INTRODUCTION

Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) are both prevalent globally. The diagnosis and management of ACS in ESRD is difficult because the interplay of cardiovascular and renal disease is complicated. The guidelines for ACS may not be applicable to the ESRD population because the trials from which these are drawn mostly excluded ESRD patients.

To determine the clinical profile and outcomes of CKD patients on dialysis admitted for ACS in the Philippine General Hospital (PGH).

We did a retrospective cohort study and employed a retrospective review of electronic medical records among ESRD patients presenting with ACS in PGH from May 2021 to November 2023. The collected data was analyzed using univariate and bivariate statistics using PRISM software.

A total of 48 patients with ESRD were admitted for ACS in this study – 8 with STEMI and 40 with NSTEMI. The mean age was 61 years old and 33 (68.8%) were male. Among those with STEMI, six (75%) presented with Kilip II or more. While among those with NSTEMI, 17 (42.5%) had a GRACE score >140 and 27 (67.5%) had an NSTEMI TIMI risk score >2. On average, the patients were on hemodialysis for 31 months prior to admission. The most common comorbidities were hypertension (91.7%) and heart failure (83.3%). On admission, 18 (37.5%) presented with SBP >160, 7 (14.6%) patients presented with shock, and 4 (8.3%) patients presented with cardiac arrest. 38 (79.2%) patients had anemia on admission. 21 (43.8%) patients had left ventricular hypertrophy on electrocardiogram while 34 (70.8%) patients had cardiomegaly on chest radiography. The average left ventricular ejection fraction on echocardiogram was 46% and 27 (90%) patients had segmental wall motion abnormalities. The most common angiographic finding was 3-vessel coronary artery disease seen in 50% of patients. Almost all patients received dualantiplatelet therapy, high dose statin, and beta-blocker. The mortality rate was high at 43.8% with cardiovascular causes being the most common cause of death.

This study demonstrates the high mortality rate among patients with ESRD presenting with ACS. Our study portrays that patients with ESRD present with higher risk features including abnormalities in vital signs, laboratories, imaging, high prognostications score, and high in-hospital morbidity.

BACKGROUND: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), now known as Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Fatty Liver Disease (MAFLD), is linked to cardiovascular disease. This renaming emphasizes the role of metabolic problems. Coronary artery calcification (CAC) reflects early coronary artery disease, but data on the MAFLD-CAC link is limited. OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate the association between metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) based on its criteria and coronary artery calcification, as measured by CT CAC score. METHODS: This single-center retrospective study involved adult Filipino patients who underwent CT CAC scoring between January 2021 and January 2023. Clinical and laboratory data were obtained via review of electronic records. RESULTS: This study involved 147 patients with an average age of 62 years, primarily females (57.14%), and mostly falling into the Obese-Class I category (31.29%). The most common comorbidities were hypertension (95.24%), dyslipidemia (62.59%), and diabetes mellitus (38.1%). In terms of CAC scores using the CT Agatston method, majority (30.61%) had low calcium buildup (Stage 2 with scores between 1-99). Approximately 26.53% had higher liver fat content with liver HU below 40, while 73.47% had lower liver fat content with HU equal to or greater than 40. Furthermore, 25.17% of patients with fatty livers and other risk factors were diagnosed with MAFLD, while 74.83% were not. The p-value indicated a significant difference in proportions, suggesting a lower proportion of MAFLD among those who had undergone CT CAC scoring. However, the Pearson Chi-Square statistic (4.051) and the p-value (0.256) indicated no statistically significant association between MAFLD and CT CAC. CONCLUSION The study found a notably lower proportion of MAFLD diagnoses in patients who underwent CT CAC scoring. Additionally, there was no statistically significant link between MAFLD and CT CAC.
Cardiovascular Diseases ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Fatty Liver, Alcoholic

Coronary artery disease (CAD), one of the most common cardiovascular diseases (CVD), poses a serious threat to physical and mental health, resulting in a severe disease burden. Psychocardiology medicine focuses on the vital role of psychological factors in the development, diagnosis, and treatment of CVD. The prevalence of depression and anxiety is high in patients with CAD. Furthermore, there is a vital interplay among depression, anxiety, mental stress-induced myocardial ischemia, cognitive impairment, and delirium. Both cognitive impairment and delirium adversely impact the prognosis of patients with CAD, warranting increasing attention and the development of interventions. To further direct the clinic diagnosis and treatment of cognitive impairment in patients with CAD complicated with depression and anxiety, and to thus improve the prognosis of such patients, the Psychocardiology Medicine Branch of Chinese Medical Association Beijing Branch, and Psychocardiology Education Professional Committee of China Medical Education Association, together with over 40 other organizations, including more than 50 experts from several related fields, have developed the association standards on guidelines for the cognitive clinical diagnosis and treatment of CAD complicated with depression and anxiety under the framework of the China standard association (No.T/CAS 812-2024).
Humans ; Depression/diagnosis* ; Coronary Artery Disease/psychology* ; Anxiety/diagnosis* ; Practice Guidelines as Topic

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the impact of glycemic control and diabetes duration on subsequent myocardial infarction (MI) in patients with both coronary heart disease (CHD) and type 2 diabetes (T2D). METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 33,238 patients with both CHD and T2D in Shenzhen, China. Patients were categorized into 6 groups based on baseline fasting plasma glucose (FPG) levels and diabetes duration (from the date of diabetes diagnosis to the baseline date) to examine their combined effects on subsequent MI. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used, with further stratification by age, sex, and comorbidities to assess potential interactions. RESULTS: Over a median follow-up of 2.4 years, 2,110 patients experienced MI. Compared to those with optimal glycemic control (FPG < 6.1 mmol/L) and shorter diabetes duration (< 10 years), the fully-adjusted hazard ratio ( HR) (95% Confidence Interval [95% CI]) for those with a diabetes duration of ≥ 10 years and FPG > 8.0 mmol/L was 1.93 (95% CI: 1.59, 2.36). The combined effects of FPG and diabetes duration on MI were largely similar across different age, sex, and comorbidity groups, although the excess risk of MI associated with long-term diabetes appeared to be more pronounced among those with atrial fibrillation. CONCLUSION Our study indicates that glycemic control and diabetes duration significant influence the subsequent occurrence of MI in patients with both CHD and T2D. Tailored management strategies emphasizing strict glycemic control may be particularly beneficial for patients with longer diabetes duration and atrial fibrillation.
Humans ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/blood* ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Coronary Disease/complications* ; Myocardial Infarction/etiology* ; Retrospective Studies ; China/epidemiology* ; Glycemic Control ; Blood Glucose ; Adult ; Risk Factors ; Time Factors

Objective To develop a diagnostic model combining the CT angiography(CCTA)-derived myocardial radiomics signatures with the CT-derived fractional flow reserve(CT-FFR)based on coronary CCTA and investigate the diagnostic accuracy of the hybrid model for hemodynamically significant coronary artery disease(CAD).Methods The patients presenting stable angina pectoris,diagnosed with CAD,and clinically referred for CCTA examination and invasive coronary angiography were prospectively recruited.Radiomics features of the left ventricular myocardium were extracted from the three main perfusion territories demarcated according to the coronary blood supply.The extracted features were first selected by the minimum redundancy maximum relevance feature ranking method.A least absolute shrinkage and selection operator Logistic regression algorithm with leave-one-out cross-validation was then employed to construct a radiomics model.The CT-FFR value was generated for each blood vessel.The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve(AUC_ROC),sensitivity,and specificity were adopted to evaluate the performance of each model against the reference standard invasive coronary angiography/FFR.Results A total of 70 patients[42 men and 28 women;(61±10) years old] were included in this study and complemented CCTA examination,with 175 vessels and the corresponding myocardial territories undergoing invasive coronary angiography/FFR.A total of 1 656 specific radiomics parameters were extracted,from which 14 features were selected to establish the radiomics model.The AUC_ROC,sensitivity,and specificity were 0.797(95%CI=0.732-0.861),77.1%,and 73.7%for the radiomics model,0.892(95%CI=0.841-0.943),81.4%,and 88.8%for the CT-FFR model,and 0.928(95%CI=0.890-0.965),83.3%,and 88.4%for the hybrid model,respectively.The hybrid model outperformed the radiomics model and CT-FFR alone(P=0.040).Conclusions The radiomics signatures of the vessel-related myocardium from CCTA could provide incremental value to the diagnostic performance of CT-FFR and improve vessel-specific ischemia detection.The hybrid model combining CT-FFR with radiomics signatures is potentially feasible for improving the diagnostic accuracy for hemodynamically significant CAD.
Coronary Angiography/methods* ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Humans ; Hemodynamics ; Coronary Artery Disease/diagnostic imaging* ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Radiomics ; Angina Pectoris/diagnostic imaging* ; China ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted ; Coronary Vessels/diagnostic imaging*

Human ; Craniocerebral Trauma ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Heart Block ; Heart Failure

Coronary heart disease is a cardiovascular disease that affects coronary arteries. It presents high incidence and high mortality worldwide, bringing a serious threat to human health and quality of life. Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma derived from Salvia miltiorrhiza is widely used in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, such as coronary heart disease. Salvianolic acid B is an active component in Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma extracts, and studies have shown that it has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, apoptosis-and autophagy-regulating, anti-fibrosis, and metabolism-modulating effects. This article reviews the research progress regarding the therapeutic effect of salvianolic acid B on coronary heart disease in the recent decade. It elaborates on the role and mechanism of salvianolic acid B in treating coronary heart disease from multiple perspectives, such as the inhibition of thrombosis, improvement of blood circulation, reduction of myocardial cell injury, and inhibition of cardiac remodeling. This article provides a theoretical basis for the application of Chinese medicinal materials and TCM prescriptions containing salvianolic acid B in the treatment of coronary heart disease.
Humans ; Benzofurans/administration & dosage* ; Coronary Disease/genetics* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage* ; Salvia miltiorrhiza/chemistry* ; Animals ; Depsides

Renshen Decoction is derived from the Synopsis of the Golden Chamber and is also known as Lizhong Pills or Lizhong Decoction, with the effects of warming the middle, dispelling cold, tonifying Qi, and strengthening the spleen, primarily treating spleen-stomach deficiency-cold syndrome. In modern clinical practice, Lizhong Pills and Lizhong Decoction are more frequently used, while Renshen Decoction is less common. Currently, this decoction is often applied in the treatment of gastric ulcers, infantile rotavirus diarrhea, chronic nephritis, autoimmune diabetes, allergic rhinitis, and other conditions, but reports on its use for coronary heart disease and angina pectoris are limited. Research has shown that in the original text, chest impediment(chest pain and stuffiness) includes not only coronary heart disease but also conditions such as coronary microcirculation disorders, X syndrome, coronary artery bridge, cardiomyopathy, heart valve disease, heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pulmonary heart disease, pulmonary arterial hypertension, hypotension, arrhythmia, and other diseases characterized by chest tightness. The name Renshen Decoction focuses on Panax ginseng without mentioning "Lizhong", indicating that its primary target is not the middle energizer but rather the deficiency of vital Qi and the collapse of the heart vessel. "Qi counterflow from the hypochondrium and rushing up to chest" encompasses acute inferior myocardial infarction combined with gastrointestinal irritation, and diseases with chest tightness as the main clinical manifestation combined with slow arrhythmias associated with vagus nerve excitement, nausea, and vomiting. Renshen Decoction is formulated for the deficiency-induced chest impediment, corresponding to the complication stage of coronary heart disease in modern clinical practice, which includes acute myocardial infarction with hypotension, cardiogenic shock, heart failure, and bradyarrhythmia. This differs from the excess-induced chest impediment addressed by Zhishi Xiebai Guizhi Decoction in the same article. The chest impediment treated by Renshen Decoction includes both the acute critical stage of cardiovascular diseases and the recovery phase of major illnesses. Pathophysiologically, the syndrome associated with Renshen Decoction may be closely related to ischemia, heart failure, hypotension, shock, and bradycardia. In terms of formula differentiation, Renshen Decoction must be distinguished from Zhishi Xiebai Guizhi Decoction and Chaihu Jia Longgu Muli Decoction. Renshen Decoction represents the ancient "Cardiac Triple Therapy".
Humans ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage* ; Coronary Disease/physiopathology* ; Heart Failure/physiopathology* ; Hypertension, Pulmonary/physiopathology* ; Hypotension/physiopathology*

It has been found that the incidence of cardiovascular disease in patients with lower limb amputation is significantly higher than that in normal people, and the risk of developing coronary atherosclerosis is much higher than that in other high-risk groups. Numerous studies have confirmed that high systolic and diastolic blood pressures are potential risk factors for coronary artery disease, and it has been demonstrated that the ascending aortic pressure during diastole increases after amputation. However, the relationship between lower limb amputation and coronary atherosclerosis has not been fully explained from the perspective of hemodynamic environment. Therefore, in this study, a centralized parameter model of the human cardiovascular system and a three-dimensional model of the left coronary artery were established to investigate the effect of amputation on the hemodynamic environment of the coronary artery. The results showed that the abnormal hemodynamic environment induced by amputation, characterized by factors such as increased diastolic pressure in the ascending aorta, led to a significant expansion of the low wall shear stress (WSS) region on the outer lateral aspect of the left coronary artery bifurcation during diastole. The maximum observed increase in the area of low WSS reached up to 50.5%. This abnormal hemodynamic environment elevates the risk of plaque formation in the left coronary artery. Moreover, the more severe the lower limb atrophy, the greater the risk of coronary atherosclerosis in amputees. This study preliminarily reveals the effect of lower limb amputation on the hemodynamic environment of the left coronary artery.
Humans ; Hemodynamics/physiology* ; Amputation, Surgical/adverse effects* ; Coronary Vessels/physiology* ; Coronary Artery Disease/etiology* ; Lower Extremity/surgery* ; Models, Cardiovascular ; Blood Pressure

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Hypertension (HT) and atrial fibrillation (AF) are highly prevalent cardiovascular conditions that frequently coexist. Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a major global cause of mortality. The co-occurrence of HT, AF, and CAD presents significant management challenges. This study aims to explore the clinical characteristics and risk factors associated with CAD in patients with HT and persistent AF (HT-AF). METHODS: In this retrospective cross-sectional study, data were collected from 384 hospitalized HT-AF patients at the People's Liberation Army General Hospital between January 2010 and December 2019. CAD diagnosis was confirmed by coronary angiography or computed tomography angiography. Clinical characteristics and comorbidities were compared between patients with and without CAD. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify independent risk factors associated with CAD development. RESULTS: The prevalence of CAD among HT-AF patients was 66.41% (255/384). Cardiovascular complications, particularly heart failure (44.7% vs 25.6%, P < 0.05), were significantly more prevalent in the CAD group than in the non-CAD group. Only age was identified as an independent risk factor for CAD (adjusted OR: 1.047; 95% CI: 1.022-1.073; P = 0.000). Of all HT-AF patients, 54.7% had a CHA₂DS₂-VASc score of ≥4, indicating high stroke risk. There was a slightly higher anticoagulant usage rate in the CAD group than those without CAD (8.6% vs 4.7%, P = 0.157), and the overall anticoagulant usage remained low. CONCLUSION: There is a high prevalence of CAD among hospitalized HT-AF patients, among whom age is the sole independent risk factor for CAD. Despite a high stroke risk, the utilization of oral anticoagulants is alarmingly low.
Humans ; Atrial Fibrillation/epidemiology* ; Coronary Artery Disease/etiology* ; Hypertension/epidemiology* ; Male ; Female ; Risk Factors ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Aged ; Prevalence