Yong-Jin Kim

Aims A minority of patients with heart failure (HF) are prescribed the maximal dose of the angiotensin receptor–neprilysin inhibitor sacubitril/valsartan. We investigated the effectiveness of submaximal doses of sacubitril/valsartan in a real-world cohort. Methods and results Patients with HF with reduced ejection fraction prescribed sacubitril/va...

Piperacillin/tazobactam (PT), a widely utilized broad-spectrum antibiotic, has been associated with acute kidney injury (AKI). Although the precise mechanism remains uncertain, and most cases of PT-associated AKI are mild, this report describes a rare and severe complication of PT, which manifested as severe AKI with necrotizing glomerulonephritis...

Importance Myocardial fibrosis in aortic stenosis (AS) may exhibit sex differences. However, its prognostic significance in women with AS remains unclear. Objective To investigate sex differences in myocardial fibrosis assessed by cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) and evaluate its prognostic value in women and men with AS. Design, Setting,...

Purpose: Lupus nephritis (LN) can be caused by the complement activation. This study aimed to investigate the differences and clinical implications of the activation pattern of the complement system for pediatric and adult LN patients.Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 40 patients (14 pediatric and 26 adult patients) diagno...

Background Whether genetic susceptibility to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) enhances the vulnerability to adverse cardiovascular outcomes by air pollution is unknown. We assessed the combined effect of air pollution and genetic predispositions on CVD risk. Methods and Results From the UK Biobank cohort, we selected genetically unrelated White Brit...

INTRODUCTION: Coronary CT angiography (CCTA) is a powerful noninvasive tool for identifying high-risk plaque, such as low-density non-calcified plaque (LD-NCP). Though, the optimal treatment of patients with LD-NCP remains unclear. This study explored the association of revascularization in the setting of LD-NCP with the occurrence of acute coronar...

Background Optimal medical treatment can lead to improvement in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in patients with heart failure with reduced EF (HFrEF). We investigated the characteristics, predictors, and outcomes of HFrEF according to the 1‐year LVEF following angiotensin receptor–neprilysin inhibitors therapy (ARNI). Methods and Result...

Background Immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) is the predominant primary glomerulonephritis globally and remains a subject of active research with a focus on understanding its course and prognosis. Although vascular lesions are associated with IgAN, the current histopathological grading systems do not consider intrarenal vascular lesions when pred...

Background Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a heterogeneous disorder with varying risks of clinical outcomes, including sudden cardiac death (SCD). We aimed to identify distinct phenotypes among patients with HCM in relation to SCD risk factors, interpret their clinical characteristics, and examine their outcomes. Methods and Results This retr...

Background The antihypertensive efficacy of fimasartan was assessed based on the transition rate from a combination of calcium channel blockers (CCB) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB) to three-drug combination therapy, as compared to other ARBs. Methods This nationwide cohort study used data obtained from the Korean National Health Insurance...

Background Right ventricular (RV) systolic dysfunction is an established prognostic factor in patients with severe tricuspid regurgitation (TR). However, accurate assessment of RV systolic function using conventional echocardiography remains challenging. We investigated the accuracy of strain measurement using speckle tracking echocardiography (STE...

Background The target blood pressure (BP) value is unclear for diabetic kidney disease (DKD). Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the effect of strict BP control or ‘on treatment’ BP on clinical outcomes in patients with DKD. Methods A post-hoc analysis of the prespecified secondary outcomes of the FimAsartaN proTeinuriA SusTaIned reduCtion in compari...

Introduction Various strategies aim to better assess risks and refine prevention for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), who vary in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. However, the prognostic value of personality and its association with lifestyle factors remain elusive. Research design and methods We identified 8794 patients with T2DM...

Anti‐phospholipid syndrome (APS) nephropathy is an autoimmune disease that is sometimes accompanied by systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Here, we report the use of rituximab to treat a case of APS nephropathy in a SLE patient with recurrent vascular thrombosis. A 52‐year‐old woman, who had been diagnosed with SLE 11 years earlier, was referred to...

Background Immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy is the predominant primary glomerulonephritis globally and remains a subject of active research with a focus on understanding its course and prognosis. Although vascular lesions are associated with IgAN, the current histopathological grading systems do not consider intrarenal vascular lesions when predi...

The presence of particulate matter (PM), which may contain airborne pathogens, raises significant concerns because of its ability to facilitate the transmission of diseases through aerosols. In this study, we developed an antiviral electrostatic precipitator (ESP) with commercially available antiviral films. We applied antiviral surfaces on ESP col...

This manuscript represents the official position of the Korean Society of Echocardiography on valvular heart diseases. This position paper focuses on the diagnosis and management of valvular heart diseases with referring to the guidelines recently published by the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association and the European Society of...

Background Primary focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) is a glomerular disease that sometimes recurs in patients after kidney transplantation (KT) and increases the risk of graft loss. Proteinuria is a common early sign of recurrent FSGS, but an abrupt decrease in urine volume is rare. Herein, we report a patient with early recurrence of FSGS...

Achieving the target dose of angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitor (ARNI) in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) remains challenging due to concerns related to hypotension. This study investigated the dose-dependent effects of ARNI based on on-treatment blood pressure (BP). Using 1,097 HFrEF patient data from a multicenter HF r...

Background The association between renal dysfunction and cardiovascular outcomes has yet to be determined in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). We aimed to investigate whether mildly reduced renal function is associated with the prognosis in patients with HCM. Methods Patients with HCM were enrolled at two tertiary HCM centers. Patie...

Background Current risk stratification strategies for patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) are limited to traditional methodologies. Objectives The authors aimed to establish machine learning (ML)-based models to discriminate major cardiovascular events in patients with HCM. Methods We enrolled consecutive HCM patients from 2 tertiary...

Background Meta‐analyses of large clinical trials investigating SGLT2 (sodium‐glucose cotransporter‐2) inhibitors have suggested their protective effects against atrial fibrillation in patients with type 2 diabetes. However, the results were predominantly driven from trials involving dapagliflozin. Methods and Results We used a nationwide, populat...

Chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) is a rare hematologic disorder that infrequently causes acute kidney injury (AKI). CMML can transform into acute myeloid leukemia (AML), which can be accompanied by a deterioration in kidney function. However, severe AKI due to extramedullary manifestations of AML is rare. Herein, we present the case of a 67-y...

Introduction: Patients with moderate or asymptomatic severe aortic stenosis (AS) are at increased risk of cardiovascular events, but markers to guide intervention are lacking. We investigated the use of cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) to identify drivers of outcome. Methods: Moderate (aortic valve area [AVA] 1.0-1.5 cm2) or asymptomatic sev...

Background Sacubitril acts to inhibit neprilysin and as neprilysin is involved in amyloid-beta degradation in the central nervous system, and there is concern that sacubitril/valsartan may increase the risk of dementia. We aimed to compare the risk of incident dementia associated with sacubitril/valsartan and angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs)...

Background The 2020 American Heart Association (AHA)/American College of Cardiology (ACC) guidelines for sudden cardiac death (SCD) risk stratification in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) need further international validation. Objectives Performance of the guidelines and the incremental value of myocardial strain for predicting SCD in HCM were in...

Background and objectives: The prognostic or safety implication of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors (RASi) in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) are not well established, mainly due to concerns regarding left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) obstruction aggravation. We investigated the implications of RASi in a sizable number of HCM...

Aims: To investigate the prognostic utility of left ventricular (LV)-global longitudinal strain (LV-GLS) in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and an LV-ejection fraction (LVEF) of 50-60%. Methods and results: This retrospective cohort study included 349 patients with HCM and an LVEF of 50-60%. The primary outcome was a composite of...

C3 glomerulonephritis (C3GN) is a rare cause of end-stage kidney disease and frequently recurrent in allografts following kidney transplantation (KT). Herein, we describe the case of a kidney transplant recipient who developed recurrent C3GN along with BK-virus-associated nephropathy (BKVAN) following KT. A 33-year-old man diagnosed with membranopr...

Background: There are limited data on the impact of routine use of brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on the prognosis of neurologically asymptomatic patients with left-sided infective endocarditis (IE). Methods: Among patients diagnosed with possible or definite IE in two tertiary referral centers between January 2005 and March 2019, we ide...

We aimed to investigate sex-specific associations between cardiovascular risk factors and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk using machine learning. We studied 258,279 individuals (132,505 [51.3%] men and 125,774 [48.7%] women) without documented ASCVD who underwent national health screening. A random forest model was developed usi...

Objective There are limited data on the impact of routine use of brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on the prognosis of neurologically asymptomatic patients with left-sided infective endocarditis (IE). Design and method Among patients diagnosed with possible or definite IE in two tertiary referral centers, we identified 527 left-sided IE patie...

Aims: To investigate the impact of statins on plaque progression according to high-risk coronary atherosclerotic plaque (HRP) features and to identify predictive factors for rapid plaque progression in mild coronary artery disease (CAD) using serial coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA). Methods and results: We analyzed mild stenosis (...

Monoclonal antibodies directed against immune checkpoint proteins have been widely used to treat various cancers and have resulted in favorable clinical outcomes. Despite these beneficial properties, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) can induce side effects called immune-related adverse events, including sarcoidosis-like reactions (SLR) across mu...

Aims: The totality of atherosclerotic plaque derived from coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) emerges as a comprehensive measure to assess the intensity of medical treatment that patients need. This study examines the differences in age onset and prognostic significance of atherosclerotic plaque burden between sexes. Methods and resul...

In this study, the gas absorption and particle removal performance of wet parallel-membrane array systems were investigated. SO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> and oil mist were used as the target gas and particles, respectively. To evaluate the gas absorption performance of the...

Background: Elevated coronary artery calcium (CAC) scores in subjects without prior atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) have been shown to be associated with increased cardiovascular risk. Objectives: The authors sought to determine at what level individuals with elevated CAC scores who have not had an ASCVD event should be treated as...

Aims: The outcomes of mitral valve replacement/repair (MVR) in severe degenerative mitral regurgitation (MR) patients depend on various risk factors. We aimed to develop a risk prediction model for post-MVR mortality in severe degenerative MR patients using machine learning. Methods and results: Consecutive severe degenerative MR patients underg...

Limited data are available on the long-term outcomes in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) patients with significant coronary artery disease (CAD) requiring revascularization. We investigated the risk of cardiovascular outcomes in HCM patients who underwent coronary revascularization compared to the control group without HCM. HCM patie...

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of asthma on cardiovascular disease incidence in patients with hypertension. A total of 639,784 patients with hypertension from the Korea National Health Insurance Service database were included, of whom 62,517 had history of asthma after propensity score matching. The risks of all-cause mortality, myocardia...

As the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to sweep across the globe, reports of kidney involvement in adult patients infected with COVID-19 have been documented, and recently, cases in the pediatric population have also been reported. This report highlights the case of an 11-year-old boy who developed acute kidney injury...

Objective We investigated the association between the use of ACEi, ARB, or non-renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system inhibitors (non-RASi) and incident cardiovascular events in an unselected nationwide hypertension cohort. Methods The information regarding 2,025,849 patients who underwent general health checkup between 2010 and 2011 and were on ant...

Background Previous studies have mainly focused more on how diabetes affects the valve than the myocardium in aortic stenosis (AS). In the pressure-overloaded heart, myocardial fibrosis is an important driver of the progression from compensated hypertrophy to heart failure. Using comprehensive noninvasive imaging and plasma proteomics, we investiga...

Anti-tuberculosis treatment can cause significant drug-drug interaction and interfere with effective anticoagulation. However, there is a lack of evidence and conflicting data on the optimal oral anticoagulation in patients treated for tuberculosis. We investigated the safety and effectiveness of anticoagulation with non-vitamin K antagonist oral a...

Background and hypothesis: The recently introduced Bayesian quantile regression (BQR) machine-learning method enables comprehensive analyzing the relationship among complex clinical variables. We analyzed the relationship between multiple cardiovascular (CV) risk factors and different stages of coronary artery disease (CAD) using the BQR model in...

Aims: To investigate whether left arterial reservoir strain (LASr) could predict new-onset atrial fibrillation (NOAF) in patients with light-chain-type cardiac amyloidosis (ALCA). Methods and results: This study enrolled 427 patients with CA from two tertiary centres between 2005 and 2019. LASr was measured using a vendor-independent analysis pr...

Background: Little is known about the determinants and outcomes of significant atrial functional tricuspid regurgitation (AFTR). Objectives: The authors aimed to identify risk factors for significant TR in relation to atrial fibrillation-flutter (AF-AFL) and assess its prognostic implications. Methods: The authors retrospectively studied patie...

A two-stage electrostatic precipitator (ESP) was developed using carbon brush ionizers and lightweight plastic electrodes to be used in an air handling unit (AHU). In a pilot study, the developed ESP emitted near-zero ozone (<10 ppbv) and achieved a PM <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2....

Background Previous studies have demonstrated that 2‐dimensional (2D) global longitudinal strain (GLS) is associated with cardiovascular outcomes in patients with left bundle‐branch block. However, the predictive value of 3‐dimensional (3D) speckle‐tracking echocardiography has not yet been investigated in these patients. Methods and Results The a...

Objective To investigate whether low-normal left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) is associated with adverse outcomes in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and evaluate the incremental value of predictive power of LVEF in the conventional HCM sudden cardiac death (SCD)-risk model. Methods This retrospective study included 1858 patients with HCM...

Differential diagnosis of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is often obscure on echocardiography and requires numerous additional tests. We aimed to develop a deep learning algorithm to aid in the differentiation of common etiologies of LVH (i.e. hypertensive heart disease [HHD], hypertrophic cardiomyopathy [HCM], and light-chain cardiac amyloidos...

Background: Statins reduce the incidence of major cardiovascular events, but residual risk remains. The study examined the determinants of atherosclerotic statin nonresponse. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate factors associated with statin nonresponse-defined atherosclerosis progression in patients treated with statins. Methods: The...

Indoor PM2.5 in apartments must be effectively managed to minimize adverse impacts on human health. Cooking is the one of the main PM2.5 sources in apartments, and indoor air quality (IAQ) management methods (natural ventilation, mechanical ventilations, range hoods, and air purifiers) are typically used to reduce PM2.5 generated during cooking. Fo...

Abstract Background The baseline coronary plaque burden is the most important factor for rapid plaque progression (RPP) in the coronary artery. However, data on the independent predictors of RPP in the absence of a baseline coronary plaque burden are limited. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the predictors for RPP in patients without coronary...

An in-duct two-stage electrostatic precipitator (ESP) improved by ion diffusion effect was studied. We increased the collection efficiency of a two-stage electrostatic precipitator without additional energy input by adjusting the space arrangement of the charger and the collector, which increased the particle diffusion charging time. The collection...

Aims We sought to determine the risk of mental disorders in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) compared with those without HCM. Methods This is a retrospective propensity score-matched cohort study using nationwide population-based data from the Korean National Health Insurance Service. Overall, 4,046 HCM patients and 12,138 matched i...

Introduction: Statins reduce major cardiovascular events, but residual risk remains. The study examined determinants of atherosclerotic statin non-response in patients using statins. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that a comprehensive evaluation of atherosclerosis identifies patients that progress atherosclerosis despite the use of statin therapy. Met...

Introduction: Dapagliflozin and empagliflozin are the two most widely used sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) for type 2 diabetes (T2DM) worldwide. The study was conducted to compare the cardiovascular outcomes of two SGLT2i, dapagliflozin and empagliflozin. Methods: We conducted a nationwide cohort study using the Korean National...

Introduction: Coronary artery calcium (CAC) score improves prognostic accuracy of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease outcomes. However, the relative impact of statins on outcomes stratified by CAC score is limited. Methods: The open-label, 12-center, 6-country prospective longitudinal CONFIRM registry was queried. Individuals with severe CAC (≥...

Particulate matter, including airborne pathogens, is of particular concern because it can cause the spread of diseases through aerosol transmission. In this study, a new concept is proposed: on-demand antiviral electrostatic precipitators (ESPs) with electrothermal-based antiviral surfaces. We applied electrothermal-based antiviral surfaces to air-...

Although atrial fibrillation (AF) is a well-established risk factor for ischemic stroke (IS) in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), the risk of IS in HCM patients without documented AF is less recognized. This nationwide population-based cohort study using Korean National Health Insurance database included 8,328 HCM patients without documented AF an...

The aim of this clinical trial was to assess the efficacy and safety of low‐dose triple combinations of amlodipine, telmisartan, and chlorthalidone in patients with essential hypertension. After a 2‐week placebo run‐in period, 176 patients were randomized to seven treatment groups (placebo, quarter‐dose combination, third‐dose combination, half‐dos...

Oil mist adversely affects the health of workplace workers, and for this reason, regulations on the limitation of the oil-mist exposure of workers are becoming stricter. In order to reduce the amount of the exposure of workers to oil mist, it is important to effectively remove oil mist from machine tools. In this study, the collection efficiency ac...

Background Absence of subclinical atherosclerosis is considered safe to defer statin therapy in general population. However, impact of statins on atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in patients with diabetes stratified by coronary artery calcium (CAC) scores and extent of non-obstructive CAD on coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) has...

As angiotensin II type 1 receptor blockers (ARBs) may have different antiproteinuric effects in diabetic kidney disease (DKD), we ascertained the albuminuria-reducing effect of fimasartan and losartan in patients with DKD. This was a randomized, multicenter, double-blind, 4-parallel-group, dose-titration, phase III study designed to compare the eff...

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is one of the most common inheritable cardiomyopathies. Contemporary management strategies, including the advent of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators and effective anticoagulation, have substantially improved the clinical course of HCM patients; however, the disease burden of HCM is still high in Korea. Sudde...

Aims The temporal instability of coronary atherosclerotic plaque preceding an incident acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is not well defined. We sought to examine differences in the volume and composition of coronary atherosclerosis between patients experiencing an early (≤90 days) versus late ACS (>90 days) after baseline coronary computed tomography...

The flow velocity of exhaust gas from an industrial stack varies from facility to facility and can easily change over time, even in a stack. To accurately measure the concentration of fine particles such as PM10 or PM2.5 emitted in such environments, the conditions for isokinetic sampling must be satisfied. In this study, a novel sampling probe tha...

Purpose The new version of EchoPAC platform was recently developed by General Electronics (GE) to provide ‘vendor-independent’ full-myocardial-layer left ventricular (LV) global longitudinal strain (LV-GLS). The agreement of the LV-GLS by two vendor-independent software platforms was investigated under diverse clinical situations. Methods Two-dime...

Background Dementia is a big medical and socioeconomic problem on aging society, and cardiac diseases have already shown a significant contribution to developing dementia. However, the risk of dementia related to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), the most common inherited cardiomyopathy, has never been evaluated. Methods In a large-scale longitud...

Background Non-vitamin K direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) is effective for prevention of embolic events in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (AF) patients. However, the effectiveness and safety of DOAC in AF patients who have bioprosthetic heart valve (BPHV) is largely unknown. Methods We retrospectively identified patients with AF and BPHV, using t...

Background: Atherosclerosis-related adverse events are commonly observed even in conditions with low cardiovascular (CV) risk. Longitudinal data regarding the association of normal systolic blood pressure maintenance (SBPmaintain ) with coronary plaque volume changes (PVC) has been limited in adults without traditional CV disease. Hypothesis: No...

Background While obesity is a well-known cardiovascular risk factor, little is known whether age has a modifying effect. Aim To determine the age-dependent associations of BMI with cardiovascular outcomes. Methods A population-based cohort of 9,278,433 Koreans without prior cardiovascular disease were followed up for the incidence of myocardial i...

To reduce corrosion, cost, and weight, we developed a nonmetallic, two-stage electrostatic precipitator (ESP) using electrodes fabricated from carbon ink and polyethylene terephthalate (a plastic), rather than expensive corrosion-resistant metals. Five collection modules were manufactured; we varied the materials used to fabricate the high-voltage...

This study developed a highly efficient electrostatic precipitator (ESP) type air conditioner to reduce the particulate matter (PM) concentration in a subway station. A polyethylene terephthalate film coated carbon sheet nonmetallic electrode was used as a collection plate to reduce the weight instead of the metallic collection plate, and the carbo...

Objectives This study investigated the time trajectories of the left atrial reservoir strain (LARS) and left ventricular global longitudinal strain (LVGLS) in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) treated with angiotensin receptor–neprilysin inhibitors, and assessed whether the LARS and LVGLS could define left heart rev...

Background We examined age differences in whole-heart volumes of non-calcified and calcified atherosclerosis by coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) of patients with future ACS. Methods A total of 234 patients with core-lab adjudicated ACS after baseline CCTA were enrolled. Atherosclerotic plaque was quantified and characterized from th...

Purpose: In this cohort study, 5-year data from the Coronary CT Angiography Evaluation for Clinical Outcomes: An International Multicenter Registry (ie, CONFIRM) were examined to identify associations of baseline aspirin and statin use with mortality, major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), and myocardial infarction (MI) in individuals without...

Aims: Atherosclerosis develops progressively and worsens over time, yet event risk patterns vary in the left circumflex (LCx), right coronary artery (RCA) and left anterior descending (LAD). The aim of this analysis was to examine varying progressive disease alterations between the three major coronary arteries. Methods and results: Patients wer...

Insufficient evidence is available comparing mortality and cause of death between general hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and general non-HCM populations. We aimed to investigate how causes of death and mortality differ in subjects with and without HCM. Using the National Health Insurance Service database from 2009 to 2016, individuals who underw...