heart failure (HF) is a common but serious condition which involves a significant economic burden on the health care economy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate cost and quality of life (QoL) implications of implementing a HF management program (HFMP) in primary health care (PHC).Methods and results: This was a prospective randomized open-label study including 160 patientswith a diagnosis of HF from five PHC centers in south-eastern Sweden. Patients randomized to the intervention group received information about HF from HF nurses and from a validated computer-based awareness program. HF nurses and physicians followed the patients intensely in order to optimize HF treatment according to current guidelines. The patients in the control group were followed by their regular general practitioner (GP) and received standard treatment according to local management routines. No significant changes were observed in NYHA class and quality-adjusted life years (QALY), implying that functional class and QoL were preserved. However, costs for hospital care (HC) and PHC were reduced by EUR 2167, or 33%. The total cost was EUR 4471 in the intervention group and EUR 6638 in the control group.Conclusions: Introducing HFMP in Swedish PHC in patients with HF entails a significant reduction in resource utilization and costs, and maintains QoL. Based on these results, a broader implementation of HFMP in PHC may be recommended. However, results should be confirmed with extended follow-up to verify long-term effects.
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| 4. |
- Alehagen, Urban, et al.
(författare)
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Cardiovascular mortality and N-terminal-proBNP reduced after combined selenium and coenzyme Q10 supplementation : a 5-year prospective randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial among elderly Swedish citizens
- 2013
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Ingår i: International Journal of Cardiology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0167-5273 .- 1874-1754. ; 167:5, s. 1860-1866
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BackgroundSelenium and coenzyme Q10 are essential for the cell. Low cardiac contents of selenium and coenzyme Q10 have been shown in patients with cardiomyopathy, but inconsistent results are published on the effect of supplementation of the two components separately. A vital relationship exists between the two substances to obtain optimal function of the cell. However, reports on combined supplements are lacking.MethodsA 5-year prospective randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial among Swedish citizens aged 70 to 88 was performed in 443 participants given combined supplementation of selenium and coenzyme Q10 or a placebo. Clinical examinations, echocardiography and biomarker measurements were performed. Participants were monitored every 6th month throughout the intervention.The cardiac biomarker N-terminal proBNP (NT-proBNP) and echocardiographic changes were monitored and mortalities were registered. End-points of mortality were evaluated by Kaplan–Meier plots and Cox proportional hazard ratios were adjusted for potential confounding factors. Intention-to-treat and per-protocol analyses were applied.ResultsDuring a follow up time of 5.2 years a significant reduction of cardiovascular mortality was found in the active treatment group vs. the placebo group (5.9% vs. 12.6%; P = 0.015). NT-proBNP levels were significantly lower in the active group compared with the placebo group (mean values: 214 ng/L vs. 302 ng/L at 48 months; P = 0.014). In echocardiography a significant better cardiac function score was found in the active supplementation compared to the placebo group (P = 0.03).ConclusionLong-term supplementation of selenium/coenzyme Q10 reduces cardiovascular mortality. The positive effects could also be seen in NT-proBNP levels and on echocardiography.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Alhede, Christina, et al.
(författare)
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Antiarrhythmic medication is superior to catheter ablation in suppressing supraventricular ectopic complexes in patients with atrial fibrillation
- 2017
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Ingår i: International Journal of Cardiology. - : ELSEVIER IRELAND LTD. - 0167-5273 .- 1874-1754. ; 244, s. 186-191
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Supraventricular ectopic complexes (SVEC) originating in the pulmonary veins are known triggers of atrial fibrillation (AF) which led to the development of pulmonary vein isolation for AF. However, the long-term prevalence of SVEC after catheter ablation (CA) as compared to antiarrhythmic medication (AAD) is unknown. Our aims were to compare the prevalence of SVEC after AAD and CA and to estimate the association between baseline SVEC burden and AF burden during 24 months of follow-up. Methods: Patients with paroxysmal AF (N = 260) enrolled in the MANTRA PAF trial were treated with AAD (N = 132) or CA (N = 128). At baseline and 3, 6, 12, 18 and 24 months follow-up patients underwent 7-day Holter monitoring to assess SVEC and AF burden. We compared SVEC burden between treatments with Wilcoxon sum rank test. Results: Patients treated with AAD had significantly lower daily SVEC burden during follow-up as compared to CA (AAD: 19 [6-58] versus CA: 39 [14-125], p = 0.003). SVEC burden increased post-procedurally followed by a decrease after CA whereas after AAD SVEC burden decreased and stabilized after 3 months of follow-up. Patients with low SVEC burden had low AF burden after both treatments albeit this was more pronounced after CA at 24 months of follow-up. Conclusion: AAD was superior to CA in suppressing SVEC burden after treatment of paroxysmal AF. After CA SVEC burden increased immediately post-procedural followed by a decrease whereas after AAD an early decrease was observed. Lower SVEC burden was highly associated with lower AF burden during follow-up especially after CA. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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| 8. |
- Alhede, Christina, et al.
(författare)
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The impact of supraventricular ectopic complexes in different age groups and risk of recurrent atrial fibrillation after antiarrhythmic medication or catheter ablation
- 2018
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Ingår i: International Journal of Cardiology. - : ELSEVIER IRELAND LTD. - 0167-5273 .- 1874-1754. ; 250, s. 122-127
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Introduction: Supraventricular ectopic complexes (SVEC) are known risk factors of recurrent atrial fibrillation (AF). However, the impact of SVEC in different age groups is unknown. We aimed to investigate the risk of AF recurrence with higher SVEC burden in patients +/- 57 years, respectively, after treatment with antiarrhythmic medication (AAD) or catheter ablation (CA). Methods: In total, 260 patients with LVEF amp;gt;40% and age amp;lt;= 70 years were randomized to AAD (N = 132) or CA (N = 128) as first-line treatment for paroxysmal AF. All patients underwent 7-day Holter monitoring at baseline, and after 3, 6, 12, 18 and 24 months and were categorized according to median age +/- 57 years. We used multi-variate Cox regression analyses and we defined high SVEC burden at 3 months of follow-up as the upper 75th percentile amp;gt;195 SVEC/day. AF recurrence was defined as AF amp;gt;= 1 min, AF-related cardioversion or hospitalization. Results: Age amp;gt;57 years were significantly associated with higher AF recurrence rate after CA (58% vs 36%, p = 0.02). After CA, we observed a higher SVEC burden during follow-up in patients amp;gt;57 years which was not observed in the younger age group treatedwith CA (p = 0.006). High SVEC burden at 3 months after CA was associated with AF recurrence in older patients but not in younger patients (amp;gt;57 years: HR 3.4 [1.4-7.9], p = 0.005). We did not find any age-related differences after AAD. Conclusion: We found that younger and older patients respond differently to CA and that SVEC burden was only associated with AF recurrence in older patients. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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| 9. |
- Arfvidsson, John, et al.
(författare)
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Monocyte subsets in myocardial infarction: A review
- 2017
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Ingår i: International Journal of Cardiology. - : ELSEVIER IRELAND LTD. - 0167-5273 .- 1874-1754. ; 231, s. 47-53
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Monocytes form an important part of the human innate immune system by taking part in inflammatory reactions. With time, monocytes have gained interest in the role they may play during the event of myocardial infarction (MI). The current paradigm suggests that monocytes consist of three subdivisions which differ in phenotypic and dynamic patterns after an MI. In the inflammation that ensues, the different subsets have been shown to have an impact on reparative processes and patient recovery. Methods results: We searched Medline and Embase until April 5, 2016, for observational studies or clinical trials regarding monocyte functions and dynamics in MI. Apart from studies in humans, extensive work has been done in mice in an effort to understand the complex nature of monocyte dynamics. Animal models might add useful information on mapping these processes. Conclusion: The question still remains whether animal data can, to a certain degree, be extrapolated to monocyte functions during human MI. This review aims to summarize current available evidence on both mice and men with particular focus on the understanding of monocyte subsets dynamics and effects in human MI. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
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| 10. |
- Basic, Carmen, 1975, et al.
(författare)
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Sex-related differences among young adults with heart failure in Sweden
- 2022
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Ingår i: International Journal of Cardiology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0167-5273 .- 1874-1754. ; 362, s. 97-103
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Differences between the sexes among the non-elderly with heart failure (HF) have been insufficiently evaluated. This study aims to investigate sex-related differences in early-onset HF. Methods: Patients aged 18 to 54 years who were registered from 2003 to 2014 in the Swedish Heart Failure Register were included. Each patient was matched with two controls from the Swedish Total Population Register. Data on comorbidities and outcomes were obtained through the National Patient Register and Cause of Death Register. Results: We identified 3752 patients and 7425 controls. Of the patients, 971 (25.9%) were women and 2781 (74.1%) were men with a mean (standard deviation) age of 44.9 (8.4) and 46.4 (7.3) years, respectively. Men had more hypertension and ischemic heart disease, whereas women had more congenital heart disease and obesity. During the median follow-up of 4.87 years, 26.5 and 24.7 per 1000 person-years male and female patients died, compared with 3.61 and 2.01 per 1000 person-years male and female controls, respectively. The adjusted hazard ratios for all-cause mortality, compared with controls, were 4.77 (3.78-6.01) in men and 7.84 (4.85-12.7) in women (p for sex difference = 0.11). When HF was diagnosed at 30, 35, 40, and 45 years, women and men lost up to 24.6 and 24.2, 24.4 and 20.9, 20.5 and 18.3, and 20.7 and 16.5 years of life, respectively. Conclusion: Long-term mortality was similar between the sexes. Women lost more years of life than men.
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