Women with chronic coronary disease are generally older than men and have more comorbidities but less atherosclerosis. We explored sex differences in revascularization, guideline-directed medical ...therapy, and outcomes among patients with chronic coronary disease with ischemia on stress testing, with and without invasive management.
The ISCHEMIA (International Study of Comparative Health Effectiveness with Medical and Invasive Approaches) trial randomized patients with moderate or severe ischemia to invasive management with angiography, revascularization, and guideline-directed medical therapy, or initial conservative management with guideline-directed medical therapy alone. We evaluated the primary outcome (cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or hospitalization for unstable angina, heart failure, or resuscitated cardiac arrest) and other end points, by sex, in 1168 (22.6%) women and 4011 (77.4%) men. Invasive group catheterization rates were similar, with less revascularization among women (73.4% of invasive-assigned women revascularized versus 81.2% of invasive-assigned men;
<0.001). Women had less coronary artery disease: multivessel in 60.0% of invasive-assigned women and 74.8% of invasive-assigned men, and no ≥50% stenosis in 12.3% versus 4.5% (
<0.001). In the conservative group, 4-year catheterization rates were 26.3% of women versus 25.6% of men (
=0.72). Guideline-directed medical therapy use was lower among women with fewer risk factor goals attained. There were no sex differences in the primary outcome (adjusted hazard ratio HR for women versus men, 0.93 95% CI, 0.77-1.13;
=0.47) or the major secondary outcome of cardiovascular death/myocardial infarction (adjusted HR, 0.93 95% CI, 0.76-1.14;
=0.49), with no significant sex-by-treatment-group interactions.
Women had less extensive coronary artery disease and, therefore, lower revascularization rates in the invasive group. Despite lower risk factor goal attainment, women with chronic coronary disease experienced similar risk-adjusted outcomes to men in the ISCHEMIA trial.
URL: http://wwwclinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01471522.
Hereditary transthyretin-mediated (hATTR) amyloidosis is a rapidly progressive, multisystem disease that presents with cardiomyopathy or polyneuropathy. The APOLLO study assessed the efficacy and ...tolerability of patisiran in patients with hATTR amyloidosis. The effects of patisiran on cardiac structure and function in a prespecified subpopulation of patients with evidence of cardiac amyloid involvement at baseline were assessed.
APOLLO was an international, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial in patients with hATTR amyloidosis. Patients were randomized 2:1 to receive 0.3 mg/kg patisiran or placebo via intravenous infusion once every 3 weeks for 18 months. The prespecified cardiac subpopulation comprised patients with a baseline left ventricular wall thickness ≥13 mm and no history of hypertension or aortic valve disease. Prespecified exploratory cardiac end points included mean left ventricular wall thickness, global longitudinal strain, and N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide. Cardiac parameters in the overall APOLLO patient population were also evaluated. A composite end point of cardiac hospitalizations and all-cause mortality was assessed in a post hoc analysis.
In the cardiac subpopulation (n=126; 56% of total population), patisiran reduced mean left ventricular wall thickness (least-squares mean difference ± SEM: -0.9±0.4 mm, P=0.017), interventricular septal wall thickness, posterior wall thickness, and relative wall thickness at month 18 compared with placebo. Patisiran also led to increased end-diastolic volume (8.3±3.9 mL, P=0.036), decreased global longitudinal strain (-1.4±0.6%, P=0.015), and increased cardiac output (0.38±0.19 L/min, P=0.044) compared with placebo at month 18. Patisiran lowered N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide at 9 and 18 months (at 18 months, ratio of fold-change patisiran/placebo 0.45, P<0.001). A consistent effect on N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide at 18 months was observed in the overall APOLLO patient population (n=225). Median follow-up duration was 18.7 months. The exposure-adjusted rates of cardiac hospitalizations and all-cause death were 18.7 and 10.1 per 100 patient-years in the placebo and patisiran groups, respectively (Andersen-Gill hazard ratio, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.28-1.01).
Patisiran decreased mean left ventricular wall thickness, global longitudinal strain, N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide, and adverse cardiac outcomes compared with placebo at month 18, suggesting that patisiran may halt or reverse the progression of the cardiac manifestations of hATTR amyloidosis.
URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier: NCT01960348.
Robotically assisted surgery enables coronary surgery to be performed totally or partially endoscopically. Using the Da Vinci robotic technology allows minimally invasive treatments. We report on our ...experience with coronary artery surgery in our department: patients requiring single or double vessel surgical revascularization were eligible. The procedure was performed without cardiopulmonary bypass on a beating heart. From April 2004 to May 2008, 55 consecutive patients were enrolled in the study, and were operated on by a single surgical team. Operative outcomes included operative time, estimated blood loss, transfusions, ventilation time, intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital length of stay. Average operative time was 270 ± 101 min with an estimated blood loss of 509 ± 328 ml, a postoperative ventilation time of 6 ± 12 h, ICU stay of 52 ± 23 h, and a hospital stay of 7 ± 3 days. Nine patients (16%) were converted to open techniques, and transfusion was required in four patients (7%). Follow-up was complete for all patients up to 1 year. There was one hospital death (1.7%) and two deaths at follow-up. Coronary anastomosis was controlled in 48 patients by either angiogram or computed tomography scan, revealing occlusion or anastomotic stenoses (>50%) in six patients. Overall permeability was 92%. Major adverse events occurred in 12 patients (21%). One-year survival was 96%. Our initial experience with robotically assisted coronary surgery is promising: it avoids sternotomy and with a methodical approach we were able to implement the procedure safely and effectively in our practice, combining minimal mortality with excellent survival.
The accuracy of Fourier analysis of radionuclide angiography for the diagnosis of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy was assessed versus X-ray right ventricular angiography.
In patients ...with recurrent right ventricular tachycardia, the diagnosis of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy is based on the presence of right ventricular wall motion abnormalities on conventional X-ray angiography without evidence of other heart disease.
X-ray and radionuclide angiography were prospectively compared in 73 patients with ventricular tachycardia. We analyzed the presence of a right ventricular enlargement, global hypokinesia and segmental wall motion abnormalities, using visual analysis for both techniques and Fourier analysis for radionuclide angiography. Disease was noted as absent or present and as diffuse or localized. The interobserver reproducibility of both techniques for the diagnosis of right ventricular wall motion abnormalities was tested in 27 randomly selected patients.
According to X-ray angiography, 53 patients were considered to have arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (22 diffuse, 31 localized forms) and 20 patients a normal right ventricle. The sensitivity of radionuclide angiography was 94.3%, specificity 90% and positive and negative predictive values 96% and 85.7%, respectively. Agreement for the location of the wall motion abnormalities was 60% for the apex, 76% for the outflow tract, 82% for the inferior wall and 74% for the free wall. The diagnostic interobserver reproducibility of X-ray and radionuclide angiography was 74% and 96.2%, respectively.
In a selected cohort, Fourier analysis of radionuclide angiography is an accurate and reproducible tool for the diagnosis of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy.
Complete atrioventricular block (AVB) following radiotherapy has been reported rarely, usually after high dose mediastinal irradiation for Hodgkin's disease or lung or breast carcinoma. We report six ...new cases of episodic complete infranodal AVB, requiring permanent pacemaker implantation. The mean age was 48-years old (ranging from 25-60) at the first Adams Stokes attack, mean delay was 12 years after irradiation (10-18), and mean radiation dose was 5,200 rads (4,000-6,500). All patients had abnormal interval electrocardiograms (right bundle branch block in two, left bundle branch block in three, alternating left and right bundle branch block in one). Electrocardiograms during the episode of AVB or Holter recordings were consistent with infranodal block in all patients; electrophysiological study performed in five patients confirmed infranodal AVB in four, and one was normal. Pericardial disease was constant, which included pericardial constriction in four patients. Two patients died after failure of pericardiectomy to improve congestive heart failure, due to epicardial, myocardial, and endocardial involvement. Noncardiac mediastinal lesions were present in four cases. Since this delayed complication may occur in patients of such age that the relation between the AVB and the chest irradiation is questionable, we propose the following etiologic criteria; high radiation dose (over 4,000 rads); delay of 10 years or more; abnormal interval tracings; pericardial involvement; and associated cardiac or mediastinal radiation-induced lesions.
Hereditary amyloidogenic transthyretin (ATTRv) amyloidosis with polyneuropathy (also known as familial amyloid polyneuropathy) is a condition with adult onset caused by mutation of transthyretin ...(TTR) and characterized by extracellular deposition of amyloid and destruction of the somatic and autonomic PNS, leading to loss of autonomy and death. This disease represents a model of the scientific and medical progress of the past 30 years. ATTRv amyloidosis is a worldwide disease with broad genetic and phenotypic heterogeneity that presents a diagnostic challenge for neurologists. The pathophysiology of the neuropathy is increasingly understood and includes instability and proteolysis of mutant TTR leading to deposition of amyloid with variable lengths of fibrils, microangiopathy and involvement of Schwann cells. Wild-type TTR is amyloidogenic in older individuals. The main symptoms are neuropathic, but the disease is systemic; neurologists should be aware of cardiac, eye and kidney involvement that justify a multidisciplinary approach to management. Infiltrative cardiomyopathy is usually latent but present in half of patients. Disease-modifying therapeutics that have been developed include liver transplantation and TTR stabilizers, both of which can slow progression of the disease and increase survival in the early stages. Most recently, gene-silencing drugs have been used to control disease in the more advanced stages and produce some degree of improvement.
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