Publications

Introduction: The use of digital health technologies using mobile phone health applications has increased over the last few years. We developed a mobile phone application (APP) (Aintree Heart Failure Passport APP) for heart failure (HF) patient self-education and improved medication adherence. The APP consisted of a Traffic Light System for education self-care advice, prompt for medications, reminder of appointments, educational videos as well as a mood check questionnaire. Methods: This was a pilot feasibility study in a British university hospital conducted in 2019 and 2020. We assessed self-care behaviour following the use of the Aintree Heart Failure Passport Mobile APP in a cohort of patients with acute decompensated HF. We employed the use of European Heart Failure Self-care Behaviour scale (EHFSBs), medication adherence using the Medication Adherence Report Scale (MARS-5) at 2 weeks and compared 30-day HF readmissions with annual hospital HF data. Descriptive statistics were represented as continuous variables as means with standard deviations. Categorical variables were represented with percentages and analysed using Chi-squared test. Results: 102 patients with acute decompensated HF were recruited to this pilot feasibility study. 57% were men and mean age 56 years±5.1. 55% patients had HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), 34% had HF with preserved EF (HFpEF) and 11% had HF with mid-range EF. Mean EHFSBs was 19.7±6.1and mean MARS-5 score was 23.5±1. 10/102 (10%) patients were re-hospitalised with HF compared to the annual hospital HF rehospitalisation incidence which was 19% (95/393); p=0.04. Conclusions: Results from our pilot feasibility study suggest that use of a HF self care mobile phone APP (Aintree Heart Failure Passport App) in patients with acute decompensated HF, leads to high quality self care behaviour, high levels of medication adherence and lower levels of 30-day HF re-hospitalisation. These results will need to be validated in a randomised controlled trial.

Intensive blood pressure (BP) lowering in patients with hypertension at increased risk of cardiovascular disease has been associated with a lowered risk of incident atrial fibrillation (AF). It is uncertain whether maintaining the optimal BP levels can prevent AF in the general elderly population. We included 115,866 participants without AF in the Korea National Health Insurance Service-Senior (≥60 years) cohort from 2002 to 2013. We compared the influence of BP on the occurrence of new-onset AF between octogenarians (≥80 years) and non-octogenarians (<80 years) subjects. With up to 6.7 ± 1.7 years of follow-up, 4393 incident AF cases occurred. After multivariable adjustment for potentially confounding clinical covariates, the risk of AF in non-octogenarians was significantly higher in subjects with BP levels of <120/<80 and ≥140/90 mm Hg, with hazard ratios of 1.15 (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.03-1.28; <i>p</i> < 0.001) and 1.14 (95% CI, 1.04-1.26; <i>p</i> < 0.001), compared to the optimal BP levels (120-129/<80 mm Hg). In octogenarians, the optimal BP range was 130-139/80-89 mm Hg, higher than in non-octogenarians. A U-shaped relationship for the development of incident AF was evident in non-octogenarians, and BP levels of 120-129/<80 mm Hg were associated the lowest risk of incident AF. Compared to non-octogenarians, the lowest risk of AF was associated with higher BP levels of 130-139/80-89 mm Hg amongst octogenarians.

Abstract Background Statins reduce recurrent stroke and cardiovascular events in patients with non-cardioembolic stroke. We aimed to investigate the benefits of statins in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and recent ischaemic stroke (IS), which remain unclear. Methods This retrospective, cohort study was conducted using deidentified electronic medical records within TriNetX platform. Patients with AF and recent IS, who received statins within 28 days of their index stroke were propensity score-matched with those who did not. Patients were followed-up for 2 years. Primary outcomes were the 2-year risk of recurrent IS, all-cause mortality and the composite outcome of all-cause mortality, recurrent IS, transient ischaemic attack (TIA), and acute myocardial infarction (MI). Secondary outcomes were the 2-year risk of TIA, intracranial haemorrhage (ICH), acute MI, and hospital readmission. Cox regression analyses were used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). Results Of 20,902 patients with AF and recent IS, 7,500 (35.9%) received statins within 28 days of their stroke and 13,402 (64.1%) did not. 11,182 patients (mean age 73.7±11.5; 5,277 (47.2%) female) remained after propensity score matching. Patients who received early statins had significantly lower risk of recurrent IS (HR: 0.45, 95%CI: 0.41–0.48, p&lt;0.001), mortality (HR: 0.75, 95%CI: 0.66-0.84, p&lt;0.001), the composite outcome (HR: 0.48, 95%CI: 0.45-0.52, p&lt;0.001), TIA (HR: 0.37, 95%CI: 0.30-0.44, p&lt;0.001), ICH (HR: 0.59, 95%CI: 0.47-0.72, p&lt;0.001), acute MI (HR: 0.35, 95%CI: 0.30-0.42, p&lt;0.001) and hospital readmission (HR: 0.46, 95%CI: 0.42-0.50, &lt;0.001). Beneficial effects of early statins were evident in the elderly, different ethnicities, statin dose intensity, and AF subtypes, large vessel occlusion and embolic strokes and within the context of statin lipophilicity and optimal LDL-C levels. Conclusions Patients with AF and recent IS, who received early statins, had a lower risk of recurrent stroke, death, and other cardiovascular outcomes including ICH, compared to those who did not.

The GLORIA-AF Registry was funded by Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH.

The ABC pathway as a framework was feasible to implement for pharmacist medication review, but most residents' medications were already optimised. Low rates of adherence to guideline-recommended therapy were a result of active decisions not to treat after assessment of the net risk-benefit.

Meta-analyses of RCT evidence for ExCR in patients with AF demonstrated several clinical benefits without an increase in serious adverse events. GRADE and RTSA assessments indicated further high quality and adequately powered RCTs are needed.

<b>Background:</b> Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) is the most common form of leukaemia among adults, particularly in Western nations. The introduction of Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors as a treatment of CLL, namely, ibrutinib, which is a first-generation BTK inhibitor, has significantly improved the treatment landscape for CLL. However, ibrutinib has been associated with an increased risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) and hypertension. Real-world studies that compare the cardiovascular safety of ibrutinib with bendamustine plus anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody are not widely available. <b>Methods:</b> A retrospective cohort analysis using the TriNetX platform identified two patient groups: one treated with ibrutinib and the other with bendamustine and an anti-CD20 antibody. Propensity score matching balanced their demographic and clinical characteristics. The outcomes evaluated included the all-cause mortality and new-onset AF/flutter, hypertension, heart failure, ventricular arrhythmias, and bleeding. <b>Results:</b> No significant difference was observed in the all-cause mortality between the two cohorts. However, ibrutinib was associated with a higher risk of AF/flutter (HR 1.89, 95% CI 1.36-2.62; <i>p</i> < 0.05) and hypertension (HR 1.22, 95% CI 1.01-1.47; <i>p</i> = 0.04). Other outcomes, such as heart failure, ventricular arrhythmias, and bleeding, were not different between the cohorts. <b>Conclusions:</b> Ibrutinib remains a valuable option for the treatment of CLL, but is associated with significant cardiovascular risks, leading to it being superseded by the newer generation of BTKis, which offer less cardiovascular toxicities. These results highlight the TriNetX platform's reliability as a real-world data source for validating clinical trial findings and highlight the importance of incorporating cardio-oncology into treatment plans for CLL patients with significant comorbidities.

HFpEF patients demonstrated superior VO_2peak, CO, and SV compared to HFrEF patients, while the observed 6MWD advantage in HFrEF was likely influenced by comorbidities. Our findings emphasize the importance of tailoring rehabilitation strategies to HF phenotype-specific physiological profiles, particularly focusing on improving VO_2peak and cardiac efficiency in HFpEF.

It is unclear whether the two once-daily dosing non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs), edoxaban and rivaroxaban, have similar effectiveness and safety in Asian patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AF). This study aimed to compare the effectiveness and safety of edoxaban and rivaroxaban in a Korean population with non-valvular AF. Using the Korean National Health Insurance Service database from January 2014 to December 2016, we compared the risk of ischemic stroke, intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), hospitalization for gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding, hospitalization for major bleeding, all-cause death, and composite outcome in a 3:1 propensity score matched cohort in patients with AF who were naïve to rivaroxaban (n = 12,369) and edoxaban (n = 4,123). Hazard ratios for the six clinical outcomes were analyzed using Cox regression analysis with rivaroxaban as the reference. Baseline characteristics were balanced between the two groups (median age, 71 years; median CHA₂DS₂-VASc score, 3; 56% of patients received a reduced dose). Edoxaban users showed comparable results in all six clinical outcomes (all p = nonsignificant) when compared to rivaroxaban users for total, standard, and reduced doses. We provide for the first time the comparison of effectiveness and safety between the two once-daily NOACs in a large-scale Asian AF population. In both standard and reduced dose regimens, edoxaban showed comparable effectiveness and safety compared to rivaroxaban.

Monocytes as cells of the innate immunity are prominently involved in the development of atherosclerotic lesions. The heterogeneity of blood monocytes has widely been acknowledged by accumulating experimental and clinical data suggesting a differential, subset-specific contribution of the corresponding subpopulations to the pathology of cardiovascular and other diseases. This document re-evaluates current nomenclature and summarises key findings on monocyte subset biology to propose a consensus statement about phenotype, separation and quantification of the individual subsets.

In cardiovascular disease (CVD), biomarkers (i.e., "biological markers") could have multiple roles in understanding the complexity of cardiovascular (CV) pathophysiology and to offer an integrated approach to management. Biomarkers could help in daily practice as a diagnostic tool, to monitor therapy response, to assess prognosis and as early marker of CV damage, or to stratify risk. In recent years, the role of biomarkers in CVD is even more relevant and some have recently been included in clinical management guideline recommendations. The aim of this review is to discuss the recommendations in clinical guidelines of various biomarkers and to review their usefulness in daily clinical practice. Ultimately, a balance is needed between simplicity and practicality for clinical decision-making. Most biomarkers (whether blood, urine, or imaging-based) will improve on clinical risk stratification, but awaiting biomarker results may lead to delays in the initiation of therapy, for example, anticoagulation for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation. Many biomarkers are nonspecific, being predictive of many CV and non-CV outcomes, so would be better as "rule-out" rather than "rule-in" assessments. Derivation of some biomarkers have also been made in highly selected clinical trial cohorts, where measurement is made at baseline but outcomes determined many years later; given the dynamic nature of risk in the "real world" where patients get older and develop incident risk factors, this may give a false impression of the risk profile. Finally, some laboratory biomarkers have a diurnal variation and inter-/intravariability (and lower limits of detection) in assays, which may be expensive, are added considerations.

Left ventricular thrombus (LVT) is a recognized complication of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) which can cause significant morbidity and mortality from systemic embolism. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of factors that have been shown in studies to be independently predictive of LVT post-AMI. A total of 23 studies met the inclusion criteria with 1 047 785 patients. The proportion of patients with LVT ranged from 0.2% in the nationwide study in the USA to 36.1% in the cohort of patients with LV aneurysm. Pooled results from nine studies suggest that greater values for left ventricular ejection fraction is associated with reduced odds of LVT formation [odds ratio (OR) 0.90; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.86-0.93; I2 = 76%]. Left ventricular aneurysm was a significant predictor of LVT formation (OR 6.07; 95% CI, 2.27-16.19; I2 = 91%; seven studies) and anterior location of MI was also a significant predictor (OR 7.72; 95% CI, 2.41-24.74; I2 = 69%; four studies). Three studies suggest that there was an increase in odds of LVT formation with greater values of C-reactive protein (OR 2.06; 95% CI, 1.07-3.97; I2 = 89%; three studies). The use of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors (OR 2.52; 95% CI, 1.55-4.10; I2 = 0%; two studies) and greater SYNTAX score (OR 1.21; 95% CI, 1.08-1.36; I2 = 46%; two studies) were associated with LVT. In conclusion, patients with reduced ejection fraction, AMI and with left ventricular aneurysm are at risk of LVT formation and careful imaging evaluation should be performed to identify LVT in these patients to prevent stroke or peripheral embolism.