Background and objectives The calcimimetic cinacalcet reduced the risk of death or cardiovascular (CV) events in older, but not younger, patients with moderate to severe secondary hyperparathyroidism (HPT) who were receiving hemodialysis. To determine whether the lower risk in younger patients might be due to lower baseline CV risk and more frequent use of cointerventions that reduce parathyroid hormone (kidney transplantation, parathyroidectomy, and commercial cinacalcet use), this study examined the effects of cinacalcet in older ($65 years, n=1005) and younger (,65 years, n=2878) patients.Design, setting, participants, & measurements Evaluation of Cinacalcet HCl Therapy to Lower Cardiovascular Events (EVOLVE) was a global, multicenter, randomized placebo-controlled trial in 3883 prevalent patients on hemodialysis, whose outcomes included death, major CV events, and development of severe unremitting HPT. The age subgroup analysis was prespecified.Results Older patients had higher baseline prevalence of diabetes mellitus and CV comorbidity. Annualized rates of kidney transplantation and parathyroidectomy were .3-fold higher in younger relative to older patients and were more frequent in patients randomized to placebo. In older patients, the adjusted relative hazard (95% confidence interval) for the primary composite (CV) end point (cinacalcet versus placebo) was 0.70 (0.60 to 0.81); in younger patients, the relative hazard was 0.97 (0.86 to 1.09). Corresponding adjusted relative hazards for mortality were 0.68 (0.51 to 0.81) and 0.99 (0.86 to 1.13). Reduction in the risk of severe unremitting HPT was similar in both groups. ConclusionsIn the EVOLVE trial, cinacalcet decreased the risk of death and of major CV events in older, but not younger, patients with moderate to severe HPT who were receiving hemodialysis. Effect modification by age may be partly explained by differences in underlying CV risk and differential application of cointerventions that reduce parathyroid hormone.

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The aim of this study was to assess whether the performance of RF catheter ablations continues to improve by further staff training once an initial success rate of > 90% has been achieved. Two hundred and ninety-five procedures of SVT catheter ablation using RF energy were studied. Atrial tachycardia and atrial flutter substrate ablations were not included. The procedures were performed during a 4-year period by the same physician and nurse, who had previous training in these procedures. The 4-year period was subdivided into four consecutive 1-year periods in which 69, 72, 68, and 86 procedures were performed. The outcome, recurrence rate, and duration of the curative procedure were compared among the four periods. There was no significant difference in the initial success rate among the four periods. The recurrence rate decreased from 21.74% to 13.95% (P < 0.05). The duration of the curative procedure decreased from 93.7 +/- 78.4 minutes to 39.1 +/- 32.2 minutes (P < 0.001), and the fluoroscopic time decreased from 25.5 +/- 22.3 minutes to 11.3 +/- 8.2 minutes (P < 0.001). These results were similar when accessory pathway and selective AV nodal pathways ablations were separately evaluated. Following the initial staff training, during which the expected 80%-90% success rate is achieved, additional training will reduce the recurrence rate and the duration of the procedures at a similar level of success.

Objective: We evaluated the 15-year outcome of patients with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) and a relatively high defibrillation threshold (DFT). Methods: After ICD implantation, patients were allocated to 3 groups: DFT 24–25 J (16 patients), effective defibrillation with 18–20 J (20 patients) and DFT <15 J (118 patients). An abbreviated DFT test was used during the implantation. The follow-up duration was 15.5 years. Results: There was no significant difference between the survivals of the 3 groups, with a mean survival of 7.30 ± 4.51 years. In the ventricular fibrillation zone, 99.69, 100 and 100% of the episodes were successfully defibrillated in the 3 groups, respectively. In the ventricular tachycardia zone, 83.24, 92.86 and 95.39% of the episodes were terminated with pacing therapy. The small differences between the groups were not statistically significant. The testing method did not have an impact on survival or therapy success rate. Conclusions: A 24-joule DFT with a 10-joule safety window is safe during 15 years of follow-up.