BOOK REVIEW

Heart to Heart is a computer-based decision aid for patients and providers that provides personalized, evidence-based information about coronary heart disease (CHD) risk and potential risk-reducing interventions. To develop Heart to Heart, the authors used Framingham risk equations and systematic reviews of risk-reducing interventions. The Web version was programmed using PHP: Hypertext Processor, a Web-based programming language, and has separate interfaces for providers and patients. The authors subsequently developed a modified version for personal digital assistants. Heart to Heart uses information about a patient's CHD risk factors (age, gender, total and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, diabetes, smoking, systolic blood pressure, and left ventricular hypertrophy) to calculate risk of total CHD events over 5 or 10 years. Patients and providers can then examine the effect of introducing one or more risk-reducing interventions (aspirin, lipid-lowering drug therapy, antihypertensive medication, or smoking cessation) on the patient's CHD risk. Future research will be directed to determining whether Heart to Heart can improve utilization of effective CHD risk-reducing interventions.     

Heart to Heart: a computerized decision aid for assessment of coronary heart disease risk and the impact of risk-reduction interventions for primary prevention

Heart to Heart is a computer-based decision aid for patients and providers that provides personalized, evidence-based information about coronary heart disease (CHD) risk and potential risk-reducing interventions. To develop Heart to Heart, the authors used Framingham risk equations and systematic reviews of risk-reducing interventions. The Web version was programmed using PHP: Hypertext Processor, a Web-based programming language, and has separate interfaces for providers and patients. The authors subsequently developed a modified version for personal digital assistants. Heart to Heart uses information about a patient's CHD risk factors (age, gender, total and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, diabetes, smoking, systolic blood pressure, and left ventricular hypertrophy) to calculate risk of total CHD events over 5 or 10 years. Patients and providers can then examine the effect of introducing one or more risk-reducing interventions (aspirin, lipid-lowering drug therapy, antihypertensive medication, or smoking cessation) on the patient's CHD risk. Future research will be directed to determining whether Heart to Heart can improve utilization of effective CHD risk-reducing interventions.     

Retraction of: Loading effect of 200 mg cilostazol on platelet inhibition in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention

Announcement of Retraction. The editorial office of International Heart Journal has recently determined that the clinical study written by En Ze Jin, Long Hao Yu, and Xue Qi Li, published in the January 2012 issue of International Heart Journal (Int Heart J 2012; 53: 1-4), was subsequently found to have not met the publication criteria of IHJ. Therefore, we hereby notify our readers that the paper has been officially retracted. Ryozo Nagai, MD, Editor-in-Chief International Heart Journal.     

15867名3～6岁儿童心率分布特征及影响因素

目的研究儿童心率的自然规律、特点，以及地区、民族和性别等的差异及其正常值范围，为防病治病提供科学数据。方法心率、血压测定按国际统一标准，利用云南2002年16个地区15867名3-6岁城乡男、女童，分析心率在人群不同性别、年龄、城乡、地区、民族的情况，并进行单、多因素分析。结果心率随着年龄的增长而逐渐下降，女童高于男童，乡村男女童与城市男女童间无差别（P〉0．05），心率与纬度无相关性（P〉0．05），心率与血压呈正相关，对心率起作用的因子是舒张压、BMI、年龄、收缩压。结论心率的增加或减少会相应地引起收缩压和舒张压的增高或降低，心率随年龄增加而减少，心率可作为预防儿童高血压高危因素的一个参考指标。     

Hospital Management of Acute Decompensated Heart Failure

Heart failure (HF) is one of the leading causes of hospitalizations for elderly adults in the United States. One in 5 Americans will be >65 years of age by 2050. Because of the high prevalence of HF in this group, the number of Americans requiring hospitalization for this disorder is expected to rise significantly. We reviewed the most recent and ongoing studies and recommendations for the management of patients hospitalized due to decompensated HF. The Acute Decompensated Heart Failure National Registry, together with the 2013 American College of Cardiology Foundation and American Heart Association heart failure guidelines, earlier retrospective and prospective studies including the Diuretic Optimization Strategies Evaluation (DOSE), the Trial of Intensified vs Standard Medical Therapy in the Elderly Patients With Congestive Heart Failure (TIME-CHF), the Organized Program to Initiate Lifesaving Treatment in Hospitalized Patients with Heart Failure (OPTIMIZE–HF), the Rapid Emergency Department Heart Failure Outpatient Trial (REDHOT) and the Comparison of Medical, Pacing and Defibrillation Therapies in Heart Failure (COMPANION) trial were reviewed for current practices pertaining to these patients. Gaps in our knowledge of optimal use of patient-specific information (biomarkers and comorbid conditions) still exist.     

Pilot feasibility study of Heart2HAART: a smartphone application to assist with adherence among substance users living with HIV

Background: Smartphones with programmable apps may offer innovative interactive interventions for improving adherence among people living with HIV with substance use problems. Methods: This pilot randomized controlled trial sought to primarily determine the usability and feasibility of using a smartphone-based intervention called Heart2HAART as an adjunct to directly observed treatment with adherence counseling compared to directly observed treatment with adherence counseling alone among those with HIV and a history of substance use over a three-month time frame. Participants in the Heart2HAART condition completed an additional survey on usability and acceptability. Adherence was measured using unannounced pill counts assessed via a phone call. Results: Twenty-eight participants were randomized to receive Heart2HAART (n?=?19) or control (n?=?9). All were receiving either weekly (n?=?9) or daily (n?=?19) observed treatment. Among those randomized to Heart2HAART, 63.2% reported no difficulty using the Heart2HAART smartphone application and 94.7% responded that the medication reminders did not interfere negatively with their activities. On average participants used Heart2HAART application 56.8 times over the three-month trial. In analyses adjusting for age, there was no difference in adherence to HAART medication between the Heart2HAART and control group as evaluated by the random pill count assessment (P?=?.29). Conclusions: Heart2HAART was feasible to use during a three-month pilot trial. Future studies may evaluate a more tailored approach, with more robust contingency management.     

2012 HRS/EHRA/ECAS expert consensus statement on catheter and surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation: recommendations for patient selection, procedural techniques, patient management and follow-up, definitions, endpoints, and research trial design

This is a report of the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) Task Force on Catheter and Surgical Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation, developed in partnership with the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA), a registered branch of the European Society of Cardiology and the European Cardiac Arrhythmia Society (ECAS), and in collaboration with the American College of Cardiology (ACC), American Heart Association (AHA), the Asia Pacific Heart Rhythm Society (APHRS), and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS). This is endorsed by the governing bodies of the ACC Foundation, the AHA, the ECAS, the EHRA, the STS, the APHRS, and the HRS.     

The Heart Center of Indiana: changing the way hearts are treated

The owners of The Heart Center of Indiana are continuing their long history of pioneering efforts. As a 50/50 joint venture between physicians and a large health system, The Heart Center is one of a new breed of "hospitals of the future" and the first of its kind in Indiana. Early indications of outstanding clinical and financial outcomes and guest satisfaction point to long-term success for The Heart Center of Indiana.     

Is heart failure with preserved ejection fraction a ‘dementia’ of the heart?

Heart Failure Reviews - Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) remains an elusive entity, due to its heterogeneous clinical profile and an arbitrarily defined nosology. Several...     

Diagnostic algorithm for HFpEF: how much is the recent consensus applicable in clinical practice?

Heart Failure Reviews - Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) represents an important cardiovascular entity with increasing prevalence and relatively high mortality. The agreement...     

Large animal models of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction

Heart Failure Reviews - Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is characterized by diastolic dysfunction and multiple comorbidities. The number of patients is continuously...     

Unveiling the role of exercise training in targeting the inflammatory paradigm of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: a narrative review

Heart Failure Reviews - Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is currently lacking an effective pharmacological treatment with impact on major outcomes such as hospitalization and...     

Biomarkers for the diagnosis and management of heart failure

Heart Failure Reviews - Heart failure (HF) is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Circulating biomarkers reflecting pathophysiological pathways involved in HF development and...     

Effects of catheter-based renal denervation on heart failure with reduced ejection fraction: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Heart Failure Reviews - Despite the major progress in the treatment of heart failure, the burden of heart failure is steadily increasing in the Western world. Heart failure is characterized by...     

Dietary Nitrate and Skeletal Muscle Contractile Function in Heart Failure

Current Heart Failure Reports - Heart failure (HF) patients suffer from exercise intolerance that diminishes their ability to perform normal activities of daily living and hence compromises their...     

Hospitalisation costs associated with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF): a systematic review

Heart Failure Reviews - Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is problematic to treat, with guidelines for HFpEF management concentrated on treating prevalent comorbidities. The...     

Coenzyme Q10 and Utility in Heart Failure: Just Another Supplement?

Current Heart Failure Reports - Heart failure affects 5.1 million people in the USA annually. It accounts for a frequent cause of hospitalizations and disability. Patients with congestive heart...     

Challenges and the innovations in the care of advanced heart failure patients during COVID-19

Heart Failure Reviews - The COVID-19 pandemic underscored our healthcare system’s unpreparedness to manage an unprecedented pandemic. Heart failure (HF) physicians from 14 different academic...     

The roles of epicardial adipose tissue in heart failure

Heart Failure Reviews - Heart failure is a growing health problem resulting in the decreased life expectancy of patients and severely increased the healthcare burden. Penetrating research on the...     

2022 ACC/AHA/HFSA Guideline for the Management of Heart Failure: Executive Summary

BackgroundThe 2022 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association/Heart Failure Society of America (AHA/ACC/HFSA) Guideline for the Management of Heart Failure replaces the 2013 ACCF/AHA Guideline for the Management of Heart Failure and the 2017 ACC/AHA/HFSA Focused Update of the 2013 ACCF/AHA Guideline for the Management of Heart Failure. The 2022 guideline is intended to provide patient-centric recommendations for clinicians to prevent, diagnose and manage patients with heart failure.MethodsA comprehensive literature search was conducted from May 2020 to December 2020, encompassing studies, reviews and other evidence conducted in human subjects that were published in English from MEDLINE (PubMed), EMBASE, the Cochrane Collaboration, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and other relevant databases. Additional relevant clinical trials and research studies published through September 2021 were also considered. This guideline was harmonized with other American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology guidelines published through December 2021.Results and ConclusionsHeart failure remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally. The 2022 heart failure guideline provides recommendations based on contemporary evidence for the treatment of these patients. The recommendations present an evidence-based approach to managing patients with heart failure, with the intent to improve quality of care and align with patients’ interests. Many recommendations from the earlier heart failure guidelines have been updated with new evidence, and new recommendations have been created when supported by published data. Value statements are provided for certain treatments that have high-quality published economic analyses.