(1) Background: Job burnout may affect the prognosis of patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) through mechanisms involving heart rate variability (HRV). However, no study has yet examined those potential associations. Hence, we conducted the present study to investigate this issue. (2) Method: Participants included patients who presented with a first episode of ACS and who were employed. The Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) was used to assess job burnout. Twenty-four-hour ambulatory electrocardiography recorded HRV on four occasions, i.e., during the hospitalization and follow-ups at one, six, and 12 months, respectively. (3) Results: A total of 120 participants who at least completed three Holter examinations throughout the study were enrolled in the final analysis. Job burnout scores at baseline were inversely associated with LnSDNN, LnTP, LnHF, LnLF, LnULF, and LnVLF during the consequent one-year follow-up. Each 1 SD increase in job burnout scores predicted a decline ranging from 0.10 to 0.47 in the parameters described above (all p < 0.05), and all relationships were independent of numerous confounders, including anxiety and depression. (4) Conclusion: High job burnout predicted reduced HRV parameters during the one-year period post-ACS in the working population.

(1) Background: Targeting a sample of Chinese employees in this study, the correlation of work stress with changes in quality of life (QoL) was explored subsequent to acute coronary syndrome (ACS). (2) Methods: Patients suffering from the first ACS episode, with regular paid work before ACS, were eligible for this one-year longitudinal study. Effort–reward imbalance (ERI), together with job strain (JS) models, were employed to evaluate work stress before discharge, and QoL prior to discharge (baseline), as well as at 1, 6, and 12 months following discharge, were measured using the 8-Items Short Form (SF-8), in addition to the Seattle Angina Questionnaire (SAQ). Moreover, generalized estimating equations were used to determine the relationship of work stress to longitudinal QoL variations. (3) Results: After adjusting for covariates, high work stress at the baseline measured by JS was associated with the slow recovery of both mental health (p < 0.01) and physical health (p < 0.05) in SF-8, while ERI-measured work stress was related to slower improvement in SF-8 physical health (p < 0.001), SAQ-angina stability (AS) (p < 0.05), SF-8 mental health (p < 0.001), and SAQ-angina frequency (AF) (p < 0.05). After mutual adjustment for JS and ERI, high work stress as assessed by JS displayed no correlation with any QoL alteration (all p > 0.05), whereas ERI-determined work stress at a high level still presented a relationship to slow improvement in SF-8 physical health, SAQ-AS, SF-8 mental health, and SAQ-AF (all p < 0.05). (4) Conclusion: Work stress was associated with slow recovery of QoL in patients with ACS across one year. For ACS patients, ERI was a stronger predictor of QoL variations than JS.

Background: Due to the lack of evidence and inconsistency of sex differences in Heart failure (HF) in the Chinese population, this study aimed to compare sex differences in functional capacity and quality of life (QoL) between women and men after standard HF medications therapies, and analyze whether sex differences were associated with the composite endpoints of all-cause mortality or HF-related hospitalization and cardiac event-free survival rate in Chinese patients with HF. Methods: This was a 1-year longitudinal study. Participants included patients with HF from March 2017 to December 2018. At baseline and followed up at 1, 6, and 12 months later, functional capacity was assessed by 6-minute walk testing (6MWT), QoL was measured with the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ) and EuroQoL five dimensions (EQ-5D). The Cox proportional hazards model and Kaplan-Meier curves were used to determine sex differences in subsequent outcomes. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to identify the risk factors for composite endpoints. Kaplan-Meier curves were used to compare survival. Results: All patients were assigned to either men group (n = 94) or women group (n = 60). Longitudinal follow-ups showed a continuously increasing in 6MWT, Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire overall score, EQ-5D visual analogue scale, and EQ-5D Index score in both groups (all P < 0.001); however, women reported a lower level of all parameters at the 1, 6, and 12 months follow-ups (all P < 0.05). In addition, women had a higher risk of all-cause mortality or HF-related hospitalization and a lower cardiac event-free survival rate than men (log-rank test, P = 0.027). Conclusion: Women reported worse functional capacity, QoL, and prognosis than men in a sample of Chinese patients with HF. Our findings highlight the importance of paying attention to sex differences in HF.

Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) poses a significant threat to health and well-being, although percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is an effective treatment method. However, many patients undergoing PCI for coronary heart disease often experience negative emotions such as depression and anxiety, as well as sleep disturbances, poor adherence to medications, and somatic symptoms. These adverse psychological effects can contribute to an increased risk of cardiovascular events. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), a highly effective mind-body therapy, has been increasingly utilized in the recovery process of patients with coronary heart disease. Several scholars have conducted mindfulness interventions for post-PCI patients with coronary heart disease and achieved promising outcomes. This article primarily focuses on applying mindfulness-based stress reduction in PCI patients with coronary heart disease and its future prospects.

Background: Acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) remains a serious life threatening event with a poor prognosis due to myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury despite coronary revascularization. Extracorporeal cardiac shock wave (ECSW) is a safe, effective and non-invasive new method for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. The current results show that extracorporeal cardiac shock wave provides a new treatment option for patients with severe and advanced coronary heart disease. However, there are relatively few clinical studies on the application of in vitro cardiac shock waves in patients with myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury. We hypothesized that extracorporeal cardiac shock therapy would also be effective in reducing clinical endpoints in patients with STEMI reperfusion. Objective: This study is order to provide a new therapeutic method for patients with myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury and reveal the possible mechanism of ECSW for ischemia-reperfusion injury. Methods and materials: CEECSWIIRI is a single-center, prospective randomized controlled trial that plans to enroll 102 eligible patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction reperfusion. Eligible patients with STEMI reperfusion will be randomly divided into external cardiac shock therapy (ECSW) trial group and blank control group. The blank control group will receive optimal drug therapy, and the experimental group will receive optimal drug therapy combined with ECSW. The shock wave treatment plan will be 3-month therapy, specifically 1 week of treatment per month, 3 weeks of rest, 3 times of ECSW in each treatment week, respectively on the first day, the third day and the fifth day of the treatment week, lasting for 3 months and follow-up for 2 years. The primary endpoint will be to assess the 2-year improvement in all-cause death, re-hospitalization due to cardiovascular disease, major unintentional cerebrovascular events, including cardiogenic death, myocardial infarction, heart failure, arrhythmia, emergency coronary revascularization, and stroke in patients with STEMI reperfusion. Secondary endpoints will include improvements in angina pectoris, quality of life, cardiac structure and function, coronary microcirculation, and endothelial progenitor cell-derived miR-140-3p in relation to survival outcomes. Trial registration number: ClinicalTrial.gov.org PRS:NCT05624203; Date of registration: November 12, 2022.