Presence of CB alteration correlated with greater central macular thickness (p = 0.0020), horizontal extent of edema (p = 0.0042), and worse baseline visual acuity (p = 0.0195). Type 2 CB alterations were associated with worse logMAR vision compared with type 1 at baseline and final examinations (p = 0.0002, p = 0.0470). CONCLUSIONS CB alterations were noted in the majority of eyes with CME from CRVO, uveitis, and IG. The association observed between CB alterations and central macular thickness suggests that these alterations may develop as a result of mechanical stress of Müller cells on the CB. Published by Elsevier Inc.Atrial fibrillation (AF) is an increasingly prevalent arrhythmia; its pathophysiology and progression are well studied. Stroke and bleeding risk models have been created and validated. Decision tools for stroke prophylaxis are evolving, with better options at hand. Utilization of various diagnostic tools offer insight into AF burden and thromboembolic risk. Rate control, rhythm control, and stroke prophylaxis are the cornerstones of AF therapy. Although antiarrhythmic drugs are useful, AF ablation has become a primary therapeutic strategy. Pulmonary vein isolation is the cornerstone of AF ablation, and methods to improve ablation safety and efficacy continue to progress. Ablation of nonpulmonary vein sites is increasingly being recognized as an important strategy for treating nonparoxysmal AF. Several new ablation techniques and technologies and stroke prophylaxis are being explored. This is a contemporary review on the prevalence, pathophysiology, risk prediction, prophylaxis, treatment options, new insights for optimizing treatment outcomes, and emerging concepts of AF. BACKGROUND Contemporary data are lacking regarding the prognosis and management of left ventricular thrombus (LVT). OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to quantify the effect of anticoagulation therapy on LVT evolution using sequential imaging and to determine the impact of LVT regression on the incidence of thromboembolism, bleeding, and mortality. METHODS From January 2011 to January 2018, a comprehensive computerized search of LVT was conducted using 90,065 consecutive echocardiogram reports. Only patients with a confirmed LVT were included after imaging review by 2 independent experts. Major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), which included death, stroke, myocardial infarction, or acute peripheral artery emboli, were determined as well as major bleeding events (BARC ≥3) and all-cause mortality rates. RESULTS There were 159 patients with a confirmed LVT. Patients were treated with vitamin K antagonists (48.4%), parenteral heparins (27.7%), and direct oral anticoagulants (22.6%). Antiplatelet therap; p = 0.011). A left ventricular ejection fraction ≥35% (HR 0.46; 95% CI 0.23 to 0.93; p = 0.029) and anticoagulation therapy >3 months (HR 0.42; 95% CI 0.20 to 0.88; p = 0.021) were independently associated with less MACE. CONCLUSIONS The presence of LVT was associated with a very high risk of MACE and mortality. Total LVT regression, obtained with different anticoagulant regimens, was associated with reduced mortality. BACKGROUND N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) may reflect early prognosis in patients with valvular heart disease (VHD). https://www.selleckchem.com/products/gw-4064.html OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to examine the association between NT-proBNP and mortality in elderly patients with VHD. METHODS A total of 5,983 elderly patients (age ≥60 years) with moderate or severe VHD underwent echocardiography and NT-proBNP measurement. VHD examined included aortic stenosis, aortic regurgitation, mitral stenosis, mitral regurgitation, tricuspid regurgitation, and multivalvular heart disease. NT-proBNP ratio was defined as measured NT-proBNP relative to the maximal normal values specific to age and sex. Disease-specific thresholds were defined on the basis of penalized splines and maximally selected rank statistics. RESULTS The cohort had a mean age of 71.1 ± 7.6 years. At 1-year follow-up, 561 deaths (9.4%) had occurred. In penalized splines, relative hazards showed a monotonic increase with greater NT-proBNP ratio for death with different VHDragmatic and versatile biomarker in elderly patients. BACKGROUND Studies examining sex-related outcomes following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) have reported conflicting results. OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to examine the sex-related risk of 5-year cardiovascular outcomes after PCI. METHODS The authors pooled patient-level data from 21 randomized PCI trials and assessed the association between sex and major adverse cardiac events (MACE) (cardiac death, myocardial infarction [MI], or ischemia-driven target lesion revascularization [ID-TLR]) as well as its individual components at 5 years. RESULTS Among 32,877 patients, 9,141 (27.8%) were women. Women were older and had higher body mass index, more frequent hypertension and diabetes, and less frequent history of surgical or percutaneous revascularization compared with men. By angiographic core laboratory analysis, lesions in women had smaller reference vessel diameter and shorter lesion length. At 5 years, women had a higher unadjusted rate of MACE (18.9% vs. 17.7%; p = 0.003), all-cause death (10.4% vs. 8.7%; p = 0.0008), cardiac death (4.9% vs. 4.0%; p = 0.003) and ID-TLR (10.9% vs. 10.2%; p = 0.02) compared with men. By multivariable analysis, female sex was an independent predictor of MACE (hazard ratio [HR] 1.14; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01 to 1.30; p = 0.04) and ID-TLR (HR 1.23; 95% CI 1.05 to 1.44; p = 0.009) but not all-cause death (HR 0.91; 95% CI 0.75 to 1.09; p = 0.30) or cardiac death (HR 0.97; 95% CI 0.73 to 1.29; p = 0.85). CONCLUSIONS In the present large-scale, individual patient data pooled analysis of contemporary PCI trials, women had a higher risk of MACE and ID-TLR compared with men at 5 years following PCI. BACKGROUND Atherosclerosis progression predicts cardiovascular events; however, progression of multiterritorial subclinical atherosclerosis is incompletely understood. OBJECTIVES This study sought to study short-term progression of atherosclerosis using different noninvasive imaging techniques and their relationship with cardiovascular risk. METHODS The study included 3,514 PESA (Progression of Early Subclinical Atherosclerosis) study participants (45.7 ± 4.2 years of age; 63% men). Participants underwent 2-dimensional vascular ultrasound (2DVUS) of abdominal aorta, carotid, iliac, and femoral territories to determine a plaque number score; 3DVUS to quantify carotid and femoral plaque volume; and coronary artery calcium score (CACS) at baseline and 2.8 years later. The authors calculated the rate of new disease incidence and changes in disease extent. Logistic regression models were used to evaluate associations of progression rates with baseline cardiovascular risk factors and estimated 10-year risk. RESULTS Imaging detected short-term (3-year) atherosclerosis progression in 41.