Cardiology News / Recent Literature Review / Last Quarter 2015

Abstract

Boston AF Symposium: Orlando, 14-16/1/2016

ACC 65^th Annual Session: Chicago, 2-4/4/2016

HRS 37^th Annual Meeting: San Francisco, 4-7/5/16

CardioStim/Europace: Nice, 8-11/6/2016

Euro PCR: Paris, 17-20/5/2016

ESC Meeting: Rome, 27-31/8/2016

Targeting Ablation to the Distal Segment of the Main Renal Artery and Post-Bifurcation Branches May Optimize Renal Denervation (RDN)

Insufficient procedural efficacy has been proposed to explain nonresponse to renal denervation (RDN). The impact of different patterns of lesion placements on the efficacy and consistency of catheter-based radiofrequency (RF) RDN was examined in pigs. Increasing the number of RF lesions (4, 8, and 12) in the main renal artery was not sufficient, but targeted treatment of the renal artery branches or distal segment of the main renal artery resulted in markedly less variability of response and significantly greater reduction of both norepinephrine (NE) and axon density than conventional treatment of only the main renal artery. Combination treatment (main artery plus branches) produced the greatest change in renal NE and axon density with the least heterogeneity. The changes lasted through 28 days post-treatment (Mahfoud F et al, J Am Coll Cardiol 2015;66:1766-1775).

High Levels of Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Midlife Confer Lower Mortality, Use of Health Care Resources, and Health Care Costs Later in Life

Among 19,571 healthy individuals who underwent cardiorespiratory fitness assessment at a mean age of 49 years, over 126,388 person-years of follow-up, average annual health care costs were significantly lower for participants aged >65 years with high than low midlife fitness in both men and women. Average annual health care costs in later life were incrementally lower per MET achieved in midlife in men and women. The authors concluded that higher cardiorespiratory fitness in middle age is strongly associated with lower health care costs at an average of 22 years later in life, independent of cardiovascular risk factors (Bachmann JM et al, J Am Coll Cardiol 2015;66:1876-1885).

Moderate Physical Activity is Associated with a Reduced Risk of Atrial Fibrillation (AF) in Middle-Aged and Elderly Women

According to a Swedish study comprising 36,513 AF-free women (aged 49–83, median 60 years) during a median of 12 years, 2915 cases of AF were diagnosed. The risk of AF decreased with increasing levels of leisure-time exercise at study entry (relative risk - RR 0.85, for ≥4 h/week vs <1 h/week) and walking/bicycling (RR 0.81, for ≥40 min/day vs almost never) (Drca N et al, Heart 2015;101:1627-1630)... (excerpt)