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| 2. |
- Dyverfeldt, Petter, et al.
(author)
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Helical flow in tortuous aortas and its relationship to turbulence: A whole-aorta 4D flow MRI study
- 2023
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In: Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine. - : FRONTIERS MEDIA SA. - 2297-055X. ; 10
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BackgroundIncreased vascular tortuosity is a hallmark of ageing of the vascular system, including the aorta. However, the impact of tortuosity on aortic blood flow is unknown. We hypothesized that increased tortuosity would be associated with increased blood flow helicity and with decreased degree of blood flow turbulence as measured by the turbulent kinetic energy (TKE).Methods4D Flow MR images covering the entire aorta from the aortic valve to the iliac bifurcation were acquired in 23 normal volunteers aged 18-30 years ("Young") and 23 normal volunteers aged 66-76 years ("Old") without aortic disease. The aorta was segmented and divided into four regions: the ascending, descending, suprarenal abdominal and infrarenal abdominal aorta. Tortuosity, helicity, TKE, flow velocity, and Reynolds number were computed for the whole aorta and for each section.ResultsTortuosity and helicity were higher whereas TKE, velocity, and Reynolds number were lower in Old than in Young, for all aortic regions (p < 0.05) except for helicity in the descending aorta. Tortuosity correlated positively with helicity and negatively with TKE for all aortic regions (Spearman rho=+/- 0.45-+/- 0.72, p < =0.002) except for TKE in the ascending aorta. Further, helicity correlated with TKE in the descending, suprarenal abdominal and infrarenal abdominal aorta (Spearman rho=-0.56--0.77).ConclusionTortuosity increases with age and blood flow in tortuous aortas is more helical. Increasing helicity, in turn, is associated with decreasing TKE.
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- Ekerstad, Niklas, 1969-, et al.
(author)
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Frailty as a Predictor of Short-Term Outcomes for Elderly Patients with non-ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (NSTEMI)
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Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Background – For the large and growing population of elderly patients with cardiovascular disease it is important to identify clinically relevant measures of biological age and their contribution to risk. Frailty is an emerging concept in medicine denoting increased vulnerability and decreased physiologic reserves. We analyzed how the variable frailty predicts short-term outcomes for elderly NSTEMI patients. Methods and Results – Patients, aged 75 years or older, with diagnosed NSTEMI were included at three centers, and clinical data including judgement of frailty were collected prospectively. Frailty was defined according to the Canadian Study of Health and Aging (CSHA) Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS). Of 307 patients, 150 (48.5%) were considered frail. Frail patients were slightly older and presented with a greater burden of comorbidity. By multiple logistic regression, frailty was found to be a strong independent risk factor for inhospital mortality, one-month mortality (OR 3.8, 95% CI 1.3 to 10.8) and the primary composite outcome (OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.3 to 3.7). Particularly frail patients with a high comorbidity burden manifested a markedly increased risk for the primary composite outcome. By multiple linear regression, frailty was identified as a strong independent predictor for prolonged hospital care (frail 13.4 bed days, non-frail 7.5 bed days; P<0.0001). Conclusions - Frailty is a strong independent predictor of in-hospital mortality, one-month mortality, prolonged hospital care and the primary composite outcome. The combined use of frailty and comorbidity may constitute an ultimate risk prediction concept regarding cardiovascular patients with complex needs.
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| 4. |
- Ekerstad, Niklas, et al.
(author)
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Frailty as an instrument for evaluation of elderly patients with non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: A follow-up after more than 5 years
- 2018
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In: European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. - : SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD. - 2047-4873 .- 2047-4881. ; 25:17, s. 1813-1821
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background There is a growing body of evidence on the relevance of using frailty measures also in a cardiovascular context. The estimated time to death is crucial in clinical decision-making in cardiology. However, data on the importance of frailty in long-term mortality are very scarce. The aim of the study was to assess the prognostic value of frailty on mortality at long-term follow-up of more than 5 years in patients 75 years or older hospitalised for non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. We hypothesised that frailty is independently associated with long-term mortality. Design This was a prospective, observational study conducted at three centres. Methods and results Frailty was assessed according to the Canadian Study of Health and Aging clinical frailty scale (CFS). Of 307 patients, 149 (48.5%) were considered frail according to the study instrument (degree 5-7 on the scale). The long-term all-cause mortality of more than 5 years (median 6.7 years) was significantly higher among frail patients (128, 85.9%) than non-frail patients (85, 53.8%), (P amp;lt; 0.001). In Cox regression analysis, frailty was independently associated with mortality from the index hospital admission to the end of follow-up (hazard ratio 2.06, 95% confidence interval 1.51-2.81; P amp;lt; 0.001) together with age (P amp;lt; 0.001), ejection fraction (P = 0.012) and Charlson comorbidity index (P = 0.018). Conclusions In elderly non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction patients, frailty was independently associated with all-cause mortality at long-term follow-up of more than 6 years. The combined use of frailty and comorbidity may be the ultimate risk prediction concept in the context of cardiovascular patients with complex needs.
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| 5. |
- Ekerstad, Niklas, et al.
(author)
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Frailty is independently associated with 1-year mortality for elderly patients with non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction
- 2014
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In: European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. - : Sage Publications. - 2047-4873 .- 2047-4881. ; 21:10, s. 1216-1224
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: For the large population of elderly patients with cardiovascular disease, it is crucial to identify clinically relevant measures of biological age and their contribution to risk. Frailty is denoting decreased physiological reserves and increased vulnerability. We analysed the manner in which the variable frailty is associated with 1-year outcomes for elderly non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) patients. METHODS AND RESULTS: Patients aged 75 years or older, with diagnosed NSTEMI were included at three centres, and clinical data including judgment of frailty were collected prospectively. Frailty was defined according to the Canadian Study of Health and Aging Clinical Frailty Scale. Of 307 patients, 149 (48.5%) were considered frail. By Cox regression analyses, frailty was found to be independently associated with 1-year mortality after adjusting for cardiovascular risk and comorbid conditions (hazard ratio 4.3, 95% CI 2.4-7.8). The time to the first event was significantly shorter for frail patients than for nonfrail (34 days, 95% CI 10-58, p = 0.005). CONCLUSIONS: Frailty is strongly and independently associated with 1-year mortality. The combined use of frailty and comorbidity may constitute an important risk prediction concept in regard to cardiovascular patients with complex needs.
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| 7. |
- Ekerstad, Niklas, et al.
(author)
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Frailty Is Independently Associated With Short-Term Outcomes for Elderly Patients With Non-ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction
- 2011
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In: Circulation. - Dallas, USA : American Heart Association. - 0009-7322 .- 1524-4539. ; 124:22, s. 2397-2404
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: For the large and growing population of elderly patients with cardiovascular disease, it is important to identify clinically relevant measures of biological age and their contribution to risk. Frailty is an emerging concept in medicine denoting increased vulnerability and decreased physiological reserves. We analyzed the manner in which the variable frailty predicts short-term outcomes for elderly non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction patients. Methods and results: Patients aged ≥ 75 years, with diagnosed non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction were included at 3 centers, and clinical data including judgment of frailty were collected prospectively. Frailty was defined according to the Canadian Study of Health and Aging Clinical Frailty Scale. The impact of the comorbid conditions on risk was quantified by the coronary artery disease-specific index. Of 307 patients, 149 (48.5%) were considered frail. By multiple logistic regression, frailty was found to be strongly and independently associated with risk for the primary composite outcome (death from any cause, myocardial reinfarction, revascularization due to ischemia, hospitalization for any cause, major bleeding, stroke/transient ischemic attack, and need for dialysis up to 1 month after inclusion) (odds ratio, 2.2; 95% confidence interval, 1.3-3.7) in-hospital mortality (odds ratio, 4.6; 95% confidence interval, 1.3-16.8), and 1-month mortality (odds ratio, 4.7; 95% confidence interval, 1.7-13.0). Conclusions: Frailty is strongly and independently associated with in-hospital mortality, 1-month mortality, prolonged hospital care, and the primary composite outcome. The combined use of frailty and comorbidity may constitute an ultimate risk prediciton concept in regard to cardiovascular patients with complex needs.
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| 8. |
- Ha, Hojin, et al.
(author)
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Age-Related Vascular Changes Affect Turbulence in Aortic Blood Flow
- 2018
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In: Frontiers in Physiology. - : FRONTIERS MEDIA SA. - 1664-042X. ; 9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Turbulent blood flow is implicated in the pathogenesis of several aortic diseases but the extent and degree of turbulent blood flow in the normal aorta is unknown. We aimed to quantify the extent and degree of turbulece in the normal aorta and to assess whether age impacts the degree of turbulence. 22 young normal males (23.7 +/- 3.0 y.o.) and 20 old normal males (70.9 +/- 3.5 y.o.) were examined using four dimensional flow magnetic resonance imaging (4D Flow MRI) to quantify the turbulent kinetic energy (TKE), a measure of the intensity of turbulence, in the aorta. All healthy subjects developed turbulent flow in the aorta, with total TKE of 3-19 mJ. The overall degree of turbulence in the entire aorta was similar between the groups, although the old subjects had about 73% more total TKE in the ascending aorta compared to the young subjects (young = 3.7 +/- 1.8 mJ, old = 6.4 +/- 2.4 mJ, p amp;lt; 0.001). This increase in ascending aorta TKE in old subjects was associated with age-related dilation of the ascending aorta which increases the volume available for turbulence development. Conversely, age-related dilation of the descending and abdominal aorta decreased the average flow velocity and suppressed the development of turbulence. In conclusion, turbulent blood flow develops in the aorta of normal subjects and is impacted by age-related geometric changes. Non-invasive assessment enables the determination of normal levels of turbulent flow in the aorta which is a prerequisite for understanding the role of turbulence in the pathophysiology of cardiovascular disease.
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| 10. |
- Hammaréus, Filip, et al.
(author)
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Wall shear stress measured with 4D flow CMR correlates with biomarkers of inflammation and collagen synthesis in mild-to-moderate ascending aortic dilation and tricuspid aortic valves
- 2024
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In: European Heart Journal Cardiovascular Imaging. - : OXFORD UNIV PRESS. - 2047-2404 .- 2047-2412.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aims Understanding the mechanisms underlying ascending aortic dilation is imperative for refined risk stratification of these patients, particularly among incidentally identified patients, most commonly presenting with tricuspid valves. The aim of this study was to explore associations between ascending aortic haemodynamics, assessed using four-dimensional flow cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (4D flow CMR), and circulating biomarkers in aortic dilation. Methods and results Forty-seven cases with aortic dilation (diameter >= 40 mm) and 50 sex-and age-matched controls (diameter < 40 mm), all with tricuspid aortic valves, underwent 4D flow CMR and venous blood sampling. Associations between flow displacement, wall shear stress (WSS), and oscillatory shear index in the ascending aorta derived from 4D flow CMR, and biomarkers including interleukin-6, collagen type I alpha 1 chain, metalloproteinases (MMPs), and inhibitors of MMPs derived from blood plasma, were investigated. Cases with dilation exhibited lower peak systolic WSS, higher flow displacement, and higher mean oscillatory shear index compared with controls without dilation. No significant differences in biomarkers were observed between the groups. Correlations between haemodynamics and biomarkers were observed, particularly between maximum time-averaged WSS and interleukin-6 (r = 0.539, P < 0.001), and maximum oscillatory shear index and collagen type I alpha 1 chain (r = -0.575, P < 0.001 in cases). Conclusion Significant associations were discovered between 4D flow CMR derived whole-cardiac cycle WSS and circulating biomarkers representing inflammation and collagen synthesis, suggesting an intricate interplay between haemodynamics and the processes of inflammation and collagen synthesis in patients with early aortic dilation and tricuspid aortic valves.
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