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- Glader, Eva-Lotta, 1972-, et al.
(författare)
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Large variations in the use of oral anticoagulants in stroke patients with atrial fibrillation : A Swedish national perspective
- 2004
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Ingår i: Journal of Internal Medicine. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0954-6820 .- 1365-2796. ; 255:1, s. 22-32
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives. To explore nation-wide use of anticoagulation in stroke patients with atrial fibrillation, in routine clinical practice in Sweden.Design. Cross-sectional cohort study.Setting. Patients included in Riks-Stroke, the Swedish national quality register for stroke care, during 2001.Subjects. Hospitals with incomplete coverage were excluded, leaving 4538 stroke patients with atrial fibrillation amongst 18 276 stroke patients from 75 hospitals in six health care regions.Main outcome measure. Treatment with oral anticoagulants.Results. At stroke onset, the proportion of patients with atrial fibrillation and first-ever stroke, receiving oral anticoagulants as primary prevention was 11.0% (range 8.4–13.5% between regions and 2.5–24.4% between hospitals). Younger age, male sex and diabetes at stroke onset independently predicted primary prevention with oral anticoagulants. The proportion of stroke patients with atrial fibrillation receiving oral anticoagulants as secondary prevention at discharge was 33.5% (range 29.9–40.6% between regions and 16.4–61.9% between hospitals). Independent predictors for secondary prevention were younger age, male sex and independent activities of daily life (ADL) function before the stroke, being discharged to home, being fully conscious on admission and health care region.Conclusion. There were variations between hospitals and regions that differences in age, sex, functional impairments and comorbidities could not fully explain. This indicates that evidence-based primary and secondary prevention of embolic stroke is insufficiently practised. Local factors seem to determine whether patients with atrial fibrillation gain access to optimal prevention of stroke or not.
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| 3. |
- Janszky, I., et al.
(författare)
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Heart rate variability in long-term risk assessment in middle-aged women with coronary heart disease : The Stockholm Female Coronary Risk Study
- 2004
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Ingår i: Journal of Internal Medicine. - : Wiley. - 0954-6820 .- 1365-2796. ; 255:1, s. 13-21
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives. Low heart rate variability (HRV) is associated with poor prognosis after acute coronary events in men. In women, the prognostic impact is not well documented. The objective of this study was to assess the long-term predictive power of HRV on mortality amongst middle-aged women with coronary heart disease (CHD). Design, Settings and Subjects. Consecutive women below 65 years hospitalized for an acute coronary syndrome during a 3-year period in Stockholm were examined for cardiovascular prognostic factors including HRV, and followed for a median of 9 years. An ambulatory 24-h electrocardiograph was recorded during normal activities, 3-6 months after hospitalization. SDNN index (mean of the standard deviations of all normal to normal intervals for all 5-min segments of the entire recording) and the following frequency domain parameters were assessed: total power, high-frequency (HF) power, low-frequency (LF) power, very-low frequency (VLF) power and LF/HF ratio. Using Cox proportional hazards regression, the hazard ratios (HR) for each 25% decrease of the HRV parameters were assessed. Results. After controlling for the independent, significant predictors of mortality amongst the clinical variables, the following HRV parameters were found to be significant predictors of all-cause mortality: SDNN index [HR 1.56, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 1.19-2.05], total power (HR 1.21, 95% CI 1.08-1.35), VLF power (HR 1.22, 95% CI 1.09-1.36), LF power (HR 1.18 95%, CI 1.07-1.30) and HF power (HR 1.18, 95% CI 1.05-1.33). The results were essentially the same when cardiovascular mortality was used as end-points. The HRV parameters were stronger predictors of mortality in the first 5 years following the index event. Conclusion. Low HRV is a predictor of long-term mortality amongst middle-aged women with CHD when measured 3-6 months after hospitalization for an acute coronary syndrome, even after controlling for established clinical prognostic markers.
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| 7. |
- Agewall, S, et al.
(författare)
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Multiple risk intervention trial in high risk hypertensive men: comparison of ultrasound intima-media thickness and clinical outcome during 6 years of follow-up
- 2001
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Ingår i: Journal of Internal Medicine. - : Wiley. - 1365-2796 .- 0954-6820. ; 249:1, s. 305-314
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: The objective was to analyse whether a favourable change in risk factors, caused by a comprehensive risk factor modification programme, affected intima-media thickness (IMT) in the common carotid artery, and whether any such change was associated with a change in cardiovascular events during a 6-year follow-up. DESIGN: Patients were randomized 1 : 1 to special intervention or usual care. SETTING: Hypertension Unit at university hospital. SUBJECTS: A total of 164 patients were randomized. Inclusion criteria were male, aged 50-72 years (at randomization) and one or more of the following: Serum cholesterol level > 6.5 mmol L(-1), smoking or diabetes mellitus. All patients were prescribed antihypertensive treatment since many years. In 142 men good quality ultrasound recording of the common carotid IMT were achieved at baseline, 119 were re-examined after 3.3 years, and 97 patients were available for examination after mean follow-up time of 6.2 years. Cardiovascular events were available for all randomized patients. INTERVENTIONS: The nonpharmacological special intervention programme was based on one information meeting followed by five weekly 2-h sessions with participation of patients and spouses. The diet recommendations were similar to established guidelines. Overweight patients were instructed to lose weight, and diabetic patients were systematically taught self-monitoring of blood glucose. Smokers were invited to a smoking cessation programme with five weekly meetings. Follow-up visits were thereafter scheduled every 6 months. Lipid lowering drugs were recommended in the intervention group if the treatment goals using nonpharmacological measures were not achieved. Patients in the usual care group were told to quit smoking and to lower their consumption of fat and glucose. Antihypertensive treatment (i.e., selection of drugs) was on purpose kept similar in the two groups. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The IMT of the common carotid artery as measured by ultrasound. Cardiovascular events during follow-up. RESULTS: Significant net reductions were seen for serum cholesterol, triglycerides, fasting glucose and smoking. No difference in change in IMT was observed during follow-up between the two randomization groups. The explanation was that patients with positive plaque status at baseline had a much larger increase in IMT over time than patients with negative plaque status, and that patients with positive plaque status more often survived and were available for re-examination after 6 years in the intervention group than in the usual care group. Total mortality was lower in the intervention group, compared with the usual care group, 13 and 29%, respectively (P=0.028). CONCLUSIONS: In high risk populations, long-term studies with surrogate endpoints may be misleading because of missing data in patients where a large increase in IMT would have been observed, had they been re-examined. Another important conclusion from our study was that the gloomy prognosis for this patient category may be improved by a dedicated risk factor intervention programme. The improved prognosis was observed mainly in those patients at highest risk judged from history of cardiovascular disease or positive ultrasound plaque status at baseline.
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| 9. |
- Akerstedt, T, et al.
(författare)
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Sleep as restitution: an introduction.
- 2003
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Ingår i: Journal of Internal Medicine. - : Wiley. - 1365-2796 .- 0954-6820. ; 254:1, s. 6-12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)
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