Rehab Improves Outcomes Post-Myocardial Infarction 09/01/25
Welcome to Cardiology Today â Recorded September 01, 2025. This episode summarizes 5 key cardiology studies on topics like Cardiac Glycoside and Artificial Intelligence. Key takeaway: Rehab Improves Outcomes Post-Myocardial Infarction.
Article Links:
Article 1: Digitoxin in Patients with Heart Failure and Reduced Ejection Fraction. (The New England journal of medicine)
Article 2: Multidomain Rehabilitation for Older Patients with Myocardial Infarction. (The New England journal of medicine)
Article 3: Increasing the Potassium Level in Patients at High Risk for Ventricular Arrhythmias. (The New England journal of medicine)
Article 4: Reduction of Antihypertensive Treatment in Nursing Home Residents. (The New England journal of medicine)
Article 5: Phenotypic Selectivity of Artificial Intelligence-enhanced Electrocardiography in Cardiovascular Diagnosis and Risk Prediction. (Circulation)
Tap ‘more’ for full notes and links. Full episode page: https://podcast.explainheart.com/podcast/rehab-improves-outcomes-post-myocardial-infarction-09-01-25/
đ Full Episode Summary
This episode covers recent research from top journals like NEJM and JACC. Tap ‘more’ for details.
đ Featured Articles
Article 1: Digitoxin in Patients with Heart Failure and Reduced Ejection Fraction.
Journal: The New England journal of medicine
PubMed Link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40879434
Summary: This international, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial evaluated digitoxin in patients with chronic heart failure who had a left ventricular ejection fraction of 40 percent or less and a New York Heart Association functional class of III or IV or a left ventricular ejection fraction of 30 percent or less and a New York Heart Association functional class of II. The study found no significant difference between digitoxin and placebo in the composite outcome of death from cardiovascular causes or hospitalization for worsening heart failure. These findings do not support the use of digitoxin in patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction.
Article 2: Multidomain Rehabilitation for Older Patients with Myocardial Infarction.
Journal: The New England journal of medicine
PubMed Link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40879431
Summary: This multicenter, randomized trial assessed the benefit of multidomain rehabilitation interventions in older patients, specifically those 65 years of age or older with myocardial infarction and impaired physical performance. Patients receiving comprehensive rehabilitation, including cardiovascular risk factor control, dietary counseling, and exercise training, experienced significant improvements in physical performance compared to those receiving usual care. This trial supports the use of multidomain rehabilitation to improve outcomes in older adults following myocardial infarction.
Article 3: Increasing the Potassium Level in Patients at High Risk for Ventricular Arrhythmias.
Journal: The New England journal of medicine
PubMed Link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40879429
Summary: This multicenter, open-label, event-driven, randomized superiority trial investigated whether increasing plasma potassium levels reduces the risk of ventricular arrhythmias in high-risk patients. Participants with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator were enrolled, and the study found that actively increasing plasma potassium levels to the high-normal range did not reduce the risk of ventricular arrhythmias or all-cause mortality. Therefore, actively increasing potassium levels to the high-normal range in patients at high risk for ventricular arrhythmias is not supported.
Article 4: Reduction of Antihypertensive Treatment in Nursing Home Residents.
Journal: The New England journal of medicine
PubMed Link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40879421
Summary: This multicenter, randomized, controlled trial evaluated the effects of reducing antihypertensive treatment in frail, older nursing home residents. The study found that a protocol-driven strategy of progressive reduction of antihypertensive treatment did not significantly reduce the risk of death or cardiovascular events compared to usual care. These results suggest that carefully monitored reduction of antihypertensive medications may be a safe strategy in this population.
Article 5: Phenotypic Selectivity of Artificial Intelligence-enhanced Electrocardiography in Cardiovascular Diagnosis and Risk Prediction.
Journal: Circulation
PubMed Link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40888124
Summary: This study assessed the condition-specific performance of artificial intelligence enhanced electrocardiogram models, to detect specific anatomical and functional cardiac abnormalities using data from electronic health records and prospective cohorts. The study demonstrated that artificial intelligence electrocardiogram models can identify distinct cardiovascular phenotypes, but also capture broader cardiovascular risk associations. This suggests artificial intelligence electrocardiogram models have both condition-specific and generalizable risk prediction capabilities.
đ Transcript
Today’s date is September 01, 2025. Welcome to Cardiology Today. Here are the latest research findings.
Article number one. Digitoxin in Patients with Heart Failure and Reduced Ejection Fraction. This international, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial evaluated digitoxin in patients with chronic heart failure who had a left ventricular ejection fraction of 40 percent or less and a New York Heart Association functional class of III or IV or a left ventricular ejection fraction of 30 percent or less and a New York Heart Association functional class of II. The study found no significant difference between digitoxin and placebo in the composite outcome of death from cardiovascular causes or hospitalization for worsening heart failure. These findings do not support the use of digitoxin in patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction.Article number two. Multidomain Rehabilitation for Older Patients with Myocardial Infarction. This multicenter, randomized trial assessed the benefit of multidomain rehabilitation interventions in older patients, specifically those 65 years of age or older with myocardial infarction and impaired physical performance. Patients receiving comprehensive rehabilitation, including cardiovascular risk factor control, dietary counseling, and exercise training, experienced significant improvements in physical performance compared to those receiving usual care. This trial supports the use of multidomain rehabilitation to improve outcomes in older adults following myocardial infarction.Article number three. Increasing the Potassium Level in Patients at High Risk for Ventricular Arrhythmias. This multicenter, open-label, event-driven, randomized superiority trial investigated whether increasing plasma potassium levels reduces the risk of ventricular arrhythmias in high-risk patients. Participants with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator were enrolled, and the study found that actively increasing plasma potassium levels to the high-normal range did not reduce the risk of ventricular arrhythmias or all-cause mortality. Therefore, actively increasing potassium levels to the high-normal range in patients at high risk for ventricular arrhythmias is not supported.Article number four. Reduction of Antihypertensive Treatment in Nursing Home Residents. This multicenter, randomized, controlled trial evaluated the effects of reducing antihypertensive treatment in frail, older nursing home residents. The study found that a protocol-driven strategy of progressive reduction of antihypertensive treatment did not significantly reduce the risk of death or cardiovascular events compared to usual care. These results suggest that carefully monitored reduction of antihypertensive medications may be a safe strategy in this population.Article number five. Phenotypic Selectivity of Artificial Intelligence-enhanced Electrocardiography in Cardiovascular Diagnosis and Risk Prediction. This study assessed the condition-specific performance of artificial intelligence enhanced electrocardiogram models, to detect specific anatomical and functional cardiac abnormalities using data from electronic health records and prospective cohorts. The study demonstrated that artificial intelligence electrocardiogram models can identify distinct cardiovascular phenotypes, but also capture broader cardiovascular risk associations. This suggests artificial intelligence electrocardiogram models have both condition-specific and generalizable risk prediction capabilities.
Thank you for listening. Tap ‘more’ for full notes and links.
đ Keywords
Cardiac Glycoside, Artificial Intelligence, Phenotypes, Cardiovascular Death, All-Cause Mortality, Physical Performance, Frailty, Rehabilitation, Nursing Home Residents, Ventricular Arrhythmias, Potassium, Myocardial Infarction, Blood Pressure, Risk Prediction, Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Digitoxin, Antihypertensive Treatment, Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator, Exercise Training, Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction, Hospitalization, Electrocardiogram, Cardiovascular Events, Cardiovascular Diagnosis, Hypokalemia.
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Concise summaries of cardiovascular research for professionals.
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