Improving the assessment of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction by including left atrial strain in the algorithm: LA Strain and LV diastolic dysfunction assessment.

BACKGROUND: The latest guidelines on echocardiographic assessment of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) leave a significant proportion of patients with LVDD status undetermined. We aimed to examine the implication of an alternative algorithm incorporating left atrial (LA) strain as a tiebreaker on the indeterminate LVDD category. METHODS AND RESULTS: We included 823 patients who underwent echocardiography and cardiac MRI within 7 days. LVDD was assessed by echocardiography following contemporary guidelines and an alternative algorithm including LA reservoir strain as a tie-breaker. LVDD was examined for its association with LV myocardial scar burden by cardiac MRI, and a composite outcome. 275 (33%) patients had LVDD, of whom 119 had advanced grades of LVDD (grade II-III), and 117 (14%) had indeterminate LVDD grade. When LA strain was applied at cut points of 18%, 24% and 35%, subjects were reclassified as normal or LVDD dependent accordingly. Reclassification allowed a similar outcome risk-stratification as the current guidelines. CONCLUSIONS: LA reservoir strain improved LVDD assessment by eliminating indeterminate status/grade while maintaining the same effective outcome stratification as current guidelines.

Natural history of a newly developed calcified nodule: incidence, predictors, and clinical outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Calcified nodules (CNs) are an increasingly important, high-risk lesion subset. AIMS: We sought to identify the emergence of new CNs and the relation between underlying plaque characteristics and new CN development. METHODS: Patients who had undergone two optical coherence tomography (OCT) studies that imaged the same untreated calcified lesion at baseline and follow-up were included. New CNs were an accumulation of small calcium fragments at follow-up that were not present at baseline. Cardiac death, myocardial infarction (MI), or clinically driven revascularisation related to OCT-imaged, but untreated, calcified lesions were then evaluated. RESULTS: Among 372 untreated calcified lesions, with a median of 1.5 (first and third quartiles: 0.7-2.9) years between baseline and follow-up OCTs, new CNs were observed in 7.0% (26/372) of lesions at follow-up. Attenuated calcium representing residual lipid (odds ratio [OR] 3.38, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.15-9.98; p=0.03); log10 calcium volume index (length×maximum arc×maximum thickness; OR 2.76, 95% CI: 1.10-6.95; p=0.03); angiographic Δangle between systole and diastole, per 10° (OR 2.30, 95% CI: 1.25-4.22; p=0.01); and time since baseline OCT, per year (OR 1.36, 95% CI: 1.05-1.75; p=0.02) were all associated with new CN development. Clinical events were revascularisation and/or MI and were more frequent in lesions with versus without a new CN (29.3% vs 15.3%; p=0.04). CONCLUSIONS: New CNs developed in untreated, lipid-containing, severely calcified lesions with a larger angiographic hinge motion (between systole and diastole), compared with lesions without CNs, and were associated with worse clinical outcomes.

Diagnostic Performance and Clinical Impact of Photon-Counting Detector Computed Tomography in Coronary Artery Disease.

BACKGROUND: Photon-counting detector-computed tomography (PCD-CT) has emerged as a promising technology, offering improved spatial resolution. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate the clinical impact and diagnostic performance of PCD-CT vs conventional energy-integrating detector computed tomography (EID-CT) for obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD). METHODS: From 2022 to 2023, we retrospectively identified 7,833 consecutive patients who underwent clinically indicated coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) at a single center, with either PCD-CT (n = 3,876; NAEOTOM Alpha [Siemens Healthineers]) or EID-CT (n = 3,957; Revolution Apex 256 [GE HealthCare] or Aquilion ONE ViSION 320 [Canon Medical Systems]) scanners. Subsequent invasive coronary angiography (ICA) and percutaneous or surgical revascularization were performed as part of routine clinical care. Among those referred for ICA after coronary CTA, the presence of obstructive CAD in each vessel was determined by coronary CTA (severe stenosis on visual assessment per the Coronary Artery Disease Reporting and Data System) and ICA (≥50% diameter stenosis on quantitative coronary angiography) in a blinded fashion. The diagnostic performance of EID-CT and PCD-CT was compared by using quantitative coronary angiography as the reference standard. RESULTS: Patients who underwent PCD-CT were less frequently referred to subsequent ICA than those undergoing EID-CT (9.9% vs 13.1%; P < 0.001). Among those who underwent ICA, revascularization was more frequently performed in the PCD-CT group than in the EID-CT group (43.4% vs 35.5%; P = 0.02). In the vessel-level analysis (n = 1,686), specificity (98.0% vs 93.0%; P < 0.001), positive predictive value (83.3% vs 63.0%; P = 0.002), and diagnostic accuracy (97.2% vs 92.8%; P < 0.001) were improved by PCD-CT. Sensitivity (90.9% vs 90.7%; P = 0.95) and negative predictive value (98.9% vs 98.7%; P = 0.83) for obstructive CAD were similar between the PCD-CT and EID-CT groups, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: PCD-CT exhibited excellent diagnostic performance for detecting obstructive CAD. Compared with patients undergoing conventional EID-CT, fewer patients were referred to ICA after PCD-CT, but those referred were more likely to undergo revascularization.

Tissue-Based Predictors of Impaired Right Ventricular Strain in Coronary Artery Disease: A Multicenter Stress Perfusion Study.

BACKGROUND: Right ventricular (RV) dysfunction is known to impact prognosis, but its determinants in coronary artery disease are poorly understood. Stress cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) has been used to assess ischemia and infarction in relation to the left ventricle (LV); the impact of myocardial tissue properties on RV function is unknown. METHODS: Vasodilator stress CMR was performed in patients with known coronary artery disease at 7 sites between May 2005 and October 2018. Myocardial infarction was identified on late gadolinium enhancement-CMR, and infarct transmurality was graded on a per-segment basis. Ischemia was assessed on stress CMR based on first-pass perfusion and localized by using segment partitions corresponding to cine and late gadolinium enhancement analyses. RV function was evaluated by CMR-feature tracking for primary analysis with a global longitudinal strain threshold of 20% used to define impaired RV strain (RVIS); secondary functional analysis via RV ejection fraction was also performed. RESULTS: A total of 2604 patients were studied, among whom RVIS was present in 461 patients (18%). The presence and magnitude of RVIS were strongly associated with LV dysfunction, irrespective of whether measured by LV ejection fraction or wall motion score (P<0.001 for all). Regarding tissue substrate, regions of ischemic and dysfunctional myocardium (ie, hibernating myocardium) and infarct size were each independently associated with RVIS (both P<0.001). During follow-up (median, 4.62 [interquartile range, 2.15-7.67] years), 555 deaths (21%) occurred. Kaplan-Meier analysis for patients stratified by presence and magnitude of RV dysfunction by global longitudinal strain and RV ejection fraction each demonstrated strong prognostic utility for all-cause mortality (P<0.001). RVIS conferred increased mortality risk (hazard ratio, 1.35 [95% CI, 1.11-1.66]; P=0.003) even after controlling for LV function, infarction, and ischemia. CONCLUSIONS: RVIS in patients with known coronary artery disease is associated with potentially reversible LV processes, including LV functional impairment due to ischemic and predominantly viable myocardium, which confers increased mortality risk independent of LV function and tissue substrate.

A machine learning-derived risk score to predict left ventricular diastolic dysfunction from clinical cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging.

Introduction: The evaluation of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) by clinical cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) remains a challenge. We aimed to train and evaluate a machine-learning (ML) algorithm for the assessment of LVDD by clinical CMR variables and to investigate its prognostic value for predicting hospitalized heart failure and all-cause mortality. Methods: LVDD was characterized by echocardiography following the ASE guidelines. Eight demographic and nineteen common clinical CMR variables including delayed enhancement were used to train Random Forest models with a Bayesian optimizer. The model was evaluated using bootstrap and five-fold cross-validation. Area under the ROC curve (AUC) was utilized to evaluate the model performance. An ML risk score was used to stratify the risk of heart failure hospitalization and all-cause mortality. Results: A total of 606 consecutive patients underwent CMR and echocardiography within 7 days for cardiovascular disease evaluation. LVDD was present in 303 subjects by echocardiography. The performance of the ML algorithm was good using the CMR variables alone with an AUC of 0.868 (95% CI: 0.811-0.917), which was improved by combining with demographic data yielding an AUC 0.895 (95% CI: 0.845-0.939). The algorithm performed well in an independent validation cohort with AUC 0.810 (0.731-0.874). Subjects with higher ML scores (>0.4121) were associated with increased adjusted hazard ratio for a composite outcome than subjects with lower ML scores (1.72, 95% confidence interval 1.09-2.71). Discussion: An ML algorithm using variables derived from clinical CMR is effective in identifying patients with LVDD and providing prognostication for adverse clinical outcomes.

Prevalence and anatomical factors associated with stent under-expansion in non-severely calcified lesions.

BACKGROUND: Stent underexpansion, typically related to lesion calcification, is the strongest predictor of adverse events after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Although uncommon, underexpansion may also occur in non-severely calcified lesions. AIM: We sought to identify the prevalence and anatomical characteristics of underexpansion in non-severely calcified lesions. METHODS: We included 993 patients who underwent optical coherence tomography-guided PCI of 1051 de novo lesions with maximum calcium arc <180°. Negative remodeling (NR) was the smallest lesion site external elastic lamina diameter that was also smaller than the distal reference. Stent expansion was evaluated using a linear regression model accounting for vessel tapering; underexpansion required both stent expansion <70% and stent area <4.5mm2. RESULTS: Underexpansion was observed in 3.6% of non-heavily calcified lesions (38/1051). Pre-stent maximum calcium arc and thickness were greater in lesions with versus without underexpansion (median 119° vs. 85°, p = 0.002; median 0.95 mm vs. 0.78 mm, p = 0.008). NR was also more common in lesions with underexpansion (44.7% vs. 24.5%, p = 0.007). In the multivariable logistic regression model, larger and thicker eccentric calcium, mid left anterior descending artery (LAD) location, and NR were associated with underexpansion in non-severely calcified lesions. The rate of underexpansion was especially high (30.7%) in lesions exhibiting all three morphologies. Two-year TLF tended to be higher in underexpanded versus non-underexpanded stents (9.7% vs. 3.7%, unadjusted hazard ratio [95% confidence interval] = 3.02 [0.92, 9.58], p = 0.06). CONCLUSION: Although underexpansion in the absence of severe calcium (<180°) is uncommon, mid-LAD lesions with NR and large and thick eccentric calcium were associated with underexpansion.

Inversion recovery and saturation recovery pulmonary vein MR angiography using an image based navigator fluoro trigger and variable-density 3D cartesian sampling with spiral-like order.

Contrast enhanced pulmonary vein magnetic resonance angiography (PV CE-MRA) has value in atrial ablation pre-procedural planning. We aimed to provide high fidelity, ECG gated PV CE-MRA accelerated by variable density Cartesian sampling (VD-CASPR) with image navigator (iNAV) respiratory motion correction acquired in under 4 min. We describe its use in part during the global iodinated contrast shortage. VD-CASPR/iNAV framework was applied to ECG-gated inversion and saturation recovery gradient recalled echo PV CE-MRA in 65 patients (66 exams) using .15 mmol/kg Gadobutrol. Image quality was assessed by three physicians, and anatomical segmentation quality by two technologists. Left atrial SNR and left atrial/myocardial CNR were measured. 12 patients had CTA within 6 months of MRA. Two readers assessed PV ostial measurements versus CTA for intermodality/interobserver agreement. Inter-rater/intermodality reliability, reproducibility of ostial measurements, SNR/CNR, image, and anatomical segmentation quality was compared. The mean acquisition time was 3.58 ± 0.60 min. Of 35 PV pre-ablation datasets (34 patients), mean anatomical segmentation quality score was 3.66 ± 0.54 and 3.63 ± 0.55 as rated by technologists 1 and 2, respectively (p = 0.7113). Good/excellent anatomical segmentation quality (grade 3/4) was seen in 97% of exams. Each rated one exam as moderate quality (grade 2). 95% received a majority image quality score of good/excellent by three physicians. Ostial PV measurements correlated moderate to excellently with CTA (ICCs range 0.52-0.86). No difference in SNR was observed between IR and SR. High quality PV CE-MRA is possible in under 4 min using iNAV bolus timing/motion correction and VD-CASPR.

Trastuzumab-Induced Cardiotoxicity: When and How Much Should We Worry?

This review critically analyzes the incidence of trastuzumab-induced left ventricular systolic dysfunction and congestive heart failure (CHF), distinguishing between cases with and without prior anthracycline exposure. It highlights the fact that the elevated risk of trastuzumab-induced cardiotoxicity is closely associated with prior anthracycline exposure. In the absence of prior anthracycline exposure, the incidence rates of trastuzumab-induced cardiotoxicity, particularly CHF (ranging from 0% to 0.5%), are largely comparable with those reported in the general population, especially when reversibility is taken into account. Current cardiac surveillance recommendations during trastuzumab treatment have not yet adapted to the increasing adoption of nonanthracycline treatment strategies and the associated low risk of cardiotoxicity. We propose a refined monitoring protocol to reduce the frequency of cardiac evaluations for low-risk to moderate-risk patients, especially those receiving nonanthracycline treatments. By focusing on patients at high risk or those with prior anthracycline exposure, this strategy seeks to optimize the cost-effectiveness of cardiac care in oncology.

Etiologies and Impact of Exclusion Rates for Transcatheter Mitral and Tricuspid Valve Structural Heart Clinical Trials at a High-Volume Quaternary Care Hospital.

There are various devices under clinical investigation for transcatheter mitral valve intervention and transcatheter tricuspid valve intervention (TTVI); however, the exclusion rates remain high. We aimed to investigate the exclusion rates for transcatheter mitral valve repair (TMVr), transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR), transcatheter tricuspid valve repair (TTVr), and transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement (TTVR). There were 129 patients who were referred to St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center valve clinic and completed screening between January 2021 and July 2022. The causes for exclusion were classified into 4 categories: patient withdrawal, anatomic unsuitability, clinical criteria, and medical futility. In 129 patients, the exclusion rates for TMVr, TMVR, TTVr, and TTVR were 81%, 85%, 91%, and 87%, respectively. Patient withdrawal and medical futility were leading etiologies for exclusion, followed by anatomic unsuitability. TMVr had the highest rate of patient withdrawal (64%) and the lowest anatomic unsuitability (5%) because of short posterior leaflet length. Replacement interventions have a higher anatomic unsuitability (33%) than repair interventions (17%) (p = 0.04). Most exclusions of anatomic unsuitability were because of mitral stenosis or small annulus size for TMVR and large annulus size for TTVR. A total of 50% of exclusions from TTVr were because of the presence of pacemaker/defibrillator leads. In patients excluded from their respective trials, patients being referred for TMVr had the highest recurrent hospitalization and repair group had a higher mortality (p <0.01 and p = 0.01, respectively). In conclusion, the exclusion rates for transcatheter mitral valve intervention and TTVI trials remain high because of various reasons, limiting patient enrollment and treatment. This supports the need for further device improvement or exploring alternative means of therapy.

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation in patients with high-risk symptomatic native aortic regurgitation (ALIGN-AR): a prospective, multicentre, single-arm study.

BACKGROUND: Surgery remains the only recommended intervention for patients with native aortic regurgitation. A transcatheter therapy to treat patients at high risk for mortality and complications with surgical aortic valve replacement represents an unmet need. Commercial transcatheter heart valves in pure aortic regurgitation are hampered by unacceptable rates of embolisation and paravalvular regurgitation. The Trilogy transcatheter heart valve (JenaValve Technology, Irvine, CA, USA) provides a treatment option for these patients. We report outcomes with transfemoral transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) in patients with pure aortic regurgitation using this dedicated transcatheter heart valve. METHODS: The ALIGN-AR trial is a prospective, multicentre, single-arm study. We recruited symptomatic patients (aged ≥18 years) with moderate-to-severe or severe aortic regurgitation at high risk for mortality and complications after surgical aortic valve replacement at 20 US sites for treatment with the Trilogy transcatheter heart valve. The 30-day composite primary safety endpoint was compared for non-inferiority with a prespecified performance goal of 40·5%. The primary efficacy endpoint was 1-year all-cause mortality compared for non-inferiority with a performance goal of 25%. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04415047, and is ongoing. FINDINGS: Between June 8, 2018, and Aug 29, 2022, we screened 346 patients. We excluded 166 (48%) patients and enrolled 180 (52%) patients with symptomatic aortic regurgitation deemed high risk by the heart team and independent screening committee assessments. The mean age of the study population was 75·5 years (SD 10·8), and 85 (47%) were female, 95 (53%) were male, and 131 (73%) were White. Technical success was achieved in 171 (95%) patients. At 30 days, four (2%) deaths, two (1%) disabling strokes, and two (1%) non-disabling strokes occurred. Using standard Valve Academic Research Consortium-2 definitions, the primary safety endpoint was achieved, with events occurring in 48 (27% [97·5% CI 19·2-34·0]) patients (pnon-inferiority<0·0001), with new pacemaker implantation in 36 (24%) patients. The primary efficacy endpoint was achieved, with mortality in 14 (7·8% [3·3-12·3]) patients at 1 year (pnon-inferiority<0·0001). INTERPRETATION: This study shows the safety and effectiveness of treating native aortic regurgitation using a dedicated transcatheter heart valve to treat patients with symptomatic moderate-to-severe or severe aortic regurgitation who are at high risk for mortality or complications after surgical aortic valve replacement. The observed short-term clinical and haemodynamic outcomes are promising as are signs of left ventricular remodelling, but long-term follow-up is necessary. FUNDING: JenaValve Technology.

Patient-Prosthesis Mismatch After Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement: Analysis of the PARTNER Trials.

BACKGROUND: Our objective was to compare the impact of patient-prosthesis mismatch (PPM) for 2 years after surgical aortic valve replacement within the prospective, randomized Placement of Aortic Transcatheter Valves (PARTNER) trials. METHODS: Surgical aortic valve replacement patients from the PARTNER 1, 2, and 3 trials were included. PPM was classified as moderate (indexed effective orifice area ≤0.85 cm2/m2) or severe (indexed effective orifice area ≤0.65 cm2/m2). The primary endpoint was the composite of all-cause death and heart failure rehospitalization at 2 years. RESULTS: By the predicted PPM method (PPMP), 59.1% had no PPM, 38.8% moderate PPM, and 2.1% severe PPM; whereas by the measured PPM method (PPMM), 42.4% had no PPM, 36.0% moderate, and 21.6% severe. Patients with no PPMP (23.6%) had a lower rate of the primary endpoint compared with patients with moderate (28.2%, P = .03) or severe PPMP (38.8%, P = .02). Using the PPMM method, there was no difference between the no (17.7%) and moderate PPMM groups (21.1%) in the primary outcome (P = .16). However, those with no PPMM or moderate PPMM were improved compared with severe PPMM (27.4%, P < .001 and P = .02, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Severe PPM analyzed by PPMP was only 2.1% for surgical aortic valve replacement patients. The PPMM method overestimated the incidence of severe PPM relative to PPMP, but was also associated with worse outcome. There was higher all-cause mortality in patients with severe PPM, thus surgical techniques to minimize PPM remain critical.

Challenges and Future Directions in Redo Aortic Valve Reintervention After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement Failure.

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is increasingly being performed in younger and lower surgical risk patients. Reintervention for failed transcatheter heart valves will likely increase in the future as younger patients are expected to outlive the initial bioprosthesis. While redo-TAVR has emerged as an attractive and less invasive alternative to surgical explantation (TAVR-explant) to treat transcatheter heart valve failure, it may not be feasible in all patients due to the risk of coronary obstruction and impaired coronary access. Conversely, TAVR-explant can be offered to most patients who are surgical candidates, but the reported outcomes have shown high mortality and morbidity. This review provides the latest evidence, current challenges, and future directions on redo-TAVR and TAVR-explant for transcatheter heart valve failure, to guide aortic valve reintervention and facilitate patients' lifetime management of aortic stenosis.

Tricuspid Valve Academic Research Consortium Definitions for Tricuspid Regurgitation and Trial Endpoints.

Interest in the pathophysiology, etiology, management, and outcomes of patients with tricuspid regurgitation (TR) has grown in the wake of multiple natural history studies showing progressively worse outcomes associated with increasing TR severity, even after adjusting for multiple comorbidities. Historically, isolated tricuspid valve surgery has been associated with high in-hospital mortality rates, leading to the development of transcatheter treatment options. The aim of this first Tricuspid Valve Academic Research Consortium document is to standardize definitions of disease etiology and severity, as well as endpoints for trials that aim to address the gaps in our knowledge related to identification and management of patients with TR. Standardizing endpoints for trials should provide consistency and enable meaningful comparisons between clinical trials. A second Tricuspid Valve Academic Research Consortium document will focus on further defining trial endpoints and will discuss trial design options.

Tricuspid Valve Academic Research Consortium Definitions for Tricuspid Regurgitation and Trial Endpoints.

Interest in the pathophysiology, etiology, management, and outcomes of patients with tricuspid regurgitation (TR) has grown in the wake of multiple natural history studies showing progressively worse outcomes associated with increasing TR severity, even after adjusting for multiple comorbidities. Historically, isolated tricuspid valve surgery has been associated with high in-hospital mortality rates, leading to the development of transcatheter treatment options. The aim of this first Tricuspid Valve Academic Research Consortium document is to standardize definitions of disease etiology and severity, as well as endpoints for trials that aim to address the gaps in our knowledge related to identification and management of patients with TR. Standardizing endpoints for trials should provide consistency and enable meaningful comparisons between clinical trials. A second Tricuspid Valve Academic Research Consortium document will focus on further defining trial endpoints and will discuss trial design options.

Tricuspid Valve Academic Research Consortium Definitions for Tricuspid Regurgitation and Trial Endpoints.

Interest in the pathophysiology, etiology, management, and outcomes of patients with tricuspid regurgitation (TR) has grown in the wake of multiple natural history studies showing progressively worse outcomes associated with increasing TR severity, even after adjusting for multiple comorbidities. Historically, isolated tricuspid valve surgery has been associated with high in-hospital mortality rates, leading to the development of transcatheter treatment options. The aim of this first Tricuspid Valve Academic Research Consortium document is to standardize definitions of disease etiology and severity, as well as endpoints for trials that aim to address the gaps in our knowledge related to identification and management of patients with TR. Standardizing endpoints for trials should provide consistency and enable meaningful comparisons between clinical trials. A second Tricuspid Valve Academic Research Consortium document will focus on further defining trial endpoints and will discuss trial design options.

Left Ventricular Mass, Myocardial Structure, and Function in Severe Aortic Stenosis: an Echocardiographic and Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study.

In severe aortic stenosis (AS), there are conflicting data on the prognostic implications of left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy (LVH). We aimed to characterize the LV geometry, myocardial matrix structural changes, and prognostic stratification using cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) and echocardiography in subjects with severe AS with and without LVH. Consecutive patients who had severe isolated AS and sufficient quality echocardiography and CMR within 6 months of each other were evaluated for LVH, cardiac structure, morphology, and late gadolinium-enhancement imaging. Kaplan-Meier curves, linear models, and proportional hazards models were used for prognostic stratification. There were 93 patients enrolled (mean age 74 ± 11 years, 48% female), of whom 38 (41%) had a normal LV mass index (LVMI), 41 (44%) had LVH defined at CMR by LVMI >2 SD higher than normal, and 14 (15% of the total) with >4 SD higher than the reference LVMI (severely elevated). The Society of Thoracic Surgeons scores were similar among the LVMI groups. Compared with those with normal LVMI, patients with LVH had higher LV end-diastolic and end-systolic volumes, increased late gadolinium-enhancement burden, and lower LV ejection fraction. Most notably, CMR feature-tracking global radial strain, 2-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography global longitudinal strain, and left atrial reservoir function were significantly worse. On the survival analyses, LVMI was not associated with a composite of all-cause mortality and/or heart failure hospitalization. In conclusion, compared with normal LVMI, elevated LVMI was not associated with a higher risk of adverse outcomes.

Cardiac Computed Tomography Angiography Anatomical Characterization of Patients Screened for a Dedicated Transfemoral Transcatheter Valve System for Primary Aortic Regurgitation.

Background: Cardiac computed tomography angiography was used to identify anatomical characteristics of the aortic root in patients with severe aortic regurgitation (AR) as compared to those with aortic stenosis (AS) to judge feasibility of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) with the JenaValve Trilogy system. Methods: Cardiac computed tomography angiography was performed prior to planned TAVR for 107 patients with severe AR and 92 patients with severe AS. Measurements related to aortic root and coronary artery anatomy were obtained and compared between groups. Perimeter >90 mm and aortic annulus angle â€‹>70 degrees were defined as the theoretical exclusion criteria for TAVR. A combination of sinus of Valsalva diameter <30 mm and coronary height <12 mm was defined as high risk for coronary occlusion. Results: The mean age of patients in the AR group was 74.9 ± 11.2 years, 46% were women, and the mean Society of Thoracic Surgeons risk score for mortality was 3.6 ± 2.1. Comparatively, the mean age of patients in the AS group was 82.3 ± 5.53 years, 65% were women, and the mean Society of Thoracic Surgeonsrisk score was 5.5 ± 3.3. Annulus area, perimeter, diameter, and angle were larger in patients with severe AR. Sinus of Valsalva diameters and heights were larger in patients with severe AR. More AR patients were excluded based on perimeter (14 vs. 2%) and annulus angle (6 vs. 1%). More AS patients exhibited high-risk anatomy for left main coronary occlusion (21 vs. 7%) and right coronary occlusion (14 vs. 3%). The maximum dimension of the ascending aorta was larger in patients with severe AR (39 vs. 35 mm). The percentage of referred AR patients with significant aortopathy requiring surgical intervention was very low (only 1 AR patient with ascending aorta diameter >5.5 cm). Conclusions: A significantly larger proportion of patients with severe AR are excluded from TAVR as compared to AS due to large aortic annulus size and steep annulus angulation. By far the most prevalent excluding factor is aortic annulus size, with fewer patients excluded due to angulation. AR patients have lower-risk anatomy for coronary occlusion. Larger transcatheter valve sizes and further delivery system modifications are required to treat a larger proportion of AR patients.

Impact of Eruptive vs Noneruptive Calcified Nodule Morphology on Acute and Long-Term Outcomes After Stenting.

BACKGROUND: Whether an eruptive or noneruptive target lesion calcified nodule (CN) portends worse acute and long-term clinical outcomes after stenting has not been established. OBJECTIVES: The authors sought to compare acute and long-term clinical outcomes in eruptive CN vs noneruptive CN morphology. METHODS: Using optical coherence tomography, an eruptive CN was defined as an accumulation of small calcium fragments protruding and disrupting the overlying fibrous cap, typically with small amount of thrombus. A noneruptive CN was defined as an accumulation of small calcium fragments with a smooth intact fibrous cap without an overlying thrombus. The primary endpoint was target lesion failure (TLF) including cardiac death, target vessel myocardial infarction, or clinically driven target lesion revascularization in patients with ≥6-month follow-up. RESULTS: Among 3,231 patients with evaluable pre- and postintervention OCT, 236 patients had lesions with CNs (7.3%). After eliminating 4 secondary lesions and 6 patients without ≥6-month follow-up, 126 (54.8%) lesions with eruptive CNs and 104 (45.2%) lesions with noneruptive CNs formed the current report. Compared with noneruptive CNs, eruptive CNs were independently associated with greater stent expansion (89.2% ± 18.7% vs. 81.5% ± 18.9%; P = 0.003) after adjusting for morphologic and procedural factors. At 2 years, eruptive CNs trended toward more TLF compared with noneruptive CNs (Kaplan-Meier estimates, 19.8% vs 12.5%; P = 0.11) and significantly more target lesion revascularization (18.3% vs 9.6%; P = 0.04). In the adjusted model, eruptive CNs were independently associated with 2-year TLF (HR: 2.07; 95% CI: 1.01-4.50; P = 0.048). CONCLUSIONS: Compared with noneruptive CN morphology, lesions with an eruptive CN appearance on optical coherence tomography had a worse poststent long-term clinical outcome despite better acute stent expansion.