Background:Both inflammation and malnutrition have been reported to be closely linked to atherosclerosis, especially in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The combined effects of serum ...albumin and C-reactive protein (CRP) on clinical outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were investigated.Methods and Results:A total of 2,164 all-comer patients with coronary artery disease who underwent their first PCI and had data available for preprocedural serum albumin and hs-CRP levels between 2000 and 2011 were studied. Patients were assigned to 4 groups according to their median serum albumin and CRP levels (4.1 g/dL and 0.10 mg/dL, respectively). The incidence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE), including all-cause death and non-fatal myocardial infarction (MI), was evaluated. During a median follow-up period of 7.5 years, 331 cases of MACE (15.3%), including 270 deaths and 61 non-fatal MIs, occurred. Kaplan-Meier curves showed that the rates of MACE differed significantly among the groups (log-rank P<0.0001), even stratified by with or without CKD (both log-rank P<0.0001). After adjustment for established cardiovascular risk factors, low serum albumin with high CRP levels was associated with adverse cardiac events (hazard ratio 2.55, 95% confidence interval 1.72–3,88, P<0.0001, high albumin/low CRP group as reference).Conclusions:The presence of both low serum albumin and high CRP levels conferred a synergistic adverse effect on the risk for long-term MACE in patients undergoing PCI.
Malnutrition has been identified as an important predictor of poor clinical outcomes in patients with heart failure. The aim of this study is to examine the prognostic impact of nutritional status in ...patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The impact of nutrition, assessed using the geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI) calculated by serum albumin and body mass index, was evaluated in 2,853 patients with CAD who underwent their first PCI between 2000 and 2011. Patients were assigned to tertiles based on their GNRI levels. The incidences of all-cause death and cardiac death were assessed. The median GNRI values were 101 (interquartile range 95 to 106). Lower GNRI levels were associated with older age and higher prevalence of acute coronary syndrome and chronic kidney disease. During the median follow-up period of 7.4 years, Kaplan-Meier curves showed ongoing divergence in rates of mortality among tertiles (GNRI <98: 35.1%; 98 to 104: 20.6%; ≥104: 12.1%; log-rank p <0.0001). Stratification analysis by age also showed that the lowest GNRI tertile was associated with mortality in both patients <65 years and those ≥65 years. After adjusting for established cardiovascular risk factors, lower GNRI was an independent predictor of all-cause death (hazard ratio 1.55 per 10 decrease, 95% confidence interval 1.30 to 1.84, p <0.0001) and cardiac death (hazard ratio 1.44, 95% confidence interval 1.08 to 1.90, p = 0.01). In conclusion, nutritional status was associated with long-term clinical outcomes in CAD patients after PCI. Evaluation of GNRI carries important prognostic information and may guide the therapeutic approach to such patients.
Background:High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) has been used to predict the risk of adverse cardiac events in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) after percutaneous coronary ...intervention (PCI). Less is known, however, about the association between hs-CRP and long-term outcome after PCI in the Japanese population.Methods and Results:We studied 3,039 all-comer patients with CAD who underwent their first PCI and had data available for preprocedural hs-CRP at Juntendo University between 2000 and 2011. Patients were assigned to tertiles based on preprocedural hs-CRP concentration. We evaluated the incidence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) including all-cause death, acute coronary syndrome (ACS), and target vessel revascularization (TVR). Patients with higher hs-CRP had a higher prevalence of current smoking, chronic kidney disease and ACS, and a lower prevalence of statin use. During a median follow-up period of 6.5 years, ongoing divergence in MACE with hs-CRP tertile was noted on Kaplan-Meier curves (hs-CRP <0.08 mg/L, 26.4%; 0.08–0.25 mg/L, 38.2%; >0.25 mg/L, 45.6%; log-rank P<0.001). After adjustment for established cardiovascular risk factors, hs-CRP was associated with higher incidence of MACE (hazard ratio HR, 1.10; 95% CI: 1.04–1.16, P<0.001) and higher all-cause mortality (HR, 1.14; 95% CI: 1.06–1.22, P<0.001).Conclusions:Preprocedural hs-CRP measurement is clinically useful for long-term risk assessment in Japanese patients with established CAD and undergoing PCI.
Background:The impact of chronic kidney disease (CKD) on long-term outcomes following acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in the era of modern primary PCI with optimal medical therapy is still in ...debate.Methods and Results:A total of 3,281 patients with AMI were enrolled in the J-MINUET registry, with primary PCI of 93.1% in STEMI. CKD stage on admission was classified into: no CKD (eGFR ≥60 mL/min/1.73 m2); moderate CKD (60>eGFR≥30 mL/min/1.73 m2); and severe CKD (eGFR <30 mL/min/1.73 m2). While the primary endpoint was all-cause mortality, the secondary endpoint was major adverse cardiac events (MACE), defined as a composite of all-cause death, cardiac failure, myocardial infarction (MI) and stroke. Of the 3,281 patients, 1,878 had no CKD, 1,073 had moderate CKD and 330 had severe CKD. Pre-person-days age- and sex-adjusted in-hospital mortality significantly increased from 0.014% in no CKD through 0.042% in moderate CKD to 0.084% in severe CKD (P<0.0001). Three-year mortality and MACE significantly deteriorated from 5.09% and 15.8% in no CKD through 16.3% and 38.2% in moderate CKD to 36.7% and 57.9% in severe CKD, respectively (P<0.0001). C-index significantly increased from the basic model of 0.815 (0.788–0.841) to 0.831 (0.806–0.857), as well as 0.731 (0.708–0.755) to 0.740 (0.717–0.764) when adding CKD stage to the basic model in predicting 3-year mortality (P=0.013; net reclassification improvement NRI 0.486, P<0.0001) and MACE (P=0.046; NRI 0.331, P<0.0001) respectively.Conclusions:CKD remains a useful predictor of in-hospital and 3-year mortality as well as MACE after AMI in the modern PCI and optimal medical therapy era.
Abstract
Aims
Although the delivery catheter system for pacemaker-lead implantation is a new alternative to the stylet system, no randomized controlled trial has addressed the difference in right ...ventricular (RV) lead placement accuracy to the septum between the stylet and the delivery catheter systems. This multicentre prospective randomized controlled trial aimed to prove the efficacy of the delivery catheter system for accurate delivery of RV lead to the septum.
Methods and results
In this trial, 70 patients (mean age 78 ± 11 years; 30 men) with pacemaker indications of atrioventricular block were randomized to the delivery catheter or the stylet groups. Right ventricular lead tip positions were assessed using cardiac computed tomography within 4 weeks of pacemaker implantation. Lead tip positions were classified into RV septum, anterior/posterior edge of the RV septal wall, and RV free wall. The primary endpoint was the success rate of RV lead tip placement to the RV septum.
Results
Right ventricular leads were implanted as per allocation in all patients. The delivery catheter group had higher success rate of RV lead deployment to the septum (78 vs. 50%; P = 0.024) and narrower paced QRS width (130 ± 19 vs. 142 ± 15 ms P = 0.004) than those in the stylet group. However, there was no significant difference in procedure time 91 (IQR 68–119) vs. 85 (59–118) min; P = 0.488 or the incidence of RV lead dislodgment (0 vs. 3%; P = 0.486).
Conclusion
The delivery catheter system can achieve a higher success rate of RV lead placement to the RV septum and narrower paced QRS width than the stylet system.
Trial registration number
jRCTs042200014 (https://jrct.niph.go.jp/en-latest-detail/jRCTs042200014)
Graphical Abstract
Graphical Abstract
Outcome comparison between delivery catheter and stylet systems. The delivery catheter system can achieve a higher RV lead placement on the RV septum success rate and a narrower paced QRS width than the stylet system. RV, right ventricular.
An elevated neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has been associated with worse clinical outcomes in patients with acute coronary syndrome. However, the long-term prognostic value of NLR in stable ...coronary artery disease (CAD) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has not been fully investigated. The aim of this study was to determine whether NLR is an independent predictor of long-term cardiac outcomes after PCI.
A total of 2070 patients with CAD who underwent elective PCI were enrolled in the study. Patients were divided into three groups by NLR tertile (<1.7, 1.7–2.5, and 2.5<). Incidences of all-cause death and cardiac death were evaluated.
During follow-up (median, 7.4 years), 300 patients (14.5%) died. Kaplan-Meier curves revealed ongoing divergence in rates of all-cause death and cardiac death among tertiles (both log-rank p < 0.01). In multivariate analysis, using the lowest tertile as reference, the highest tertile remained significantly associated with greater incidences of all-cause death (hazard ratio (HR), 1.73; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.29–2.34; p = 0.0002). Continuous NLR values were also an independent predictor of all-cause death (HR, 1.87 per log NLR 1 increase; 95% CI, 1.50–2.32; p < 0.0001) and cardiac death (HR, 2.11; 95% CI, 1.46–3.05; p < 0.0001). Adding NLR values to a baseline model with established risk factors improved the C-index (p = 0.002), net reclassification improvement (p = 0.008) and integrated discrimination improvement (p = 0.0001) for all-cause death.
Elevated NLR was an independent predictor of long-term cardiovascular outcomes after elective PCI. Assessing pre-PCI NLR may be useful for risk stratification of stable CAD.
•Patients with high neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLRs) had higher incidences of cardiac events after elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).•Elevated NLR is an independent predictor of adverse outcomes after elective PCI.•NLR may prove useful for risk stratification of coronary artery disease (CAD) patients scheduled for PCI.
Background: The relationship between very low on-treatment low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) level and cardiovascular event risk is still unclear in patients receiving the same doses of ...statins.Methods and Results: From the REAL-CAD study comparing high-dose (4 mg/day) with low-dose (1 mg/day) pitavastatin therapy in patients with stable coronary artery disease, 11,105 patients with acceptable statin adherence were divided into 3 groups according to the on-treatment LDL-C level at 6 months (<70 mg/dL, 70–100 mg/dL, and ≥100 mg/dL). The primary outcome measure was a composite of cardiovascular death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, non-fatal ischemic stroke, or unstable angina requiring emergent admission. The adjusted risks of the LDL-C <70 mg/dL group relative to the LDL-C 70–100 mg/dL group (reference) was not significantly different for the primary outcome measure in both 1 mg/day and 4 mg/day strata (HR 0.84, 95% CI 0.58–1.18, P=0.32, and HR 1.25, 95% CI 0.88–1.79, P=0.22). The adjusted risk of the LDL-C ≥100 mg/dL group relative to the reference group was not significant for the primary outcome measure in the 1 mg/day stratum (HR 0.82, 95% CI 0.60–1.11, P=0.21), whereas it was highly significant in the 4 mg/day stratum (HR 3.32, 95% CI 2.08–5.17, P<0.001).Conclusions: A very low on-treatment LDL-C level (<70 mg/dL) was not associated with lower cardiovascular event risk compared with moderately low on-treatment LDL-C level (70–100 mg/dL) in patients receiving the same doses of statins.
•The prognostic nutritional index (PNI) is easy to calculate and a good predictor for patients with various diseases.•The prognostic value of the PNI in patients with stable coronary artery disease ...(CAD) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) was evaluated.•The PNI was significantly associated with long-term cardiovascular outcomes.•Assessing PNI may be useful for risk stratification of CAD patients after PCI.
Malnutrition has recently been reported to correlate with prognosis in patients with heart failure. However, the prognostic significance of nutritional status in patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD) is unknown. The present study sought to examine the association between nutritional status assessed by the prognostic nutritional index (PNI) and cardiovascular outcomes in patients with stable CAD.
A total of 1988 patients with stable CAD who underwent elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) between 2000 and 2011 were examined. The PNI was calculated as 10×serum albumin (g/dL)+0.005×total lymphocyte count (per mm3). Patients were assigned to tertiles based on their PNI. The incidence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE), including all-cause death and non-fatal myocardial infarction, was evaluated.
The median PNI was 48.9 (interquartile range: 45.5–52.1). During the median follow-up of 7.5 years, Kaplan–Meier analysis showed that patients with lower PNI tertiles had higher rates of MACE (PNI <46.7: 35.5%; 46.7–50.8: 22.3%; >50.8: 16.0%; log-rank p<0.0001). After adjusting for other risk factors, the PNI was independently associated with MACE (hazard ratio 2.05 per 10 PNI decrease, 95% confidence interval: 1.66–2.54, p<0.0001). Adding the PNI to a baseline model with established risk factors improved the C-index (p=0.03), net reclassification improvement (p=0.03), and integrated discrimination improvement (p=0.0001).
The PNI was significantly associated with long-term cardiovascular outcomes in patients with stable CAD. Assessing PNI may be useful for risk stratification of CAD patients undergoing elective PCI.
Background: It is unknown whether beneficial effects of higher-dose statins on cardiovascular events are different according to the thrombotic risk in patients with chronic coronary syndrome ...(CCS).Methods and Results: The Randomized Evaluation of Aggressive or Moderate Lipid-Lowering Therapy with Pitavastatin in Coronary Artery Disease (REAL-CAD) study is a randomized trial comparing 4 mg and 1 mg pitavastatin in patients with CCS. This study categorized 12,413 patients into 3 strata according to the CREDO-Kyoto thrombotic risk score: low-risk (N=9,434; 4 mg: N=4,742, and 1 mg: N=4,692), intermediate-risk (N=2,415; 4 mg: N=1,188, and 1 mg: N=1,227); and high-risk (N=564; 4 mg: N=269, and 1 mg: N=295). The primary endpoint was a composite of cardiovascular death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, non-fatal ischemic stroke, or unstable angina. Cumulative 4-year incidence of the primary endpoint was significantly higher in the high-risk stratum than in the intermediate- and low-risk strata (11.0%, 6.3%, and 4.5%, P<0.0001). In the low-risk stratum, the cumulative 4-year incidence of the primary endpoint was significantly lower in the 4 mg than in the 1 mg group (4.0% and 4.9%, P=0.02), whereas in the intermediate- and high-risk strata, it was numerically lower in the 4 mg than in the 1 mg group. There was no significant treatment-by-subgroup interaction for the primary endpoint (P-interaction=0.77).Conclusions: High-dose pitavastatin therapy compared with low-dose pitavastatin therapy was associated with a trend toward lowering the risk for cardiovascular events irrespective of the thrombotic risk in patients with CCS.
Although an elevated neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has been associated with the adverse outcomes of coronary artery disease (CAD), less is known about its prognostic value among patients with ...low high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels. We enrolled 2,591 consecutive patients with stable CAD who underwent elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and had available data on preprocedural hs-CRP and NLR between 2000 and 2016. Of these patients, 1,951 with low-grade hs-CRP levels (< 2.0 mg/L) were divided into quartiles based on the NLR values. The primary endpoint was a composite of cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, and nonfatal stroke after the index PCI. Clinical follow-up data were obtained up to 5 years. The median NLR was 1.9 (interquartile range: 1.5-2.5). During the follow-up, 102 events occurred (5.2%), with a cumulative incidence that was significantly higher in the highest NLR group than in the other groups (log-rank, P = 0.02). After adjusting for the other cardiovascular risk factors, the risk for the primary endpoint was significantly higher for the highest than in the lowest NLR group (HR 1.97, 95% CI 1.09-3.54, P = 0.02). Increasing NLR as a continuous variable was associated with the incidence of adverse cardiovascular events (HR 1.85 per log 1 NLR increase, 95% CI 1.19-2.88, P = 0.007). In conclusion, the adverse long-term clinical outcomes of CAD patients with low-grade hs-CRP levels has been independently predicted by increased NLR level. NLR could be useful for risk stratification of CAD patients with increased inflammatory marker levels.