Ultrasensitive Troponin I and Incident Cardiovascular Disease

BACKGROUND

To examine the association of ultrasensitive cTnI (cardiac troponin I) with incident cardiovascular disease events (CVDs) in the primary prevention setting.

METHODS

cTnI was analyzed in the baseline plasma (2008-2012) of CVD-free volunteers from the Paris Prospective Study III using a novel ultrasensitive immunoassay (Simoa Troponin-I 2.0 Kit, Quanterix, Lexington) with a limit of detection of 0.013 pg/mL. Incident CVD hospitalizations (coronary heart disease, stroke, cardiac arrhythmias, deep venous thrombosis or pulmonary embolism, heart failure, or arterial aneurysm) were validated by critical review of the hospital records. Hazard ratios were estimated per log-transformed SD increase of cTnI in Cox models using age as the time scale.

RESULTS

The study population includes 9503 participants (40% women) aged 59.6 (6.3) years. cTnI was detected in 99.6% of the participants (median value=0.63 pg/mL, interquartile range, 0.39-1.09). After a median follow-up of 8.34 years (interquartile range, 8.0-10.07), 516 participants suffered 612 events. In fully adjusted analysis, higher cTnI (per 1 SD increase of log cTnI) was significantly associated with CVD events combined (hazard ratio, 1.18 [1.08-1.30]). Among all single risk factors, cTnI had the highest discrimination capacity for incident CVD events (C index=0.6349). Adding log cTnI to the SCORE 2 (Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation) risk improved moderately discriminatory capacity (C index 0.698 versus 0.685; bootstrapped C index difference: 0.0135 [95% CI, 0.0131-0.0138]), and reclassification of the participants (categorical net reclassification index, 0.0628 [95% CI, 0.023-0.102]). Findings were consistent using the US pooled cohort risk equation.

CONCLUSIONS

Ultrasensitive cTnI is an independent marker of CVD events in the primary prevention setting.

Comparison of artificial intelligence and human-based prediction and stratification of the risk of long-term kidney allograft failure

BACKGROUND

Clinical decisions are mainly driven by the ability of physicians to apply risk stratification to patients. However, this task is difficult as it requires complex integration of numerous parameters and is impacted by patient heterogeneity. We sought to evaluate the ability of transplant physicians to predict the risk of long-term allograft failure and compare them to a validated artificial intelligence (AI) prediction algorithm.

METHODS

We randomly selected 400 kidney transplant recipients from a qualified dataset of 4000 patients. For each patient, 44 features routinely collected during the first-year post-transplant were compiled in an electronic health record (EHR). We enrolled 9 transplant physicians at various career stages. At 1-year post-transplant, they blindly predicted the long-term graft survival with probabilities for each patient. Their predictions were compared with those of a validated prediction system (iBox). We assessed the determinants of each physician's prediction using a random forest survival model.

RESULTS

Among the 400 patients included, 84 graft failures occurred at 7 years post-evaluation. The iBox system demonstrates the best predictive performance with a discrimination of 0.79 and a median calibration error of 5.79%, while physicians tend to overestimate the risk of graft failure. Physicians' risk predictions show wide heterogeneity with a moderate intraclass correlation of 0.58. The determinants of physicians' prediction are disparate, with poor agreement regardless of their clinical experience.

CONCLUSIONS

This study shows the overall limited performance and consistency of physicians to predict the risk of long-term graft failure, demonstrated by the superior performances of the iBox. This study supports the use of a companion tool to help physicians in their prognostic judgement and decision-making in clinical care.

Differential Effect of Targeted Temperature Management Between 32 °C and 36 °C Following Cardiac Arrest According to Initial Severity of Illness: Insights From Two International Data Sets

BACKGROUND

Recent guidelines have emphasized actively avoiding fever to improve outcomes in patients who are comatose following resuscitation from cardiac arrest (ie, out-of-hospital cardiac arrest). However, whether targeted temperature management between 32 °C and 36 °C (TTM32-36) can improve neurologic outcome in some patients remains debated.

RESEARCH QUESTION

Is there an association between the use of TTM32-36 and outcome according to severity assessed at ICU admission using a previously derived risk score?

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

Data prospectively collected in the Sudden Death Expertise Center (SDEC) registry (France) between May 2011 and December 2017 and in the Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium Continuous Chest Compressions (ROC-CCC) trial (United States and Canada) between June 2011 and May 2015 were used for this study. Severity at ICU admission was assessed through a modified version of the Cardiac Arrest Hospital Prognosis (mCAHP) score, divided into tertiles of severity. The study explored associations between TTM32-36 and favorable neurologic status at hospital discharge by using multiple logistic regression as well as in tertiles of severity for each data set.

RESULTS

A total of 2,723 patients were analyzed in the SDEC data set and 4,202 patients in the ROC-CCC data set. A favorable neurologic status at hospital discharge occurred in 728 (27%) patients in the French data set and in 1,239 (29%) patients in the North American data set. Among the French data set, TTM32-36 was independently associated with better neurologic outcome in the tertile of patients with low (adjusted OR, 1.63; 95% CI, 1.15-2.30; P = .006) and high (adjusted OR, 1.94; 95% CI, 1.06-3.54; P = .030) severity according to mCAHP at ICU admission. Similar results were observed in the North American data set (adjusted ORs of 1.36 [95% CI, 1.05-1.75; P = .020] and 2.42 [95% CI, 1.38-4.24; P = .002], respectively). No association was observed between TTM32-36 and outcome in the moderate groups of the two data sets.

INTERPRETATION

TTM32-36 was significantly associated with a better outcome in patients with low and high severity at ICU admission assessed according to the mCAHP score. Further studies are needed to evaluate individualized temperature control following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Sports-related sudden cardiac arrest in young adults

AIMS

Data on sports-related sudden cardiac arrest (SrSCA) among young adults in the general population are scarce. We aimed to determine the overall SrSCA incidence, characteristics, and outcomes in young adults.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Prospective cohort study of all cases of SrSCA between 2012 and 2019 in Germany and Paris area, France, involving subjects aged 18-35 years. Detection of SrSCA was achieved via multiple sources, including emergency medical services (EMS) reporting and web-based screening of media releases. Cases and aetiologies were centrally adjudicated. Overall, a total of 147 SrSCA (mean age 28.1 ± 4.8 years, 95.2% males) occurred, with an overall burden of 4.77 [95% confidence interval (CI) 2.85-6.68] cases per million-year, including 12 (8.2%) cases in young competitive athletes. While bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was initiated in 114 (82.6%), automated external defibrillator (AED) use by bystanders occurred only in a minority (7.5%). Public AED use prior to EMS arrival (odds ratio 6.25, 95% CI 1.48-43.20, P = 0.02) was the strongest independent predictor of survival at hospital discharge (38.1%). Among cases that benefited from both immediate bystander CPR and AED use, survival rate was 90.9%. Coronary artery disease was the most frequent aetiology (25.8%), mainly through acute coronary syndrome (86.9%).

CONCLUSION

Sports-related sudden cardiac arrest in the young occurs mainly in recreational male sports participants. Public AED use remains disappointingly low, although survival may reach 90% among those who benefit from both bystander CPR and early defibrillation. Coronary artery disease is the most prevalent cause of SrSCA in young adults.

Cross-Ancestry Investigation of Venous Thromboembolism Genomic Predictors

BACKGROUND

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a life-threatening vascular event with environmental and genetic determinants. Recent VTE genome-wide association studies (GWAS) meta-analyses involved nearly 30 000 VTE cases and identified up to 40 genetic loci associated with VTE risk, including loci not previously suspected to play a role in hemostasis. The aim of our research was to expand discovery of new genetic loci associated with VTE by using cross-ancestry genomic resources.

METHODS

We present new cross-ancestry meta-analyzed GWAS results involving up to 81 669 VTE cases from 30 studies, with replication of novel loci in independent populations and loci characterization through in silico genomic interrogations.

RESULTS

In our genetic discovery effort that included 55 330 participants with VTE (47 822 European, 6320 African, and 1188 Hispanic ancestry), we identified 48 novel associations, of which 34 were replicated after correction for multiple testing. In our combined discovery-replication analysis (81 669 VTE participants) and ancestry-stratified meta-analyses (European, African, and Hispanic), we identified another 44 novel associations, which are new candidate VTE-associated loci requiring replication. In total, across all GWAS meta-analyses, we identified 135 independent genomic loci significantly associated with VTE risk. A genetic risk score of the significantly associated loci in Europeans identified a 6-fold increase in risk for those in the top 1% of scores compared with those with average scores. We also identified 31 novel transcript associations in transcriptome-wide association studies and 8 novel candidate genes with protein quantitative-trait locus Mendelian randomization analyses. In silico interrogations of hemostasis and hematology traits and a large phenome-wide association analysis of the 135 GWAS loci provided insights to biological pathways contributing to VTE, with some loci contributing to VTE through well-characterized coagulation pathways and others providing new data on the role of hematology traits, particularly platelet function. Many of the replicated loci are outside of known or currently hypothesized pathways to thrombosis.

CONCLUSIONS

Our cross-ancestry GWAS meta-analyses identified new loci associated with VTE. These findings highlight new pathways to thrombosis and provide novel molecules that may be useful in the development of improved antithrombosis treatments.

Clinical Prediction Model for Antibody-Mediated Rejection: A Strategy to Minimize Surveillance Endomyocardial Biopsies After Heart Transplantation

BACKGROUND

In heart transplantation, antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) is a major contributor to patient morbidity and mortality. Multiple routine endomyocardial biopsies (EMB) remain the gold standard to detect AMR, but this invasive procedure suffers from many limitations. We aimed to develop and validate an AMR risk model to improve individual risk stratification of AMR.

METHODS

Heart recipients from 2 referral transplant centers, Cedars-Sinai (US) and Pitié-Salpêtrière (France), were included from 2012 to 2019. Database included detailed clinical, immunologic, imaging, and histological parameters. The US cohort was randomly distributed in a derivation (2/3) and in a test set (1/3). The primary end point was biopsy-proven AMR. A mixed effect logistic regression model with a random intercept was applied to identify variables independently associated with AMR. Simulation analyzes were performed.

RESULTS

The US and French cohorts comprised a total of 1341 patients, representing 12 864 EMB. Overall, 490 AMR episodes were diagnosed (3.8% of EMB). Among the 26 potential determinants of AMR, 5 variables showed independent association: time post-transplant (P<0.001), pretransplant sensitizing event (P=0.001), circulating donor-specific anti-human leukocyte antigen antibody (P=0.001), graft dysfunction (P=0.004), and prior history of definite AMR (P<0.001). In the US test set, the calibration and the discrimination of the model were accurate (area under the curve, 0.79 [95% CI, 0.78-0.81]). Those results were confirmed in the external validation cohort (area under the curve, 0.78 [95% CI, 0.77-0.79]) and reinforced by various sensitivity analyses. The model also showed good performance to predict overall cause of rejection. Simulation models revealed that the AMR risk model could safely reduce the number of EMB.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results support the use of the AMR risk model as a clinical decision tool to minimize the number of routine EMB after heart transplantation.

Ultra-sensitive troponin-I and incident coronary heart disease, stroke, heart failure, cardiac arrhythmias, arterial aneurysms and venous thromboembolism hospitalizations

Background

Cardiac troponin I (cTnI) as measured by high-sensitive assays has been related to incident cardiovascular disease events (CVD) in the community. With the advent of ultra-sensitive assays, it is now possible to detect troponin I at very low concentration, far below the classical threshold of 1.9 pg/mL. However, the clinical relevance of these low concentrations for predicting CVD is largely unknown.

Purpose

To examine the association of cTnI as low as 0.013 pg/mL with incident cardiovascular disease events (CVDs) in the primary prevention setting.

Methods

cTnI was analyzed in the baseline plasma (2008–2012) of CVD free volunteers from the Paris Prospective Study III using for the first time a novel ultra-sensitive immunoassay (Simoa Troponin-I 2.0 Kit, Quanterix, Lexington) with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.013 pg/mL. Incident CVD hospitalizations for coronary heart disease, stroke, arrhythmias, venous thromboembolism, arterial aneurysms and heart failure were validated by critical review of the hospital records. Hazard ratios were estimated per log-transformed standard deviation (SD) increase of cTnI in Cox models using age as the time scale. The added value (gain in discriminatory capacity) of cTnI for CVD risk prediction was examined by calculating the Harell's C-index boostraped difference of the SCORE 2 risk model with and without cTnI.

Results

There were 9503 CVD free participants (40% women) aged 59.6 (6.3) years at baseline. cTnI was detected in 99.6% of the participants (median value = 0.63 pg/mL, interquartile range [IQR] 0.39–1.09). After a median follow-up of 8.34 years (IQR, 8.0–10.07), 516 participants suffered 612 events. In fully-adjusted analysis, higher cTnI (per 1 SD increase of log cTnI) was significantly associated with CVD events combined (n=516, HR= 1.21; 1.06; 1.39). In univariate Cox analysis and compared to each single established risk factor, cTnI had the highest discrimination capacity for incident CVD events (C-index=0.6349) (Figure 1). Adding log cTnI to the SCORE 2 algorithm increased significantly albeit moderately discriminatory capacity (C-index 0.698 vs. 0.685; boostraped C index difference: 0.0135 (95% CI: 0.0131; 0.0138)).

Conclusion

cTnI concentrations as measured by a novel ultra-sensitive immunoassay is associated with a significant increased risk of incident CVD events in the primary prevention setting.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding sources: Public Institution(s). Main funding source(s): ANR: French National Research AgencyEurope: Horizon 2020

Detection and characteristics of hypertension patients admitted in 37 cardiology departments from 17 Sub-Saharan African countries

Background

High blood pressure (BP) is a major risk factor for several common cardiovascular (CV) disease such as stroke, heart failure or chronic kidney disease. The Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) should face the highest rate of hypertension worldwide with an overall prevalence estimation of 46%. Due to scarce resources and inadequate healthcare provision, SSA have scarce hard data on treatment and control of high BP.

Purpose

To assess the detection and characteristics of hypertension patients admitted in hospitalizations 17 SSA countries

Methods

We conducted a transversal and longitudinal study in CV department of 37 hospitals from 23 cities in 17 SSA countries (10 low income: Niger, Guinea, Benin, Mali, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tchad, Burkina Faso, Togo, Burundi, Ethiopia and 7 middle income: Cote d'Ivoire, Senegal, Cameroon, Congo, Soudan, Mauritania, Gabon). The February study was designed by a multidisciplinary collaborative team of epidemiologists, pharmacists and cardiologists from Africa and France. This ongoing observatory included all inpatients in February from each year since 2016. Data including socio-demographic and clinical characteristics, causes of admission, clinical, biological, complementary examinations, treatments, length of stay and discharge diagnosis were collected by the investigating physicians. Hypertension and severity of hypertension were defined according to 2018 ESC/ESH guidelines and BP was measured twice using standardized method. All analyses were performed through scripts developed in the R software (4.0.3 (2020-10-10))

Results

The study involved 4360 patients. Hypertension was measured on 1906 (43.7%) patients at admission. Proportion of patients with high BP in hospital increased from 42.2% in 2016 to 52.2% in 2021 (p&lt;0.05) and differed significantly across countries from 77.6% in Niger to 100% in Chad. Among hypertensive patients, men represented 59.6% of patients and mean of age was 59±15.1 years. Overall, 61.4% of patients were from low income countries. The mains causes of admission among hypertensive patients were heart failure (37.8%) and stroke (18.9%). Average of systolic BP was 159±29.3 mmHg and average of diastolic BP was 96.7±16mmHg. Overall, 760 (40.3%), 525 (27.8%) and 602 (31.9%) had grade 1, grade 2 and grade 3 hypertension respectively. History of CV disease was observed in 51.5% of patients. Thus, 70.4% of patients had at least one CV risk factor other than hypertension. Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors and diuretics was prescribed in 56.9% and 55.8% of patients respectively. The average amount of antihypertensive drugs prescribed in hospital was 2.09±1.18. Overall, 237 (12.4%), 295 (15.5%), 640 (33.6%) and 734 (38.5%) received respectively no drug, monotherapy, two-drug strategies and three and more drug strategies.

Conclusion

In patients admitted in cardiology departments, hypertension is a huge burden in SSA.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding sources: None.

Stroke care in 17 Sub-Saharan African countries: the FEBRUARY study (2016–2021) from African research network

Background

Stroke is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Approximately 70% of deaths from stroke and 87% of stroke-related disability would occur in low- and middle-income countries. Between 2002 and 2020, estimation stroke mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) was tripled. There is scarce data on management of stroke in SSA.

Purpose

To describe stroke care in cardiology departments in 17 SSA countries

Methods

We conducted a transversal and longitudinal study in CV department of 37 hospitals from 23 cities in 17 SSA countries (10 low income: Niger, Guinea, Benin, Mali, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DCR), Tchad, Burkina Faso, Togo, Burundi, Ethiopia and 7 middle income: Cote d'Ivoire, Senegal, Cameroon, Congo, Soudan, Mauritania, Gabon). The FEBRUARY study was designed by a multidisciplinary collaborative team of epidemiologists, pharmacists and cardiologists from Africa and France. This ongoing observatory included all inpatients in February from each year since 2016. Data including socio-demographic and clinical characteristics, causes of admission, clinical, biological, complementary examinations, treatments, length of stay and discharge diagnosis were collected by the investigating physicians. All analyses were performed through scripts developed in the R software (4.0.3 (2020-10-10)).

Results

Overall, 4360 patients were admitted to hospital over the 6 years of the study. Stroke was the third cause of hospitalization with 477 (11%) patients admitted. Proportions of patients admitted for stroke varied across countries from 0% in Ethiopia to 52% in DRC (p&lt;0.01) (figure) and over the years from 11% in 2016 to 16.5% in 2021. Men represented 60.1% of stroke patients. Mean of age was 62.5±13.4 years. Overall, 300 patients (62.9%) were from low-income countries and 177 patients (37.1%) from middle-income countries. A majority of patients were living in urban areas (N=387; 82.9%) compared to rural areas (N=80; 17.1%). Individual wealth index was low, middle and high in 105 (23.2%), 152 (33.6%) and 196 (43.3%) patients respectively. Among stroke patients, 413 (89.8%) had a computed tomography. Ischemic stroke represented 71.8% of patients with stroke. Among CV risk factors, high blood pressure was identified in 81.9% of patients. In-hospital antithrombotic therapy was prescribed for 2 patients (0.42%). Anticoagulant therapy and antiplatelet therapy were prescribed for 26.4% and 53.5% of patients respectively. Proportions of patients treated with antiplatelet therapy varied across countries (p&lt;0.05). At discharge, 8% and 44.4% of patients received anticoagulant therapy or antiplatelet therapy respectively. Mean of length of stay was 12.4±18.4 days. Stroke represent the second cause of mortality (18.7%) and did not vary significantly across countries.

Conclusion

Stroke was the third cause of admission with more than 1/10 patients and the second cause of mortality with almost 1/5 patients in cardiology departments in SSA.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding sources: None.

Healthy sleep score and incident cardiovascular diseases: the Paris Prospective Study III (PPS3)

Background/Introduction

Most studies on the association between sleep habits and cardiovascular disease (CVD) have focused on one single sleep dimension, essentially sleep duration and sleep apnea.

Purpose

To examine the joint effect of several dimensions of sleep habits with incident CVD in a community-based prospective cohort.

Methods

Between 2008 and 2011, 10,157 men and women aged 50 to 75 years were recruited in a preventive medical center. They underwent a standard physical examination coupled with standard biological tests, and provided information related to lifestyle, personal and family medical history, current health status, and medication use on questionnaires. Sleep habits were self-reported on validated questionnaires that assess sleep duration and insomnia complaints (Pittsburg questionnaire), early chronotype, sleep apnea (Berlin questionnaire) and subjective daytime sleepiness (Epworth questionnaire). Each sleep dimension was assigned 1 point if optimal and 0 point otherwise. A healthy sleep score ranging from 0 to 5 (the higher the better) and reflecting the number of optimal sleep dimensions was computed: early chronotype, sleep duration of 7–8 h/day, never/rarely insomnia, no sleep apnea, and no frequent excessive daytime sleepiness. The occurrence of incident CVD events including coronary heart disease and stroke was followed every two years up to September 2020, and events were validated after review of the medical records. The multivariable association between higher healthy sleep score and CVD events was examined in proportional hazard Cox regression analysis. Population-attributable fractions were calculated to estimate the proportion of CVD cases that could be prevented by healthier sleep habits.

Results

This study included 7203 participants (62% of men, mean age: 59.7 years±6.2) who were free of CVD at baseline and had complete data on sleep habits and covariates. Among them, 6.9% had a poor sleep score (healthy sleep score of 0 or 1), and 10.4% had an optimal sleep score (score= 5). After a median follow-up of 8 years, 275 participants had incident CVD events. After adjustment for age, sex, total alcohol consumption, socioprofessional categories, smoking status, body mass index, physical activity, family history of heart diseases, LDL and HDL cholesterol, and diabetes status, the risk of CVD decreased by 22% (HR=0.78 [95% CI: 0.71–0.86]) per 1 point increment in the healthy sleep score, and there was a 74% risk reduction in CVD risk (HR=0.26 [0.13–0.51]) between participants with the highest (score of 5) and those with the lowest (score of 0–1) healthy sleep score (Table 1). Under the hypothesis that all the participants would achieve an optimal sleep score of 5, 70.8% of incident CVD could be potentially avoided each year.

Conclusion(s)

In this community-based prospective cohort, a higher healthy sleep score combining 5 sleep dimensions was associated with a lower risk of CHD or stroke.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding sources: Public Institution(s). Main funding source(s): The National Research Agency (ANR), The Region Ile de France (Domaine d'Intérêt Majeur)

Causes of admission and mortality among patients admitted in 37 cardiology departments in 17 Sub-Saharan African countries: the FEBRUARY observatory (2016–2021) from African Research Network

Background

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major cause of death worldwide. At least two-third of CVD death occurs in low- (LIC) and middle-income (MIC) countries. An estimated 1 million deaths were attributable to CVD in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) alone. Scarce data are available about the admission for CVD and outcome in cardiology department in SSA.

Purpose

To describe admission for CVD and outcome of hospitalization in 17 in SSA countries.

Methods

We conducted a transversal and longitudinal study in CV department of 37 hospitals from 23 cities in 17 SSA countries (10 low income: Niger, Guinea, Benin, Mali, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tchad, Burkina Faso, Togo, Burundi, Ethiopia and 7 middle income: Cote d'Ivoire, Senegal, Cameroon, Congo, Soudan, Mauritania, Gabon). The February study was designed by a multidisciplinary collaborative team of epidemiologists, pharmacists and cardiologists from Africa and France. This ongoing observatory included all inpatients in February from each year since 2016.Data including socio-demographic and clinical characteristics, causes of admission, clinical, biological, complementary examinations, treatments, length of stay and discharge diagnosis were collected by the investigating physicians. All analyses were performed through scripts developed in the R software (4.0.3 (2020-10-10))

Results

Overall, 4360 patients were included in the February study. Men represented 56.4%. Mean of age was 56.7±16.8 years. The main cause of admission was heart failure (41.5%) followed by acute coronary syndrome (11.9%) and stroke (11%). Cause of admission varied significantly across countries (p&lt;0.01) and over the years (p&lt;0.01). Proportions of admission for heart failure varied from 20% in Ethiopia to 62% in Guinea. Mean of length of stay was 9.95±22.4 days. All causes of admission confounded, in-hospital mortality rate was 11% (N=423). Mortality rate differed significantly according to causes of admission (p&lt;0.01).Mortality rate among patients admitted for stroke, heart failure and acute coronary syndrome was respectively 18%, 12.3% and 9.5%. Overall, 31 (0.7%) were admitted for endocarditis and mortality rate among them was 20.8% (figure). Overall, mortality rate did not vary according to gender or over the years but was significantly different according to patient wealth index (p&lt;0.05), countries (p&lt;0.01) and level income countries (p&lt;0.01). Mortality rate was significantly higher in LIC.

Conclusion

Heart failure, acute coronary syndrome and stroke represent the two-third of causes of admission. Overall, mortality rate in cardiology departments in SSA reached 11%.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding sources: None.

Identification of risk loci for primary aldosteronism in genome-wide association studies

Primary aldosteronism affects up to 10% of hypertensive patients and is responsible for treatment resistance and increased cardiovascular risk. Here we perform a genome-wide association study in a discovery cohort of 562 cases and 950 controls and identify three main loci on chromosomes 1, 13 and X; associations on chromosome 1 and 13 are replicated in a second cohort and confirmed by a meta-analysis involving 1162 cases and 3296 controls. The association on chromosome 13 is specific to men and stronger in bilateral adrenal hyperplasia than aldosterone producing adenoma. Candidate genes located within the two loci, CASZ1 and RXFP2, are expressed in human and mouse adrenals in different cell clusters. Their overexpression in adrenocortical cells suppresses mineralocorticoid output under basal and stimulated conditions, without affecting cortisol biosynthesis. Our study identifies the first risk loci for primary aldosteronism and highlights new mechanisms for the development of aldosterone excess.

Characteristics and factors associated to patients discharging from hospital without an implantable cardioverter defibrillator after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest

AIMS

Guidelines recommend that in the absence of reversible cause for sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) should be performed to prevent further fatal event. We sought to describe the frequency and characteristics of patients discharged from the hospital without ICD after the SCA in the daily practice.

METHODS AND RESULTS

From 2011 to 2018, all SCAs related to a cardiac cause admitted alive across the 48 hospitals of Great Paris Area were prospectively enrolled. Two investigators thoroughly reviewed each medical report to ensure accuracy of the assigned diagnosis towards identifying the cause of SCA and ICD implantation. Out of the 4314 SCA admitted alive at hospital admission, 1064 cardiac-related SCA survivors were discharged alive from hospital, including 356 patients (33.5%) with an ICD and 708 (66.5%) without. The principal underlying cause of SCA among those discharged without an ICD was acute coronary syndrome (ACS; 602, 85%), chronic coronary artery disease (41, 5.8%), structural non-ischaemic heart disease (48, 6.8%), and non-structural heart disease (17, 2.4%). Among ACS-related SCA, 93.8% (602/642) discharged without an ICD. The unique factor associated with non-ICD implantation in the setting of ACS was immediate coronary angioplasty (odds ratio 4.22, 95% confidence interval 1.86-9.30, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Two-thirds of SCA survivors were discharged without an ICD, mainly in the setting of ACS. The unique factor associated with non-ICD implantation among ACS was immediate coronary angioplasty emphasizing the fact that ACS definition must be precise since associated with ICD implantation or not.

Gender gap in annual preventive care services in France

BACKGROUND

In France, screening for cardiovascular risk factors is recommended during annual preventive visits. However, data are lacking on the temporal trend in women's uptake to preventive care services, and in cardiovascular and mortality outcomes. The aim of the study was to investigate the participation and mortality of women in annual preventive care services in a major preventive medicine center in France.

METHOD

Ee conducted repeated cross-sectional studies including a total of 366,270 individuals who had a first examination at the Centre d'Investigations Préventives et Cliniques, France, between January 1992 and December 2011.

FINDINGS

Women's participation was low below 50 years of age, then increases from 50 to 70 years, and is lower for women older than 70 years. The gap in female participation was more pronounced among individuals with high education, low social deprivation, and no depressive symptoms. Compared with the general population, the screened population had significantly lower standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) among both men and women, for all age ranges. Screened women aged 18-49 years showed a lower mortality gain compared with men of the same age; SMRs did not differ significantly by sex for individuals over 50 years.

INTERPRETATION

In this community-based sample, compared with men, women's participation to annual preventive care services was lower, and screened women had a lower mortality gain. Despite the demonstrated benefit of annual check-ups on health, there is a gender gap in adherence to preventive programs and in efficiency of screening programs, especially in the young age range. This gap in cardiovascular disease prevention may result in poorer cardiovascular health in women. Urgent adaptations to overcome this gender gap in preventive screening in France are warranted.

FUNDING

Bamba Gaye is supported by the Fondation Recherche Médicale grant.

Lack of Early Etiologic Investigations in Young Sudden Cardiac Death

BACKGROUND

Since majority of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) victims die in the intensive care unit (ICU), early etiologic investigations may improve understanding of SCA and targeted prevention.

METHODS

In this prospective, population-based registry all SCA admitted alive across the 48 hospitals of the Paris area were enrolled. We investigated the extent of early etiologic work-up among young SCD cases (<45 years) eventually dying within the ICU.

RESULTS

From May 2011 to May 2018, 4,314 SCA patients were admitted alive. Among them, 3,044 died in ICU, including 484 (15.9%) young patients. SCA etiology was established in 233 (48.1%) and remained unexplained in 251 (51.9%). Among unexplained (compared to explained) cases, coronary angiography (17.9 vs. 49.4%, P<0.001), computed tomography scan (24.7 vs. 46.8%, P<0.001) and trans-thoracic echocardiography (31.1 vs. 56.7%, P<0.001) were less frequently performed. Only 22 (8.8%) patients with unexplained SCD underwent all three investigations. SCDs with unexplained status decreased significantly over the 7 years of the study period (from 62.9 to 35.2%, P=0.005). While specialized TTE and CT scan performances have increased significantly, performance of early coronary angiography did not change. Autopsy, genetic analysis and family screening were performed in only 48 (9.9%), 5 (1.0%) and 14 cases (2.9%) respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

More than half of young SCD dying in ICU remained etiologically unexplained; this was associated with a lack of early investigations. Improving early diagnosis may enhance both SCA understanding and prevention, including for relatives. Failure to identify familial conditions may result in other preventable deaths within these families.

Does age influence out-of-hospital cardiac arrest incidence and outcomes among women? Insights from the Paris SDEC

AIMS

Age and sex disparities in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) have been described. Reproductive age may have a protected effect on females vs. males, although results are conflicting. We aimed to clarify this using the Paris Sudden Death Expertise Centre (SDEC) registry.

METHODS AND RESULTS

The Paris SDEC registry collects OHCAs occurring in the Greater Paris Area. We included all OHCAs of presumed cardiac causes occurring between 2013 and 2018. Patients were divided into age groups: 1-13, 13-50, 50-75, and >75 years. Sex and age disparities in OHCA incidence and outcomes were analysed using multivariable negative binomial and logistic regression models. There were 19 782 OHCAs meeting inclusion criteria: 0.37% aged 1-13 years, 12.4% aged 13-50 years, 40.4% aged 50-75 years, and 46.9% aged >75 years. Adjusted incidence rate ratios (IRRs) in females vs. males were for the youngest to the older age groups: 1.29 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.78-2.13], 0.54 [0.49-0.59], 0.60 [0.56-0.64], and 0.75 [0.67-0.84]. At reproductive age, females were more likely than males to have a return of spontaneous circulation [adjusted odds ratio (OR) 1.60 (1.27-2.02)], to be alive at hospital admission [OR: 1.49 (1.18-1.89)]. In both sexes, patients aged 13-50 years were more likely to survive at hospital discharge than those aged 50-75 years [males: OR 1.81 (1.49-2.20), females: 2.24 (1.54-3.25)]. However, at reproductive age, no sex disparity was observed in survival at hospital discharge [OR: 1.16 (0.75-1.80)].

CONCLUSION

Incidence rate ratios were similar between pre- and post-menopausal aged patients. At reproductive age, no sex disparity in survival at hospital discharge was observed, suggesting that menopausal status may not influence OHCA occurrence and prognosis.

Organ donation after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: a population-based study of data from the Paris Sudden Death Expertise Center

BACKGROUND

Organ shortage is a major public health issue, and patients who die after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) could be a valuable source of organs. Here, our objective was to identify factors associated with organ donation after brain death complicating OHCA, in unselected patients entered into a comprehensive real-life registry covering a well-defined geographic area.

METHODS

We prospectively analyzed consecutive adults with OHCA who were successfully resuscitated, but died in intensive care units in the Paris region in 2011-2018. The primary outcome was organ donation after brain death. Independent risk factors were identified using logistic regression analysis. One-year graft survival was assessed using Cox and log-rank tests.

RESULTS

Of the 3061 included patients, 136 (4.4%) became organ donors after brain death, i.e., 28% of the patients with brain death. An interaction between admission pH and post-resuscitation shock was identified. By multivariate analysis, in patients with post-resuscitation shock, factors associated with organ donation were neurological cause of OHCA (odds ratio [OR], 14.5 [7.6-27.4], P < 0.001), higher pH (OR/0.1 increase, 1.3 [1.1-1.6], P < 0.001); older age was negatively associated with donation (OR/10-year increase, 0.7 [0.6-0.8], P < 0.001). In patients without post-resuscitation shock, the factor associated with donation was neurological cause of OHCA (OR, 6.9 [3.0-15.9], P < 0.001); higher pH (OR/0.1 increase, 0.8 [0.7-1.0], P = 0.04) and OHCA at home (OR, 0.4 [0.2-0.7], P = 0.006) were negatively associated with organ donation. One-year graft survival did not differ according to Utstein characteristics of the donor.

CONCLUSIONS

4% of patients who died in ICU after OHCA led to organ donation. Patients with OHCA constitute a valuable source of donated organs, and special attention should be paid to young patients with OHCA of neurological cause.

Use of traditional medicine and control of hypertension in 12 African countries

Background

Use of traditional medicine (TM) is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa as a treatment option for a wide range of disease. We aimed to describe main characteristics of TM users and estimate the association of TM use with control of hypertension.

Methods

We used data on 2128 hypertensive patients of a cross-sectional study (convenience sampling), who attended cardiology departments of 12 sub-Saharan African countries (Benin, Cameroon, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Senegal, Togo). To model association of TM use with odds of uncontrolled, severe and complicated hypertension, we used multivariable mixed logistic regressions, and to model the association with blood pressure (systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP)) we used mixed linear models. All models were adjusted for age, sex, wealth, adherence to hypertension conventional treatment and country (random effect).

Results

A total of 512 (24%) participants reported using TM, varying across countries from 10% in the Congo to 48% in Guinea. TM users were more likely to be men, living in rural area, poorly adhere to prescribed medication (frequently due to its cost). Use of TM was associated with a 3.87 (95% CI 1.52 to 6.22)/1.75 (0.34 to 3.16) mm Hg higher SBP/DBP compared with no use; and with greater odds of severe hypertension (OR=1.34; 95% CI 1.04 to 1.74) and of any hypertension complication (OR=1.27; 95% CI 1.01 to 1.60), mainly driven by renal complication (OR=1.57; 95% CI 1.07 to 2.29) after adjustment for measured confounders.

Conclusions

The use of TM was associated with higher blood pressure, more severe hypertension and more complications in Sub-Saharan African countries. The widespread use of TM needs to be acknowledged and worked out to integrate TM safely within the conventional healthcare.

Prevalence of Hearing Loss and Hearing Aid Use Among Adults in France in the CONSTANCES Study

IMPORTANCE

Although hearing loss is common in the population worldwide, the prevalence of hearing loss and hearing aid use is not known.

OBJECTIVE

To estimate the prevalence of hearing loss and hearing aid use in the adult French population.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

This cohort study used data from the CONSTANCES cohort, a representative sample of the French population. Volunteers aged 18 to 75 years were recruited at 21 preventive health centers between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2019. The present study included participants with audiometric data.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

The main outcomes were prevalence of hearing loss and disabling hearing loss overall and by sex and age group and prevalence of self-reported hearing aid use among those with disabling hearing loss. Hearing loss was defined as a pure-tone average (PTA) in the better ear of 20 dB or higher, and disabling hearing loss was defined as a PTA in the better ear of 35 dB or higher.

RESULTS

Of 200 870 participants in the CONSTANCES study, 186 460 had full audiometric data and were included in this study (mean [SD] age, 47.1 [13.5] years); 100 330 (53.8%) were female, and 86 130 (46.2%) were male. Of these participants, 24.8% (95% CI, 24.6%-25.0%) had hearing loss and 4.3% (95% CI, 4.2%-4.4%) had disabling hearing loss. The prevalence rates of hearing loss increased from 3.4% (95% CI, 2.8%-3.9%) at age 18 to 25 years to 73.3% (95% CI, 69.5%-77.2%) at age 71 to 75 years among men and from 4.4% (95% CI, 3.9%-5.0%) at age 18 to 25 years to 64.1% (95% CI, 59.7%-68.4%) at age 71 to 75 years among women. The prevalence of disabling hearing loss increased from 0.3% (95% CI, 0.2%-0.4%) among participants aged 18 to 25 years to 23.3% (95% CI, 20.7%-26.0%) among participants aged 71 to 75 years. Among the 8050 participants with disabling hearing loss, 36.8% (95% CI, 35.8%-37.9%) reported using hearing aids, including 56.7% (95% CI, 38.9%-74.4%) aged 18 to 25 years and 32.9% (95% CI, 26.8%-39.2%) aged 71 to 75 years.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

In this cohort study, hearing loss was prevalent in France, and the prevalence of hearing loss increased with age among both men and women. Hearing aids were underused, particularly among older individuals. These findings suggest that hearing loss prevention and screening in the French population are needed.

Use of traditional medicine and control of hypertension in 12 Sub-Saharan African countries: the EIGHT cross-sectional study

Funding Acknowledgements

Type of funding sources: Foundation. Main funding source(s): Camille Lassale is supported by a fellowship from “La Caixa” Foundation (ID 100010434). The fellowship code is LCF/BQ/PR21/11840003

Background

Use of traditional medicine (TM), is widespread in Sub-Saharan Africa as treatment option for a wide range of disease. We aimed to describe the profile of TM users and estimate the association with blood pressure (BP) and control of hypertension among hypertensive patients in a pan-African study.

Methods

We included 2128 participants in the cross-sectional EIGHT study, who attended an outpatient consultation in the cardiology departments of 12 Sub-Saharan African countries (Benin, Cameroon, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Senegal, Togo). We describe patients’ characteristics according to TM use. We modelled the odds of uncontrolled hypertension, severe hypertension, and complications of hypertension by multivariable mixed logistic regression, and the linear association with systolic and diastolic BP by linear regression, all adjusted for age, sex, individual wealth index, adherence to hypertension conventional treatment, and country.

Results

A total of 512 (24%) of participants reported using TM, and this percentage varied drastically across countries from 10% in the Congo to 48% in Guinea. TM users were more likely to be male, with poor treatment adherence, reporting missing treatment because it is too expensive, and presenting any complication of hypertension. TM use was associated with greater odds of hypertension (OR=1.30; 95% confidence interval: 0.99, 1.70), severe hypertension (OR=1.34; 1.04, 1.74) and of any complication of hypertension (OR=1.27; 1.01, 1.60), driven by renal complication (OR=1.57; 1.07, 2.29). Use of TM was associated with a 3.87 mmHg higher systolic BP and 1.75 mm Hg higher diastolic BP compared to no use.

Conclusions

In this cross-sectional study of patients with hypertension in 12 Sub-Saharan African countries, we identified that the use of traditional medicine was associated with a poorer control of hypertension and more complications.

Incidence of Sudden Cardiac Death in the European Union

BACKGROUND

Although sudden cardiac death (SCD) is recognized as a high-priority public health topic, reliable estimates of the incidence of SCD or, more broadly, out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), in the population are scarce, especially in the European Union.

OBJECTIVES

The study objective was to determine the incidence of SCD and OHCA in the European Union.

METHODS

The study examined 4 large (ie, >2 million inhabitants) European population-based prospective registries collecting emergency medical services (EMS)-attended (ie, with attempted resuscitation) OHCA and SCD (OHCA without obvious extracardiac causes) for >5 consecutive years from January 2012 to December 2017 in the Paris region (France), the North Holland region (the Netherlands), the Stockholm region (Sweden), and in all of Denmark.

RESULTS

The average annual incidence of SCD in the 4 registries ranged from 36.8 per 100,000 (95% CI: 23.5-50.1 per 100,000) to 39.7 per 100,000 (95% CI: 32.6-46.8 per 100,000). When extrapolating to each European country and accounting for age and sex, this yields to 249,538 SCD cases per year (95% CI: 155,377-343,719 SCD cases per year). The average annual incidence of OHCA in the 4 registries ranged from 47.8 per 100,000 (95% CI: 21.2-74.4 per 100,000) to 57.9 per 100,000 (95% CI: 19.6-96.3 per 100,000), corresponding to 343,496 OHCA cases per year (95% CI: 216,472-464,922 OHCA cases per year) in the European Union. Incidence rates of SCD and OHCA increased with age and were systematically higher in men compared with women.

CONCLUSIONS

By combining data from 4 large, population-based registries with at least 5 years of data collection, this study provided an estimate of the incidence of SCD and OHCA in the European Union.

Sex differences in aortopathy and valve diseases among patients undergoing cardiac surgery

BACKGROUND

We aimed to study sex differences in aortopathy and valve disease among patients undergoing aortic valve replacement and/or surgery for ascending aortic aneurysm, and assess whether differences are specific for patients with bicuspid (BAV) compared to patients with tricuspid aortic valve (TAV).

METHODS

We used a single-center and observational cohort including 1,045 patients undergoing elective open-heart surgery for aortic valve disease and/or ascending aortic aneurysm at the Karolinska Hospital (Sweden).

RESULTS

Women (33.0%) were older than men (mean [SD]; 67.9 [11] years vs 62.5 [13] years for men; P < 0.001). No significant sex difference in prevalence of ascending aortic aneurysm was found according to absolute measures (P = 0.19), however, women had a greater dilation of the ascending aorta when normalized for body surface area (mean [SD], 21.8 [6.3] mm/m² vs 19.3 [4.4] mm/m² for men; P < 0.001). Among the 560 patients with BAV, women had significantly more AS (adjusted OR, 2.23; 95% CI, 1.19-4.20; P = 0.013) and less AI (adjusted OR 0.42; 95% CI, 0.23-0.78; P < 0.01); whereas no sex difference was found among patients with TAV.

CONCLUSIONS

In this large study of patients undergoing cardiac surgery, we found greater degree of aortic dilation in women compared to men suggesting a need for earlier monitoring of women. Moreover, women with BAV had a significantly higher prevalence of AS compared to men. These results describe the aorta and valvular characteristics of patients by sex and provide guidance regarding which patients might benefit from closer surveillance.