Frailty and acute coronary syndrome: does gender matter?

There are important sex-related differences in elderly patients with acute coronary syndrome(ACS).Women are older,more frequently frail,and present more comorbidities than men.Atypical symptoms at presentation are also more common in female patients,they are leaded to a delayed diagnosis and treatment.Coronary angiography and subsequent revascularization are frequently underused in elderly women and they tend to receive less guidelines-recommended therapies.The prognosis in elderly frail women with ACS is poor,and it is with high mortality and readmissions rates.Bleeding is recurrent ischemic events in which it is more frequent in women than in men.Recovery time might be long,and a multidisciplinary approach is desirable to improve prognosis and quality of life.Further studies are needed in order to clarify the benefit of the different therapies in the group of frail women,and this is particularly true for revascularization,as scientific evidence in this group is very scarce.

Anticoagulation in elderly patients at high risk of atrial fibrillation without documented arrhythmias

Recent studies have suggested that patients with high CHA2DS2VASc-score [Congestive Heart failure, hyperten- sion, Age ≥ 75 years （doubled）, Diabetes, Stroke （doubled）, Vascular disease, Age 65-74 years, Sex category （female sex）] thromboembolic complications occurred irrespective of the presence of atrial fibrillation （AF） and anticoagulant therapy may be initiated irrespective of documented AF.

Gender differences related to the presence of atrial fibrillation in older hypertensive patients

AIM: To determine whether there are gender differences in the epidemiological profile of atrial fibrillation (AF) and to characterise the clinical, biochemical, and therapeutic factors associated with AF. METHODS: Each investigator (primary care physicians or physicians based in hospital units for hypertension treatment) recruited the first 3 patients with an age of ≥ 65 years and a clinical diagnosis of hypertension (ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and an electrocardiogram, were performed) on the first working day of the week for 5 wk and identified those individu-als with atrial fibrillation. A binary logistic regression was performed, including all of the variables that were significant in the univariate analysis, to establish the variables that were associated with the presence of arrhythmia. RESULTS: A total of 1028 patients were included in the study, with a mean age of 72.8 ± 5.8 years. Of these patients, 47.3% were male, 9% were smokers, 27.6% were diabetics, 48.3% had dyslipidaemia, 10.9% had angina, and 6.5% had experienced a myocardial infarction. Regarding gender differences, the men exhibited a larger waist circumference, a lower body mass index, less obesity, and a more extensive history of diabetes, smoking, ischaemic heart disease, kidney failure, peripheral arterial disease and carotid disease than the women. There were no differences, however, in the prevalence of AF between the men and the women (11.5% vs 9.2%, respectively; P = no significant). Regarding treatment, the women received antiplatelet agents and diuretics less frequently, but there were no other differences in the use of antihypertensive and antithrombotic therapies. In the multivariate analysis, AF in the total study population was associated with age, alcohol consumption, the presence of heart disease, and decreased glomerular filtration. In the women, AF was associated with all of the factors included in the overall analysis, as well as the presence of left ventricle hypertrophy. In contrast, in the men, the only risk factors associated with AF were age, the presence of heart disease and alcohol consumption. CONCLUSION: In patients with hypertension over 65 years of age, there are relevant gender differences in the factors associated with AF.

Cardiovascular prevention in elderly patients

In recent decades,life expectancy has been increasing significantly.In this scenario,health interventions are ne-cessary to improve prognosis and quality of life of elderly with cardiovascular risk factors and cardiovascular disease.However,the number of elderly patients included in clinical trials is low,thus current clinical practice guidelines do not include specific re-commendations.This document aims to review prevention recommendations focused in patients≥75 years with high or very high cardiovascular risk,regarding objectives,medical treatment options and also including physical exercise and their inclusion in cardiac rehabilitation programs.Also,we will show why geriatric syndromes such as frailty,dependence,cognitive impair-ment,and nutritional status,as well as comorbidities,ought to be considered in this population regarding their important pro-gnostic impact.

ISCHEMIA trial:How to apply the results to clinical practice

During the last years two questions have been continuously asked in chronic coronary syndromes:(1)Do revascularization procedures(coronary artery bypass grafting or percutaneous coronary intervention)really improve symptoms of angina?and(2)Do these techniques improve outcomes,i.e.do they prevent new myocardial infarction events and cardiovascular death?Therefore,there was a need for a large definitive trial.This study was the ISCHEMIA trial,a large,multicentric trial sponsored by the National Heart,Lung,and Blood Institute.The main trial compared coronary revascularization and optimal medical treatment(OMT)vs OMT alone in 5179 patients enrolled after a stress test.During a median 3.2-year follow-up,318 primary outcome events occurred;the adjusted hazard ratio for the invasive strategy as compared with the conservative strategy was 0.93(95%confidence interval 0.80-1.08,P=0.34).The ISCHEMIA trial deeply disrupted many of our prior attitudes regarding management strategies for patients with stable coronary artery disease.The findings underscore the benefits of disease-modifying OMT for stable coronary artery disease patients.The main purposes of ischemia assessment before this trial were:Diagnostic purposes,assessment of outcome,and adding to decision-making processes.Obviously,this changed after the trial results.The results of ISCHEMIA might challenge the current diagnostic approach for stable angina patients recommended in the last European Society of Cardiology guidelines on chronic coronary disease that were based on studies published before the ISCHEMIA trial.In this editorial we propose our approach based on the ISCHEMIA study and the pretest probability for a positive test in patients with chronic coronary syndromes.

Value of cardiac magnetic resonance on the risk stratification of cardiomyopathies

Cardiomyopathies represent a diverse group of heart muscle diseases with varying etiologies,presenting a diagnostic challenge due to their heterogeneous manifestations.Regular evaluation using cardiac imaging techniques is impera-tive as symptoms can evolve over time.These imaging approaches are pivotal for accurate diagnosis,treatment planning,and optimizing prognostic outcomes.Among these,cardiovascular magnetic resonance(CMR)stands out for its ability to provide precise anatomical and functional assessments.This manuscript ex-plores the significant contributions of CMR in the diagnosis and management of patients with cardiomyopathies,with special attention to risk stratification.CMR’s high spatial resolution and tissue characterization capabilities enable early detec-tion and differentiation of various cardiomyopathy subtypes.Additionally,it offers valuable insights into myocardial fibrosis,tissue viability,and left ven-tricular function,crucial parameters for risk stratification and predicting adverse cardiac events.By integrating CMR into clinical practice,clinicians can tailor patient-specific treatment plans,implement timely interventions,and optimize long-term prognosis.The non-invasive nature of CMR reduces the need for invasive procedures,minimizing patient discomfort.This review highlights the vital role of CMR in monitoring disease progression,guiding treatment decisions,and identifying potential complications in patients with cardiomyopathies.The utilization of CMR has significantly advanced our understanding and management of these complex cardiac conditions,leading to improved patient outcomes and a more personalized approach to care.