Background: The transfemoral (TF) route is the gold-standard access for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). In 10–15% of patients, alternative accesses are needed, such as the transcarotid (TC) access. We performed a meta-analysis to compare 30-day mortality and complications between TC-TAVR and TF-TAVR.Methods: We searched PubMed/MEDLINE and EMBASE from inception to January 2021 to identify articles comparing TC-TAVR and TF-TAVR. Patients' baseline characteristics, procedural outcomes, and clinical 30-day outcomes were extracted.Results: We identified 9 studies, among which 2 used propensity-score matching, including 1,374 TC patients and 3,706 TF patients. TC-TAVR was associated with significantly higher EuroSCORE II and Logistic EuroSCORE values (respectively 8.0 ± 6.7 vs. 6.3 ± 5.4, p = 0.002 and 20.8 ± 14.2% vs. 20.0 ± 13.4%, p = 0.04), a higher prevalence of peripheral artery disease (52.6 vs. 32.8%, p = 0.001), previous cardiac surgery (26.3 vs. 22.4%, p = 0.008) and coronary artery disease (64.6 vs. 60.5%, p = 0.020). The pooled results found TC-TAVR to be associated with a significantly higher 30-day mortality risk (RR, 1.41, 95% CI, 1.02–1.96, p = 0.040), and a lower rate of 30-day major vascular complications (RR, 0.48, 95% CI, 0.25–0.92, p = 0.030). No significant difference was found regarding permanent pacemaker implantation, major bleeding and acute kidney injury. A subgroup analysis of the two propensity-score matched studies found a statistically increased risk of 30-day neurovascular complications (RR, 1.61, 95% CI, 1.02–2.55, p = 0.040).Conclusion: Compared with TF-TAVR, TC-TAVR was associated with an increased risk of 30-day mortality, likely related to a higher surgical risk and comorbidity burden, and with an increased risk of 30-day neurovascular complications. Careful preprocedural patient selection and close periprocedural neurological monitoring are paramount.

Background: Hyponatremia (serum sodium concentration <135 mEq/L) is the most common electrolyte abnormality among hospitalized patients. Our aim was to study the epidemiology of hyponatremia in hospitalized patients, as well as the short-term mortality rates, the length of stay (LOS), and associated hospital costs. Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 6,539 hospitalizations in the internal medicine ward of a Swiss tertiary-care teaching hospital between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2018 (42.7% women, mean age 69 years). Using serum sodium concentration, we identified hospitalizations with hyponatremia and calculated the prevalence of overall hyponatremia, admission hyponatremia (AH), hospital-acquired hyponatremia (HAH), and persistent hyponatremia (PH) at discharge. We also studied the impact of hyponatremia on 30-day readmissions, in-hospital and 30-day mortality, and hospital LOS and costs, using multivariable logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards models, with normal natremia as reference. Results: Prevalence of overall hyponatremia was 32.5% [95% confidence interval (CI), 31.3–33.6%], while prevalence of PH among hospitalizations with AH and HAH was 33.7% (31.7–35.8%). After multivariable adjustment, hyponatremia was associated with increased hospital costs (CHF 19,025 ± 485 vs. 14,962 ± 341, p < 0.001) and LOS (13.4 ± 0.2 vs. 10.7 ± 0.2 days, p < 0.001). Increased severity of hyponatremia was associated with higher hospital costs and LOS (p for trend <0.001). There was a trend toward more frequent 30-day readmissions associated with hyponatremia [adjusted odds ratio (OR), 1.15 (1.01–1.31), p = 0.032], mainly with PH: adjusted OR = 1.41 (1.17–1.71), p < 0.001. No association was found between severity of hyponatremia and readmissions. Hyponatremia was associated with an increase of in-hospital [adjusted OR = 1.94 (1.49–2.53), p < 0.001] and 30-day mortality: adjusted OR = 1.80 (1.44–2.24), p < 0.001. Increased severity of hyponatremia was associated with higher in-hospital and 30-day mortality (p for trend < 0.001). Conclusions: Hyponatremia is highly prevalent among hospitalized patients and associated with an increase of LOS, early hospital readmission, in-hospital and 30-day mortality, and hospital costs. PH was associated with a substantial increase of the risk of early hospital readmission and 30-day mortality.

Background: Hypertension remains the leading global risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, with suboptimal control rates despite guideline-directed therapies. Digital health and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies offer novel approaches for improving diagnosis, monitoring, and individualized treatment of hypertension. Objectives: To critically review the current landscape of AI-enabled digital tools for hypertension management, including emerging applications, implementation challenges, and future directions. Methods: A narrative review of recent PubMed-indexed studies (2019–2024) was conducted, focusing on clinical applications of AI and digital health technologies in hypertension. Emphasis was placed on real-world deployment, algorithmic explainability, digital biomarkers, and ethical/regulatory frameworks. Priority was given to high-quality randomized trials, systematic reviews, and expert consensus statements. Results: AI-supported platforms—including remote blood pressure monitoring, machine learning titration algorithms, and digital twins—have demonstrated early promise in improving hypertension control. Explainable AI (XAI) is critical for clinician trust and integration into decision-making. Equity-focused design and regulatory oversight are essential to prevent exacerbation of health disparities. Emerging implementation strategies, such as federated learning and co-design frameworks, may enhance scalability and generalizability across diverse care settings. Conclusions: AI-guided titration and digital twin approaches appear most promising for reducing therapeutic inertia, whereas cuffless blood pressure monitoring remains the least mature. Future work should prioritize pragmatic trials with equity and cost-effectiveness endpoints, supported by safeguards against bias, accountability gaps, and privacy risks.

Background: The Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) and Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI) are indices that identify individuals at risk of malnutrition. Our study sought to examine the incidence and prognostic implications of abnormal CONUT and/or GNRI in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. Methods and Results: The CONUT score and GNRI were serially analyzed in this post hoc analysis of the PARAGON‐HF (Prospective Comparison of Angiotensin Receptor–Neprilysin Inhibitor With Angiotensin‐Receptor Blockers Global Outcomes in Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction) trial. A CONUT score >2 or GNRI ≤98 was considered to be abnormal. The association between abnormal CONUT and/or GNRI (analyzed using a time‐updated approach) and total heart failure hospitalizations and cardiovascular death was analyzed. Other outcomes included cardiovascular death, all‐cause death, total heart failure hospitalizations, first all‐cause hospitalization, and first noncardiovascular hospitalization. We also explored the effect of incident hospitalization on subsequent incident abnormal CONUT and/or GNRI. In 4794 patients (55% women, mean age 72±8 years), 1119 (23.3%) had at least 1 abnormal score at randomization. Among the remaining 3675 patients, 1405 (38.2%) developed at least 1 abnormal score over a median follow‐up of 2.9 years. Any abnormal score during follow‐up was associated with a significantly higher risk of fatal and nonfatal outcomes, and all types of hospitalizations (all‐cause, heart failure, and noncardiovascular hospitalizations). Among patients with normal scores at randomization, any hospitalization during follow‐up was associated with a significantly higher risk of developing at least 1 abnormal score posthospitalization, compared with prehospitalization and never‐hospitalized patients (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.37 [95% CI, 1.22–1.55]). Conclusions: Among patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, the rate of individuals with abnormal CONUT and/or GNRI was high, especially following a heart failure hospitalization, and was linked with excess cardiovascular and noncardiovascular events. Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov ; Unique identifier: NCT01920711.

The transfemoral (TF) approach is the gold-standard access route for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Alternative approaches, among which the transcervical (TC) approach, are needed in some patients. We aimed to compare TC-TAVR with TF-TAVR. All patients who underwent TAVR in our institution between 2016 and 2020, using Edwards SAPIEN family balloon-expandable transcatheter heart valves, were retrospectively included. Endpoints included 30-day all-cause mortality, procedural complications (according to the VARC-2 criteria), procedure duration, hospital length of stay (LOS) and echocardiographic outcomes. For 30-day all-cause mortality, we furthermore used a Cox proportional-hazards model to adjust for significant between-group differences in baseline characteristics as well as anesthesia modality. TAVR was performed in 306 patients, using a TF approach (n = 255) or a TC approach (n = 51). TC-TAVR was associated with significantly higher STS scores (4.06 [IQR (interquartile range), 2.05, 5.56] vs. 2.97 [IQR, 2.08, 4.88], p < 0.001) and higher prevalence of peripheral artery disease, history of stroke, previous cardiovascular surgery. 30-day mortality (hazard ratio, 0.87 [0.77, 9.77], p = 0.909) and stroke rates (2.0% vs. 1.6%, p = 0.840) were similar, as well as procedural duration (74.0 [53.0, 99.5] vs. 77.0 [58.0, 98.0] minutes, p = 0.370), LOS (6.0 [IQR, 3.0, 8.0] vs. 6.0 [IQR, 4.0, 9.0] days, p = 0.175) and postprocedural mean transvalvular gradient (10.00 [IQR, 8.00, 13.00] vs. 10.00 [IQR, 8.00, 12.00] mmHg, p = 0.724). Despite a higher cardiovascular disease burden in TC patients, TC-TAVR and TF-TAVR yielded similar outcomes. TC-TAVR may be a safe alternative when TF-TAVR is contraindicated.