Objective: Despite recommendations from heart failure guidelines on the use of pharmacologic and device therapy in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), important inconsistencies in guideline adherence persist in practice. The aim of this study was to assess adherence to guideline-directed medical and device therapy for the treatment of patients with chronic HFrEF (left ventricular ejection fraction ≤40%). Methods: The Adherence to guideline-directed medical and device Therapy in outpAtients with HFrEF (ATA) study is a prospective, multicenter, observational study conducted in 24 centers from January 2019 to June 2019. Results: The study included 1462 outpatients (male: 70.1%, mean age: 67±11 years, mean LVEF: 30%±6%) with chronic HFrEF. Renin–angiotensin system (RAS) inhibitors, beta-blockers, mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRAs), and ivabradin were used in 78.2%, 90.2%, 55.4%, and 12.1% of patients, respectively. The proportion of patients receiving target doses of medical treatments was 24.6% for RAS inhibitors, 9.9% for beta-blockers, and 10.5% for MRAs. Among patients who met the criteria for implantable cardioverter–defibrillator (ICD) and cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT), only 16.9% of patients received an ICD (167 of 983) and 34% (95 of 279) of patients underwent CRT (95 of 279). Conclusion: The ATA study shows that most HFrEF outpatients receive RAS inhibitors and beta-blockers but not MRAs or ivabradin when the medical reasons for nonuse, such as drug intolerance or contraindications, are taken into account. In addition, most eligible patients with HFrEF do not receive target doses of pharmacological treatments or guideline-recommended device therapy.

Background/Objective Intermittent claudication (IC) is the symptom of peripheral artery disease (PAD) and causes functional disability. Remote ischemic preconditioning (RIPC), is a phenomenon in which a short period of sub-critical ischemia, protects tissues against ischemia/reperfusion/injury. We considered to test the hypothesis that RIPC in PAD patients suffering from IC would increase muscle resistance to ischemia and thus improve walking-capacity. Materials/Methods A total of 63 patients with proven-IC underwent two treadmill tests (graded treadmill protocol) with a 28-day interval in between. Patients were consecutively assigned for the non/RIPC-group and RIPC-group procedure one by one. Patients received 5-cycles of alternating 5-minute inflation and 5-minute deflation of blood-pressure cuffs on nondominant upper-limb every day for four weeks. Initial claudication distance (ICD), total walking distance (TWD) and time to relief of claudication (TRC) were recorded during procedure. Results Patients receiving-RIPC exhibited a marked increase in ICD and TWD between basal and last tests: 209.1 ± 15.4 m vs. 226 ± 15.0 m and 368.8 ± 21.0 m vs. 394 ± 19.9 m, respectively (p < 0.001). In addition, patients receiving-RIPC represented a significant decrease in TRC between basal and last tests: 7.8 ± 1.3 min vs. 6.4 ± 1.1 min, respectively (p < 0.001). Patients not receiving-RIPC did not exhibit improvement in ICD, TWD, and TRC between basal and last tests: 205.2 ± 12.1 min vs. 207.4 ± 9.9 min, 366.5 ± 24.2 min vs. 369.4 ± 23.2 min and 7.9 ± 1.4 min vs. 7.7 ± 1.3 min, respectively (p > 0.05). Conclusion A significant increase in ICD and TWD were observed in last/treadmill test in RIPC-group. In addition, a significant decrease in TRC was observed in last/treadmill test in RIPC-group. In non/RIPC-group, no improvement was observed in ICD, TWD and TRC.

Aim Gender‐related differences have been described in the clinical characteristics and management of patients with chronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). However, published data are conflictive in this regard. Methods We investigated differences in clinical and management variables between male and female patients from the ATA study, a prospective, multicentre, observational study that included 1462 outpatients with chronic HFrEF between January and June 2019. Results Study population was predominantly male (70.1%). In comparison to men, women with chronic HFrEF were older (66 ± 11 years vs 69 ± 12 years, P < .001), suffered more hospitalisations and presented more frequently with NYHA class III or IV symptoms. Ischaemic heart disease was more frequent in men, whereas anaemia, thyroid disease and depression were more frequent in women. No difference was seen between genders in the use rate of renin‐angiotensin system inhibitors, beta‐blockers, mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists, or ivabradine, or in the proportion of patients achieving target doses of these drugs. Regarding device therapies, men were more often treated with an implantable cardioverter‐defibrillator (ICD) and women received more cardiac resynchronisation therapy. Conclusion In summary, although management seemed to be equivalent between genders, women tended to present with more symptoms, require hospitalisation more frequently and have different comorbidities than men. These results highlight the importance of gender‐related differences in HFrEF and call for further research to clarify the causes of these disparities. Gender‐specific recommendations should be included in future guidelines in HFrEF.

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Plasma serglycin levels correlate with both the presence and severity of coronary stenosis in patients with SAP, suggesting that it could be a potential predictive marker of severe stenosis in SAP patients.