Background: Cancer-associated thrombosis (CAT) is a common complication of cancer and has received increasing attention; the Khorana Risk Score (KRS) is a recommended but insufficient risk assessment model for CAT. We propose a novel Kagoshima-DVT score (KDS) to predict preoperative deep vein thrombosis (DVT). This scoring method scores D-dimer ≥1.5 μg/mL, age ≥60 years, female sex, ongoing glucocorticoids, cancer with high risk of DVT, and prolonged immobility. The purpose of this study was to compare the performance of the KDS and KRS in predicting CAT in patients with gastrointestinal cancer.

Methods and Results: In all, 250 patients without a history of thrombosis who received their first chemotherapy for gastrointestinal cancer were divided into low- (48.0%), intermediate- (38.8%), and high-risk (13.2%) groups for CAT development by the KDS. The patients’ median age was 67 years and 63.2% were men. In all, 61 (27.1%) patients developed CAT (17.6%, 35.3%, and 36.4% of patients in the low-, intermediate, and high-risk groups, respectively; log-rank P=0.006). The area under the time-dependent receiver operating characteristic curve for CAT occurrence within 1 year was larger for the KDS than KRS (0.653 vs. 0.494).

Conclusions: A high KDS at the start of first chemotherapy is a risk indicator for CAT development during chemotherapy. Moreover, the KDS is more useful than the KRS in predicting CAT risk.

Background: Intravenous (IV) diuretics are key in the treatment of acute heart failure, but the time of administration can affect outcomes. Using a medical database, we assessed the real-world usage and clinical impact of IV diuretics after admission.

Methods and Results: This observational study included hospitalized patients with heart failure who received IV diuretics. Relationships between IV diuretic use and clinical outcomes (duration of hospitalization, in-hospital mortality, readmission) were evaluated using analysis of variance or logistic regression. Overall, 9,653 patients (51.1% male) were assessed (mean age 80.9 years). Most (89.1%) patients had IV loop diuretic treatment initiated on Day 1 of hospitalization and 68.0% achieved the maximum dose on that day. The median duration of hospitalization was 17.0 days. In-hospital mortality was 9.2%; 13.7% of patients were readmitted within 3 months after discharge. There were prognostic relationships between IV diuretic usage and both duration of hospitalization and in-hospital mortality. On multivariable analysis, the time of maximum dose had the biggest impact on outcomes. Duration of hospitalization was prolonged and in-hospital mortality rates increased when the time of maximum dose was delayed. There was little correlation between IV diuretic use and readmission following discharge.

Conclusions: Short-term outcomes (duration of hospitalization, in-hospital mortality) correlated with the time of maximum IV diuretic dose; thus, early initiation and subsequent modification of appropriate congestion treatment is critical for prognostic improvement.

Background: The incidence of hypertension increases with age, as does that of brain abnormalities associated with cerebral pathologic and functional degeneration. Little is known about the relationship between hypertension-related cardiac changes and cerebral pathologic degeneration. We examined the relationship between left ventricular (LV) diastolic dysfunction and cerebral white matter hyperintensity (WMH) progression in young-old hypertensive patients.

Methods and Results: This single-center prospective longitudinal observational study included 156 individuals aged 65–75 years with well-controlled hypertension, normal LV contraction, and no history of symptomatic heart failure. WMH was quantified on brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The primary outcome was the rate of WMH volume progression between the baseline and follow-up MRI (∆WMH). Participants were classified into tertiles on the basis of ∆WMH (small, medium, and large ∆WMH). The mean (±SD) age at recruitment was 69.6±2.8 years, and the mean follow-up period was 4.6 years. The ratio of early diastolic mitral inflow velocity to early diastolic septal mitral annulus velocity (septal E/e′) was significantly higher in the large ∆WMH group than in the small and medium ∆WMH groups. On multiple regression analysis, septal E/e′ was significantly positively associated with square-root-transformed ∆WMH (β=0.457, P<0.001).

Conclusions: Septal E/e′ was significantly positively associated with the rate of progression of WMH volume, suggesting that LV diastolic dysfunction is associated with the progression of abnormal brain aging.

Background: Omentin, a circulating adipokine, is downregulated in complications of obesity, including heart disease. Here, we investigated whether omentin modulates adverse cardiac remodeling in mice after myocardial infarction (MI).

Methods and Results: Transgenic mice expressing the human omentin gene in fat tissue (OMT-Tg) and wild-type (WT) mice were subjected to permanent ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) to induce MI. OMT-Tg mice had a higher survival rate after permanent LAD ligation than WT mice. Moreover, OMT-Tg mice had lower heart weight/body weight (HW/BW) and lung weight/body weight (LW/BW) ratios at 4 weeks after coronary artery ligation compared with WT mice. OMT-Tg mice also showed decreased left ventricular diastolic diameter (LVDd) and increased fractional shortening (%FS) following MI. Moreover, an increase in capillary density in the infarct border zone and a decrease in myocardial apoptosis, myocyte hypertrophy, and interstitial fibrosis in the remote zone following MI, were more prevalent in OMT-Tg than WT mice. Finally, intravenous administration of adenoviral vectors expressing human omentin to WT mice after MI resulted in decreases in HW/BW, LW/BW, and LVDd, and an increase in %FS.

Conclusions: Our findings document that human omentin prevents pathological cardiac remodeling after chronic ischemia, suggesting that omentin represents a potential therapeutic molecule for the treatment of ischemic heart disease.

Background: Orthostatic intolerance markedly affects the day-to-day activities of patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) or chronic fatigue syndrome. Chronotropic incompetence (CI), defined as an impaired chronotropic response or reduced increases in heart rate during exercise and resulting in lower exercise capacity, may also be observed during orthostasis in patients with ME.

Methods and Results: In this study, the recordings of 101 adult patients with ME (36 men, 65 women; mean [±SD] age 37±12 years) who underwent conventional active 10-min standing tests at least 3 times to determine the presence of CI were analyzed. Recordings were selected for 13 patients who experienced tests both with and without exhibiting postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS; an increase in heart rate of ≥30 beats/min or an actual heart rate of ≥120 beats/min) while also both successfully completing and failing to complete 10-min standing on different occasions. Subjects in whom failure without POTS was observed in any test(s) while success was associated with POTS on other occasions were considered positive for CI during orthostasis. Of the 13 patients, 12 (92%) were CI positive, 5 (38%) of whom exclusively failed the tests without experiencing POTS.

Conclusions: Some patients with ME were CI positive during standing tests, suggesting impaired sympathetic activation. The presence of POTS appears to be essential for maintaining orthostasis in these patients.

Background: Although cardiac rehabilitation (CR) has been reported to be effective for improving the prognosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), more patients must participate in CR during admission and as outpatients. Factors contributing to, and countermeasures against, the low CR participation rate need to be identified. Here we describe the protocol for a study designed to evaluate the effectiveness and problems of CR for AMI from the Japanese Registry of All Cardiac and Vascular Diseases (JROAD) and the JROAD–Japanese Diagnosis Procedure Combination system (JROAD-DPC) database.

Methods and Results: This is a multicenter retrospective cohort study that will use the JROAD/JROAD-DPC database to evaluate the effectiveness of CR for AMI (JROAD-CR). Five thousand patients with AMI who were admitted to hospitals registered in the JROAD database in 2014 will be investigated with regard to their baseline characteristics, AMI severity and treatment, examination results, history of CR, and prognosis up to 5 years. We will also investigate the presence, quantity, and quality of CR, and evaluate the effectiveness of CR with respect to cost, exercise tolerance, and prognosis during admission and follow-up.

Conclusions: The JROAD-CR study will seek to reveal the effectiveness of CR for AMI in the era of early reperfusion therapy and shortened hospitalization.