{"title":"Beta-blockers after myocardial infarction in the reperfusion era—Time for reappraisal?","authors":"Satyavir Yadav, Bharath Raj Kidambi, Vibhav Sharma, Nitish Naik","doi":"10.1016/j.ihj.2026.02.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ihj.2026.02.003","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":13384,"journal":{"name":"Indian heart journal","volume":"78 3","pages":"Pages 115-117"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147377308","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The effect of yogic breathing (Pranayama) on heart rate and blood pressure in patients with hypertension: A systematic review and meta-analysis","authors":"Yogapriya Chidambaram, Pavitraa Saravana Kumar, Swetharajan Gunasekar, Laxminarasimha Reddy Kundoor, Maheshkumar Kuppusamy, Madhesh Kasi, Ambalam M. Chandrasekaran, Sadhanandham Shanmugasundaram, Sankaran Ramesh, Thanikachalam Sadagopan, Nitish Naik, Ambuj Roy, Dorairaj Prabhakaran, Nagendra Boopathy Senguttuvan","doi":"10.1016/j.ihj.2026.01.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ihj.2026.01.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Introduction</h3><div>Systemic hypertension is a major contributor to global cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Effective management combines pharmacological and lifestyle interventions. Pranayama, a yogic breathing technique, may modulate cardiovascular function, but its impact on hypertension remains uncertain.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>A systematic review and meta-analysis following PRISMA guidelines (PROSPERO: CRD42024597502) included RCTs from PubMed, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and ClinicalTrials.gov up to April 2025. We assessed Risk of bias using Cochrane RoB 2, and pooled effects were reported as standardized mean differences (SMDs) with 95 % confidence intervals (CIs).</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Seven RCTs (683 participants) showed a significant reduction in the primary outcome, heart rate (SMD = −0.43; 95 % CI: −0.52 to −0.34; I<sup>2</sup> = 0 %). Systolic BP decreased significantly under fixed-effects (SMD = −0.72), while diastolic BP and HRV improvements were modest.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Pranayama lowers heart rate and may modestly reduce blood pressure, supporting its role as a safe, adjunctive therapy pending larger standardized trials.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13384,"journal":{"name":"Indian heart journal","volume":"78 3","pages":"Pages 135-143"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146043572","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Association between retinal AV ratio and coronary artery disease severity in acute coronary syndrome and chronic coronary syndrome patients: A prospective study","authors":"Mohit Dayal Gupta, Ayush Megotia, Girish MP, Anubha Gupta, Punita Kumari Sodhi, Shekhar Kunal, Ankit Bansal, Vishal Batra, Avish Dahiya, Vardhana Sharma, Jamal Yusuf","doi":"10.1016/j.ihj.2026.01.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ihj.2026.01.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Early, non-invasive detection of coronary artery disease (CAD) is a significant challenge. Given the anatomical and pathophysiological parallels between retinal and coronary microvasculature, retinal arteriovenous (AV) ratio may serve as a surrogate marker of CAD. This study aimed to evaluate correlation between retinal AV ratio and CAD severity as assessed by SYNTAX score in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and chronic coronary syndrome (CCS), using artificial intelligence (AI)–based retinal image analysis.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>In this prospective study, 332 participants were enrolled: 110 with ACS, 120 with CCS, and 102 angiographically normal controls. Retinal fundus imaging was analyzed using AI models (VC-Net and SegFormer) to compute AV ratio. Coronary angiography was performed, and SYNTAX scores were calculated. Correlations between AV ratio and SYNTAX score were assessed, and a machine learning model (RETFound + RBF Kernel Ridge Regression) was developed to predict SYNTAX categories from retinal data.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Mean AV ratios were similar across CCS (0.624 ± 0.11), ACS (0.620 ± 0.12), and controls (0.650 ± 0.10; <em>p</em> = 0.153). In CCS patients, a significant inverse correlation was observed between AV ratio and SYNTAX score (<em>r</em> = −0.344; <em>p</em> < 0.001), which remained after adjustment (<em>r</em> = −0.300; <em>p</em> = 0.002). AI model accurately classified patients into SYNTAX risk categories (94.1 % accuracy).</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Retinal AV ratio is significantly associated with CAD severity in CCS patients. An AI-based tool can automatically derive AV Ratio and provide rapid, non-invasive estimate of coronary disease burden, showing promise for risk stratification. This approach warrants further validation in larger cohorts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13384,"journal":{"name":"Indian heart journal","volume":"78 3","pages":"Pages 128-134"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145998047","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Impact of COVID 19 pandemic on young patients with acute coronary syndrome in Eastern Indian population","authors":"Dipankar Ghosh Dastidar, Saikat Sau, Tanmay Mukhopadhyay, Sougat Chakraborty, Nandita Ghosh Dastidar, Md Miraj Mondal, Ujjal Yadav, Saroj Soni, Manikanta Maji, Hrishikesh Chakraborty, Kaushik Mondal, Yashpal Yadav, Shubhashis Mahato, Mantu Ghosh, Satyaki Dutta, Subhajit Das, Sudip Ghosh","doi":"10.1016/j.ihj.2026.02.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ihj.2026.02.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>SARS-COV-2 virus affects the cardiovascular system by various pathophysiological mechanisms. The incidence of Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) seems to be on rise in the peri-covid era. The proinflammatory and prothrombotic milieu is primarily responsible. Traditional atherosclerotic risk factors do not seem to be responsible for this increased incidence of ACS. We chose to test this hypothesis on young Indian population lacking the traditional atherosclerotic risk factors. If established, Covid 19 infection will at least be considered a risk modifier in causing ACS in future. Subsequently, we went on to study the differences in presentation, diagnostic implications, revascularization and management strategies and finally outcomes in ACS patients in the Peri-covid compared to the pre-covid era. To the best of our knowledge, this seems to be the first of its kind study from eastern India.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13384,"journal":{"name":"Indian heart journal","volume":"78 3","pages":"Pages 160-163"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147354828","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Prevalence of left ventricular systolic dysfunction measured by Global longitudinal strain echocardiography in chronic kidney disease patients with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction","authors":"Muneshwar Kumar, Satyajit Singh, Vinay Singh Rathore, Surendra Kumar Naik, Abhishek Kumar, Chandra Prakash Thakur, Amratansh Varshney","doi":"10.1016/j.ihj.2025.12.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ihj.2025.12.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><div>To study the prevalence of LV systolic dysfunction measured using GLS in patients of CKD with normal LVEF and correlation of GLS with the biochemical parameters and to determine the incidence of all-cause mortality and its correlation with GLS.</div></div><div><h3>Patients and methods</h3><div>This study included 100 CKD patients of all stages, enrolled from July 2022 to June 2023. Global Longitudinal Strain (GLS) was calculated using speckle tracking echocardiography following relevant investigations. Patients were followed for one year to determine the incidence of all-cause mortality and its correlation with GLS.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Males were the predominant gender (66 %). The mean age of patients was 52yrs (±13.59). Maximum patients (47 %) were in ESRD stage (stage 5 CKD), followed by stage 4 CKD (29 %). Abnormal GLS (>-16 %) was prevalent in 98 % of study population. Mean GLS was −11 % ± 2.74. Patients with LVGLS ≥ -11 % were more likely to have higher prevalence of co-morbidities. Statin use was more prevalent in those patients with LVGLS ≥ -11 % (<em>p</em> = 0.029). In the median follow up of 1-year all-cause mortality was 22 % (<em>n</em> = 21), however there was no significant correlation of mortality with GLS.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Patients with abnormal LVGLS (≥-11 %) had more comorbidities. Abnormal global longitudinal strain (GLS > −16 %) was prevalent in 98 % of the study population. The higher prevalence compared to other studies may be related to the lesser use of nephroprotective and cardioprotective drugs (e.g., ACEI/ARB in only 28 %); however, abnormal GLS was not correlated with mortality.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13384,"journal":{"name":"Indian heart journal","volume":"78 3","pages":"Pages 118-122"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145742211","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Indian heart journalPub Date : 2026-05-01Epub Date: 2026-04-20DOI: 10.1016/j.ihj.2026.04.013
Pravin K. Goel, Aditya Kapoor, Kala Jeetender Jain, Rajesh Thachathodiyl, Vikas Reddy, Vivek Guleria, Neeraj Bhalla, Shyam Sasidharan
{"title":"Impact of early initiation of PCSK9I monoclonal antibodies after acute coronary syndrome","authors":"Pravin K. Goel, Aditya Kapoor, Kala Jeetender Jain, Rajesh Thachathodiyl, Vikas Reddy, Vivek Guleria, Neeraj Bhalla, Shyam Sasidharan","doi":"10.1016/j.ihj.2026.04.013","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ihj.2026.04.013","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is a key modifiable risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular (CV) disease in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). While high-intensity statins are foundational, many patients fail to reach guideline-recommended targets, leaving a high residual risk during the early post-ACS phase. Evidence from EVOPACS and EVACS trials demonstrates that early in-hospital proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 inhibitor (PCSK9i) initiation achieves rapid, intensive LDL-C lowering, with over 90% of patients attaining targets of ≤1.4 mmol/L by discharge. Furthermore, the PACMAN-AMI and HUYGENS trials confirm that PCSK9i therapy promotes plaque regression and stabilisation by increasing fibrous cap thickness and reducing lipid-rich necrotic core content. Meta-analyses indicate significant reductions in major adverse CV events and ACS-related hospitalisations within 6–18 months. Early PCSK9i integration offers a potent, safe strategy to bridge lipid management gaps and optimize secondary prevention outcomes in high-risk populations, including those in India.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13384,"journal":{"name":"Indian heart journal","volume":"78 3","pages":"Pages 164-171"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147770483","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Indian heart journalPub Date : 2026-05-01Epub Date: 2026-01-24DOI: 10.1016/j.ihj.2026.01.005
Mohsin Raj Mantoo, Mir Wajid Majeed, Ambuj Roy
{"title":"Efficacy and safety of sotatercept in pulmonary arterial hypertension: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials","authors":"Mohsin Raj Mantoo, Mir Wajid Majeed, Ambuj Roy","doi":"10.1016/j.ihj.2026.01.005","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ihj.2026.01.005","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Sotatercept, a first-in-class activin signaling inhibitor, represents a paradigm shift in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) by directly targeting pulmonary vascular remodeling. We conducted a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to quantify its efficacy and safety.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We systematically searched PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Central from inception to October 2025 for RCTs comparing sotatercept with placebo in PAH. The primary outcome was trial-defined clinical worsening (CW). Secondary outcomes included all-cause mortality, multicomponent improvement (MCI), attainment of low-risk status, serious adverse events (SAEs), and bleeding. Data were pooled using a Mantel–Haenszel random-effects model. Risk of bias was assessed with RoB 2.0, certainty of evidence using GRADE, and trial sequential analysis (TSA) was performed to assess conclusiveness.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Four RCTs comprising 921 patients (sotatercept <em>n</em> = 483; placebo <em>n</em> = 438) were included. Sotatercept significantly reduced clinical worsening (OR 0.18, 95 % CI 0.12–0.27) with minimal heterogeneity and TSA-confirmed conclusiveness. All-cause mortality showed a favorable but non-significant trend (OR 0.63, 95 % CI 0.33–1.20). Sotatercept significantly increased MCI (OR 4.68, 95 % CI 1.94–11.31) and attainment of low-risk status (OR 2.77, 95 % CI 1.49–5.17), with moderate heterogeneity. SAEs were reduced (OR 0.72, 95 % CI 0.53–0.99), while bleeding risk was increased, predominantly minor mucocutaneous events (OR 2.84, 95 % CI 1.94–4.15).</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Sotatercept markedly reduces clinical worsening and improves multidimensional outcomes in PAH with an acceptable safety profile, supporting its role as a disease-modifying therapy.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13384,"journal":{"name":"Indian heart journal","volume":"78 3","pages":"Pages 144-150"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146051907","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Pigtail assisted tracking of guide catheter during transradial coronary angioplasty on forearm complications: prospective randomized trial","authors":"Naveen Garg, Mukesh Kumar Yadav, Aditya Kapoor, Satendra Tewari, Roopali Khanna, Ankit Sahu, Harsit Khare, Arpita Katheria, Arshad Nazir","doi":"10.1016/j.ihj.2026.02.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ihj.2026.02.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objectives</h3><div>During transradial percutaneous intervention (PCI), sharp edge of guide catheter tip may produce “razor blade effect” leading to radial vascular injury. Pigtail assisted tracking (PAT) technique has been described to overcome it, but has not been systematically evaluated. We prospectively evaluated the safety and efficacy of PAT technique in transradial PCI.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Consecutive patients undergoing transradial-PCI were randomized into two groups (<strong>Group 1</strong>: transradial navigation using PAT technique, <strong>Group 2:</strong> transradial navigation without PAT technique). Patients were observed for forearm complications and radial artery patency was determined by vascular Doppler at 48 h. Primary end point was the composite incidence of radial artery spasm, angiographic radial artery injury, forearm hematoma and radial artery occlusion (RAO). Secondary end points were incidence of each of these individual variables. Predictors of forearm complications were determined by multivariate analysis.</div></div><div><h3>Result</h3><div>Total 260 patients were finally included (130 patients in each group). Baseline and procedural characteristics were comparable in both groups. Majority [158 (60.8%) patients] had acute coronary syndrome. Primary outcome was significantly reduced by the PAT technique [15 (11.5%) vs. 33 (25.4%) patients; <em>p</em> = 0.004]. Individual outcomes were also significantly less in Group 1 [radial artery spasm 12 (9.2%) vs. 28 (21.5%), <em>p</em> = 0.006; angiographic radial artery injury 4 (3.1%) vs. 12 (9.2%), <em>p</em> = 0.04; forearm hematoma 6 (4.6%) vs. 17 (13.1%), <em>p</em> = 0.01; RAO 4 (3.1%) vs. 13 (10.0%), <em>p</em> = 0.02]. PCI without PAT technique and low body weight emerged as independent predictor for forearm complications.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>PAT technique is safe and significantly reduces the forearm complications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13384,"journal":{"name":"Indian heart journal","volume":"78 3","pages":"Pages 151-159"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146776314","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Assessing the relationship between circulating microparticles and coronary artery disease severity using the SYNTAX score: A single-centre comparative study.","authors":"Satya Prasad Mahapatra, Satyendra Tewari, Vikas Agarwal, Mohit Kumar Rai, Harshit Khare, Ankit Kumar Sahu, Roopali Khanna, Naveen Garg, Aditya Kapoor","doi":"10.1016/j.ihj.2026.04.015","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ihj.2026.04.015","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Immune-inflammatory processes play a central role in the progression of atherosclerosis. The objective of this study is to evaluate whether circulating microparticles (MPs) correlate with coronary artery disease (CAD) severity defined by SYNTAX Score II in patients aged <45 and >45 years.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This single-centre, open-label, comparative study enrolled 80 patients with angiographically confirmed CAD (40 aged <45 years and 40 aged >45 years) between June 2023 and July 2024. Forty age- and sex-matched individuals with angiographically normal coronary arteries served as the control group. Blood samples were analysed for total MPs, endothelial MPs, platelet-derived MPs, and leukocyte markers (CD45, CD19, CD3, CD16).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The study population included a younger cohort in Group I (<45 years; mean age 39 ± 5 years) and an older cohort in Group II (>45 years; mean age 63.9 ± 7.1 years). SYNTAX I and II scores were significantly higher in Group II compared with Group I. Circulating microparticles, including total, endothelial, platelet-derived, CD45<sup>+</sup>, CD19<sup>+</sup>, CD3<sup>+</sup>, and CD16<sup>+</sup> microparticles, were significantly elevated in both CAD groups compared with controls, with higher levels observed in Group II. Significant positive correlations were observed between several microparticle subtypes and SYNTAX scores. ROC analysis demonstrated that total microparticles (AUC 0.836) and CD16<sup>+</sup> microparticles (AUC 0.856) were the strongest predictors of high SYNTAX II scores.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our study highlights the potential of MPs as biomarkers for early detection and risk stratification of CAD, supporting more personalised and effective treatment strategies.</p>","PeriodicalId":13384,"journal":{"name":"Indian heart journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147770406","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}