Graphical Abstract
Graphical Abstract
Schematic illustrating factors including individual patient risk profile, life expectancy, and coronary disease characteristics that influence choice of optimal ...revascularization strategy for patients with multivessel disease. CTO, chronic total occlusion; CABG, coronary artery bypass grafting.
Functional mitral regurgitation (FMR) is associated with poor outcomes in patients with heart failure (HF). However, it is not clear whether FMR is just a consequence of left ventricular (LV) ...remodelling or a factor contributing to cardiomyopathy progression. There will be more clarity about this controversy when the effects of FMR correction on outcomes will be shown. FMR correction can be performed surgically or, more often, percutaneously with the MitraClip procedure. MitraClip is the most widely used device with more than 70 000 implants performed to date. Observational studies suggest that MitraClip treatment of FMR is safe and associated with improved symptoms, quality of life and functional status in HF patients. Two recently randomized controlled clinical trials have investigated the impact of MitraClip on the outcomes of HF patients: Percutaneous Repair with the MitraClip Device for Severe Functional/Secondary Mitral Regurgitation (MITRA‐FR) and Cardiovascular Outcomes Assessment of the MitraClip Percutaneous Therapy for Heart Failure Patients with Functional Mitral Regurgitation (COAPT). Both trials randomized patients to MitraClip plus guideline‐directed medical therapy (GDMT) or GDMT alone. No reduction in the primary endpoint of all‐cause mortality or HF hospitalizations was shown in MITRA‐FR, whereas a significant reduction in HF hospitalizations (primary endpoint) as well as in mortality alone were shown in COAPT. The aim of this review is to summarize the pathophysiology, prevalence, prognostic role and management of FMR, focusing on the differences between MITRA‐FR and COAPT and trying to provide possible explanations for the diverging results. We speculate that the two trials should be interpreted as complementary rather than opposite. Patients with severe FMR (effective regurgitant orifice area > 30 mm2) despite maximum tolerated GDMT (including cardiac resynchronization therapy), and without too advanced cardiomyopathy seem to be the best candidates for MitraClip treatment. MITRA‐FR and COAPT provide us a long awaited ‘proof of concept’: FMR may be considered a leading actor in cardiomyopathy progression rather than a mere marker of severity.
Blood motion in the heart features vortices that accompany the redirection of jet flows towards the outlet tracks. Vortices have a crucial role in fluid dynamics. The stability of cardiac vorticity ...is vital to the dynamic balance between rotating blood and myocardial tissue and to the development of cardiac dysfunction. Moreover, vortex dynamics immediately reflect physiological changes to the surrounding system, and can provide early indications of long-term outcome. However, the pathophysiological relevance of cardiac fluid dynamics is still unknown. We postulate that maladaptive intracardiac vortex dynamics might modulate the progressive remodelling of the left ventricle towards heart failure. The evaluation of blood flow presents a new paradigm in cardiac function analysis, with the potential for sensitive risk identification of cardiac abnormalities. Description of cardiac flow patterns after surgery or device therapy provides an intrinsic qualitative evaluation of therapeutic procedures, and could enable early risk stratification of patients vulnerable to adverse cardiac remodelling.
Functional or secondary tricuspid regurgitation (STR) is the most frequent etiology of tricuspid valve pathology in Western countries. Surgical tricuspid repair has been avoided for years, because of ...the misconception that tricuspid regurgitation should disappear once the primary left-sided problem is treated; this results in a large number of untreated patients with STR. Over the past few years, many investigators have reported evidence in favor of a more aggressive surgical approach to STR. Consequently, interest has been growing in the physiopathology and treatment of STR. The purpose of this review is to explore the anatomical basis, pathophysiology, therapeutic approach, and future perspectives with regard to the management of STR.
Objectives The goal of this study was to evaluate the safety and performance of the NeoChord DS1000 system (NeoChord, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota). Background There is an increasing interest in ...transcatheter mitral valve (MV) treatment. The NeoChord DS 1000 system enables off-pump beating heart transapical MV repair with implantation of artificial neo-chordae. Methods Patients with severe mitral regurgitation (MR) due to isolated posterior prolapse were included in this TACT (Transapical Artificial Chordae Tendinae) trial. All patients were scheduled for off-pump transapical implantation of neo-chordae. Results Thirty patients at 7 centers were enrolled. Major adverse events included 1 death due to post-cardiotomy syndrome and concomitant sepsis and 1 minor stroke with the patient fully recovered at the 30-day follow-up visit. Additional patients experienced procedural major adverse events related to a reoperation or conversion to standard of care. Acute procedural success (placement of at least 1 neo-chord and reduction of MR from 3+ or 4+ to ≤2+) was achieved in 26 patients (86.7%). In 4 patients neo-chordae were not placed for technical and/or patient-specific reasons. These patients underwent intraoperative (3 patients) or post-operative (1 patient) standard MV repair. At 30 days, 17 patients maintained an MR grade ≤2+. Four patients who developed recurrent MR were successfully treated with open MV repair during 30-day follow-up. Results improved with experience: durable reduction in MR to ≤2+ at 30 days was achieved in 5 (33.3%) of the first 15 patients and 12 (85.7%) of the last 14 patients. Conclusions Off-pump transapical implantation of artificial chordae to correct MR is technically safe and feasible; however, it yields further potential for improvement of efficacy and durability. (Safety and Performance Study of the NeoChord Device TACT; NCT01777815 )
Abstract Objective The study objective was to assess the impact on follow-up outcomes of residual mitral regurgitation 2+ in comparison with ≤1+ after MitraClip (Abbott Vascular Inc, Santa Clara, ...Calif) repair. Methods We compared the outcomes of mitral regurgitation 2+ and mitral regurgitation ≤1+ groups among a population of 223 consecutive patients with acute residual mitral regurgitation ≤2+ who underwent MitraClip implantation at San Raffaele Scientific Institute (Milan, Italy) between October 2008 and December 2014. Results Residual mitral regurgitation 2+ was found in 64 patients (28.7%). Overall actuarial survival was 63.1% ± 4.4% at 48 months. Cumulative incidence functions of cardiac death in patients with mitral regurgitation 2+ was significantly higher (Gray test P < .001) compared with the mitral regurgitation ≤1+ group. The adjusted hazard ratio was 5.28 (95% confidence interval, 2.41-11.56, P < .001). Cumulative incidence function of mitral regurgitation ≥3+ recurrence in patients with residual mitral regurgitation ≤1+ and mitral regurgitation 2+ at 48 months was 13.3% ± 3.8% and 45.2% ± 6.8%, respectively (Gray test P < .001). Multivariate model showed that mitral regurgitation 2+ was the only factor associated with the development of mitral regurgitation ≥3+ at follow-up (adjusted hazard ratio, 6.71; 95% confidence interval, 3.48-12.90; P < .001). Mitral regurgitation cause was not associated with cardiac death and recurrence of mitral regurgitation ≥3+ at follow-up. No relationship between New York Heart Association class and follow-up time after MitraClip implant was found (odds ratio, 1.07; 95% confidence interval, 0.98-1.15; P = .11), and factors related to postoperative New York Heart Association also included residual mitral regurgitation 2+ ( P = .07). Conclusions Residual 2+ mitral regurgitation after MitraClip implantation was associated with worse follow-up outcomes compared with ≤1+ mitral regurgitation, including survival, symptom relief, and mitral regurgitation recurrence. Better efficacy should be pursued by transcatheter mitral repair technologies.
The aim of this case-control study was to investigate the occurrence of bleeding events related to maxillary sinus elevation with a lateral window in patients under direct oral anticogulant therapy.
...Seventyseven consecutive patients were scheduled for unilateral maxillary sinus floor elevation using a lateral window approach. Participants were divided into two groups: group A, formed by 37 patients who were under novel oral anticoagulation therapy (rivaroxaban/apixaban), and a control group, composed of 40 healthy subjects. Within group A, assumption of direct oral anticoagulants was not suspended nor modified before surgical procedures. Time (early/delayed) and site (intraoral/extraoral) of bleeding episodes were recorded in both groups of patients, in addition to bleeding severity (mild, moderate, or severe).
Maxillary sinus floor elevation was performed in all patients. One dropout happened due to intraoperative membrane perforation. Overall bleeding episodes were comparable in both groups, chi-square (1) = .68, P = .41. Early intraoral bleeding events were more common in absolute terms, but also occurred with approximately the same frequency in both group A and the control group (Fisher exact tests: P = 1.00 and P = .375, respectively). No severe bleeding was observed in any of the attended patients.
Within the limitations of this case-control study, maxillary sinus floor augmentation with a lateral window approach can be safely administered to patients who are under direct oral anticoagulation therapy when specific recommendations are instituted.
Objective The aim of this propensity-matched, multicenter study was to compare early clinical and echocardiographic outcomes of patients undergoing transapical aortic valve implantation (TA-TAVI) ...versus patients undergoing sutureless aortic valve replacement (SU-AVR) for severe symptomatic aortic valve stenosis. Methods We reviewed 468 TA-TAVIs performed in 20 centers from April 2008 to May 2011, and 51 SU-AVRs performed in 3 centers from March to September 2011. Based on a propensity score analysis, 2 groups with 38 matched pairs were created. Variables used in the propensity analysis were age, sex, body surface area, New York Heart Association class, logistic EuroSCORE, peripheral vascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, aortic valve area, mitral regurgitation, and left ventricular ejection fraction. Results Preoperative characteristics of the 2 groups were comparable. Hospital mortality was 5.3% and 0% in the TA-TAVI and SU-AVR groups, respectively ( P = .49). We did not observe stroke or acute myocardial infarction in the 2 groups. Permanent pacemaker implantation was needed in 2 patients of each group (5.3%, P = 1.0). Dialysis was required in 2 patients (5.3%) in the SU-AVR group and in 1 patient (2.7%) in the TA-TAVI group ( P = 1.0). Predischarge echocardiographic data showed that the incidence of paravalvular leak (at least mild) was greater in the TA-TAVI group (44.7% vs 15.8%, P = .001), but there were no differences in terms of mean transprosthetic gradient (10.3 ± 5 mm Hg vs 11 ± 3.7 mm Hg, P = .59). Conclusions This preliminary experience showed that, in patients at high risk for conventional surgery, SU-AVR is as safe and effective as TA-TAVI and that it is associated with a lower rate of postprocedural paravalvular leak.
Moderate-to-severe tricuspid regurgitation (TR) affects ∼1.6 million patients in the USA, of whom only 8000 undergo tricuspid surgery annually; this results in an extremely large number of untreated ...patients with significant TR. Therefore, there is a large unmet clinical need for patients with severe TR who are not referred for conventional surgery, mainly due to expected high surgical risk. Percutaneous procedures are an attractive alternative to surgery for patients deemed to be high-risk surgical candidates. Whereas over the past few years, the development and clinical use of percutaneous approaches to the aortic valve and mitral valve have been widespread, few data are available about the feasibility and the efficacy of the percutaneous tricuspid valve treatment. This review will explore the available technologies, which are today under evaluation and the preliminary clinical results.
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