Background:This study compared myocardial injury after non-cardiac surgery (MINS) and mortalities between patients under and over the age of 45 years.Methods and Results:From January 2010 and June ...2019, patients with cardiac troponin measurement within 30 days after non-cardiac surgery were enrolled and divided into groups according to age: >45 (≥45 years) and <45 (<45 years). Further analyses were conducted only in patients who were diagnosed with MINS. The outcomes were MINS and 30-day mortality. Of the 35,223 patients, 31,161 (88.5%) patients were in the >45-year group and 4,062 (11.5%) were in the <45-year group. After adjustment with inverse probability of weighting, the <45-years group showed a lower incidence of MINS and cardiovascular mortality (16.6% vs. 11.7%; odds ratio, 0.77; 95% confidence interval CI, 0.69–0.84; P<0.001 and 0.4% vs. 0.2%; hazard ratio HR, 0.41; 95% CI, 0.19–0.88; P=0.02, respectively). In a comparison of only the <45-years group, MINS was associated with increased 30-day mortality (0.7% vs. 10.3%; HR, 10.48; 95% CI, 6.18–17.78; P<0.001), but the mortalities of patients with MINS did not differ according to age.Conclusions:MINS has a comparable prognostic impact in patients aged under and over 45 years; therefore, future studies need to also consider patients aged <45 years regarding risk factors of MINS and screening of perioperative troponin elevation.
This study aimed to evaluate the association between intraoperative blood loss and myocardial injury after non-cardiac surgery (MINS), which is a severe and common postoperative complication.
We ...compared the incidence of MINS based on significant intraoperative bleeding, defined as an absolute hemoglobin level < 7 g/dL, a relative hemoglobin level less than 50% of the preoperative measurement, or need for packed red cell transfusion. We also estimated a threshold for intraoperative hemoglobin level associated with MINS.
We stratified a total of 15,926 non-cardiac surgical patients with intraoperative hemoglobin and postoperative cardiac troponin (cTn) measurements according to the occurrence of significant intraoperative bleeding; 13,416 (84.2%) had no significant bleeding while 2,510 (15.8%) did have significant bleeding. After an adjustment with inverse probability weighting, the incidence of MINS was higher in the significant bleeding group (35.2% vs. 16.4%; odds ratio, 1.58; 95% confidence interval, 1.43-1.75; p < 0.001). The threshold of intraoperative hemoglobin associated with MINS was estimated to be 9.9 g/dL with an area under the curve of 0.643.
Intraoperative blood loss appeared to be associated with MINS. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings.
The cohort was registered before patient enrollment at https://cris.nih.go.kr (KCT0004244).
Abstract
Serum sex hormones are known to be associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD), but effects in healthy men on cardiac function have not been well quantified. The authors sought to evaluate ...an association of sex hormones with cardiac structure and function. Study participants were 857 Korean men without significant cardiovascular diseases participating in the Healthy Twin Study. We estimated the associations of total testosterone (TT) and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) with cardiac structure and function measured by echocardiography using a linear mixed regression model with consideration of random and fixed effects of covariates. The ratio of peak early diastolic velocity of mitral inflow over peak early diastolic mitral annular velocity (E/e’) and left atrial volume index (LAVI), functional parameters reflecting left ventricle (LV) filling pressure, were inversely associated with TT even after further cross-adjustment for SHBG level. There was a positive association between LAVI and SHBG, regardless of TT adjustment. These findings suggest that serum testosterone level is positively associated with LV diastolic function independent of SHBG level.
We aimed to evaluate the additive value of cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) and cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) to predict clinical outcomes in patients with HCM. We enrolled 373 ...patients with HCM and normal left ventricular systolic function who underwent CPET and CMR. The primary outcome was a clinical composite of all-cause death, cardiac transplantation, stroke, heart failure requiring hospitalization and defibrillator implantation. During a follow-up of 70.70 ± 30.74 months, there were 84 composite clinical events. Peak oxygen consumption during CPET was significantly lower (18.51±13.25 vs. 24.59±13.28 mL/kg/min, p < 0.001) and abnormal hemodynamic response to exercise was more frequently detected (41.7 vs. 20.8%, p<0.001) in the group with composite clinical events. The extent of late gadolinium enhancement was larger in the event group (15.39±10.53 vs. 11.97±9.53%LV, p<0.001). Selective parameters were added stepwise to conventional clinical parameters; the final model, where CPET and CMR parameters were added, was verified to have the highest increment value for clinical outcome prediction (p<0.001). This study demonstrated that CPET and CMR findings may be important clinical tools for risk stratification in HCM. Exercise capacity was an independent predictor of composite outcomes in patients with HCM, with incremental value as a risk factor when added to the alleged parameters. These findings could help physicians monitor and manage patients with HCM in the real clinical field.
Perioperative myocardial injury is a predictor of postoperative mortality, but the clinical impact of chronic injury during the perioperative period has not been fully investigated. This study aimed ...to evaluate chronic myocardial injury during the perioperative period in comparison with normal and acute myocardial injury. Of the 22,969 patients reviewed, 17,671 (76.9%) were classified into the normal, 5,179 (22.5%) into the acute injury, and 119 (0.5%) into the chronic injury groups. The acute and chronic injury groups had higher 30-day mortalities compared with the normal group (0.8% vs. 8.0%; hazard ratio HR, 11.00; 95% confidence interval CI, 9.05-13.37; P < 0.001 and 0.8% vs. 7.6%; HR, 10.55; 95% CI, 5.37-20.72; P < 0.001, respectively). In a direct comparison between the acute and chronic injury groups using an inverse probability of weighting adjustments, the 30-day and one-year mortalities were not significantly different. Chronic myocardial injury during the perioperative period may show similar clinical impacts on postoperative mortality compared with acute injury. Further studies are needed.
It has been reported that left ventricular (LV) myocardial strain and late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) on cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging have prognostic value in patients with heart ...failure (HF). However, previous studies included patients with various systolic functions. This study aimed to investigate the prognostic value of LV myocardial strain and LGE on CMR imaging in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) with reduced ejection fraction (EF < 40%).
From a prospectively followed cohort who underwent CMR between November 2008 and December 2015, subjects with LV EF < 40% and a diagnosis of idiopathic DCM were eligible for this study. The CMR images were analyzed for LV and right ventricular (RV) function, presence and extent of LGE, and LV myocardial strain. The primary outcome was a composite of all-cause death and heart transplantation. The secondary outcome was hospitalization for HF.
A total of 172 patients were included, in whom mean LV EF was 23.7 ± 7.9% (EF 30-40% n = 47; EF < 30% n = 125). During a median follow-up of 47 months, the primary outcome occurred in 43 patients (16 heart transplantations, 29 all-cause deaths), and there were 41 hospitalizations for HF. Univariate Cox proportional hazard regression analysis showed that mean arterial pressure, serum sodium concentration, log of plasma NT-proBNP level, and presence of LGE (HR 2.277, 95% CI: 1.221-4.246) were significantly associated with the primary outcome. However, LV strain had no significant association (HR 1.048, 95% CI: 0.945-1.163). Multivariable analysis showed that presence of LGE (HR 4.73, 95% CI: 1.11-20.12) and serum sodium (HR 0.823, 95% CI: 0.762-0.887) were independently associated with the primary outcome.
LGE in CMR imaging was a good predictor of adverse outcomes for patients with idiopathic DCM and reduced EF. Identification of LGE could thus improve risk stratification in high-risk patients. LV strain had no significant prognostic value in patients with moderate to severe systolic dysfunction.
Background: There are limited data about predictors of atrial fibrillation (AF) recurrence after totally thoracoscopic ablation (TTA). This study investigated the clinical implication of left atrial ...appendage emptying velocity (LAAV) in patients undergoing TTA.Methods and Results: Patients who underwent TTA between 2012 and 2015 at a tertiary hospital were prospectively enrolled in this study. LAAV was measured and averaged over five heart beats from preoperative transesophageal echocardiography. The primary outcome was a freedom from recurrent AF or atrial flutter (AFL) detected on 24-h Holter monitoring or an electrocardiogram over a 3-year period after TTA. In all, 129 patients were eligible for analysis in this study. The mean (±SD) patient age was 54.4±8.8 years, and 95.3% were male. During the 3 years after TTA, the overall event-free survival rate was 65.3%. LAAV was an independent predictor of recurrent AF/AFL during the 3-year period after TTA (per 1-cm/s increase, adjusted hazard ratio aHR 0.95; 95% confidence interval CI 0.91–0.99; P=0.016). Event-free survival was significantly lower among patients with a low LAAV (<20 cm/s; n=21) compared with those with a normal (≥40 cm/s; n=38; aHR 6.11; 95% CI 1.42–26.15; P=0.015) or intermediate (LAAV ≥20 and <40 cm/s; n=70; aHR 2.74, 95% CI 1.29–5.83; P=0.009) LAAV.Conclusions: In patients with AF, LAAV was significantly associated with the risk of long-term recurrence of AF after TTA.
Aortic stenosis (AS) is a representative geriatric disease, and there is an anticipated rise in the number of patients requiring noncardiac surgeries in patients with AS. However, there is still a ...lack of research on the primary predictors of noncardiac perioperative complications in patients with asymptomatic significant AS.
Among the cohort of noncardiac surgeries under general anesthesia, with an intermediate to high risk of surgery from 2011 to 2019, at Samsung Medical Center, 221 patients were identified to have asymptomatic significant AS. First, to examine the impact of significant AS on perioperative adverse events, the occurrences of major adverse cardiovascular events and perioperative adverse cardiovascular events were compared between patients with asymptomatic significant AS and the control group. Second, to identify the factors influencing the perioperative adverse events in patients with asymptomatic significant AS, a least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression model was used. There was no significant difference between the control group and the asymptomatic significant AS group in the event rate of major adverse cardiovascular events (4.6% at control group versus 5.5% at asymptomatic significant AS group;
=0.608) and perioperative adverse cardiovascular events (13.8% at control group versus 18.3% at asymptomatic significant AS group;
=0.130). Cardiac damage stage was a significant risk factor of major adverse cardiovascular events and perioperative adverse cardiovascular events.
There was no significant difference in major postoperative cardiovascular events between patients with asymptomatic significant AS and the control group. Advanced cardiac damage stage in significant AS is an important factor in perioperative risk of noncardiac surgery.
Despite complete interruption of antegrade coronary artery flow in the setting of a chronic total occlusion (CTO), clinical recognition of myocardial infarction is often challenging. Using cardiac ...MRI, we investigated the frequency and extent of myocardial infarction in patients with CTO, and assessed their relationship with regional systolic function and the extent of angiographic collateral flow.
We included 170 consecutive patients (median age, 62 years) with angiographically documented CTO. Regional late gadolinium enhancement and wall motion score index were assessed by cardiac MRI with the use of a 17-segment model. Angiographic collateral flow was assessed by the collateral connection grade and the Rentrop score. Evidence of previous myocardial infarction was found in 25% of patients by ECG Q waves, in 69% by regional wall motion abnormality, and in 86% of patients by late gadolinium enhancement. Increased angiographic collateral flow was associated with a lower frequency of Q waves on ECG, and a lower regional wall motion score index, late gadolinium enhancement volume (%), and degree of late gadolinium enhancement transmurality (all P<0.001), as well.
The frequency of myocardial infarction in territories subtended by CTO is significantly higher than previously recognized. The degree of myocardial injury downstream epicardial CTO is inversely correlated with the degree of angiographic collaterals.
The technique of tissue tracking with balanced steady-state free precession cine sequences was introduced, and allowed myocardial strain to be derived directly, offering advantages over traditional ...myocardial tagging. The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between reverse remodeling as an outcome and left ventricular strain using cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) tissue tracking, and to evaluate prediction of reverse remodeling by myocardial deformation in patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS).
We enrolled 63 patients with severe AS and normal left ventricular (LV) systolic function (ejection fraction > 60%), who underwent both CMR and transthoracic echocardiography (Echo) before surgical aortic valve replacement (AVR). CMR at 1.5 T, including non and post-contrast T1 mapping for extracellular volume (ECV), was carried out to define the amount of myocardial fibrosis. Cardiac Performance Analysis software was used to derive myocardial deformation as strain parameters from three short-axis cine views (basal, mid and apical levels) and apical 2, 3, and 4 chamber views. The primary outcome was reverse remodeling, as evaluated by regression of left ventricular mass index (LVMI).
Median follow-up was 28.8 months (interquartile range 11.3-38.3 months). As evaluated by LVMI between baseline and follow-up, mass regression was significantly improved after AVR (baseline 145.9 ± 37.0 g/m
vs. follow-up 97.7 ± 22.2g/m
, p < 0.001). Statistically significant Pearson's correlations with LVMI regression were observed for longitudinal global strain (r = -0.461, p < 0.001), radial strain (r = 0.391, p = 0.002), and circumferential strain (r = -0.334, p = 0.009). A simple linear regression analysis showed that all strain parameters could predict the amount of LVMI regression (P < 0.05), as well as non-contrast T1 value (beta = -0.314, p < 0.001) and ECV (beta = -2.546, p = 0.038). However, ECV had the lowest predictive power (multiple r
= 0.071). Multiple regression analysis showed strain could independently predict the amount of LVMI regression and the longitudinal global strain (beta = -3.335, p < 0.001).
Longitudinal global strain measured by CMR tissue tracking as a technique was correlated with reverse remodeling as LVMI regression and was predictive of this outcome. As a simple and practical method, tissue tracking is promising to assess strain and predict reverse remodeling in severe AS, especially in patients with suboptimal Echo image quality.