IJC Heart and Vasculature最新文献

Background

Tricuspid regurgitation (TR) is the most common tricuspid valve (TV) condition. However, little is known about the prevalence, clinical significance, or economic impact of TR, including TR with comorbid heart failure (HF).

Materials and Methods

Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database was used to perform a retrospective cohort study about patients with TR. The study included patients over the age of 18 with TR who provided data from January 2017 to December 2019. The cohorts were divided into six groups based on whether significant TR was present (sTR) or not (nsTR), and whether HF was present (HF) or not present (noHF), or inconclusive (incHF).

Results

This study included 21,051 patients with TR. Patients with nsTR-noHF had an annualized healthcare burden of 0.36 all-cause hospitalizations, 3.26 days length of stay (LOS), and NTD 66,834 in expenses. sTR led to significant increases in healthcare utilization and expenditures. The annualized economic burden for sTR-noHF patients increased to 1.03 all-cause hospitalizations, 10.75 days LOS, and NTD 210,842 in expenses. Patients with sTR and HF had significantly higher healthcare utilization and expenditures; patients with sTR-HF had an annualized economic burden of 2.46 all-cause hospitalizations, 33.18 days LOS, and NTD 480,711 in spending.

Conclusion

TR patients with HF or sTR are more likely to be hospitalized, use more healthcare resources, and face higher financial burdens.

This review aimed to assess bleeding risks and explore management options in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), aiming to formulate an optimal therapeutic approach for improved patient prognosis. Employing MeSH terms, a comprehensive search strategy identified articles on bleeding risks and management guidelines in AF combined with ITP. Original research papers were included, while animal studies, reviews, and non-English articles were excluded. From four databases, 1891 articles were initially retrieved, resulting in 10 relevant full-text articles. Eight studies investigated the effectiveness of anticoagulants in managing concurrent AF and ITP, demonstrating reduced bleeding risk and promising outcomes. Two papers explored surgical interventions, particularly left atrial appendage closure, suggesting its safety for AF management in patients with primary hemostatic disorders, including thrombocytopenia. While the pathophysiological mechanisms of AF and ITP remain unclear, anticoagulation regimens exhibited promising reductions in bleeding risks. Larger studies are warranted to enhance understanding and investigate optimal treatments for AF and ITP.

Objective

Literature presents conflicting results on the pros and cons of pledget-reinforced sutures during surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR). We aimed to investigate the effect of pledget-reinforced sutures versus sutures without pledgets during SAVR on different outcomes in a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Methods

A literature search was performed in five different medical literature databases. Studies must include patients undergoing SAVR and must compare any pledget-reinforced with any suturing technique without pledgets. The primary outcome was paravalvular leakage (PVL), and secondary outcomes comprised thromboembolism, endocarditis, mortality, mean pressure gradient (MPG) and effective orifice area (EOA). Results were pooled using a random-effects model as risk ratios (RRs) or mean differences (MDs) for which the no pledgets group served as reference.

Results

Nine observational studies met the inclusion criteria. The risk of bias was critical in seven studies, and high and moderate in two other. The pooled RR for moderate or greater PVL was 0.59 (95 % confidence interval [CI] 0.13, 2.73). The pooled RR for mortality at 30-days was 1.02 (95 % CI 0.48, 2.18) and during follow-up was 1.15 (95 % CI 0.67, 2.00). For MPG and EOA at 1-year follow-up, the pooled MDs were 0.60 mmHg (95 % CI −4.92, 6.11) and −0.03 cm² (95 % CI −0.18, 0.12), respectively.

Conclusions

Literature on the use of pledget-reinforced sutures during SAVR is at high risk of bias. Pooled results are inconclusive regarding superiority of either pledget-reinforced sutures or sutures without pledgets. Hence, there is no evidence to support or oppose the use of pledget-reinforced sutures.

Background

Cardiac remodeling is an adverse phenomenon linked to heart failure (HF) progression. Cardiac remodeling could represent the real therapeutic goal in the treatment of patients with HF and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), being potentially reversed through different pharmacotherapies. Currently, there are well-established drugs such as ACEi/ARBs and β-blockers with anti-remodeling effects. More recently, ARNI effects on cardiac remodeling were also demonstrated; additional potential benefits of gliflozins remain non clearly demonstrated.

Aim of study

To evaluate possible changes in cardiac remodeling in patients with HFrEF/HFmrEF in treatment with ARNI or ARNI plus SGLT2i and the potential benefit on cardiac remodeling of adding SGLT2i to ARNI.

Methods

Between June 2021 and August 2023, 100 consecutive patients with HFrEF/HFmrEF underwent conventional and advanced echocardiography (TDI, 2DSTE): patients were therefore divided into three groups according to therapy with neither ARNI nor SGLT2i, just ARNI or both. After 3 months, all patients underwent echocardiographic follow-up.

Results

After a 3 months of therapy, significant improvements were observed for LVEF, LVEDD, LVEDV, LVESV, LV mass, E/e’, LV GLS, TAPSE (ANOVA p< 0.01 in all cases), RV S’ velocity (ANOVA p< 0.001).

The trend in favor of additional treatment with SGTL2i over ARNI remained statistically significant even after multivariable analysis (p< 0.001 for LVEF, LVEDD; p< 0.01 for LV GLS, TAPSE, TRVS; p< 0.05 for LV mass).

Conclusions

SGLT2i therapy when added to the standard treatment for HFrEF and HFmrEF is associated with an improved biventricular function and ventricular dimensions at follow-up.

Background

The risk stratification for fatal arrhythmias remains inadequate. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging provides a detailed evaluation of arrhythmogenic substrates. This study investigated the predictive capacity of multiparametric CMR for fatal ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) in a heterogeneous disease cohort.

Methods

The study included 396 consecutive patients with structural heart disease (SHD, n = 248) and non-apparent SHD (n = 148) who underwent CMR scans between 2018 and 2022. The primary endpoint was fatal composite arrhythmias.

Results

Thirty-three patients (8.3 %) experienced fatal arrhythmias (25 with SHD, 8 with non-apparent SHD) over a median follow-up of 24 months. The independent risk factors for patients with SHD included syncope (hazard ratio [HR] = 5.347; P < 0.001), VA history (HR = 3.705; P = 0.004), right ventricular ejection fraction (RVEF) ≤ 45 % (HR = 2.587; P = 0.039), and the presence of late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) (HR = 4.767; P = 0.040). In the non-apparent SHD group, fatal arrhythmias were independently correlated with VA history (HR = 10.23; P = 0.005), RVEF ≤ 45 % (HR = 8.307; P = 0.015), and CMR myocardial abnormalities (HR = 5.203; P = 0.033). Patients at high risk of fatal arrhythmia in the SHD and non-apparent SHD groups exhibited 3-year event-free survival rates of 69.4 % and 83.5 %, respectively.

Conclusion

CMR provides effective prognostic information for patients with and without apparent SHD. The presence of LGE, CMR myocardial abnormalities, and right ventricular dysfunction are strong risk markers for fatal arrhythmias.

The neurocardiac axis constitutes the neuronal circuits between the arteries, heart, brain, and immune organs (including thymus, spleen, lymph nodes, and mucosal associated lymphoid tissue) that together form the cardiovascular brain circuit. This network allows the individual to maintain homeostasis in a variety of environmental situations. However, in dysfunctional states, such as exposure to environments with chronic stressors and sympathetic activation, this axis can also contribute to the development of atherosclerotic vascular disease as well as other cardiovascular pathologies and it is increasingly being recognized as an integral part of the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease. This review article focuses on 1) the normal functioning of the neurocardiac axis; 2) pathophysiology of the neurocardiac axis; 3) clinical implications of this axis in hypertension, atherosclerotic disease, and heart failure with an update on treatments under investigation; and 4) quantification methods in research and clinical practice to measure components of the axis and future research areas.

Background

Atypical atrial flutter (AAF) is an increasingly relevant clinical problem. Despite advancements in mapping and ablation techniques, the general management of these patients remain challenging especially when mapping cannot be performed during ongoing arrhythmia. There are no data whether induction of AAF is a feasible approach in these cases.

Methods

We retrospectively analyzed patients who underwent catheter ablation of AAF and compared procedural results between patients with ongoing tachycardia when starting the procedure and patients with induced AAF.

Results

We analyzed 97 ablation procedures performed in 76 patients with a mean follow-up of 13.2 ± 12.2 months. In 68 procedures (70.1 %) AAF was ongoing at the beginning of the procedure and in 29 cases (29.9 %) AAF had to be induced.

There was no statistically significant difference regarding acute procedural success. The recurrence rate of any arrhythmia during follow-up was significantly higher after ablation of ongoing AAF compared to induced AAF (63.2 % vs. 42.9 %; p = 0.047) driven by a significant higher rate of AAF-recurrence (57.4 % vs. 34.5 %; p = 0.039). The number of ablated tachycardias per patient as well as the number of de-novo tachycardias found during re-ablation showed no significant difference between both groups.

Conclusion

Starting a procedure with ongoing arrhythmia did not result in better short- or mid-term outcome in patients undergoing AAF ablation. Furthermore, based on our results inducing AAF seems a legitimate approach for AAF ablation in patients presenting in sinus rhythm.

Background

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is one of the risk factors for atrial fibrillation (AF). However, the mechanism underlying the atrial structural and electro-anatomical remodeling by OSA has not yet been clearly elucidated.

Methods

This study was conducted in 83 patients who had undergone catheter ablation for AF (49 with OSA and 34 Controls without OSA). The left atrial (LA) maps were created in all the patients using a three-dimensional electro-anatomical mapping system. The LA with a bipolar voltage of <0.5 mV was defined as the low voltage area (LVA); %LVA was defined as the ratio of the LVA to the total surface area of the LA.

Results

The LVA and %LVA were significantly greater in the OSA group as compared with the Control group, however, there was no difference in the LA area. The 3 % oxygen desaturation index (ODI) was significantly correlated with the %LVA (r = 0.268, P = 0.014), but not with the LA area. Multiple regression analysis with adjustments identified 3 %ODI ≥30 (3.088, 1.078–8.851, P = 0.036) as being significantly associated with the %LVA.

Conclusions

In patients with AF complicated by OSA, significant increase of the LVA, but not of the LA area, was observed. The intermittent hypoxia severity was significantly associated with the LVA. These results suggest that intermittent hypoxia by OSA might be one of the mechanisms of electro-anatomical remodeling of the LA, possibly preceding structural remodeling represented by LA enlargement, in patients with AF.

The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) heart transplant allocation policy was changed in 2018. This study examines the impact of the change in UNOS heart transplant allocation policy on the use of temporary mechanical circulatory support (MCS) devices and post-transplant survival.

The analysis included a total of 26,481 patients listed and transplanted between January 2013 and June 2022. The results showed a decrease in waiting time for transplant after the policy change, indicating a successful reduction in waitlist time for high-priority status patients. However, the length of hospital stays from transplant to discharge increased following the policy change. The study also found an increase in the frequency of ECMO and IABP use both at the time of listing and at the time of transplant following the policy change.

Cumulative patient and graft survival at 1000 days decreased following the policy change (86.1 per cent versus 83.7 per cent at 1000 days, p = 0.002). However, the survival curves showed similar survival trends in the first 2 years, with late divergence in survival occurring after 2 years.

In conclusion the latest UNOS heart transplant allocation policy change led to a decrease in waiting times and an increase in the use of temporary MCS devices. There was a decrease in cummulative survival at 1000 days following the policy change.