Faculty Bibliography

Background: Comorbid diabetes is common in heart failure and associated with increased hospitalization and mortality. Nonetheless, the optimal treatment strategy for diabetes in heart failure patients remains poorly characterized, particularly among low income and minority populations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between glycemic control and outcomes among patients with heart failure and diabetes who were seen in a safety net health care system. Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study of outpatients with heart failure and diabetes in the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, the largest municipal health care system in the United States. Subjects with diagnoses of heart failure and diabetes mellitus were included if they had an outpatient visit in 2007-2010 with an HbA1c performed in the prior 90 days. HbA1c and covariates, including demographics, comorbidities, vital signs, labs, and prior utilization, were obtained from the HHC data warehouse, which was linked to the New York State Inpatient Database and to New York State Vital Statistics to ascertain hospitalization and mortality events, respectively. Cox proportional hazard models were used to measure the association between HbA1c levels and outcomes of all-cause hospitalization, heart failure hospitalization, and mortality. Results: Of 4,723 patients with heart failure and diabetes, 42.6% were black, 30.5% were Hispanic/ Latino, 31.4% were Medicaid beneficiaries and 22.9% were uninsured. As compared to patients with an HbA1c of 8.0-8.9%, patients with an HbA1c of <6.5%, 6.5-6.9%, 7.0-7.9%, and >9.0% had an adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) (95% CI) for all-cause hospitalization of 1.03 (0.90-1.17), 1.05 (0.91-1.22), 1.03 (0.90-1.17), and 1.13 (1.00-1.28), respectively. An HbA1c>9.0% was also associated with an increased risk of heart failure hospitalization (aHR 1.33; 95% CI 1.11- 1.59) and a non-significant increased risk in mortality (aHR 1.20; 95% CI 0.99-1.45) when compared to HbA1c of 8.0-8.9%. Conclusions: Among a cohort of primarily minority and low income patients with heart failure and diabetes, an increased risk of hospitalization was observed only for an HbA1c greater than 9%

BACKGROUND: In patients with diabetes mellitus and multivessel disease, coronary artery bypass graft surgery and percutaneous coronary intervention are treatment options. However, there is paucity of data comparing coronary artery bypass graft surgery against newer generation stents. METHODS AND RESULTS: Patients included in the New York State registries who had diabetes mellitus and underwent isolated coronary artery bypass graft surgery or percutaneous coronary intervention with everolimus eluting stent (EES) for multivessel disease were included. Propensity score matching was used to assemble a cohort with similar baseline characteristics. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality. Secondary outcomes were myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, and repeat revascularization. Short-term (within 30 days) and long-term outcomes were evaluated. Among 16 089 patients with diabetes mellitus and multivessel disease, 8096 patients with similar propensity scores were included. At short-term, EES was associated with a lower risk of death (hazard ratio [HR] =0.58; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.34-0.98; P=0.04) and stroke (HR=0.14; 95% CI, 0.06-0.30; P<0.0001) but higher risk of MI (HR=2.44; 95% CI, 1.13-5.31; P=0.02). At long-term, EES was associated with a similar risk of death (425 [10.50%] versus 414 [10.23%] events; HR=1.12; 95% CI, 0.96-1.30; P=0.16), a lower risk of stroke (118 [2.92%] versus 157 [3.88%] events; HR=0.76; 95% CI, 0.58-0.99; P=0.04) but a higher risk of MI (260 [6.42%] versus 166 [4.10%] events; HR=1.64; 95% CI, 1.32-2.04; P<0.0001) and repeat revascularization (889 [21.96%] versus 421 [10.40%] events; HR=2.42; 95% CI, 2.12-2.76; P<0.0001). The higher risk of MI was not seen in the subgroup of EES patients who underwent complete revascularization (HR=1.37; 95% CI, 0.76-2.47; P=0.30). CONCLUSIONS: In patients with diabetes mellitus and multivessel disease, EES was associated with lower upfront risk of death and stroke when compared with coronary artery bypass graft surgery. However, at long-term, EES was associated with similar risk of death, a higher risk of MI (in those with incomplete revascularization), and repeat revascularization but a lower risk of stroke.

Background Results of trials and registry studies have shown lower long-term mortality after coronary-artery bypass grafting (CABG) than after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) among patients with multivessel disease. These previous analyses did not evaluate PCI with second-generation drug-eluting stents. Methods In an observational registry study, we compared the outcomes in patients with multivessel disease who underwent CABG with the outcomes in those who underwent PCI with the use of everolimus-eluting stents. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality. Secondary outcomes were the rates of myocardial infarction, stroke, and repeat revascularization. Propensity-score matching was used to assemble a cohort of patients with similar baseline characteristics. Results Among 34,819 eligible patients, 9223 patients who underwent PCI with everolimus-eluting stents and 9223 who underwent CABG had similar propensity scores and were included in the analyses. At a mean follow-up of 2.9 years, PCI with everolimus-eluting stents, as compared with CABG, was associated with a similar risk of death (3.1% per year and 2.9% per year, respectively; hazard ratio, 1.04; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.93 to 1.17; P=0.50), higher risks of myocardial infarction (1.9% per year vs. 1.1% per year; hazard ratio, 1.51; 95% CI, 1.29 to 1.77; P<0.001) and repeat revascularization (7.2% per year vs. 3.1% per year; hazard ratio, 2.35; 95% CI, 2.14 to 2.58; P<0.001), and a lower risk of stroke (0.7% per year vs. 1.0% per year; hazard ratio, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.50 to 0.76; P<0.001). The higher risk of myocardial infarction with PCI than with CABG was not significant among patients with complete revascularization but was significant among those with incomplete revascularization (P=0.02 for interaction). Conclusions In a contemporary clinical-practice registry study, the risk of death associated with PCI with everolimus-eluting stents was similar to that associated with CABG. PCI was associated with a higher risk of myocardial infarction (among patients with incomplete revascularization) and repeat revascularization but a lower risk of stroke. (Funded by Abbott Vascular.).

BACKGROUND: Evidence concerning the association of anger-proneness with incidence of heart failure is lacking. METHODS: Anger proneness was ascertained among 13,171 black and white participants of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study cohort using the Spielberger Trait Anger Scale. Incident heart failure events, defined as occurrence of ICD-9-CM code 428.x, were ascertained from participants' medical records during follow-up 1990-2010. Relative hazard of heart failure across categories of trait anger was estimated from Cox proportional hazard models. RESULTS: Study participants (mean age 56.9 (SD 5.7) years) experienced 1,985 incident HF events during 18.5 (SD 4.9) years of follow-up. Incidence of HF was greater among those with high, as compared to those with low or moderate trait anger, with higher incidence observed for men as compared to women. The relative hazard of incident HF was modestly high among those with high trait anger, as compared to those with low or moderate trait anger (age-adjusted HR for men=1.44 (95% CI 1.23, 1.69). Adjustment for comorbidities and depressive symptoms attenuated the estimated age-adjusted relative hazard in men to 1.26 (95% CI 1.00, 1.60). CONCLUSION: Assessment of anger proneness may be necessary in successful prevention and clinical management of heart failure, especially in men.

BACKGROUND: Treatment of acute heart failure in the emergency department (ED) or observation unit is an alternative to hospitalization. Both ED management and observation unit management have been associated with reduced costs and may be used to avoid penalties related to rehospitalizations. The purpose of this study was to examine trends in ED visits for heart failure and disposition following such visits. METHODS: We used the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, a representative sample of ED visits in the United States, to estimate rates and characteristics of ED visits for heart failure between 2002 and 2010. The primary outcome was the discharge disposition from the ED. Regression models were fit to estimate trends and predictors of hospitalization and admission to an observation unit. RESULTS: The number of ED visits for heart failure remained stable over the period, from 914,739 in 2002 to 848,634 in 2010 (annual change -0.7%, 95% CI -3.7% to +2.5%). Of these visits, 74.2% led to hospitalization, wheras 3.1% led to observation unit admission. The likelihood of hospitalization did not change during the period (adjusted prevalence ratio 1.00, 95% CI 0.99-1.01 for each additional year), whereas admission to the observation unit increased annually (adjusted prevalence ratio 1.12, 95% CI 1.01-1.25). We observed significant regional differences in likelihood of hospitalization and observation admission. CONCLUSIONS: The number of ED visits for heart failure and the high proportion of ED visits with subsequent inpatient hospitalization have not changed in the last decade. Opportunities may exist to reduce hospitalizations by increasing short-term management of heart failure in the ED or observation unit.