A 50-year-old woman with a sudden onset of chest pain, diaphoresis, and nausea was admitted to our hospital; additionally, she reported a 1-month history of shortness of breath and chest pain brought ...on by moderate activity. On examination she was generally well; she had a blood pressure of 154/72 mm Hg, pulse of 82 beats per min, and oxygen saturation of 96%. OCT imaging after angioplasty showed hyperechoic particles in the endothelium of the DCB-treated segment (figure 2), in a variety of different patterns (figure 3); notably, the particles caused shadowing effects like those generated by the struts of metallic drug-eluting stents (figure 3).
Background Bleeding is frequent in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) treated with oral anticoagulant therapy, and may be the first manifestation of underlying cancer. We sought to investigate to ...what extent bleeding represents the unmasking of an occult cancer in patients with AF treated with oral anticoagulants. Methods and Results Using data from CardioCHUVI-AF (Retrospective Observational Registry of Patients With Atrial Fibrillation From Vigo's Health Area), 8753 patients with AF aged ≥75 years with a diagnosis of AF between 2014 and 2017 were analyzed. Of them, 2171 (24.8%) experienced any clinically relevant bleeding, and 479 (5.5%) were diagnosed with cancer during a follow-up of 3 years. Among 2171 patients who experienced bleeding, 198 (9.1%) were subsequently diagnosed with cancer. Patients with bleeding have a 3-fold higher hazard of being subsequently diagnosed with new cancer compared with those without bleeding (4.7 versus 1.4 per 100 patient-years; adjusted hazard ratio HR, 3.2 95% CI, 2.6-3.9). Gastrointestinal bleeding was associated with a 13-fold higher hazard of new gastrointestinal cancer diagnosis (HR, 13.4; 95% CI, 9.1-19.8); genitourinary bleeding was associated with an 18-fold higher hazard of new genitourinary cancer diagnosis (HR, 18.1; 95% CI, 12.5-26.2); and bronchopulmonary bleeding was associated with a 15-fold higher hazard of new bronchopulmonary cancer diagnosis (HR, 15.8; 95% CI, 6.0-41.3). For other bleeding (nongastrointestinal, nongenitourinary, nonbronchopulmonary), the HR for cancer was 2.3 (95% CI, 1.5-3.6). Conclusions In patients with AF treated with oral anticoagulant therapy, any gastrointestinal, genitourinary, or bronchopulmonary bleeding was associated with higher rates of new cancer diagnosis. These bleeding events should prompt investigation for cancers at those sites.
Background
Leadless pacemakers (L‐PM) are an emerging effective and safe technology that offer an alternative to conventional pacemakers (C‐PM) for right ventricular stimulation. However, there is ...little information about their potential benefits for quality of life (QoL) in patients with L‐PM. We compared QoL between patients with L‐PM and C‐PM.
Methods
The study population comprised patients undergoing single chamber pacemaker implantation from December 2016 to March 2018. The SF‐36 questionnaire was used to evaluate QoL at baseline and at 6 months of followup. We also used a questionnaire consisted of 10 specific questions related to the implant procedure.
Results
A total of 106 patients (64 C‐PM; 42 L‐PM) were included. There were no differences in baseline characteristics between the groups (C‐PM vs L‐PM), except for age (81.5 vs 77.3 years; P = .012) and diabetes (38% vs 17%; P = .021). Baseline SF‐36 scores did not differ between the groups. At 6 months followup, patients in the L‐PM group scored significantly higher on physical function (63 vs 42; P < .001), physical role (64 vs 36; P = .004), and mental health (75 vs 65; P = .017), even after adjusting for covariates. Pacemaker‐related discomfort and physical restrictions were significantly lower for the L‐PM group.
Conclusion
L‐PM is associated with better QoL than C‐PM in both physical and mental health. Patients undergoing L‐PM implantation reported less procedure‐related discomfort, physical restriction, and preoccupation.
To the Editor, New technologies have improved the effectiveness of treatments for cardiovascular diseases, yet these technologies pose poorly explored challenges. Therefore, a study was conducted in ...Spain to find out about the perspective of doctors and administrators on the implications of technology in the management of coronary artery disease and peripheral arterial disease. The insights and perspectives of doctors and administrators were obtained using the Delphi method following the RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method (RUAM).1 A scientific committee including 6 cardiologists, 1 vascular surgeon, and 1 interventional radiologist selected the panel of doctors (16 cardiologists, 3 endocrinologists, 3 vascular surgeons, 1 internist, and 1 surgeon specialized in diabetic foot disease), and administrators (12 administrators from both the public and private sectors) (annex 1 of the supplementary data). The doctors' questionnaire had 112 items and the administrators' one 79 (74 items were common to both panels). The panellists scored the relevance of each item on a scale from 1 (irrelevant) to 9 (maximum relevance). «Agreement» was defined as less than a third of the panelists giving scores from 1 to 3 to a given item, and less than a third gave scores from 7 to 9. «Low relevance» items were those whose median scores...
Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is a procedure to treat severe aortic stenosis. There are several clinical concerns related to potential complications after the procedure, which demand ...the analysis of computerized tomography (CT) scans after TAVI to assess the implant’s result. This work introduces a novel, fully automatic method for the analysis of post-TAVI 4D-CT scans to characterize the prosthesis and its relationship with the patient’s anatomy. The method enables measurement extraction, including prosthesis volume, center of mass, cross-sectional area (CSA) along the prosthesis axis, and CSA difference between the aortic root and prosthesis, all the variables studied throughout the cardiac cycle. The method has been implemented and evaluated with a cohort of 13 patients with five different prosthesis models, successfully extracting all the measurements from each patient in an automatic way. For Allegra patients, the mean of the obtained inner volume values ranged from 10,798.20 mm3 to 18,172.35 mm3, and CSA in the maximum diameter plane varied from 396.35 mm2 to 485.34 mm2. The implantation of this new method could provide information of the important clinical value that would contribute to the improvement of TAVI, significantly reducing the time and effort invested by clinicians in the image interpretation process.
Advanced heart failure is a growing problem for which the best treatment is cardiac transplantation. However, the shortage of donors' hearts made left ventricular assist devices as destination ...therapy (DT-LVAD) a highly recommended alternative: they improved mid-term prognosis as well as patients' quality of life. Current intracorporeal pumps with a centrifugal continuous flow evolved in the last few years. Since 2003, when first LVAD was approved for long-term support, smaller device sizes with better survival and hemocompatibility profile were reached. The most important difficulty lies in the moment of the implant. Recent indications range from INTERMACS class 2 to 4, with close monitoring in intermediate cases. Moreover, a large multiparametric study is needed for considering the candidacy: basal situation, with a special interest in frailty, comorbidities, including renal and hepatic dysfunction, and medical background, considering every prior cardiac condition, must be evaluated. In addition, some clinical risk scores can be helpful to measure the possibility of right heart failure or morbi-mortality. With this review, we sought to summarize all the device improvements, with their updated clinical results, as well as to focus on all the patient selection criteria.
Introduction and objectives: The PSP (pre-dilation, sizing and post-dilation) score, derived from the GHOST-EU registry, has evaluated the relationship between the implantation technique of ...bioresorbable scaffolds and the clinical outcomes. The objective was to perform an external validation of the PSP technique and to determine its effect on adverse cardiac events in various clinical and anatomical scenarios.
Methods: Data from the REPARA registry (2230 patients) were used for external validation, whereas a common database combining REPARA and GHOST-EU (3250 patients) data was used to evaluate the effect of PSP technique in various clinical and anatomical scenarios. PSP-1 and PSP-3 were used to score the appropriateness of pre-dilation, scaffold sizing, and post-dilation. The primary endpoint was 1-year device-oriented composite endpoint of cardiac death, target-vessel myocardial infarction, and target-lesion revascularization. The definite/probable scaffold thrombosis according to the Academic Research Consortium criteria was also evaluated.
Results: A total of 303 (18.2%) patients were treated with an optimal PSP-1, and 182 (8.2%) with an optimal PSP-3. The external validation showed that PSP has a very high negative predictive value for device-oriented composite endpoint and scaffold thrombosis (91.8% and 89.1% for PSP-1; 98.4% and 97.3% for PSP-3, respectively). Patients with an optimal PSP-3 had a numerically lower rate of device-oriented composite endpoint and scaffold thrombosis compared to those without it (0.5% vs 2.9%; P = .085 and 0.5% vs 1.8%; P = .248, respectively). In the merged database, PSP benefits were seen on many scenarios, except in the ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction where a trend towards no benefit of an optimal PSP technique was present (Pinteraction = .100).
Conclusions: In the REPARA registry, at 1-year follow-up, an optimal PSP technique was not associated with a lower rate of device-oriented composite endpoint. Further research is necessary to assess the impact of the PSP technique in longer follow-ups.
Introducción y objetivos: La escala de puntuación PSP (pre-dilation, sizing and post-dilation), derivada del registro GHOST-EU, evalúa la relación entre la técnica de implante de los armazones bioabsorbibles y los resultados clínicos. El objetivo fue realizar una validación externa de la escala PSP y determinar su efecto en eventos adversos cardiacos en diversos escenarios clínicos y anatómicos.
Métodos: Para la validación externa se emplearon los datos del registro REPARA (2.230 pacientes), mientras que se utilizó una base de datos común que combina datos de REPARA y GHOST-EU (3.250 pacientes) para evaluar el efecto de la técnica PSP en varios escenarios clínicos y anatómicos. Se usó PSP-1 y PSP-3 para calificar la calidad de la predilatación, el dimensionamiento de los armazones y la posdilatación. El objetivo primario fue la variable compuesta orientada al dispositivo (muerte cardiaca, infarto de miocardio del vaso diana y revascularización de la lesión diana) a 1 año. También se evaluó la trombosis definitiva o probable del armazón según los criterios del Academic Research Consortium.
Resultados: Se trató a 303 (18,2%) pacientes con una PSP-1 óptima y a 182 (8,2%) con una PSP-3 óptima. La validación externa mostró que la escala PSP tiene un valor predictivo negativo muy alto para el objetivo primario compuesto orientado al dispositivo y la trombosis del armazón (91,8 y 89,1% para PSP-1; 98,4 y 97,3% para PSP-3, respectivamente). En pacientes con PSP-3 óptimo, el objetivo primario compuesto orientado al dispositivo y la trombosis del armazón fueron numéricamente inferiores en comparación con los pacientes sin PSP-3 óptimo (0,5 frente a 2,9%; p = 0,085; y 0,5 frente a 1,8%; p = 0,248, respectivamente). En la base de datos combinada, los beneficios de la escala PSP se observaron en diversos escenarios, excepto en el de infarto de miocardio con elevación del segmento ST, en el que se observó una tendencia hacia laausencia de beneficios de una técnica de PSP óptima (pinteracción = 0,100).
Conclusiones: Una técnica de PSP óptima no se asoció con una tasa más baja del objetivo primario compuesto orientado al dispositivo. Se necesitan nuevos estudios para evaluar el impacto de la técnica de PSP con un seguimiento más prolongado.
Summary Background No medium-term data are available on the random comparison between everolimus-eluting bioresorbable vascular scaffolds and everolimus-eluting metallic stents. The study aims to ...demonstrate two mechanistic properties of the bioresorbable scaffold: increase in luminal dimensions as a result of recovered vasomotion of the scaffolded vessel. Methods The ABSORB II trial is a prospective, randomised, active-controlled, single-blind, parallel two-group, multicentre clinical trial. We enrolled eligible patients aged 18–85 years with evidence of myocardial ischaemia and one or two de-novo native lesions in different epicardial vessels. We randomly assigned patients (2:1) to receive treatment with an everolimus-eluting bioresorbable scaffold (Absorb; Abbott Vascular, Santa Clara, CA, USA) or treatment with an everolimus-eluting metallic stent (Xience; Abbott Vascular, Santa Clara, CA, USA). Randomisation was stratified by diabetes status and number of planned target lesions. At 3 year follow-up, the primary endpoint was superiority of the Absorb bioresorbable scaffold versus the Xience metallic stent in angiographic vasomotor reactivity after administration of intracoronary nitrate. The co-primary endpoint is the non-inferiority of angiographic late luminal loss. For the endpoint of vasomotion, the comparison was tested using a two-sided t test. For the endpoint of late luminal loss, non-inferiority was tested using a one-sided asymptotic test, against a non-inferiority margin of 0·14 mm. The trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov , number NCT01425281. Findings Between Nov 28, 2011, and June 4, 2013, we enrolled 501 patients and randomly assigned them to the Absorb group (335 patients, 364 lesions) or the Xience group (166 patients, 182 lesions). The vasomotor reactivity at 3 years was not statistically different (Absorb group 0·047 mm SD 0·109 vs Xience group 0·056 mm 0·117; psuperiority =0·49), whereas the late luminal loss was larger in the Absorb group than in the Xience group (0·37 mm 0·45 vs 0·25 mm 0·25; pnon-inferiority =0·78). This difference in luminal dimension was confirmed by intravascular ultrasound assessment of the minimum lumen area (4·32 mm2 SD 1·48 vs 5·38 mm2 1·51; p<0·0001). The secondary endpoints of patient-oriented composite endpoint, Seattle Angina Questionnaire score, and exercise testing were not statistically different in both groups. However, a device-oriented composite endpoint was significantly different between the Absorb group and the Xience group (10% vs 5%, hazard ratio 2·17 95% CI 1·01–4·70; log-rank test p=0·0425), mainly driven by target vessel myocardial infarction (6% vs 1%; p=0·0108), including peri-procedural myocardial infarction (4% vs 1%; p=0·16). Interpretation The trial did not meet its co-primary endpoints of superior vasomotor reactivity and non-inferior late luminal loss for the Absorb bioresorbable scaffold with respect to the metallic stent, which was found to have significantly lower late luminal loss than the Absorb scaffold. A higher rate of device-oriented composite endpoint due to target vessel myocardial infarction, including peri-procedural myocardial infarction, was observed in the Absorb group. The patient-oriented composite endpoint, anginal status, and exercise testing, were not statistically different between both devices at 3 years. Future studies should investigate the clinical impact of accurate intravascular imaging in sizing the device and in optimising the scaffold implantation. The benefit and need for prolonged dual antiplatelet therapy after bioresorbable scaffold implantation could also become a topic for future clinical research. Funding Abbott Vascular.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is linked to heart failure (HF). However, little has been published on the factors that may precipitate the onset of HF in AF patients. We aimed to determine the incidence, ...predictors, and prognosis of incident HF in older patients with AF with no prior history of HF.
Patients with AF older than 80 years and without prior HF were identified between 2014 and 2018.
A total of 5794 patients (mean age, 85.2±3.8 years; 63.2% women) were followed up for 3.7 years. Incident HF, predominantly with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction, developed in 33.3% (incidence rate, 11.5-100 people-year). Multivariate analysis identified 11 clinical risk factors for incident HF, irrespective of HF subtype: significant valvular heart disease (HR, 1.99; 95%CI, 1.73-2.28), reduced baseline left ventricular ejection fraction (HR, 1.92; 95%CI, 1.68-2.19), chronic pulmonary obstructive disease (HR, 1.59; 95%CI, 1.40-1.82), enlarged left atrium (HR 1.47, 95%CI 1.33-1.62), renal dysfunction (HR 1.36, 95%CI 1.24-1.49), malnutrition (HR, 1.33; 95%CI, 1.21-1.46), anemia (HR, 1.30; 95%CI, 1.17-1.44), permanent AF (HR, 1.15; 95%CI, 1.03-1.28), diabetes mellitus (HR, 1.13; 95%CI, 1.01-1.27), age per year (HR, 1.04; 95%CI, 1.02-1.05), and high body mass index for each kg/m
(HR, 1.03; 95%CI, 1.02-1.04). The presence of incident HF nearly doubled the mortality risk (HR, 1.67; 95%CI, 1.53-1.81).
The presence of HF in this cohort was relatively frequent and nearly doubled the mortality risk. Eleven risk factors for HF were identified, expanding the scope for primary prevention among elderly patients with AF.
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