Diseases Commons^™

How Do Adverse Social Determinants Of Health Influence 30-Day Hospital Readmission Rates Among Patients With Heart Failure?, Noor Baig

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Heart failure is one of the leading causes of hospitalization in the United States, with nearly 1 in 4 patients readmitted within 30 days of discharge. Clinical severity largely accounts for this risk, but social determinants of health (SDOH), including income, housing stability, transportation access, and health literacy, also play a role in post-discharge outcomes. This review synthesized seven cohort, observational, and qualitative studies from PubMed (2018–2025) examining the relationship between SDOH and 30-day readmission in heart failure patients.

Several patterns emerged across the literature. Neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage, measured through ADI and SDI, was independently associated with higher readmission and …

Effect Of Sauna On Cardiovascular Health In Patients With Heart Failure, Rikuto Abe, Piotr Domaszewski, Safe Elhakeem

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Abstract

Heart failure (HF) is one of the hallmark diseases that represent a decline of cardiovascular function. Heart failure is characterized by a decrease in the ability of the heart to pump blood throughout the body, leading to symptoms such as fatigue, dyspnea, and swelling. HF is shown to decrease quality of life and increase mortality. Traditional treatments include pharmacology, lifestyle modifications, and surgery. Among the treatments, deliberate heat exposure in the form of dry saunas has been highlighted as a potential treatment option for HF. Dry saunas, especially infrared saunas, are shown to increase body temperature which improves circulation …

Qi: Improving Gdmt Among Discharge Patients With Heart Failure, Daniel Avila Castillo, Amar Kalidas, Parshvi Patel, Khaled Khalaf

Gulf Coast Division GME Research Day 2026

No abstract provided.

Conduction System Pacing Vs Biventricular Pacing: A Meta Analysis Of Randomized Controlled Trials In Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy, Mustafa Tahir, Muhammad Abdullah, Jaafar Hamdan, Michael D. Moore, Nagaraja D. Sharma, Olu Oyesanmi, Salman M. Muddassir

West Florida Division GME Research Day 2026

No abstract provided.

The Essentials Of Heart Failure Management, Emily W. Greene

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Heart failure remains a leading cause of hospitalization among older adult women, often due to delayed recognition of symptom exacerbation and limited knowledge of self-management strategies. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to evaluate whether a brief educational intervention could improve knowledge of heart failure management among older adult women at a community senior center. The DNP project leader conducted two educational sessions focusing on early recognition of heart failure symptoms, heart-healthy diet, and when to contact a healthcare provider. Participants completed a pre- and post-test survey containing four knowledge questions and one Likert-scale question on perceived knowledge …

Sex Differences In Clinical Characteristics, Treatment, And Outcomes Of Cardiovascular Disease: Kenya Heart Registry Analysis, Lilian Mbau, Martha Gulati, Mzee Ngunga, Jasmit Shah, Felix Barasa, Jeilan Mohamed, Anders Barasa, Bernard Gitura, Harun Otieno, Etienne Amendezo

Internal Medicine, East Africa

Background Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death globally, with approximately 80% of these deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries. Sex differences in cardiovascular disease are well described in high-income countries but limited in low- and middle-income countries.

Objectives This study sought to evaluate the sex differences in clinical presentation, cardiovascular risk profile, diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes among patients in the Kenya Heart Registry.

Methods Data were prospectively collected from 3 tertiary hospitals, including patients with heart failure, acute coronary syndrome, venous thromboembolism, and atrial fibrillation. Primary outcomes were in-hospital and 6-month mortality, as well as sex-specific differences …

Predictors Of 30-Day Readmission In Heart Failure With Preserved Vs Reduced Ejection Fraction: A Multi-Hospital Retrospective Cohort Study, Julian Sifre, Mohamed Faris, Christopher Louviere, Thais Schwartz

South Atlantic Division GME Research Days 2026

No abstract provided.

Iron Deficiency Screening In Patients With Heart Failure : A Quality Improvement Project, Sinthugan Selvaranjan, Arthika Sakthevel, Amy Duff, Alexia Foy-Crowder, Mohamed Faris

South Atlantic Division GME Research Days 2026

No abstract provided.

Phentermine And The Failing Heart: A Case Of Phentermine Associated Cardiomyopathy Complicated By Pulmonary Hypertension, Nisha Puri, Cecil Jnawali, Ethan Wincler, Ryan Scagliarini, Dmitri Zbarsky, Julie Worthington

South Atlantic Division GME Research Days 2026

No abstract provided.

Pengaruh Ivabradin Terhadap Variabilitas Detak Jantung Pada Gagal Jantung Dengan Fraksi Ejeksi Rendah Akibat Penyakit Jantung Koroner, Handy Kurnia, Charles Limantoro, Friska Anggraini Helena Silitonga, Andreas Arie Setiawan

Jurnal Penyakit Dalam Indonesia

Introduction. Heart failure is one of the major challenges in global health due to its significant contribution to morbidity and mortality. One of the pathophysiological aspects is autonomic nervous system dysfunction which can be monitored through heart rate variability (HRV) parameters. Ivabradine is a pharmacological agent that potentially improves the balance of sympathetic and parasympathetic tone. This study was designed to evaluate the impact of ivabradine administration on HRV parameters in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (≤40%) due to coronary heart disease in Indonesian population.

Methods. This study used a quasi-experimental research type with a pretest and posttest …

Increasing Histidyl Dipeptides In Skeletal Muscle Preserves Muscle Mass And Function In Heart Failure., Mamata Hiraman Chaudhari

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Heart failure is a systemic disease associated with multiple comorbidities, such as skeletal muscle wasting and cardiopulmonary disease. Muscle wasting in heart failure patients is a severe comorbidity associated with decreased exercise capacity and poor quality of life. Previous reports show that oxidative stress is increased in the skeletal muscle of heart failure patients, which can directly lead to muscle wasting. However, antioxidant intervention in these patients was unable to improve cardiac function and consequently had no effect on muscle wasting. Although oxidative stress is the primary driver of skeletal muscle atrophy, no attempt has been made to examine …

Impact Of Tricuspid Regurgitation On The Clinical Outcomes Of Patients With Heart Failure, Muhammad U. Almani, Rasha Khan, Noor Fatima, Muhammad Yousuf, Aman Amanullah

Einstein Health Papers

BACKGROUND: Tricuspid regurgitation (TR) is a common occurrence in patients with heart failure (HF), and its role in disease progression has gained attention in recent years. Although TR can worsen clinical outcomes in HF patients, the impact of gender, racial, and socioeconomic factors remains largely unexplored. With growing evidence supporting the role of percutaneous interventions for the treatment of significant TR, understanding these disparities is more crucial than ever.

METHODS: Data were extracted from the National Inpatient and National Readmission 2016-2020 Databases. We used ICD-10 code I50 to identify the patients primarily admitted for HF and subdivided the cohort into …

Integrated Systems Biology Identifies Disruptions In Mitochondrial Function And Metabolism As Key Contributors To Hfpef, Andrew A. Gibb, Kyle Lapenna, Ryan B. Gaspar, Nadina R. Latchman, Yinfei Tan, Carmen Choya-Foces, Jake E. Doiron, Zhen Li, Huijing Xia, Michael P. Lazaropoulos, Mariell Conwell, Thomas E. Sharp, Traci T. Goodchild, David J. Lefer, John W. Elrod

School of Graduate Studies Faculty Publications

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) accounts for ∼50% of HF cases. The ZSF1-obese rat model recapitulates clinical features of HFpEF including hypertension, obesity, metabolic syndrome, exercise intolerance, and diastolic dysfunction. We utilized a systems-biology approach to define the metabolic and transcriptional signatures to gain mechanistic insight into pathways contributing to HFpEF development. Male ZSF1-obese, ZSF1-lean hypertensive controls, and WKY (wild-type) controls were compared at 14 weeks of age for extensive physiological phenotyping and left ventricle (LV) tissue harvesting for unbiased-metabolomics, RNA-sequencing, and mitochondrial morphology and function. Utilizing ZSF1-lean and WKY controls enabled a distinction between hypertension-driven molecular changes …

Effectiveness Of Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 Receptor Agonists In The Treatment Of Heart Failure, Lisa Kristen Schloemann

SIU Journal of Medical Science Scholarly Works

ABSTRACT

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to review the use of glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RA) in heart failure (HF) treatment considering the HF phenotype and comorbidities, including type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and obesity.

Method: A PubMed and Google Scholar literature search was conducted with search terms, HF and GLP-1 RA. Seven pertinent articles were retrieved and served as the basis for this clinical review.

Results: The efficacy of GLP-1 RA therapy in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fractions (HFrEF) is unclear, with one study showing increased adverse cardiac events including tachyarrhythmias, and …

A Brief History Of Circadian Time In The Heart, Martin E Young, Vanya Khanna, Mallory Metcalfe, Niruththaan Rameshkumar, Sarah Harington, Leo H Li, Janan Shoja Doost, Heinrich Taegtmeyer, Tami A Martino

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

This review tracks the discovery of circadian biology in cardiovascular science, starting with early clinical observations of daily changes in heart rate, blood pressure, and cardiovascular events. These patterns suggested that time of day matters, but it was not until the past two decades that the mechanisms and knowledge translation of these rhythms were uncovered. We describe the heart's intrinsic circadian properties and importantly how this leads to regulation of cardiac gene and protein expression, neuroendocrine and vascular rhythms, metabolism, cellular electrophysiology, and cell signaling pathways. Next, we explore emerging themes, including the impact of circadian timing on ischemic injury, …

Metabolic Regulation Of Cardiac Fibroblast Phenotype And Function., Collin Kleis Wells

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cardiac fibroblasts are central effectors of cardiac repair after myocardial infarction (MI). In response to signaling cues, they differentiate to a range of phenotypes with robust capacities to synthesize and secrete extracellular matrix (ECM) and signaling molecules. Although activated fibroblast phenotypes are associated with pronounced changes in metabolism, it remains unclear how the metabolic network upholds the effector functions of fibroblasts in the post-infarcted heart. Here, we identified that critical enzymes in the phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) cycle, i.e. pyruvate kinase muscle-2 (PKM2) and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase-2 (PCK2), are elevated in the heart after MI and examined their role in regulating post-MI remodeling …

Unmasking The Heart Of Osimertinib: A Closer Look At Drug-Induced Cardiotoxicity, Muhammad Sabri, Aheed Javaid, Hussam Al Hennawi, Hamza Muhammadzai, Vamshi Mallavarapu

Abington Jefferson Health Papers

BACKGROUND: Osimertinib, a third-generation epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, is an effective therapy for epidermal growth factor receptor-mutated non-small cell lung cancer, but it has been associated with a higher incidence of cardiotoxicity.

CASE SUMMARY: A 91-year-old woman on osimertinib 80 mg daily presented with acute dyspnea and was found to have a newly reduced left ventricular ejection fraction of 30%. Coronary angiography excluded obstructive coronary disease. Osimertinib was discontinued, and guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) was initiated, resulting in left ventricular ejection fraction recovery to 60%. The patient was successfully rechallenged with osimertinib while continuing GDMT, without recurrence …

Policy Review Of The Aha Clinical Practice Guideline For Congestive Heart Failure: Evaluating Best Practices, Brenda E. Garcia

Student Scholarly Projects

Practice Problem: Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a significant public health challenge that impacts various populations and contributes to rising hospital admission rates.

PICOT: The PICOT question that guided this scholarly project was: For healthcare policymakers and interprofessional teams (P), how does a policy review of the American Heart Association’s Clinical Practice Guidelines for Heart Failure (I), guided by the CDC’s Polaris Framework (C), conducted over a 12-week period (T), evaluate alignment with evidence-based practices and potential for adoption in the care of patients with congestive heart failure (O)?

Evidence: This scholarly project focused on reviewing the current clinical guidelines …

Incidence Of Heart Failure Following Carpal Tunnel Release Surgery, Harrison S. Fellheimer, Mahaa Ayub, Gabriel I. Onor, Lauren O'Mara, Eric Tecce, Pedro K. Beredjiklian

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery Faculty Papers

PURPOSE: Previous literature suggests a relationship between carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and heart failure (HF), indicating that patients with CTS are more likely to experience cardiomyopathy. Amyloid deposition leading to CTS may be prodromal for the development of amyloid cardiomyopathy. We hypothesized that patients undergoing surgery for CTS would have an increased risk of HF compared to those who did not undergo surgery.

METHODS: The TriNetX database was queried using the primary ICD-10 code for CTS to identify patients. Patients were included if they had surgical treatment for CTS, reported as endoscopic or open carpal tunnel release, or median nerve …

Modulation Of Redox-Sensitive Cardiac Ion Channels, Rawan S. Orfali, Al Hassan Gamal El-Din, Varnika Karthik, Elisanjer Lamis, Vanna Xiao, Alena Ramanishka, Abdullah Alwatban, Osama Alkhamees, Ali Alaseem, Young-Woo Nam, Miao Zhang

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Redox regulation is crucial for the cardiac action potential, coordinating the sodium-driven depolarization, calcium-mediated plateau formation, and potassium-dependent repolarization processes required for proper heart function. Under physiological conditions, low-level reactive oxygen species (ROS), generated by mitochondria and membrane oxidases, adjust ion channel function and support excitation–contraction coupling. However, when ROS accumulate, they modify a variety of important channel proteins in cardiomyocytes, which commonly results in reducing potassium currents, enhancing sodium and calcium influx, and enhancing intracellular calcium release. These redox-driven alterations disrupt the cardiac rhythm, promote after-depolarizations, impair contractile force, and accelerate the development of heart diseases. Experimental models demonstrate …

Molecular Mechanisms Of L-Type Calcium Channel Dysregulation In Heart Failure, Arbab Khalid, Abu-Bakr Ahmed, Randeep Gill, Taha Shaikh, Joshua Khorsandi, Ali Kia

Department of Internal Medicine Faculty Research

The L-type calcium channels (LTCCs) function as the main entry points that convert myocyte membrane depolarization into calcium transients, which drive every heartbeat. There is increasing evidence to show that maladaptive remodeling of these channels is the cause of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Recent experimental, translational, and clinical studies have improved our understanding of the roles LTCC expression, micro-domain trafficking, and post-translational control have in disrupting excitation–contraction coupling, provoking arrhythmias, and shaping phenotype specific hemodynamic compromise. We performed a systematic search of the PubMed and Google Scholar databases (2015–2025, …

The Importance Of How And When In Measuring Epicardial Adipose Tissue, Brian Fardman, Juan Antonio Requena-Ibáñez, Carlos García Santos-Gallego, Anderly José Rodriguez Cordero, Samantha Sartori, Javier Sanz Sanz, Valentin Fuster, Juan José Badimon

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Epicardial Adipose Tissue (EAT) is drawing increasing attention. As a quantifiable, modifiable, and potentially new cardiovascular therapeutic target, its accurate measurement is particularly relevant. In Cardiac Magnetic Resonance (CMR) different methods can be used to assess EAT burden. We take advantage of CMR-studies of EMPATROPISM trial to assess EAT through three different methods, evaluate the effect of Empagliflozin and look for significant difference in the ability to detect changes in serial measurements. In some settings such as treatment-induced changes or patient follow-up, multi-slice method of EAT evaluation provides higher accuracy to detect significant differences, otherwise unnoticed by single-slice approaches.

Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion In Heart Failure Patients: A Nationwide Evaluation Of Clinical Outcomes, Tony Elias, Fady Beshara, Daniel Basta, Mena Elmalh, Matthew Ebrahim, Taha Syed, Olga Sarah, Abdallah Hussein

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Between 2010-2019 the global risk of atrial fibrillation has risen. Our research sought to explore the database of patients with AF who underwent left atrial appendage occlusion.

The Dynamic Role Of Hyaluronan In Acute Cardiac Wound Healing., Danielle T. Little

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

During acute myocardial infarction (MI), the composition of the extracellular matrix (ECM) undergoes significant changes. While collagen accumulation is one of the most well-documented ECM alterations, hyaluronan (HA) is equally abundant. However, the cellular sources, enzymatic regulation, and functional significance of HA accumulation remain largely unexplored. Here, we hypothesized that activated cardiac fibroblasts produce HA via hyaluronan synthase 2 (HAS2), facilitating scar formation and stability. Our findings demonstrate that HA accumulates post-MI and persists for at least four weeks. Through HA sizing techniques, we determined the molecular weight of this persistent HA. Additionally, RNA sequencing analysis of failing human hearts …

Plasma Proteomic Biomarkers Of Physical Frailty In Heart Failure: A Propensity Score Matched Discovery-Based Pilot Study, Quin Denfeld, Noelle Pavlovic, Christopher Lee, Jon Jacobs, Mary Roberts Davis, Samantha Powell, Marina Gritsenko, Susan Joseph, Beth Habecker

Division of Cardiology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Physical frailty is highly prevalent in heart failure (HF), but we lack an understanding of the underlying pathophysiology. Proteomic evaluation of plasma samples may elucidate potential mechanisms and biomarkers of physical frailty in HF.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to identify plasma proteomic biomarkers that are differentially expressed between physically frail and non-physically frail adults with HF.

METHODS: This was a secondary analysis of a subset of data and plasma samples from a study of frailty among patients with New York Heart Association (NYHA) Functional Classification I-IV HF. Physical frailty was measured using the Frailty Phenotype Criteria. Propensity score matching was …

Preoperative Brain Volume Loss Is Associated With Postoperative Delirium In Advanced Heart Failure Patients Supported By Left Ventricular Assist Device, Iván Murrieta-Álvarez, Jacob P Scioscia, José M Benítez-Salazar, Jason Uwaeze, Zicheng Xu, Guangyao Zheng, Shiyi Li, Vladimir Braverman, Carl P Walther, Alexis E Shafii, Camila Hochman-Mendez, Todd K Rosengart, Kenneth K Liao, Nandan K Mondal

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Delirium is a common neurological complication in patients with advanced heart failure (ADHF) following left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation, significantly impacting recovery. This study aimed to analyze non-contrast computed tomography (CT) scans of the brain in ADHF patients undergoing LVAD implantation to determine the association between pre-existing brain atrophy and postoperative delirium. A study involving 166 ADHF patients was conducted from March 2020 to July 2023. Non-contrast CT scans were analyzed using advanced quantitative neuroimaging techniques before implantation. The primary marker assessed was the lateral ventricle fraction (LVF), with secondary markers including cortical gray matter fraction (cGMF), white matter …

Unraveling Genetic Links Between Diabetes And Heart Failure-A Machine Learning Approach, Sunakhi Sahoo, Marzieh Ayati

Research Symposium

Background: Diabetic heart failure (DHF) is defined as a chronic and progressive disease which is associated with both diabetes and heart failure (HF). Even though there have been many developments in the knowledge of these diseases, there is still much to learn about the genetic crossovers between the two. In this study, we identified genes that are associated with diabetic heart failure and heart failure by using gene expression data from patients with DHF, HF, and a control group of patients who died of natural causes. We sought to identify genes that had altered expression levels which could possibly play …

Acute Heart Failure Secondary To Coxsackie Dilated Cardiomyopathy In An Immunocompetent Adult: A Case Report From A Social Disparities Perspective, Barbara Malaga-Espinoza, Donnel Dockery-Joseph, Jessica Daza, Oscar Lopez, Andres Suarez Parraga

Research Symposium

Introduction: Cardiomyopathies (CM) are defined as myocardial disorders in the absence of coronary artery disease, hypertension, valvular or congenital heart conditions. Dilated CM is characterized by dilation and impaired contraction of one or both ventricles. The prevalence of this condition is underestimated because of variable disease expression and challenging diagnosis. We present the case of an undocumented and immunocompetent patient who debuted with acute heart failure after being exposed to significant environmental stressors.

Case Presentation: A 44-year-old Hispanic gentleman with a history of untreated hypertension presented to the ED with severely persistent left-sided chest pain at rest associated with frontoparietal …

Erythritol, Erythronate, And Cardiovascular Outcomes In Older Adults In The Aric Study, Layla A Abushamat, Bing Yu, Ron C Hoogeveen, Caroline Sun, Chao Cheng, Sean M Hartig, Mark A Herman, Ashok Balasubramanyam, Jane Eb Reusch, Elizabeth Selvin, Chiadi E Ndumele, Vijay Nambi, Christie M Ballantyne

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Circulating erythritol, an endogenously produced metabolite and an artificial sweetener, is associated with cardiovascular outcomes.

OBJECTIVES: The authors assessed associations of erythritol and its downstream metabolite, erythronate, with cardiovascular risk factors and events in older adults in the ARIC (Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities) study (visit 5, 2011-2013).

METHODS: We included 4,006 participants without prevalent cardiovascular disease and with metabolomic profiling. Erythritol and erythronate were measured by mass spectrometry. We analyzed associations of log-transformed erythritol and erythronate with cardiovascular risk factors and events using Cox proportional hazard models.

RESULTS: Participants in the highest tertiles of erythritol or erythronate were older, …

Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy: A Case Of The Broken Heart, Lilian Huynh, Kaylee Putney

Annual Research Symposium

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TC), or "broken heart syndrome," is a rare cardiac condition causing temporary left ventricular dysfunction due to severe stress. Though the exact cause is unclear, it mimics myocardial infarction and can lead to cardiogenic shock. Current treatment lacks specific guidelines and relies on heart failure protocols. We report a case of a patient with TC-induced cardiogenic shock, likely triggered by emotional stress. She required vasopressors, a percutaneous intervention, an Impella device, and guideline-directed medication therapies. This case underscores the significance of establishing guideline optimizations for managing TC and cardiogenic shock.