The American journal of cardiology
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Comparative Study
Determining the risks of magnetic resonance imaging at 1.5 tesla for patients with pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators.
Conventional pacemaker and implantable cardioverter-defibrillator product labeling currently cautions against exposure to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, there is a growing clinical need for MRI, without an acceptable alternative imaging modality in many patients with cardiac devices. The purpose of this study was to determine the risk of MRI at 1.5 T for patients with cardiac devices by measuring the frequency of device failures and clinically relevant device parameter changes. ⋯ In conclusion, MRI in patients with cardiac devices resulted in no device or lead failures. A small number of clinically relevant changes in device parameter measurements were noted. However, these changes were similar to those in a control group of patients who did not undergo MRI.
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Limited data have suggested that an "obesity paradox" exists for mortality and cardiovascular outcomes in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting. Much less is known about the role of the preoperative body mass index (BMI) in patients undergoing valve surgery. We evaluated 2,640 consecutive patients who underwent valve surgery between April 2004 and March 2011. ⋯ Similar patterns of mortality outcomes were noted in the subset of patients undergoing isolated valve surgery. In conclusion, overweight and obese patients had greater survival after valve surgery than patients with a normal BMI. Very lean patients undergoing valve surgery are at a greater hazard for mortality and might require more rigorous preoperative candidate screening and closer postoperative monitoring.
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Comparative Study
Impact of long-term statin therapy on postprocedural myocardial infarction in patients undergoing nonemergency percutaneous coronary intervention.
Periprocedural statin therapy has been shown to decrease the rate of myocardial infarctions (MIs) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). However, the impact of long-term statin therapy on postprocedure MI remains unknown. We examined the impact of long-term statin therapy on cardiac enzyme (cardiac troponin I [cTnI] and creatine kinase-MB [CK-MB]) increases after PCI in patients undergoing nonemergency PCI. ⋯ The greatest benefit in decrease of MIs after PCI was seen in patients with unstable angina receiving long-term high-dose statin therapy. In conclusion, long-term statin therapy did not decrease the incidence of periprocedural MI in patients with stable coronary artery disease undergoing nonemergency PCI. In patients with unstable coronary syndromes, long-term statin therapy may be beneficial, particularly at a high dose.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Safety and efficacy of transition from systemic prostanoids to inhaled treprostinil in pulmonary arterial hypertension.
Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a disease characterized by increased pulmonary pressures and chronic right heart failure. Therapies for moderate and severe PAH include subcutaneous (SQ) and intravenous (IV) prostanoids that improve symptoms and quality of life. However, treatment compliance can be limited by severe side effects and complications related to methods of drug administration. ⋯ Before transition 15 patients had been receiving IV or SQ treprostinil (mean dose 73 ng/kg/min) and 3 patients had been on IV epoprostenol (mean dose 10 ng/kg/min) for an average duration of 113 ± 80 months. Although most patients who transitioned to inhaled treprostinil demonstrated no statistically significant worsening of hemodynamics or 6-minute walk distance, a minority demonstrated worsening of New York Heart Association functional class over a 7-month period. In conclusion, although transition of patients from IV/SQ prostanoids to inhaled treprostinil appears to be well tolerated in clinically stable patients, they should remain closely monitored for signs of clinical decompensation.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Comparative one-year effectiveness of percutaneous coronary intervention versus coronary artery bypass grafting in patients <75 versus ≥75 years with unprotected left main disease (from the CUSTOMIZE Registry).
There is a lack of knowledge on the interaction between age and left main coronary artery revascularization. The aim of this study was to investigate the comparative effectiveness of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with drug-eluting stents and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in patients with left main coronary artery disease aged <75 versus ≥75 years. Of a total of 894 patients included, 692 (77.4%) were aged <75 years and 202 (23.6%) ≥75 years. ⋯ Target lesion revascularization occurred more frequently in patients aged <75 years treated with PCI compared to CABG (AHR 5.1, 95% confidence interval 1.9 to 13.6, p = 0.001) but not in those aged ≥75 years. A significant interaction between age and treatment with regard to major adverse cardiac events was identified (adjusted p for interaction = 0.034). In conclusion, compared to younger patients, elderly patients with left main disease are likely to derive the maximal gain from a less invasive procedure such as PCI.