2020 Vol. 17, No. 8
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2020, 17(8): 449-454.
doi: 10.11909/j.issn.1671-5411.2020.08.001
Abstract:
Background As treatment of coronary artery disease improved over the last years, management of elder patients remained a matter of debate since this age group has been underrepresented in most trials. The study aimed to evaluate a population of patients with ≥ 85 years old with non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) and compare the prognosis according to coronary revascularization execution. Methods We retrospectively studied 324 patients included in a national multicenter registry between October 2010 and October 2018, who underwent coronary angiography and had at least one stenosis ≥ 50%. Results In this population, 73.1% of the patients underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and 26.9% of the patients underwent optimized medical treatment (OMT). The OMT group had more past history of diabetes, stroke and dementia. On coronary angiography, the PCI group used more often the femoral artery access and single-vessel lesions were also more common. Three-vessel disease was more common in the OMT group. During hospitalization, there were more major bleeding events and death in the PCI group. During the one-year follow-up, there were no significant differences in all-cause mortality rate. Conclusions Very old patients with NSTEMI submitted to OMT had more comorbidities and more three-vessel disease, factors that could have influenced the therapeutic decision. Patients undergoing PCI had more in-hospital major bleeding events and mortality, with no significant differences after one year.
2020, 17(8): 455-475.
doi: 10.11909/j.issn.1671-5411.2020.08.003
Abstract:
Background Prognostic significance of prosthesis-patient mismatch (PPM) after mitral valve replacement (MVR) remains uncertain because of the limited studies reporting inconsistent or even contrary results. This meta-analysis pooled results of all available studies comparing early and late prognoses between patients with significant mitral PPM and those without. Methods Studies were identified by searching Pubmed, Excerpta Medica Database, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and ClinicalTrials.gov. Impact of PPM on postoperative hemodynamic results, thirty-day mortality, overall mortality, mortality of thirty-day survivors, and primary morbidity after MVR was evaluated via meta-analysis. Robustness of pooled estimates, source of heterogeneity, and publication bias were assessed via sensitivity analyses, meta-regression as well as subgroup analysis stratified according to methodological or clinical heterogeneity, or sequential omission method, and funnel plot or Begg's and Egger's tests, respectively. Results Nineteen cohort studies involving 9302 individuals (PPM group: n = 5109, Control group: n = 4193) were included for meta-analysis. Total PPM and severe PPM prevalence were 3.8%–85.9% and 1%–27%, with a mean value of 54.9% and 14.1%, respectively. As compared with control group, mitral PPM group demonstrated a poorer postoperative hemodynamic status of higher mean and peak residual transprosthetic pressure gradients (TPG), higher postoperative systolic pulmonary artery pressure (SPAP) and less reduction, higher postoperative pulmonary hypertension (PH) prevalence and less PH regression, smaller net atrioventricular compliance, less NYHA class decrease, higher postoperative functional tricuspid regurgitation prevalence and less regression. The PPM group also revealed a higher thirty-day mortality, long-term overall mortality, mortality of thirty-day survivors, and postoperative congestive heart failure prevalence, which were positively correlated with the severity of PPM if it was classified into tri-level subgroups. Left ventricular end-diastolic diameter, postoperative atrial fibrillation (AF) prevalence, and the AF regression were analogous between groups. Most pooled estimates were robust according to sensitivity analyses. Male patients and bioprosthesis implantation proportion were prominent source of between-study heterogeneity on thirty-day mortality. Publication bias was not significant in tests for all the outcomes, except for SPAP and TPG. Conclusions Mitral PPM would result in poorer postoperative hemodynamics and worse early and late prognosis. Severe PPM must be avoided since deleterious impact of mitral PPM was severity dependent.
2020, 17(8): 476-485.
doi: 10.11909/j.issn.1671-5411.2020.08.011
Abstract:
Background Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a generally acknowledged turning-point of the natural history of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM); however, data from the cryoballoon ablation (CBA) for AF in HCM patients are relatively scarce. The study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of CBA in HCM patients with AF. Methods We retrospectively analyzed HCM patients among 1253 patients with symptomatic AF who underwent CBA for pulmonary vein isolation in a single center. The study analyzed the AF recurrence and assessed the CBA indexes, including nadir temperature, time-to-isolation, CBA failure, pulmonary vein potentials (PVPs), and redo procedure. Results A total of 108 patients were included (mean age: 59.0 ± 6.9 years), 27 patients (25%) had HCM, with the median follow-up duration of 25.5 months. The one-year AF-free rates were 79.0% vs. 63.0% (non-HCM vs. HCM), while the two-year AF-free rates were 77.8% vs. 55.1% [hazard ratio (HR) = 2.758, log-rank P = 0.024]. Patients with persistent AF had poor AF-free rates compared to those with paroxysmal AF (P < 0.001). The CBA failure was the most common in the right inferior pulmonary veins, which had the lowest PVPs. Multivariate Cox regression analysis indicated that HCM and persistent AF were risk factors for AF recurrence (HR = 2.74, 95% CI: 1.29–5.79, P = 0.008; and HR = 3.97, 95% CI: 1.85–8.54, P < 0.001, respectively). Conclusions The CBA can be effectively and safely used to treat HCM patients with symptomatic AF. The freedom from AF for HCM patients after CBA is relatively low compared to that for non-HCM patients.
2020, 17(8): 486-494.
doi: 10.11909/j.issn.1671-5411.2020.08.006
Abstract:
Background Information on the relationship between red blood cell distribution width (RDW) and atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with essential hypertension are scarce. The study aimed to assess the relationship between AF and RDW in hypertensive patients. Methods We enrolled 432 hypertensive patients, including 350 AF patients and 82 patients as controls. Patients' demographic, clinical, laboratory and echocardiographic characteristics were recorded. The AF patients were further divided into the persistent and paroxysmal AF subgroups. Electrocardiograms were monitored to identify the cardiac rhythm during blood sampling, and based on the rhythm, the paroxysmal AF group was categorized into the presence (with AF rhythm during blood sampling) and absence (with sinus rhythm during blood sampling) groups. Results The AF group had elevated RDW levels than the controls (12.7% ± 0.8% vs. 12.4% ± 0.7%, P = 0.002), and the persistent AF subgroup had higher RDW levels than the paroxysmal AF subgroup (12.9% ± 0.8% vs. 12.6% ± 0.8%, P = 0.007). Furthermore, in the paroxysmal AF group, the presence group had higher RDW levels than the absence group (13.0% ± 0.6% vs. 12.5% ± 0.9%, P = 0.001). There was no significant difference in RDW levels between the persistent AF subgroup and presence group of the paroxysmal AF subgroup (P = 0.533) and between the absence group of the paroxysmal AF subgroup and control group (P = 0.262). In multivariate regression analysis, in hypertensive patients, the presence of AF rhythm is an independent predictor for increased RDW concentration (P = 0.001). Conclusions The RDW may be associated with the presence of AF rhythm, which implies the importance of maintaining the sinus rhythm in hypertensive patients.
2020, 17(8): 495-501.
doi: 10.11909/j.issn.1671-5411.2020.08.008
Abstract:
Objective To estimate the prevalence of unknown atrial fibrillation (AF) in the elderly population of the Veneto Region, Italy. Methods 1820 patients aged ≥ 65 years with no history of AF and not anticoagulated were enrolled in primary-care settings. They underwent an opportunistic electrocardiogram screening with a handheld device (MyDiagnostick) designed to specifically detect AF. The electrocardiogram recordings were reviewed by the researchers, who confirmed the presence of AF. Results The device detected an arrhythmia in 143 patients, which was confirmed as AF in 101/143 (70.6%), with an overall prevalence of AF of 5.5% (101/1820). Prevalence of unknown AF resulted in 3.6% in patients aged 65–74 years, and 7.5% in patients age 75 or older, and increased according to CHA2DS2-VASc score: 3.5% in patients with a score of 1 or 2, 5.6% in patients with a score of 3, 7.0% in patients with a score of 4, and 7.2% in patients with a score ≥ 5. The detection rate was significantly higher in patients with mild symptoms compared to asymptomatic counterparts (24.1% vs. 4.0%, P < 0.0001). At multivariate analysis, congestive heart failure and age ≥ 75 years-old were independent predictors for screen-detected AF. Conclusions An opportunistic screening with handheld device revealed an unexpectedly high prevalence of unknown AF in elderly patients with mild symptoms. Prevalence increased with age and CHA2DS2-VASc score.
2020, 17(8): 502-509.
doi: 10.11909/j.issn.1671-5411.2020.08.004
Abstract:
Background Though engaging patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) in understanding their stroke risk is encouraged by guidelines, little is known regarding AF patients' perceived stroke risk or its relationship with oral anticoagulation (OAC) use. We aim to identify factors associated with underestimation of stroke risk among older patients with AF and relate this to OAC use. Methods Data are from the ongoing SAGE (Systematic Assessment of Geriatric Elements)-AF study, which included older patients (> 65 years) with non-valvular AF and a CHA2DS2-VASc score of ≥ 2. Participants reported their perceived risk of having a stroke without OAC. We compared the perceived risk to CHA2DS2-VASc predicted stroke risk and classified participants as "over" or "under" estimators, and identified factors associated with underestimation of risk using multiple logistic regression. Results The average CHA2DS2-VASc score of 915 participants (average age: 75 years, 47% female, 86% white) was 4.3 ± 1.6, 43% of participants had discordant predicted and self-reported stroke risks. Among the 376 participants at highest risk (CHA2DS2-VASc score ≥ 5), 46% of participants underestimated their risk. Older participants (≥ 85 years) were more likely and OAC treated patients less likely to underestimate their risk of developing a future stroke than respective comparison groups. Conclusions A significant proportion of study participants misperceived their stroke risk, mostly by overestimating. Almost half of participants at high risk of stroke underestimated their risk, with older patients more likely to do so. Patients on OAC were less likely to underestimate their risk, suggesting that successful efforts to educate patients about their stroke risk may influence treatment choices.
2020, 17(8): 510-518.
doi: 10.11909/j.issn.1671-5411.2020.08.005
Abstract:
Intermediate- and high-risk pulmonary embolism (PE) is a life-threatening medical emergency with high morbidity and mortality. Many of the treatment options for PE involve clinicians from multiple disciplines. Pulmonary Embolism Response Teams (PERTs) have been developed to coordinate the multidisciplinary team of clinicians to streamline the decision making process and develop individualised treatment plans in a timely fashion. The first PERT was established in 2012 and subsequently multiple centres worldwide have introduced this model for the management of intermediate- and high-risk PE. In this review, we evaluate the organisational structure and algorithms of different PERT services and compare data from pre- and post-PERT services to determine the impact of PERT on outcomes. We consider the cost and time implications of this multidisciplinary 24-hour service and suggest areas for further research and review.
Intermediate- and high-risk pulmonary embolism (PE) is a life-threatening medical emergency with high morbidity and mortality. Many of the treatment options for PE involve clinicians from multiple disciplines. Pulmonary Embolism Response Teams (PERTs) have been developed to coordinate the multidisciplinary team of clinicians to streamline the decision making process and develop individualised treatment plans in a timely fashion. The first PERT was established in 2012 and subsequently multiple centres worldwide have introduced this model for the management of intermediate- and high-risk PE. In this review, we evaluate the organisational structure and algorithms of different PERT services and compare data from pre- and post-PERT services to determine the impact of PERT on outcomes. We consider the cost and time implications of this multidisciplinary 24-hour service and suggest areas for further research and review.
2020, 17(8): 519-524.
doi: 10.11909/j.issn.1671-5411.2020.08.002
Abstract:
Previous studies have shown that nicorandil has a protective effect on cardiomyocytes. However, there is no study to investigate whether perioperative intravenous nicorandil can further reduce the myocardial infarct size in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) compared to the current standard of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) regimen. The CHANGE (China-Admini stration of Nicorandil Group) study is a multicenter, prospective, randomized, double-blind and parallel-controlled clinical study of STEMI patients undergoing primary PCI in China, aiming to evaluate the efficacy and safety of intravenous nicorandil in ameliorating the myocar dial infarct size in STEMI patients undergoing primary PCI and provide evidence-based support for myocardial protection strategies of STEMI patients.
Previous studies have shown that nicorandil has a protective effect on cardiomyocytes. However, there is no study to investigate whether perioperative intravenous nicorandil can further reduce the myocardial infarct size in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) compared to the current standard of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) regimen. The CHANGE (China-Admini stration of Nicorandil Group) study is a multicenter, prospective, randomized, double-blind and parallel-controlled clinical study of STEMI patients undergoing primary PCI in China, aiming to evaluate the efficacy and safety of intravenous nicorandil in ameliorating the myocar dial infarct size in STEMI patients undergoing primary PCI and provide evidence-based support for myocardial protection strategies of STEMI patients.
