Ventricular Arrhythmias and Sudden Cardiac Death in Left Ventricular Assist Device Patients Without Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators.

Patients with left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) can develop sustained ventricular arrhythmias (VA). The history and presentation of VA in implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD)-naive patients with LVAD is not well described in the literature and the risks/benefits of ICD implantation are unknown. This single-center retrospective cohort study included patients >18 years old who did not have an ICD during LVAD implantation from 2010 to 2022. The primary outcome was VA event rate per 100 patient-years. Two hundred thirty-seven patients underwent LVAD implantation and we identified 46 (19.4%) ICD naive patients. The etiology of heart failure in most patients was nonischemic cardiomyopathy (67.4%). Of all patients, only five were found to have documented VA. Only two episodes of VA occurred in the ambulatory setting. The estimated index VA rate was 5.89 events per 100 patient-years in our entire ICD-naive LVAD population. In the ambulatory ICD-naive population, the estimated VA rate was 2.42 events per 100 patient-years with no associated mortality. The rate of index VA in ICD-naive patients was below thresholds associated with benefits from ICD insertion. No ambulatory mortality from VA was seen and VA was well tolerated by the LVAD population. Perioperative VA in this population is associated with high mortality.

Impact of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation Among Patients With Co-existing Mild to Moderate Mitral Regurgitation.

A subset of patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) who are who underwent transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) also has mitral regurgitation (MR). Clinical outcomes in these patients with combined MR and AS have varied. The purpose of this study was to assess clinical outcomes and echocardiographic outcomes after TAVI in patients with preprocedural MR. A retrospective chart review from March 2018 to June 2020 identified all TAVI patients. Patients were assigned an MR class of mild, moderate, or severe based upon pre-TAVI transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE). Patients were excluded if they were discharged from the hospital and did not have a 6-month follow-up after TAVI. Clinical outcomes at 6 months included all-cause mortality, major adverse cardiovascular events, clinically significant bleeding, changes in ejection fraction (EF) category, and changes in MR severity. Of 118 included patients (age 76 ± 10 years, 79% male, 46% White), 33% had MR, with 26% being mild and 7% moderate MR. Before TAVI, AS + MR patients were more likely to have a reduced EF (<50%) by category compared with those with AS only (33.3% vs 8.8%, p = 0.01) but were more likely to show an increase in EF by category after TAVI (19.4% vs 5.5%, p = 0.039). No significant differences were observed between the 2 groups in terms of all-cause mortality (12.8 vs 5.1%, p = 0.14), major adverse cardiovascular events (17.9 vs 8.9%, p = 0.15), or clinically significant bleeding (10.3 vs 6.3%, p = 0.45). Patients with AS and co-existing MR experienced similar clinical outcomes at 6 months to those with AS only after TAVI. They were more likely to show increases in EF category 6 months after valve implantation. Our results support the conclusion that in addition to treating the aortic valve, TAVI also potentially benefits left ventricular function in the setting of mild or moderate MR.

Same-Day Discharge After Outpatient PCI in a VA Hospital: Shared Decision Making and the VA MISSION Act.

INTRODUCTION: The VA Mission Act of 2018 sought to increase access to local care facilities for Veterans meeting certain eligibility criteria including a drive time of >60 min from a VA facility. As part of an ongoing review of our VA program's same day discharge (SDD) program following elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), we investigated whether the distance criteria of the VA Mission Act had any impact on overall safety outcomes. METHODS: We performed a single center, retrospective study in patients who underwent outpatient PCI between 2013 and 2019. We stratified patients into an overnight observation (ON) and SDD group. We used Google Maps in order to calculate patient home distance to the Jesse Brown Veterans Affairs Hospital (JBVA). Primary endpoints included all-cause death andmajor adverse cardiac events (MACE; cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, stroke, and/or target vessel revascularization). Secondary outcomes included total unplanned interactions with the healthcare system. Outcomes were analyzed at 30 days after PCI. RESULTS: There were 76 patients in the SDD group. The SDD group had a median drive time of 80 min from the JBVA. Regarding primary outcomes, there were no cases of MACE in either group and there was no statistically significant difference in terms of all-cause mortality (ON: 1.3%, SDD: 0%, p = .5) 30 days following PCI. All secondary outcomes at 30 days did not demonstrate a statistically significant difference between either group. CONCLUSION: Same day discharge following successful PCI procedures appears safe. In response to the VA Mission Act, drive time and distance travelled did not appear to impact outcomes. SUMMARY: Same day discharge in select patients at our VA hospital was both safe and feasible. Neither drive time nor distance travelled affected overall outcomes in response to the 2018 VA MISSION Act. As such, shared decision making between patients and physicians remains essential to ensure Veterans continue to receive high quality care that is in their best medical interest.