Although the benefits of percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs) in patients with stable chronic ischemic heart disease (SIHD) are controversial, a large number of PCIs are currently performed in ...SIHD patients, frequently after coronary angiography (ad-hoc procedures), without the use of fractional flow reserve (FFR) to identify patients most likely to benefit from PCI.
Assessment of regional variations in PCI for SIHD performed in Italy in 2017 and correlation of the regional number of PCI per million inhabitants with the use of FFR were performed using the data reported in the registry of the Italian Society of Interventional Cardiology (SICI-GISE) registry for the year 2017.
PCI for SIHD accounted for 44.5% of all PCI performed in Italy with large variations among the Italian regions. There was a significant and inverse relationship between the use of FFR and the PCI number per million inhabitants performed for SIHD in the various Italian regions (P = 0.01). In the Veneto region, where local authorities mandated Heart Team reports to select the most appropriate treatment choice in multivessel disease patients, the rate of ad-hoc procedures was significantly lower than the national average.
PCI for SIHD patients represent almost half of all procedures currently performed in Italy with regional variations inversely related to physiologic guidance use. The mandatory assessment by the Heart Team to select the most appropriate treatment choice in multivessel disease patients is associated with a significantly lower number of ad-hoc procedures.
Chronic ischaemic cardiovascular disease (CICD) is a major cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. The primary objective of the CICD-Pilot registry was to describe the clinical characteristics ...and management modalities across Europe in a broad spectrum of patients with CICD.
The CICD-Pilot registry is an international prospective observational longitudinal registry, conducted in 100 centres from 10 countries selected to reflect the diversity of health systems and care attitudes across Europe. From April 2013 to December 2014, 2420 consecutive CICD patients with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome (n = 755) and chronic stable coronary artery disease (n = 1464), of whom 933 (63.7%) were planned for elective coronary intervention, or with peripheral artery disease (PAD) (n = 201), were enrolled (30.5% female patients). Mean age was 66.6 ± 10.9 years. The following risk factors were reported: smoking 54.6%, diabetes mellitus 29.2%, hypertension 82.6%, and hypercholesterolaemia 74.1%. Assessment of cardiac function was made in 69.5% and an exercise stress test in 21.2% during/within 1 year preceding admission. New stress imaging modalities were applied in a minority of patients. A marked increase was observed at discharge in the rate of prescription of angiotensin-converting enzyme-inhibitors/angiotensin receptor blockers (82.8%), beta-blockers (80.2%), statins (92.7%), aspirin (90.3%), and clopidogrel (66.8%). Marked differences in clinical profile and treatment modalities were observed across the four cohorts.
The CICD-Pilot registry suggests that implementation of guideline-recommended therapies has improved since the previous surveys but that important heterogeneity exists in the clinical profile and treatment modalities in the different cohorts of patients enrolled with a broad spectrum of CICDs.
Objectives
To determine whether type 2 diabetes mellitus and hyperglycemia on admission should be considered independent predictors of mortality in elderly adults with acute coronary syndrome (ACS).
...Design
Prospective cohort study.
Setting
Twenty‐three hospitals in Italy.
Participants
Individuals aged 75 and older with non‐ST‐elevation ACS (NSTEACS) (mean age 82, 47% female) (N = 645).
Measurements
Diabetic status and blood glucose levels were assessed on admission. Hyperglycemia was defined as glucose greater than 140 mg/dL. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression was used to assess the potential confounding effect of major covariates on the association between diabetic status, admission glucose, and 1‐year mortality.
Results
A history of diabetes mellitus was found in 231 participants (35.8%), whereas 257 (39.8%) had hyperglycemia. Hyperglycemia was found in 171 participants with diabetes mellitus (70%) and 86 (21%) without diabetes mellitus. Participants with diabetes mellitus were significantly (P < .05) more likely to have had prior myocardial infarction and stroke and had lower ejection fraction and blood hemoglobin. Hyperglycemia was associated with lower (P < .05) ejection fraction and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). Diabetic status and hyperglycemia were associated with greater 1‐year mortality according to univariate analysis (54 participants with diabetes mellitus died (23.4%), versus 66 (15.9%) without diabetes mellitus (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.5 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.0–2.1), and 60 participants with hyperglycemia died (23.3%), versus 60 (15.5%) without hyperglycemia (HR=1.6; 95% CI = 1.1–2.2), but this association was not statistically significant after adjustment for ejection fraction, age, blood hemoglobin, and eGFR.
Conclusion
In elderly adults with NSTEACS, diabetes mellitus and hyperglycemia on admission are associated with higher mortality, mostly because of preexisting cardiovascular and renal damage.
Patients with non ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes (NSTE-ACS) and peripheral arterial disease (PAD) present a worse prognosis compared to those without PAD. We sought to describe ...contemporary trends of in-hospital management and outcome of patients admitted for NSTE-ACS with associated PAD.
We analyzed data from 6 Italian nationwide registries, conducted between 2001 and 2014, including consecutive NSTE-ACS patients.
Out of 15,867 patients with NSTE-ACS enrolled in the 6 registries, 2226 (14.0%) had a history of PAD. As compared to non-PAD patients, those with PAD had significantly more risk factors and comorbidities (all p < 0.0001) that increased over time. Patients with PAD underwent less frequently coronary angiography (72.0% vs 79.2%, p < 0.0001) and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI, 42.9% vs 51.8%, p < 0.0001), compared to patients without PAD. Over the years, a progressive and similar increase occurred in the rates of invasive procedures both in patients with and without PAD (both p for trend <0.0001). The crude in-hospital mortality rate did not significantly change over time (p for trend = 0.83). However, as compared to 2001, the risk of death was significantly lower in all other studies performed at different times, after adjustment for multiple comorbidities.. At multivariable analysis, PAD on admission was an independent predictor of in-hospital mortality odds ratio (OR): 1.75; 95% confidence intervals (CI): 1.35–2.27; p < 0.0001.
Over the 14 years of observation, patients with PAD and NSTE-ACS exhibited worsening baseline characteristics and a progressive increase in invasive procedures. Whereas crude in-hospital mortality did not change over time, we observed a significant reduction in comorbidity-adjusted mortality, as compared to 2001.
•PAD is present in nearly 15% of patients with NSTE-ACS.•As compared to patients without PAD, those with PAD have worse clinical characteristics.•The use of invasive procedures has dramatically increased over the years in these patients.•Patients with PAD persistently presented an high event rate over time.
NSTE-ACS patients are a heterogeneous population, with different clinical features and prognosis. A large proportion of them is medically managed, without any revascularization. In the EYSHOT and ...FAST-MI registries such patients were 40% and 35%, respectively.
These patients are at higher risk of adverse cardiovascular events and have a worse prognosis compared with those receiving revascularization.
Medically managed NSTE-ACS patients consist of different subgroups: those not undergoing coronary angiography, those without significant coronary artery disease, and those with coronary stenoses not referred to revascularization.
Patients with NSTE-ACS for whom a conservative strategy without coronary angiogram is planned must be very carefully selected. In patients with comorbidities, frailty, or advanced age, a careful balance between benefits and risks is needed to choice the management strategy (perform or not coronary angiography and/or revascularization), as evidence-based medicine data are lacking in the setting of frailty and comorbidities. In this decisional process, it should be also taken into consideration the role of coronary anatomy in risk stratification and treatment guidance.
NSTE-ACS patients managed without revascularization less frequently receive guideline-recommended pharmacological treatment. Dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) is recommended for 12months also in medically managed patients, after careful balancing of ischemic and bleeding risk. In these patients it is mandatory to optimize pharmacological treatment, including antiplatelet therapy, to improve outcome. In NSTE-ACS medically managed, the proportion of patients discharged with DAPT should be increased in comparison with current practice, and the use of ticagrelor in place of clopidogrel should be considered in selected patients.
Abstract Aims To define a benchmark target for an invasive strategy (IS) rate appropriate for performance assessment in intermediate-to-high risk non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes ...(NSTE-ACS). Methods and results during the BLITZ-4 campaign, which aimed at improving the quality of care in 163 Italian coronary care units, 4923/5786 (85.1%) of consecutive patients admitted with NSTE-ACS with troponin elevation and/or dynamic ST-T changes on the electrocardiogram were managed with IS. The reasons driving the choice (RDC) for a conservative strategy (CS) in the remaining 863 patients were prospectively recorded. In 33.8%, CS was mandatory because of patients refusal, known coronary anatomy or death before coronary angiography; in 52.8% it was clinically justified because of active stroke, bleeding, advanced frailty, severe comorbidities, contraindication to antiplatelet therapy or because they were considered to be at low risk; only in 13.4% the reasons, such as renal failure, advanced age or other, were less stringent. As compared to patients undergoing IS, those in the CS were 12 years older and had significantly more severe comorbidities. The in-hospital and 6-months all-cause mortality were 9.0% vs 0.9% and 22.0% vs 3.9% in CS and IS groups respectively (p < 0.0001 for both). Conclusion As the RDC for CS were clinically correct in vast majority of cases the observed 85% invasive strategy rate may be considered as the desirable benchmark target in patients with NSTE-ACS. For the same reason, it remains questionable if the higher rate of IS could have improved the prognosis in CS patients, despite their highly unfavourable prognosis.
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Two-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography (2D TEE) may fail to detect signs of infective endocarditis (IE) or to delineate complex anatomic lesions due to suboptimal ...visualization of the infected area. Three-dimensional (3D) TEE may have additional value; however, data are scarce. In 124 consecutive patients (85 M; Mean age 63 ± 14 years) with definite IE involving the aortic (36), mitral (35), tricuspid (5), ≤ 1 valve (6), and prosthetic valves (30),or pace-maker/ICD leads (12) the comparative analysis between 2D and 3D imaging focused on: 1) Presence and maximal dimension of vegetations; 2) Prediction of embolic events; 3) Location and dimension of valve perforation; 3) Prediction of successful mitral valve repair; 4) Identification and morphologic assessment of perivalvular complications.3D TEE detected more vegetations per patient (1.9 ± 2.1 vs 1.7± 1.6; p= 0.06), but this difference was significant only for vegetations on prosthetic valves and PM/ICD leads (2.2 ± 1.7 vs 1.1 ± 1.5; p=0.03). TomTec Software was used to crop the 3D volume to obtain the largest value for vegetations and perforation area. The 3D TEE maximal vegetation dimension was larger with a mean difference of 2.9 mm (95% CI, 1.9-4.52 mm) vs 2DTEE. The best cut-off value for prediction of embolic events was ≥18 mm with 3D TEE and ≥14 mm with 2D TEE. The positive predictive value for 3D TEE was not statistically higher (58% vs 52%). Valve perforation was identified in 10/19 patients with 2D TEE and in 18/19 patients with 3D TEE (p< 0.007) with subsequent surgical confirmation. Successful mitral valve repair was associated with a distance of the perforation > 3 mm from the leaflet tip and from commisures. This information was provided only by 3D TEE. Finally, 2D TEE missed 2/20 peri-annular extensions. After addition of 3D TEE all peri-annular extensions (20/20) were detected, without adding false positives.In 5 patients contrast 3D TEE provided visualization of the full extent of the defect and its precise anatomical location, prior to successful surgical resection. In conclusion 3D TEE is a feasible technique for the analysis of vegetation size and complex cardiac lesions caused by IE that may overcome the limitations of 2D TEE, providing incremental information useful for surgery
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