5 times more likely to have left ventricular diastolic dysfunction grade I (P=0.009), and 3 times more likely to have left ventricular diastolic dysfunction grades II and III (P=0.009), whereas age (P=0.001) and left atrial volume index (P=0.004) showed an inverse relation with ESUS. ESUS in patients ≥61 years old had higher levels of traditional risk factors such as coronary artery disease, but the coronary artery disease was not significantly different in ESUS age groups (P=0.80) despite higher left ventricular wall motion abnormalities (P=0.001). Conclusions Patients with ESUS and noncardioembolic stroke were younger than patients with cardioembolic stroke. While a third of the patients with ESUS >45 years old had coronary artery disease, it was unrecognized or underreported in the older ESUS age group (≥61 years old). In patients with ESUS from Southeast Asia and Eastern Mediterranean regions, left ventricular wall motion abnormalities and left ventricular diastolic dysfunction were related to ESUS.Background Despite the high burden of rheumatic heart disease in sub-Saharan Africa, diagnosis with acute rheumatic fever (ARF) is exceedingly rare. Here, we report the results of the first prospective epidemiologic survey to diagnose and characterize ARF at the community level in Africa. Methods and Results A cross-sectional study was conducted in Lira, Uganda, to inform the design of a broader epidemiologic survey. Key messages were distributed in the community, and children aged 3 to 17 years were included if they had either (1) fever and joint pain, (2) suspicion of carditis, or (3) suspicion of chorea, with ARF diagnoses made by the 2015 Jones Criteria. Over 6 months, 201 children met criteria for participation, with a median age of 11 years (interquartile range, 6.5) and 103 (51%) female. At final diagnosis, 51 children (25%) had definite ARF, 11 (6%) had possible ARF, 2 (1%) had rheumatic heart disease without evidence of ARF, 78 (39%) had a known alternative diagnosis (10 influenza, 62 malaria, 2 sickle cell crises, 2 typhoid fever, 2 congenital heart disease), and 59 (30%) had an unknown alternative diagnosis. Conclusions ARF persists within rheumatic heart disease-endemic communities in Africa, despite the low rates reported in the literature. Early data collection has enabled refinement of our study design to best capture the incidence of ARF and to answer important questions on community sensitization, healthcare worker and teacher education, and simplified diagnostics for low-resource areas.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/reacp53.html  This study also generated data to support further exploration of the relationship between malaria and ARF diagnosis in rheumatic heart disease/malaria-endemic countries.Background Few studies have investigated optimal revascularization strategies in non-ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction with multivessel disease. We investigated 3-year clinical outcomes according to revascularization strategy in patients with non-ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction and multivessel disease. Methods and Results This retrospective, observational, multicenter study included patients with non-ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction and multivessel disease without cardiogenic shock. Data were analyzed at 3 years according to the percutaneous coronary intervention strategy culprit-only revascularization (COR), 1-stage multivessel revascularization (MVR), and multistage MVR. The primary outcome was major adverse cardiac events (MACE a composite of all-cause death, nonfatal spontaneous myocardial infarction, or any repeat revascularization). The COR group had a higher risk of MACE than those involving other strategies (COR versus 1-stage MVR; hazard ratio, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.54-0.77; P less then 0.001; and COR versus multistage MVR; hazard ratio, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.57-0.97; P=0.027). There was no significant difference in the incidence of MACE between 1-stage and multistage MVR (hazard ratio, 1.14; 95% CI, 0.86-1.51; P=0.355). The results were consistent after multivariate regression, propensity score matching, inverse probability weighting, and Bayesian proportional hazards modeling. In subgroup analyses stratified by the Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events score, 1-stage MVR lowered the risk of MACE compared with multistage MVR in low-to-intermediate risk patients but not in patients at high risk. Conclusions MVR reduced 3-year MACE in patients with non-ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction and multivessel disease compared with COR. However, 1-stage MVR was not superior to multistage MVR for reducing MACE except in low-to-intermediate risk patients.Background The prevalence of ischemic heart disease (IHD) in women of child-bearing age is rising. Data on pregnancies however are scarce. The objective is to describe the pregnancy outcomes in these women. Methods and Results The European Society of Cardiology-EURObservational Research Programme ROPAC (Registry of Pregnancy and Cardiac Disease) is a prospective registry in which data on pregnancies in women with heart disease were collected from 138 centers in 53 countries. Pregnant women with preexistent and pregnancy-onset IHD were included. Primary end point were maternal cardiac events. Secondary end points were obstetric and fetal complications. There were 117 women with IHD, of which 104 had preexisting IHD. Median age was 35.5 years and 17.1% of women were smoking. There was no maternal mortality, heart failure occurred in 5 pregnancies (4.8%). Of the 104 women with preexisting IHD, 11 women suffered from acute coronary syndrome during pregnancy. ST-segment‒elevation myocardial infarction were more common than non‒ST-segment‒elevation myocardial infarction, and atherosclerosis was the most common etiology. Women who had undergone revascularization before pregnancy did not have less events than women who had not. There were 13 women with pregnancy-onset IHD, in whom non‒ST-segment‒elevation myocardial infarction was the most common. Smoking during pregnancy was associated with acute coronary syndrome. Caesarean section was the primary mode of delivery (55.8% in preexisting IHD, 84.6% in pregnancy-onset IHD) and there were high rates of preterm births (20.2% and 38.5%, respectively). Conclusions Women with IHD tolerate pregnancy relatively well, however there is a high rate of ischemic events and these women should therefore be considered moderate- to high-risk. Ongoing cigarette smoking is associated with acute coronary syndrome during pregnancy.