BACKGROUND:Heart failure (HF) readmission is common post–transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Nonetheless, limited data are available regarding its predictors and clinical impact. This ...study evaluated the incidence, predictors, and impact of HF readmission within 1-year post-TAVR, and assessed the effects of the prescription of HF therapies at discharge on the risk of HF readmission and death.
METHODS:Patients included in the TAVR registry of a single expert center from 2009 to 2017 were analyzed. Competing-risk and Cox regressions were performed to identify predictors of HF readmission and death.
RESULTS:Among 750 patients, 102 (13.6%) were readmitted for HF within 1-year post-TAVR. Overall, 53 patients (7.1%) experienced late readmissions (>30 days post-TAVR), and 17 (2.3%) had multiple readmissions. In ≈30% of readmissions, no trigger could be identified. Predominant causes of readmissions were changes in medication/nonadherence and supraventricular arrhythmia. Independent predictors of HF readmission included diabetes mellitus, chronic lung disease, previous acute HF, grade III or IV aortic regurgitation, and pulmonary hypertension both at discharge from the index hospitalization but not HF therapies. Overall, HF readmission did not significantly impact all-cause mortality (hazard ratio HR, 1.36 95% CI, 0.99–1.85). However, late (HR, 1.90 95% CI, 1.30–2.78) and multiple HF readmissions (HR, 2.10 95% CI,1.17–3.76) were significantly associated with all-cause mortality. Prescription of renin-angiotensin system inhibitors at discharge was associated with a lower rate of all-cause mortality, especially among patients receiving doses of 25% to <50% (HR, 0.67 95% CI, 0.48–0.94) and 75% to 100% (HR, 0.61 95% CI, 0.37–0.98) of the optimal daily dose.
CONCLUSIONS:HF readmission is common within 1-year of TAVR. Late and multiple HF readmissions associate with an increased risk of long-term all-cause mortality. Baseline comorbidities (diabetes, chronic lung disease, previous acute HF) and echocardiographic findings at discharge (grade III or IV aortic regurgitation, pulmonary hypertension) identified patients at high risk of HF readmission.
Aims
The clinical features, prognosis, and even definition of left ventricular non‐compaction (LVNC) are still the subject of much debate. The aim of this registry was to describe the clinical, ...echocardiographic, and prognostic features of LVNC in France. The main endpoint was to assess clinical and echocardiographic predictors of adverse outcome, defined as death or heart transplantation.
Methods and results
Between 2004 and 2006, 154 suspected cases of LNVC were identified from a nationwide survey in France. The diagnosis of LVNC was confirmed in 105 cases by echocardiographic evaluation in a core laboratory. Clinical and echocardiographic data for the 105 cases of LVNC are presented. Left ventricular non‐compaction was first detected from heart failure symptoms in 45 patients, rhythm disorders in 12, and familial screening in 8. Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was <30% in 46% of patients, but ≥50% in 16%. The latter had less symptoms of severe heart failure (11 vs. 54%, P = 0.001), but similar extension of the NC zone. During 2.33 ± 1.47 years of follow‐up, several complications occurred, including severe heart failure in 33 patients, transplantation in 9, ventricular arrhythmia in 7, embolic events in 9, and death in 12. Factors associated with death or heart transplantation were NYHA 3 or 4 (HR = 6.69; P = 0.0007), high LV filling pressures (HR = 7.59; P = 0.001), LVEF (HR = 0.93; P = 0.006), and hospitalization for heart failure (HR = 13.55; P < 0.0001).
Conclusion
In this large reported series of LVNC, we observed that: (i) Left ventricular non‐compaction was detected by familial screening in asymptomatic patients in 8% of cases. (ii) Left ventricular non‐compaction was frequently over‐diagnosed by echocardiography. (iii) Patients identified as LVNC presented with a high risk of severe complications, transplantation or death and needed close follow‐up.
Objective: We aimed to assess the effects of remote ischemic pre-conditioning (RIPC) on the incidence of contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) after an intravenous (IV) or intra-arterial injection of ...contrast medium (CM) in patient and control groups. Materials and Methods: This prospective, randomized, single-blinded, controlled trial included 26 patients who were hospitalized for the evaluation of the feasibility of transcatheter aortic valve implantation and underwent investigations including contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT), with Mehran risk scores greater than or equal to six. All the patients underwent four cycles of five minute-blood pressure cuff inflation followed by five minutes of total deflation. In the RIPC group (n = 13), the cuff was inflated to 50 mm Hg above the patient's systolic blood pressure (SBP); in the control group (n = 13), it was inflated to 10 mm Hg below the patient's SBP. The primary endpoint was the occurrence of CIN. Additionally, variation in the serum levels of cystatin C was assessed. Results: One case of CIN was observed in the control group, whereas no cases were detected in the RIPC group (p = 0.48, analysis of 25 patients). Mean creatinine values at the baseline, 24 hours after injection of CM, and 48 hours after injection of CM were 88 ± 32 μmol/L, 91 ± 28 μmol/L and 82 ± 29 μmol/L, respectively (p = 0.73) in the RIPC group, whereas in the control group, they were 100 ± 36 μmol/L, 110 ± 36 μmol/L, and 105 ± 34 μmol/L, respectively (p = 0.78). Cystatin C values (median Q1, Q3) at the baseline, 24 hours after injection of CM, and 48 hours after injection of CM were 1.10 1.08, 1.18 mg/L, 1.17 0.97, 1.35 mg/L, and 1.12 0.99, 1.24 mg/L, respectively (p = 0.88) in the RIPC group, whereas they were 1.11 0.97, 1.28 mg/L, 1.13 1.08, 1.25 mg/L, and 1.16 1.03, 1.31 mg/L, respectively (p = 0.93), in the control group. Conclusion: The risk of CIN after an IV injection of CM is very low in patients with Mehran risk score greater than or equal to six and even in the patients who are unable to receive preventive hyperhydration. Hence, the Mehran risk score may not be an appropriate method for the estimation of the risk of CIN after IV CM injection.
Abstract Background Acute heart failure (AHF) complicating ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is recognized as an ominous complication. Previous studies mostly reported outcomes of ...heterogeneous, non-contemporary population. Moreover, few studies assessed the prognosis of AHF according to its timing. This study evaluated incidence, predictors and impact of AHF according to its timing in a homogeneous STEMI patients population treated by primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI). Methods Data from 6282 patients included in a prospective multicenter registry were analyzed. Patients with AHF (Killip class > I) were compared to patients without AHF and patients with admission AHF were compared to patients who developed in-hospital AHF. In-hospital mortality was the primary endpoint of the study. Propensity-score matching and multivariable regression were used to adjust for confounders. Results A total of 1328 patients (21.1%) presented AHF: 739 on admission and 589 during hospitalization. AHF was associated with a markedly increased in-hospital mortality rate (19.9% vs. 0.8%, p < 0.001). There was a gradual excess risk with each Killip class and admission AHF patients displayed the highest crude mortality rate (24.1%). By multivariable analysis, AHF was the strongest independent predictor of in-hospital mortality (HR = 3.852 (2.303–6.442), p < 0.001) without evidence of any difference according to its timing (HR = 0.947 (0.638–1.372), p = 0.767). These results were consistent after extensive adjustment on baseline characteristics in the matched cohorts. Among other predictors, pPCI beyond guidelines-recommended delays and stent thrombosis were independently associated with AHF. Conclusion AHF regardless of its timing remains a common and dreadful complication of STEMI in the contemporary era.
We aimed to assess the effects of remote ischemic pre-conditioning (RIPC) on the incidence of contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) after an intravenous (IV) or intra-arterial injection of contrast ...medium (CM) in patient and control groups.
This prospective, randomized, single-blinded, controlled trial included 26 patients who were hospitalized for the evaluation of the feasibility of transcatheter aortic valve implantation and underwent investigations including contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT), with Mehran risk scores greater than or equal to six. All the patients underwent four cycles of five minute-blood pressure cuff inflation followed by five minutes of total deflation. In the RIPC group (n = 13), the cuff was inflated to 50 mm Hg above the patient's systolic blood pressure (SBP); in the control group (n = 13), it was inflated to 10 mm Hg below the patient's SBP. The primary endpoint was the occurrence of CIN. Additionally, variation in the serum levels of cystatin C was assessed.
One case of CIN was observed in the control group, whereas no cases were detected in the RIPC group (
= 0.48, analysis of 25 patients). Mean creatinine values at the baseline, 24 hours after injection of CM, and 48 hours after injection of CM were 88 ± 32 μmol/L, 91 ± 28 μmol/L and 82 ± 29 μmol/L, respectively (
= 0.73) in the RIPC group, whereas in the control group, they were 100 ± 36 μmol/L, 110 ± 36 μmol/L, and 105 ± 34 μmol/L, respectively (
= 0.78). Cystatin C values (median Q1, Q3) at the baseline, 24 hours after injection of CM, and 48 hours after injection of CM were 1.10 1.08, 1.18 mg/L, 1.17 0.97, 1.35 mg/L, and 1.12 0.99, 1.24 mg/L, respectively (
= 0.88) in the RIPC group, whereas they were 1.11 0.97, 1.28 mg/L, 1.13 1.08, 1.25 mg/L, and 1.16 1.03, 1.31 mg/L, respectively (
= 0.93), in the control group.
The risk of CIN after an IV injection of CM is very low in patients with Mehran risk score greater than or equal to six and even in the patients who are unable to receive preventive hyperhydration. Hence, the Mehran risk score may not be an appropriate method for the estimation of the risk of CIN after IV CM injection.
Multislice computed tomography (A) and coronary angiogram (B, Online Video 1) showed a tricuspid aortic valve, but the left anterior semilunar cusp (open arrow), of normal size, was completely ...isolated from the rest of the aorta (Ao), continuous with the aortic wall.
Previous studies investigating prehospital use of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors (GPIs) in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction reached conflicting conclusions. The benefit of ...this strategy in addition to in-ambulance loading of dual-antiplatelet therapy remains controversial. The aim of this study was to analyze data from a prospective registry of patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarctions admitted <24 hours after symptom onset (July 2006 to May 2012). A total of 2,052 patients managed in a physician-staffed mobile intensive care unit (MICU) <12 hours after symptom onset and scheduled for primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) were retrospectively included. Patients who received GPIs in the MICU were compared with those who did not. The primary end point was infarct-related artery patency, defined as pre-PPCI Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) flow grade 3. GPIs were administered in the MICU to 737 patients (36%), including 430 <2 hours after symptom onset, and 1,315 patients (64%) did not received prehospital GPIs. Pre-PPCI TIMI flow grade 3 rate was lower in patients treated in the MICU (17.2% vs 21.3%, p = 0.03) because of patients treated >2 hours after symptom onset, of whom only 12.7% reached the primary end point. There was no significant difference between groups in the rate of in-hospital major adverse cardiac events. In conclusion, prehospital GPI use in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarctions <12 hours after symptom onset scheduled for PPCI neither improved pre-PPCI infarct-related artery patency nor reduced in-hospital major adverse cardiac events.
The estimation of systolic pulmonary artery pressure (sPAP) by transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) is challenging in patients with severe tricuspid regurgitation (TR). The study aimed to determine ...the reliability of the assessment of sPAP by TTE in this population.
This study was a single-centre analysis of consecutive patients at the University Hospital of Rennes with right heart catheterisation and TTE, performed with a maximum delay of 48 hours. Lin's concordance coefficient (LCC) and Bland-Altman analysis were used to compare the values.
After applying the exclusion criteria, 236 patients were included in the analysis (age 71±11.5 years old; male 56%). The two principal indications were TR (34.3%) and mitral regurgitation (32.2%). The correlation between the two procedures was good in the total population (LCC=0.80; 95% limits of agreement (LOA): 0.74, 0.84), but weaker in the 78 patients (33%) with severe TR (LCC=0.67; 95% LOA: 0.49, 0.80), with a propensity to an underestimation by TTE. An elevated right atrial pressure (RAP) was associated with an underestimation by TTE of about 8 mmHg. The presence of a 'V-wave cut-off' sign on continuous-wave Doppler (OR=3.74; 95% CI 1.48, 9.30; p<0.01), found exclusively in patients with severe TR, was an independent predictor of sPAP misestimation by TTE.
The reliability of the estimation of sPAP in patients with severe TR could be altered by high RAP which cannot be estimated with current thresholds.
Abstract
Aims
To derive and validate a readily useable risk score to identify patients at high-risk of in-hospital ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI)-related cardiogenic shock (CS).
...Methods and results
In all, 6838 patients without CS on admission and treated by primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI), included in the Observatoire Régional Breton sur l’Infarctus (ORBI), served as a derivation cohort, and 2208 patients included in the obseRvatoire des Infarctus de Côte-d’Or (RICO) constituted the external validation cohort. Stepwise multivariable logistic regression was used to build the score. Eleven variables were independently associated with the development of in-hospital CS: age >70 years, prior stroke/transient ischaemic attack, cardiac arrest upon admission, anterior STEMI, first medical contact-to-pPCI delay >90 min, Killip class, heart rate >90/min, a combination of systolic blood pressure <125 mmHg and pulse pressure <45 mmHg, glycaemia >10 mmol/L, culprit lesion of the left main coronary artery, and post-pPCI thrombolysis in myocardial infarction flow grade <3. The score derived from these variables allowed the classification of patients into four risk categories: low (0–7), low-to-intermediate (8–10), intermediate-to-high (11–12), and high (≥13). Observed in-hospital CS rates were 1.3%, 6.6%, 11.7%, and 31.8%, across the four risk categories, respectively. Validation in the RICO cohort demonstrated in-hospital CS rates of 3.1% (score 0–7), 10.6% (score 8–10), 18.1% (score 11–12), and 34.1% (score ≥13). The score demonstrated high discrimination (c-statistic of 0.84 in the derivation cohort, 0.80 in the validation cohort) and adequate calibration in both cohorts.
Conclusion
The ORBI risk score provides a readily useable and efficient tool to identify patients at high-risk of developing CS during hospitalization following STEMI, which may aid in further risk-stratification and thus potentially facilitate pre-emptive clinical decision making.
Transfemoral approach stands as the reference access-route for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). Nonetheless, alternatives approaches are still needed in a significant proportion of ...patients. This study aimed at comparing outcomes between transthoracic-approach (transapical or transaortic) and transarterial-approach (transcarotid or subclavian) TAVI. Data from 191 consecutive patients who underwent surgical-approach TAVI from May 2009 to September 2017 were analyzed. Patients were allocated in 2 groups according to the approach. The primary end point was the 30-day composite of death of any cause, need for open surgery, tamponade, stroke, major or life-threatening bleeding, stage 2 or 3 acute kidney injury, coronary obstruction, or major vascular complications. During the study period, 104 patients underwent transthoracic TAVI (transapical: 60.6%, transaortic: 39.4%) whereas 87 patients underwent transarterial TAVI (subclavian: 83.9%, transcarotid: 16.1%). Logistic EuroSCORE I tended to be higher in transthoracic-TAVI recipients. In-hospital and 30-day composite end point rates were 25.0% and 11.5% (p = 0.025), and 26.0% and 14.9% (p = 0.075) for the transthoracic and transarterial cohorts, respectively. Propensity score-adjusted logistic regression demonstrated no significant detrimental association between the 30-day composite end point and transthoracic access (odds ratio 2.12 95% confidence interval 0.70 to 6.42; p = 0.18). Transarterial TAVI was associated with a shorter length of stay (median: 6 vs 7 days, p <0.001). TAVI approach was not an independent predictor of midterm mortality. In conclusion, nontransfemoral transarterial-approach TAVI is safe, feasible, and associated with comparable rates of major perioperative complications, and midterm mortality compared with transthoracic-approach TAVI.