The American journal of cardiology
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Coronary chronic total occlusion (CTO) carries a poor outcome in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We sought to investigate the prognostic impact of a staged successful CTO-PCI in patients with AMI treated with primary PCI. Outcome analysis included consecutive patients treated by successful primary PCI with coexisting non-infarct-related artery CTO who survived after 1 week from AMI. ⋯ The 1-year cardiac mortality rate was 1.7% in the successful CTO-PCI group and 12% in nonattempted or failed CTO-PCI group (p = 0.025). Successful CTO-PCI was an independent predictor of 3-year cardiac survival (hazard ratio 0.20, 95% confidence interval 0.05 to 0.92, p = 0.038). In conclusion, successful CTO-PCI in survivors after primary PCI is associated with improved long-term cardiac survival.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Prognostic value of angiographic lesion complexity in patients with acute coronary syndromes undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (from the acute catheterization and urgent intervention triage strategy trial).
Although lesion complexity is predictive of outcomes after balloon angioplasty, it is unclear whether complex lesions continue to portend a worse prognosis in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with contemporary interventional therapies. We sought to assess the impact of angiographic lesion complexity, defined by the modified American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association classification, on clinical outcomes after PCI in patients with ACS and to determine whether an interaction exists between lesion complexity and antithrombin regimen outcomes after PCI. Among the 3,661 patients who underwent PCI in the Acute Catheterization and Urgent Intervention Triage strategy study, patients with type C lesions (n = 1,654 [45%]) had higher 30-day rates of mortality (1.2% vs 0.6%, p = 0.049), myocardial infarction (9.2% vs 6.3%, p = 0.0006), and unplanned revascularization (4.3% vs 3.1%, p = 0.04) compared with those without type C lesions. ⋯ There were no interactions between antithrombotic regimens and lesion complexity in terms of composite ischemia and major bleeding (p [interaction] = 0.91 and 0.80, respectively). In conclusion, patients with ACS with type C lesion characteristics undergoing PCI have an adverse short-term prognosis. Treatment with bivalirudin monotherapy reduces major hemorrhagic complications irrespective of lesion complexity with comparable suppression of adverse ischemic events as heparin plus glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor.
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Sudden cardiac death in the young (SCDY) is the leading cause of death in young athletes during sport. Screening young athletes for high-risk cardiac defects is controversial. The purpose of this study was to assess the utility and feasibility of a comprehensive cardiac screening protocol in an adolescent population. ⋯ In conclusion, physical examination alone was ineffective in identification of subjects at elevated risk for SCDY. Screening ECHO identified patients with underlying cardiac disease not associated with immediate risk for SCDY. Cost of comprehensive cardiac screening is high.
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Comparative Study
Impact on in-hospital outcomes with drug-eluting stents versus bare-metal stents (from 665,804 procedures).
Contemporary large-scale data, regarding in-hospital outcomes depending on the types of stent used for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is lacking. We queried the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project's Nationwide Inpatient Sample from 2006 to 2011 using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification procedure code 36.06 (bare-metal coronary artery stent, BMS) or 36.07 (drug-eluting coronary artery stent, DES) for PCI. All analyses were performed using the designated weighting specified to the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database to minimize bias. ⋯ The results continued to be similar in the following high-risk subgroups: diabetes (0.57 [0.50 to 0.64, <0.001]), acute myocardial infarction and/or shock (0.53 [0.49 to 0.57, <0.001]), age >80 (0.66 [0.58 to 0.74, <0.001]), and multivessel PCI (0.55 [0.46 to 0.66, <0.001]). In conclusion, DES use was associated with lesser in-hospital mortality compared with BMS. This outcome benefit was seen across subgroups in various subgroups including elderly, diabetics, and acute myocardial infarction as well as multivessel interventions.
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The aims of this study were to investigate the clinical outcomes of patients with low-gradient aortic stenosis despite preserved left ventricular ejection fraction and to assess reliable prognostic clinical-instrumental features in patients experiencing or not experiencing aortic valve replacement (AVR). Clinical-laboratory and echocardiographic data from 167 patients (median age 78 years, interquartile range 69 to 83) with aortic valve areas <1.0 cm(2), mean gradients ≤30 mm Hg, and preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (≥55%), enrolled from 2005 to 2010, were analyzed. During a mean follow-up period of 44 ± 23 months, 33% of patients died. ⋯ Age >70 years showed a trend toward being a prognostic predictor (p = 0.082). In conclusion, in patients with low-gradient aortic stenosis despite a preserved left ventricular ejection fraction, AVR was strongly correlated with a better prognosis. Patients with atrial fibrillation associated with advanced New York Heart Association class had the worst prognosis if treated medically but at the same time a relative better benefit from surgical intervention.