<i>Background</i>: With an ageing population and widening indications for pacemakers implantation, the number of persons carrying an implant is steadily increasing. The routine follow-up is thus a heavy burden for the respective NHS as well as for the patients and their relatives. Most of them of the studies have been performed in densely populated areas and nearby to the hospital. It is thus ...

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with increased mortality and morbidity, including risk for cerebral macro- and microinfarctions and cognitive decline, even in the presence of adequate oral anticoagulation. AF is strongly related to increased inflammatory activity whereby anti-inflammatory agents can reduce the risk of new or recurrent AF. However, it is not known whether ...

Background: The gut microbiota in patients with chronic heart failure (HF) is characterized by low bacterial diversity and reduced ability to synthesize beneficial metabolites. These changes may facilitate leakage of whole bacteria or bacterial products from the gut into the bloodstream, which may activate the innate immune system and contribute to the low-grade inflammation seen in HF. In this ...

The impact of informal care immediately after pacemaker (PM) implantation has been well established; however, not much is known about its long-term effects. The present study compared personal characteristics, associated problems, workloads, time, and costs related to informal care provided to patients with PM under remote monitoring (RM) vs. conventional monitoring (CM) in the hospital, five ...

Individuals with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) have increased cardiovascular risk despite lipid-lowering therapy, and additional therapy is warranted. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (n-3 PUFA) supplements have demonstrated an effect on cardiovascular endpoints in some clinical trials. Platelet-modifying and anti-inflammatory properties are among the proposed beneficial effects of n-3 PUFA. ...

<i>Background</i> - The concept of ‘patient experience’ has become central to how to improve healthcare. Remote communication with patients is today a frequent practice in healthcare services, showing similar outcomes to standard outpatient care while enabling cost reduction in both formal and informal care. The purpose of this study was to analyse the experiences of people with telemonitoring ...

Individuals with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) undergo an aggressive treatment with cholesterollowering drugs to prevent coronary heart disease. Recent evidence suggests an interplay between the gut microbiota, blood lipid levels and lipid-lowering drugs, but this has yet to be studied in individuals with FH. The objective of the study was to characterize the gut microbiota of individuals ...

Background - The gut microbiota represents a potential treatment target in heart failure (HF) through microbial metabolites such as trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) and systemic inflammation. Treatment with the probiotic yeast Saccharomyces boulardii have been suggested to improve left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF).<p> <p>Methods - In a multicentre, prospective randomized open label, blinded ...

The purpose of this study was to analyse the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of patients followed up using a remote device-monitoring system (TM) compared to patients followed up through standard outpatient visits (HM), 12 months after the implantation of a pacemaker. This was a trial design that used the EuroQol-5D Questionnaire and the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHF). ...