The American journal of cardiology
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Comparative Study
Characteristics and predictors of obstructive sleep apnea in patients with systemic hypertension.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a secondary cause of hypertension and independently associated with target-organ damage in hypertensive patients. However, OSA remains largely underdiagnosed and undertreated. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the characteristics and clinical predictors of OSA in a consecutive series of patients followed up in a hypertension unit. ⋯ Metabolic syndrome was associated with high sensitivity and specificity for OSA (0.86 and 0.85, respectively). Multiple regression analysis showed that age of 40 to 70 years (odds ratio 1.09, 95% confidence interval 1.03 to 1.16), a high risk of OSA on the Berlin Questionnaire (odds ratio 8.36, 95% confidence interval 1.67 to 41.85), and metabolic syndrome (odds ratio 19.04, 95% confidence interval 5.25 to 69.03) were independent variables associated with OSA. In conclusion, more important than the typical clinical features that characterize OSA, including snoring and excessive daytime sleepiness, the presence of the metabolic syndrome is as an important marker of OSA among patients with hypertension.
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Data on the ability of serum biomarkers to predict microvascular obstruction by ST-segment recovery after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is largely absent. Therefore, we determined the association between 5 serum biomarkers, obtained before emergency coronary angiography, and immediate ST-segment recovery in patients who had undergone primary PCI for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. We measured N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-pro-BNP), cardiac troponin T, creatinine kinase-MB fraction, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and serum creatinine from blood samples obtained through the arterial sheath at the start of primary PCI. ⋯ An elevated NT-pro-BNP level was more strongly predictive in patients without a history of coronary artery disease or hypertension (adjusted odds ratio 4.7, 95% confidence interval 2.4 to 9.2; p <0.001). NT-pro-BNP was the best contributor to both net reclassification (0.43; p <0.001) and integrated discrimination improvement (0.04; p <0.001) when added to a multivariate model with clinical predictors of incomplete ST-segment recovery. In conclusion, NT-pro-BNP was the strongest independent predictor of ST-segment recovery at the end of primary PCI for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction compared to the other serum biomarkers reflecting myocardial cell damage, renal function, and inflammation.
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Comparative Study
Long-term outcomes for cryoablation of pediatric patients with atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia.
The long-term efficacy and complications of cryoablation for pediatric atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT) have not been completely defined. We performed a retrospective review of pediatric patients diagnosed with AVNRT and treated with cryoablation therapy. A total of 73 patients underwent cryoablation for AVNRT from 2003 to 2008. ⋯ Procedural complications consisting of transient atrioventricular block developed in 10 patients, and 2 patients were diagnosed with new arrhythmias after AVNRT ablation (1 with junctional ectopic tachycardia and 1 with left ventricular outflow tract tachycardia originating near the region of the atrioventricular node 3 months after ablation). In conclusion, cryoablation is a safe and effective therapy for AVNRT. Recurrences can develop late, up to 2 years after initially successful ablation.
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Comparative Study
Value of color Doppler three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography in the percutaneous closure of mitral prosthesis paravalvular leak.
We investigated the clinical value of three-dimensional (3D) transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) color flow Doppler (TEE-CFD) for percutaneous transcatheter closure of mitral valve prosthesis paravalvular leaks (PVLs) compared to two-dimensional (2D) TEE. The number, location, and size of the mitral valve prosthesis PVLs were determined in 8 patients using 2D and 3D TEE-CFD. We also evaluated 2D and 3D TEE-CFD for identifying the canalization of the target PVL during the intervention and assessing the change in the PVL effective orifice after the endovascular procedure. ⋯ However, only 3D TEE-CFD verified the reduction of the effective orifice circumferential length of the PVL by 10.5 +/- 5.6 mm. In conclusion, 3D TEE-CFD provided unique and additive information in patients with mitral valve prosthesis PVLs. This new technology has the potential to improve the procedural success of percutaneous transcatheter closure of PVLs.
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Primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and intra-aortic balloon pump counterpulsation (IABP) are established treatment modalities in acute myocardial infarction complicated by cardiogenic shock. We hypothesized that the insertion of the IABP before primary PCI might result in better survival of patients with cardiogenic shock compared to postponing the insertion to after primary PCI. We, therefore, retrospectively studied 48 patients who had undergone primary PCI with IABP because of cardiogenic shock complicating acute myocardial infarction (26 patients received the IABP before and 22 patients after primary PCI). ⋯ In-hospital mortality and the overall incidence of major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events were significantly lower in the group of patients receiving the IABP before primary PCI (19% vs 59% and 23% vs 77%, p = 0.007 and p = 0.0004, respectively). Multivariate analysis identified renal failure (odds ratio 15.2, 95% confidence interval 3.13 to 73.66) and insertion of the IABP after PCI (odds ratio 5.2, 95% confidence interval 1.09 to 24.76) as the only independent predictors of in-hospital mortality. In conclusion, the results of the present study suggest that patients with cardiogenic shock complicating acute myocardial infarction who undergo primary PCI assisted by IABP have a more favorable in-hospital outcome and lower in-hospital mortality than patients who receive IABP after PCI.