AIM:The American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Scientific Statement, "Clinical Considerations for the Care of the Tactical Athlete With Cardiovascular Abnormalities," was written to provide guidance and education for clinicians caring for the tactical athlete (ie, firefighters, law enforcement officers, military) with cardiovascular disease or risk for cardiovascular disease, and for the organizations overseeing the care and wellness of these athletes. The considerations are shaped by the interaction between occupational demands and fit for full duty assessments, including risk discussions about how a cardiovascular event in a tactical athlete could impact teammates' well-being, community safety, and overall mission success. METHODS:This scientific statement is organized into 11 sections focused on cardiovascular disease processes and other topics that are relevant when considering the potential risks and benefits of performing tasks specific to the tactical athlete. Task forces, comprised of experts in tactical athlete domains, sports cardiology, and the respective topics covered, were assigned to each section, and specific "Clinical Considerations Tables" for clinicians to reference were prepared. Comprehensive literature reviews and an emphasis on tactical athlete-focused data, as available, were integral in the writing of all clinical considerations presented. The framework mirrors that of the recently published, "Clinical Considerations for Competitive Sports Participation for Athletes With Cardiovascular Abnormalities: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology." STRUCTURE:The specific sections in this document include: Section 1: Tactical Tasks Classification; Section 2: The Tactical Athlete Preparticipation Cardiac Evaluation; Section 3: Ethical and Legal Aspects of Tactical Clinical Management; Section 4: Genetic Cardiomyopathies; Section 5: Myocarditis and Other Acquired Cardiac Conditions; Section 6: Congenital Heart Disease; Section 7: Aortopathy, Bicuspid Aortic Valve, and Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection; Section 8: Syncope, SCA, Arrhythmias, and Devices; Section 9: Cardiac Channelopathies; Section 10: Older Tactical Athlete; Section 11: Environmental Exposures, PED/S, and Additional Cardiac Conditions and Considerations. Each section provides a summary detailing the rationale for key clinical considerations and the respective Clinical Considerations Table(s).
BACKGROUND:The impact of recent trends in the burden of myocarditis has not been reported in detail. OBJECTIVES:This study aims to estimate the global, regional, and national burden of myocarditis from 1990 to 2023, using data from the GBD (Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study) 2023. METHODS:As part of the GBD 2023, the authors used all available administrative health facility and vital registration data to estimate myocarditis prevalence, incidence, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), mortality, and mortality-to-incidence ratio (MIR) for every country, stratified by age, sex, and quintiles of a Socio-demographic Index (SDI). The MIR represents the relative mortality burden compared with disease incidence at the population level. The prevalence of heart failure attributable to myocarditis was estimated using a model-based attribution approach. RESULTS:In 2023, the global age-standardized rates of prevalence, incidence, DALY, and mortality of myocarditis were 4.84 (95% uncertainty interval [UI]: 3.98-5.80), 12.46 (95% UI: 9.86-15.70), 8.41 (95% UI: 5.63-12.59) and 0.21 (95% UI: 0.14-0.29) per 100,000 population, respectively. Although global age-standardized prevalence and incidence rates remained stable from 1990 to 2023, the absolute number of incident cases increased by 54.28% from 0.67 million (95% UI: 0.52-0.85 million) to 1.04 million (95% UI: 0.83-1.32 million). Age-standardized DALYs and mortality rates decreased by 62.48% and 60.00%, respectively, over the same period. The MIR decreased across all age groups from 1990 to 2023 and remained highest among the youngest and oldest populations, with the ratio in those <5 years of age declining from 17.82% in 1990 to 6.32% in 2023. Across SDI strata, incidence rates remained stable from 1990 to 2023, while mortality rates declined in all quintiles and remained lowest in high SDI regions, whereas the MIR decreased from 2.33 in 1990 to 1.30 in 2023. In 2023, prevalence was highest in the high SDI quintile (6.30 [95% UI: 5.15-7.48] per 100,000 population) and lowest in the low-middle SDI quintile (4.10 [95% UI: 3.38-5.02]), reflecting disparities aligned with health resource availability. Age-standardized prevalence rates of heart failure attributable to myocarditis declined from 2.33 (95% UI: 1.90-2.90) per 100,000 population in 1990 to 1.76 (95% UI: 1.41-2.29) in 2023, with a U-shaped distribution across age groups showing the highest burden in those <5 years of age and >75 years of age in 2023. CONCLUSIONS:Although age-adjusted DALYs and mortality rates of myocarditis decreased globally from 1990 to 2023, incidence and prevalence remained stable, suggesting potential improvements in outcomes over time. However, absolute burden has grown due to population growth and aging, and important disparities persist across age groups and SDI strata. These findings highlight the need for targeted strategies to improve early diagnosis and reduce the burden of myocarditis, particularly in vulnerable populations and lower-resource settings, while being interpreted in the context of evolving diagnostic and coding practices.
Background Extreme temperature events are projected to increase with climate change; yet, associations of short-term heat and cold exposure with heart failure (HF) exacerbations remain incompletely characterized, especially in high-latitude settings. Objectives The purpose of this study was to investigate the associations of short-term exposure to cold spells, heat waves, and nonoptimal ambient temperature with HF hospitalization in Sweden. Methods We conducted a nationwide time-stratified case-crossover study including 482,000 HF hospitalizations recorded in the Swedish National Patient Register (2006-2021). Cold spells and heat waves were defined as ≥2 consecutive days with daily mean temperature ≤5th percentile (October to March) or ≥95th percentile (April to September), respectively, using municipality-specific temperature distributions. We applied conditional logistic regression combined with distributed lag nonlinear models to estimate lag-specific (lag 0-6 days) and cumulative associations with the odds of HF hospitalization. Results During the cold season, cold spells and lower ambient temperature exposures were associated with a higher risk of HF hospitalization at lag 2 to 6 days (significant at lag 3-5 days). Cumulative associations over lag 2 to 6 days showed ORs of 1.085 (95% CI: 1.042-1.129) for cold spells and 1.008 (95% CI: 1.005-1.011) per 10-percentile-point decrease in temperature. During the warm season, higher temperature exposure was associated with higher odds at lag 1 to 3 days with attenuation at longer lags, with a cumulative association over lag 0 to 3 days (OR: 1.009; 95% CI: 1.006-1.013, per 10-percentile-point increase in temperature). Heat waves showed nonsignificant positive associations with HF hospitalizations that were more likely to capture acute exacerbations, whereas no associations were observed using the broader HF definition that included chronic conditions. Conclusions In this Swedish nationwide study, short-term exposure to cold spells, lower temperatures, and higher temperatures was associated with a higher risk of HF hospitalization, with delayed cold effects and more immediate heat effects.
