Cardiovascular Prevention and Pharmacotherapy

Special Articles

Tafamidis for Cardiac Transthyretin Amyloidosis: Darae Kim, Jin-Oh Choi, Eun-Seok Jeon; Cardiovasc Prev Pharmacother. 2021;3(1):1-9. Published online January 31, 2021; DOI: https://doi.org/10.36011/cpp.2021.3.e1

Abstract PDF: Transthyretin amyloid (ATTR) cardiomyopathy is a progressive disease caused by the infiltration of ATTR fibrils in the myocardium. Although it is a rare disease, ATTR cardiomyopathy is an important cause of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, and its incidence is increasing due to improved diagnostic imaging tools. There has been a breakthrough in the field of transthyretin amyloidosis, which opens a new therapeutic door for the patients. In this review, an overview of tafamidis therapy in ATTR cardiomyopathy with recent results from clinical trials will be discussed.

Vasopressin Receptor Antagonist, Tolvaptan, for Treating Hyponatremia in Patients with Heart Failure: Kyung-Jin Kim; Cardiovasc Prev Pharmacother. 2021;3(1):10-14. Published online January 31, 2021; DOI: https://doi.org/10.36011/cpp.2021.3.e3

Abstract PDF: Hyponatremia is common in hospital setting in patients with heart failure and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. However, despite these complications, appropriate treatment strategies other than established therapies such as hypertonic saline, loop diuretics, and fluid restriction are limited. Tolvaptan, a vasopressin receptor antagonist, has aquaretic effects that excrete free water and dilutes urine, thereby increasing serum sodium concentration. This new approach might be a landmark in the treatment of hyponatremia as there is a lack of controlled studies in this field. However, regardless of the associated advantage, tolvaptan is recommended to be used for less than 30 days owing to the possibility of liver injury. This study is aimed to present the clinical use of tolvaptan for hyponatremia in patients with heart failure.

Methods for Evaluating the Accuracy of Diagnostic Tests: Chi-Yeon Lim; Cardiovasc Prev Pharmacother. 2021;3(1):15-20. Published online January 31, 2021; DOI: https://doi.org/10.36011/cpp.2021.3.e2

Abstract PDF: The accuracy of a diagnostic test should be evaluated before it is used in clinical situations. The sensitivity, specificity, and the trade-off between the 2 need to be considered. Sensitivity and specificity in diagnostic tests depend on the selection of cut-off values, and appropriate cut-off values can be arrived at by analyzing the receiver operating characteristic curve. In actual clinical setting, it is often difficult to obtain an appropriate gold standard for diagnosis, and in this case, consent is required as well. In this article, we summarize the basic concepts and methods for evaluating the performance of diagnostic tests.

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