Current Vascular Pharmacology - Online First

The prevalence and clinical outcomes of statin therapy in patients with acute heart failure [AHF] stratified by left ventricular ejection fraction [EF] in the Middle East are unknown.

We analysed 5005 patients admitted to 47 hospitals in seven Middle Eastern countries [Saudi Arabia, Oman, Yemen, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Bahrain] with AHF from February to November 2012 with AHF who were enrolled in Gulf CARE, a multinational registry of patients with heart failure [HF]. AHF patients were stratified into three groups: HF patients with reduced [EF] [HFrEF] [<40%], HF with mildly reduced EF [HFmrEF] [40-49%], and HF patients with preserved EF [HFpEF] [≥50%].

The mean age of the cohort was 59.3±14.9 years, 62.6% [n=3131.0] of the patients were males. A total of 2555 [51%] AHF patients had used statins prior to hospital admission. The mean EF was 36.9±14%. HFrEF was observed in 2683 patients [53%], whereas 961 patients [19.2%] had HFmrEF, and 932 patients [18.6%] had HFpEF. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that prior statin use was significantly associated with reduced in-hospital mortality risk [OR=1.43, 95% CI: 1.10-1.86, p=0.007] and hospitalization rates for heart failure [OR=0.71, 95% CI: 0.60-0.83, p<0.001]. However, when examining rates of survival, there were no significant disparities between the two groups; at 3 months follow-up: aOR, 1.22; 95% Cl: 0.95-1.57; P=0.111; and 12-months follow-up: aOR, 1.07; 95% Cl: 1.07 0.87-1.31; P=0.553. Regarding rehospitalization rates, no significant difference was observed at a 3-month follow-up: aOR, 1.22; 95% Cl: 1.03-1.42; P=0.015. Interestingly, patients admitted with statin therapy were significantly associated with higher odds of hospitalization during the 12-month follow-up period: aOR, 1.42; 95% Cl: 1.21-1.66; P<0.001.

Prior statin use was associated with a lower risk of in-hospital mortality and re-hospitalization. However, there were no significant differences in all-cause mortality between the two groups at both 3- and 12-month follow-ups. While rehospitalization rates at the 3-month follow-up showed higher odds of rehospitalization at the 12-month follow-up. Prior statin therapy appears to influence both in-hospital mortality and long-term rehospitalization outcomes in a Middle Eastern patient population.

Several scores have been developed to facilitate risk stratification and early discharge following primary angioplasty, particularly the Zwolle Risk Score (ZRS). However, validation in large-sized studies is still lacking. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to validate the use of the ZRS in a contemporary global population, including patients who were treated during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and enrolled in a large intercontinental observational study.

The ISACS-STEMI COVID-19 is a large-scale retrospective multicenter registry involving primary PCI centers from Europe, Latin America, South-East Asia, and NorthAfrica, including patients treated from March 1^st until June 30^th, in 2019 and 2020]. ZRS was calculated for each patient. The patients were additionally categorized according to the following values of the ZRS [≤3; 4-6; 7-9; ≥10]. Our study outcomes were in-hospital and 30-day mortality. The discriminatory capacity of the ZRS was assessed by the area under the ROC curve [c statistic] as an index of model performance.

Our population is represented by 16084 STEMI patients undergoing mechanical reperfusion enrolled in 109 centers. The score showed a very good performance in the predicting mortality both in-hospital [AUC=0.83 [0.82-0.85], p<0.0001] and at 30-day follow-up [AUC=0.82 [0.81-0.84, p<0.0001]. The results were confirmed when the ZRS was separately applied to patients treated in 2019 and 2020, with good stability across time. ZRS was able to identify a large cohort [n=10672, 66.3%] of low-risk patients [score ≤3] with a very low mortality rate at 2 days [1%] and between 3 and 10 days [0.7%], with a very good negative predictive value for in-hospital [98.3%] and 30-day mortality [97.7%], with similar results in 2019 and 2020.

This study is the first to demonstrate the good prognostic performance of the ZRS in a large-scale contemporary global multicenter validation set. Similar results were obtained both in the pre-pandemic and the COVID-19 era. ZRS ≤3 identified a very low-risk population that could be discharged early, even during the COVID-19 pandemic, with expected advantages in the availability of hospital beds and nursing staff, costs of medical care, and in-hospital risk of contagion.

To describe clinical factors predictive of warfarin response in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients and to evaluate its association with adverse outcomes.

Patients in the Middle Eastern JoFib study, a prospective, multicenter registry of AF patients, using warfarin with at least one international normalized ratio (INR) reading, were enrolled. We used the most recent INR as a measure of warfarin control.

Out of the total 2020 patients, 544 (26.9%) were using warfarin. Multivariable logistic regression analysis demonstrated that heart failure (adjusted OR 0.55, 95%CI 0.36-0.86) and increasing HAS-BLED score (adjusted OR 0.73, 95%CI 0.58-0.92) decreased the odds of having a therapeutic INR. Chronic kidney disease (adjusted OR 3.11, 95%CI 1.46-6.62), heart failure (adjusted OR 2.37, 95%CI 1.4-4.01), and cancer (adjusted OR 2.48, 95%CI 1.03-6.01) were independently predictive of having INR less than 2.0. The first episode of AF was independently predictive of having INR above 3.0 (adjusted OR 2.48, 95%CI 1.39-4.42). Multivariable Cox regression analysis demonstrated that INR below the therapeutic range (aHR 4.36, 95%CI 2.19-8.68) and INR above the therapeutic range (aHR 3.03, 95%CI 1.33-6.92) were predictive of all-cause mortality. Below-range INR also predicted cardiovascular mortality (aHR 3.69, 95%CI 1.66-8.16).

Clinical factors predictive of sub-optimal INR in Middle Eastern AF patients using warfarin include chronic kidney disease, heart failure, cancer, high HAS-BLED score, and first episode of AF. Furthermore, sub-optimal INR is predictive of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality.

The global COVID-19 vaccination campaign has significantly reduced severe illness and mortality; however, emerging evidence raises concerns regarding its potential cardiovascular effects, particularly myocardial infarction (MI).

This study investigates the relationship between COVID-19 vaccination and MI incidence among first-time MI patients in Saudi Arabia. Post-COVID-19 vaccination within six months post-vaccination accounted for potential confounding factors, such as pre-existing health conditions, age, and lifestyle. A total of 102 MI patients, with a male predominance of 60.8% and a significant correlation with middle age, were analysed. A+ blood group patients were the most prevalent (33.3%), followed by B+ (29.4%), while Rh-negative patients constituted only 7.8%. Elevated mean BNP (761.98 pg/ml), pulse rate (87.72 bpm), and systolic blood pressure (139.98 mmHg) indicated heightened cardiac stress (p < 0.01).

Significant elevations in AST (121.65 U/L) and ALT (133.63 U/L) levels suggested liver stress post-Covid-19 vaccination (p < 0.01). Males had higher AST, ALT, and bilirubin levels than females, with p-values of 0.02, 0.01, and 0.04, respectively, indicating hepatic differences. Elevated biomarkers like CK-MB (58.05 IU/L) and CPK (313.86 mcg/L) further affirmed significant myocardial damage post-vaccination (p < 0.05).

These findings suggest a link between vaccination and cardiovascular events and highlight the importance of considering individual health profiles in evaluating vaccine safety, cardiovascular health, and hepatic implications.

Current guidelines and consensus statements advise caution in using direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) for morbidly obese patients with body mass index (BMI) >40 kg/m², indicating warfarin as the most studied treatment.

We systematically searched databases from their inception to January 4, 2024, to identify studies that evaluated the effectiveness and safety of DOACs compared to warfarin in patients with BMI >40 kg/m² and atrial fibrillation (AF) or venous thromboembolism (VTE). The outcomes of all-cause mortality, major and minor bleeding, stroke/systematic embolism (SE), VTE, and their composite endpoint were analyzed using a random-effects model.

This meta-analysis included 24 studies and 119,960 morbidly obese patients with AF or VTE on oral anticoagulation therapy: 51,363 on DOACs (43%) vs. (57%) 68,597 on warfarin. DOAC use was significantly associated with lower all-cause mortality and major bleeding risk compared to warfarin. Although the risk of composite endpoint, stroke/SE, and VTE was lower in the DOAC group, no statistically significant difference was observed, indicating no superiority of warfarin compared to DOAC use. The risk of minor bleeding events, hemorrhagic stroke, and ischemic stroke was lower in the DOAC compared to the warfarin group. The same trend favoring DOACs over warfarin in all assessed endpoints was observed in the subgroup analysis based on anticoagulation indication (AF or VTE).

Our findings have documented a potentially more effective and safer profile of DOACs compared to warfarin in morbidly obese patients regardless of the indication for anticoagulation.