Journal of cardiology
-
Journal of cardiology · Apr 2019
Comparative StudyPulmonary vein isolation in patients with a left common pulmonary vein: Comparison between second-generation cryoballoon and radiofrequency ablation.
Adaptability of cryoballoons to anatomic pulmonary vein (PV) variations is limited due to the fixed geometrical shape, and use for left common PVs (LCPVs) is controversial. We compared the procedural and clinical outcomes in patients with LCPVs after cryoballoon and radiofrequency ablation, and explored the morphological parameters associated with procedural difficulty in LCPV isolations using cryoballoons. ⋯ Cryoballoon ablation was similarly as effective as radiofrequency ablation in patients with LCPVs, and morphological evaluations aided in predicting procedural difficulty in LCPV isolations.
-
Journal of cardiology · Mar 2019
ReviewPregnancy outcomes and mid-term prognosis in women after arterial switch operation for dextro-transposition of the great arteries - Tertiary hospital experiences and review of literature.
Arterial switch operation (ASO) for dextro-transposition of the great arteries (d-TGA) has gradually replaced the atrial switch operation and has become the standard operation. To date, the outcomes of pregnant women with d-TGA after this new operation have not been investigated. In this study, we investigated the impact of ASO on pregnant outcomes and mid-term prognosis in women with d-TGA and compared with the atrial switch operation through the literature review. ⋯ The majority of women with d-TGA after ASO tolerated pregnancy and delivery well. The older age at ASO, an elderly pregnancy, and higher BNP levels at the first trimester were possibly risk factors of peripartum cardiovascular events among the group. The literature reviews and this study may indicate the advantage of systemic left ventricle compared with systemic right ventricle in long-term outcomes after delivery.
-
Journal of cardiology · Mar 2019
Field termination-of-resuscitation rule for refractory out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in Japan.
Guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) recommend using the universal termination-of-resuscitation (TOR) rule to identify out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients eligible for field termination of resuscitation, thus avoiding medically futile transportation to the hospital. However, in Japan, emergency medical services (EMS) personnel are forbidden from terminating CPR in the field and transport almost all patients with OHCA to hospitals. We aimed to develop and validate a novel TOR rule to identify patients eligible for field termination of CPR. ⋯ Having both high specificity and PPV of >99% for predicting 1-month mortality, our developed TOR rule may be applied in the field for Japanese patients with OHCA who meet all five criteria. Prospective validation studies and establishment of prehospital EMS protocol are required before implementing this rule.
-
Journal of cardiology · Jan 2019
ReviewTriple therapy: A review of antithrombotic treatment for patients with atrial fibrillation undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention.
In patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), concomitant coronary artery disease is often present, and vice versa. Optimal antithrombotic treatment for patients with AF undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is one of the major concerns in the field of cardiology. Triple therapy, a combination of oral anticoagulant (OAC) plus dual antiplatelet therapy with aspirin and P2Y12 inhibitor, has been used for patients with AF undergoing PCI in recent decades to reduce ischemic events under guideline recommendations. ⋯ Although these recommendations are useful and appear to be reasonable, no studies have validated this. In addition, there are a number of unresolved issues regarding the antithrombotic treatment for patients with AF undergoing PCI such as risk prediction models and the best combination of OAC with antiplatelet agents, and prospective trials are ongoing. This review article will summarize current evidence and focus on the optimal regimen of antithrombotic treatment for patients with AF undergoing PCI.