Mitral transcatheter edge-to-edge repair vs. isolated mitral surgery for severe mitral regurgitation: a French nationwide study.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Mitral valve surgery and, more recently, mitral transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) are the two treatments of severe mitral regurgitation in eligible patients. Clinical comparison of both therapies remains limited by the number of patients analysed. The objective of this study was to analyse the outcomes of mitral TEER vs. isolated mitral valve surgery at a nationwide level in France. METHODS: Based on the French administrative hospital discharge database, the study collected information for all consecutive patients treated for mitral regurgitation with isolated TEER or isolated mitral valve surgery between 2012 and 2022. Propensity score matching was used for the analysis of outcomes. RESULTS: A total of 57 030 patients were found in the database. After matching on baseline characteristics, 2160 patients were analysed in each arm. At 3-year follow-up, TEER was associated with significantly lower incidence of cardiovascular death (hazard ratio 0.685, 95% confidence interval 0.563-0.832; P = .0001), pacemaker implantation, and stroke. Non-cardiovascular death (hazard ratio 1.562, 95% confidence interval 1.238-1.971; P = .0002), recurrent pulmonary oedema, and cardiac arrest were more frequent after TEER. No significant differences between the two groups were observed regarding all-cause death (hazard ratio 0.967, 95% confidence interval 0.835-1.118; P = .65), endocarditis, major bleeding, atrial fibrillation, and myocardial infarction. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that TEER for severe mitral regurgitation was associated with lower cardiovascular mortality than mitral surgery at long-term follow-up. Pacemaker implantation and stroke were less frequently observed after TEER.

Patterns of comorbidities in patients with atrial fibrillation and impact on management and long-term prognosis: an analysis from the Prospective Global GLORIA-AF Registry.

BACKGROUND: Clinical complexity, as the interaction between ageing, frailty, multimorbidity and polypharmacy, is an increasing concern in patients with AF. There remains uncertainty regarding how combinations of comorbidities influence management and prognosis of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). We aimed to identify phenotypes of AF patients according to comorbidities and to assess associations between comorbidity patterns, drug use and risk of major outcomes. METHODS: From the prospective GLORIA-AF Registry, we performed a latent class analysis based on 18 diseases, encompassing cardiovascular, metabolic, respiratory and other conditions; we then analysed the association between phenotypes of patients and (i) treatments received and (ii) the risk of major outcomes. Primary outcome was the composite of all-cause death and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). Secondary exploratory outcomes were also analysed. RESULTS: 32,560 AF patients (mean age 70.0 ± 10.5 years, 45.4% females) were included. We identified 6 phenotypes: (i) low complexity (39.2% of patients); (ii) cardiovascular (CV) risk factors (28.2%); (iii) atherosclerotic (10.2%); (iv) thromboembolic (8.1%); (v) cardiometabolic (7.6%) and (vi) high complexity (6.6%). Higher use of oral anticoagulants was found in more complex groups, with highest magnitude observed for the cardiometabolic and high complexity phenotypes (odds ratio and 95% confidence interval CI): 1.76 [1.49-2.09] and 1.57 [1.35-1.81], respectively); similar results were observed for beta-blockers and verapamil or diltiazem. We found higher risk of the primary outcome in all phenotypes, except the CV risk factor one, with highest risk observed for the cardiometabolic and high complexity groups (hazard ratio and 95%CI: 1.37 [1.13-1.67] and 1.47 [1.24-1.75], respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Comorbidities influence management and long-term prognosis of patients with AF. Patients with complex phenotypes may require comprehensive and holistic approaches to improve their prognosis.

Epilepsy and the risk of adverse cardiovascular events: A nationwide cohort study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Epilepsy is associated with higher morbidity and mortality compared to people without epilepsy. We performed a retrospective cross-sectional and longitudinal cohort study to evaluate cardiovascular comorbidity and incident vascular events in people with epilepsy (PWE). METHODS: Data were extracted from the French Hospital National Database. PWE (n = 682,349) who were hospitalized between January 2014 and December 2022 were matched on age, sex, and year of hospitalization with 682,349 patients without epilepsy. Follow-up was conducted from the date of first hospitalization with epilepsy until the date of each outcome or date of last news in the absence of the outcome. Primary outcome was the incidence of all-cause death, cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, hospitalization for heart failure, ischaemic stroke (IS), new onset atrial fibrillation, sustained ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation (VT/VF), and cardiac arrest. RESULTS: A diagnosis of epilepsy was associated with higher numbers of cardiovascular risk factors and adverse cardiovascular events compared to controls. People with epilepsy had a higher incidence of all-cause death (incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 2.69, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.67-2.72), cardiovascular death (IRR = 2.16, 95% CI = 2.11-2.20), heart failure (IRR = 1.26, 95% CI = 1.25-1.28), IS (IRR = 2.08, 95% CI = 2.04-2.13), VT/VF (IRR = 1.10, 95% CI = 1.04-1.16), and cardiac arrest (IRR = 2.12, 95% CI = 2.04-2.20). When accounting for all-cause death as a competing risk, subdistribution hazard ratios for ischaemic stroke of 1.59 (95% CI = 1.55-1.63) and for cardiac arrest of 1.73 (95% CI = 1.58-1.89) demonstrated higher risk in PWE. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence and incident rates of cardiovascular outcomes were significantly higher in PWE. Targeting cardiovascular health could help reduce excess morbidity and mortality in PWE.

Dual-chamber vs. single-chamber pacemaker in patients in sinus rhythm with an atrioventricular block: a nationwide cohort study.

AIMS: In complete atrioventricular block (AVB) with underlying sinus rhythm, it is recommended to implant a dual-chamber pacemaker rather than a single-chamber pacemaker. However, no large-scale study has been able to demonstrate the superiority of this choice on hard clinical criteria such as morbimortality. METHODS AND RESULTS: This retrospective observational study included all patients who received a primary pacemaker implantation in the indication of complete AVB with underlying sinus rhythm in France, based on the national administrative database between January 2013 and December 2022. After propensity score matching, we obtained two groups containing 19 219 patients each. The incidence of all-cause mortality was 9.22%/year for the dual-chamber pacemaker group, compared with 11.48%/year for the single-chamber pacemaker group (hazard ratio (HR) 0.807, P < 0.0001]. Similarly, there was a lower incidence of cardiovascular mortality (HR 0.766, P < 0.0001), heart failure (HR 0.908, P < 0.0001), atrial fibrillation (HR 0.778, P < 0.0001), and ischaemic stroke (HR 0.873, P = 0.008) in the dual-chamber pacemaker group than in the single-chamber pacemaker group. Regarding re-interventions and complications, there were fewer upgrades (addition of atrial lead or left ventricular lead) in the dual-chamber group (HR 0.210, P < 0.0001), but more haematomas (HR 1.179, P = 0.006) and lead repositioning (HR 1.123, P = 0.04). CONCLUSION: In the indication of complete AVB with underlying sinus rhythm, our results are consistent with current recommendations to prefer implantation of a dual-chamber pacemaker rather than a single-chamber pacemaker for these patients. Implantation of a dual-chamber pacemaker is associated with a lower risk of mortality, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, and stroke during follow-up.

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and atrial fibrillation: recent advances and open questions.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) and heart failure (HF) are frequently associated and can be caused or exacerbated by each other through different mechanisms. AF is particularly common in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) defined as left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≥ 50%, with a prevalence ranging around 40-60%.In two recent trials, treatment with SGLT2 inhibitors resulted in a lower risk of worsening heart failure or cardiovascular death than placebo in patients with HFpEF, and SGLT2 inhibitors similarly improved prognosis whether patients had AF or not at enrolment. Analyses for subgroups of interest of patients with HFpEF likely to be at higher risk of AF (particularly those with older age or obesity) similarly indicated a consistent benefit with SGLT2 inhibitors. That subgroup in patients with HFpEF is those with a history of previous HF with LVEF ≤ 40%. The EAST-AFNET 4 trial indicated that early rhythm-control therapy was associated with a lower risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes than usual care among patients with recent AF and cardiovascular conditions, including those with HF. In patients with AF and HF included in the CABANA trial, catheter ablation produced marked improvements in survival, freedom from AF recurrence, and quality of life compared to drug therapy. When strategies aiming at rhythm control eventually fail in patients with AF and HFpEF, a strategy of rate control with atrioventricular junction ablation and cardiac resynchronisation should be discussed since it may also reduce all-cause mortality.Finally, and in conclusion, considering that patients with AF and HFpEF may have a variety of cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular additional comorbidities, they are among those likely to have the highest clinical benefit being adherent to a holistic and integrated care management of AF following the ABC (Atrial Fibrillation Better Care) pathway.

Prediction of early death after atrial fibrillation diagnosis using a machine learning approach: A French nationwide cohort study.

AIMS: Atrial fibrillation is associated with important mortality but the usual clinical risk factor based scores only modestly predict mortality. This study aimed to develop machine learning models for the prediction of death occurrence within the year following atrial fibrillation diagnosis and compare predictive ability against usual clinical risk scores. METHODS AND RESULTS: We used a nationwide cohort of 2,435,541 newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation patients seen in French hospitals from 2011 to 2019. Three machine learning models were trained to predict mortality within the first year using a training set (70% of the cohort). The best model was selected to be evaluated and compared with previously published scores on the validation set (30% of the cohort). Discrimination of the best model was evaluated using the C index. Within the first year following atrial fibrillation diagnosis, 342,005 patients (14.4%) died after a period of 83 (SD 98) days (median 37 [10-129]). The best machine learning model selected was a deep neural network with a C index of 0.785 (95% CI, 0.781-0.789) on the validation set. Compared to clinical risk scores, the selected model was superior to the CHA2DS2-VASc and HAS-BLED risk scores and superior to dedicated scores such as Charlson Comorbidity Index and Hospital Frailty Risk Score to predict death within the year following atrial fibrillation diagnosis (C indexes: 0.597; 0.562; 0.643; 0.626 respectively. P < .0001). CONCLUSION: Machine learning algorithms predict early death after atrial fibrillation diagnosis and may help clinicians to better risk stratify atrial fibrillation patients at high risk of mortality.

Comparison of first- and second-generation leadless pacemakers in patients with sinus rhythm and complete atrioventricular block.

INTRODUCTION: The efficacy and safety of leadless cardiac pacemakers (LPMs) as an alternative to conventional transvenous cardiac pacing have been largely reported. The first generation of the MicraTM transcatheter pacing system (VR; Medtronic) was able to provide single-chamber VVI(R) pacing mode only, with a potential risk of pacemaker syndrome in sinus rhythm patients. A second-generation system (AV) now provides atrioventricular synchrony through atrial mechanical (Am) sensing capability (VDD mode). OBJECTIVE: We sought to compare VR and AV systems in sinus rhythm patients with chronic ventricular pacing (Vp) for complete atrioventricular block. METHODS: All consecutive patients implanted with an LPM in our department for complete atrioventricular block were retrospectively screened. Patients with atrial fibrillation, sinus dysfunction, or Vp burden <20% at 1 month postimplantation were excluded. Patients were systematically followed with a visit at 1 month, and then at least once a year. RESULTS: A total of 93 patients-45 VR (2015-2020) and 48 AV (2020-2021)-were included. VR and AV patients had similar baseline characteristics, except for VR patients being older (80 ± 8 vs. 77 ± 9 years, p = 0.049). The mean Vp burden was 77% in the VR and 82% in the AV group (p = 0.38). In AV patients, the median AV synchronous beats rate was 78%, with 65% having a >66% rate. An E/A ratio <1.2 as measured on echocardiography was the only independent predictor of accurate atrial mechanical tracking (p = 0.01). One-year survival rate was similar in both groups. Five patients in the VR and 0 in the AV group eventually developed pacemaker syndrome within 1 year post-implantation (p = 0.02). CONCLUSION: In sinus rhythm patients with chronic Vp for complete atrioventricular block implanted with an LPM, the atrial mechanical sensing algorithm allowed significant atrioventricular synchrony in most patients and was associated with no occurrence of-otherwise rare-pacemaker syndrome.

Incidence of clinical atrial fibrillation and related complications using a screening algorithm at a nationwide level.

AIMS: In a recent position paper, the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) proposed an algorithm for the screening and management of arrhythmias using digital devices. In patients with prior stroke, a systematic screening approach for atrial fibrillation (AF) should always be implemented, preferably immediately after the event. Patients with increasing age and with specific cardiovascular or non-cardiovascular comorbidities are also deemed to be at higher risk. From a large nationwide database, the aim was to analyse AF incidence rates derived from this new EHRA algorithm. METHODS AND RESULTS: Using the French administrative hospital discharge database, all patients hospitalized in 2012 without a history of AF, and with at least a 5-year follow-up (FU) (or if they died earlier), were included. The yearly incidence of AF was calculated in each subgroup defined by the algorithm proposed by EHRA based on a history of previous stroke, increasing age, and eight comorbidities identified via International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision codes. Out of the 4526 104 patients included (mean age 58.9 ± 18.9 years, 64.5% women), 1% had a history of stroke. Among those with no history of stroke, 18% were aged 65-74 years and 21% were ≥75 years. During FU, 327 012 patients had an incidence of AF (yearly incidence 1.86% in the overall population). Implementation of the EHRA algorithm divided the population into six risk groups: patients with a history of stroke (group 1); patients > 75 years (group 2); patients aged 65-74 years with or without comorbidity (groups 3a and 3b); and patients < 65 years with or without comorbidity (groups 4a and 4b). The yearly incidences of AF were 4.58% per year (group 2), 6.21% per year (group 2), 3.50% per year (group 3a), 2.01% per year (group 3b), 1.23% per year (group 4a), and 0.35% per year (group 4b). In patients aged < 65 years, the annual incidence of AF increased progressively according to the number of comorbidities from 0.35% (no comorbidities) to 9.08% (eight comorbidities). For those aged 65-75 years, the same trend was observed, i.e. increasing from 2.01% (no comorbidities) to 11.47% (eight comorbidities). CONCLUSION: These findings at a nationwide scale confirm the relevance of the subgroups in the EHRA algorithm for identifying a higher risk of AF incidence, showing that older patients (>75 years, regardless of comorbidities) have a higher incidence of AF than those with prior ischaemic stroke. Further studies are needed to evaluate the usefulness of algorithm-based risk stratification strategies for AF screening and the impact of screening on major cardiovascular event rates.

Impact of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in patients with atrial fibrillation: an analysis from the GLORIA-AF registry.

AIMS: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) may influence management and prognosis of atrial fibrillation (AF), but this relationship has been scarcely explored in contemporary global cohorts. We aimed to investigate the association between AF and COPD, in relation to treatment patterns and major outcomes. METHODS AND RESULTS: From the prospective, global GLORIA-AF registry, we analysed factors associated with COPD diagnosis, as well as treatment patterns and risk of major outcomes in relation to COPD. The primary outcome was the composite of all-cause death and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs). A total of 36 263 patients (mean age 70.1 ± 10.5 years, 45.2% females) were included; 2,261 (6.2%) had COPD. The prevalence of COPD was lower in Asia and higher in North America. Age, female sex, smoking, body mass index, and cardiovascular comorbidities were associated with the presence of COPD. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was associated with higher use of oral anticoagulant (OAC) [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) and 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.29 (1.13-1.47)] and higher OAC discontinuation [adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) and 95% CI: 1.12 (1.01-1.25)]. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was associated with less use of beta-blocker [aOR (95% CI): 0.79 (0.72-0.87)], amiodarone and propafenone, and higher use of digoxin and verapamil/diltiazem. Patients with COPD had a higher hazard of primary composite outcome [aHR (95% CI): 1.78 (1.58-2.00)]; no interaction was observed regarding beta-blocker use. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was also associated with all-cause death [aHR (95% CI): 2.01 (1.77-2.28)], MACEs [aHR (95% CI): 1.41 (1.18-1.68)], and major bleeding [aHR (95% CI): 1.48 (1.16-1.88)]. CONCLUSION: In AF patients, COPD was associated with differences in OAC treatment and use of other drugs; Patients with AF and COPD had worse outcomes, including higher mortality, MACE, and major bleeding.

Ischemic Stroke in Patients With Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy According to Presence or Absence of Atrial Fibrillation.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) have high risk of ischemic stroke (IS), especially if atrial fibrillation (AF) is present. Improvements in risk stratification are needed to help identify those patients with HCM at higher risk of stroke, whether AF is present or not. METHODS: This French longitudinal cohort study from the database covering hospital care from 2010 to 2019 analyzed adults hospitalized with isolated HCM. A logistic regression model was used to construct a French HCM score, which was compared with the HCM Risk-CVA and CHA2DS2-VASc scores using c-indexes and calibration analysis. RESULTS: In 32 206 patients with isolated HCM, 12 498 (38.8%) had AF, and 2489 (7.7%) sustained an IS during follow-up. AF in patients with HCM was independently associated with a higher risk for death (hazard ratio, 1.129 [95% CI, 1.088-1.172]), cardiovascular death (hazard ratio, 1.254 [95% CI, 1.177-1.337]), IS (hazard ratio, 1.210 [95% CI, 1.111-1.317]), and other major cardiovascular events. Independent predictors of IS in HCM were older age, heart failure, AF, prior IS, smoking and poor nutrition (all P<0.05). For the HCM Risk-CVA score, CHA2DS2-VASc score and a French HCM score, all c-indexes were 0.65 to 0.70, with good calibration. Among patients with AF, the CHA2DS2-VASc score had marginal improvement over the HCM Risk-CVA score but was less predictive compared with the French HCM score (P=0.001). In patients without AF, both HCM Risk-CVA score and the French HCM score had significantly better prediction compared with CHA2DS2-VASc (both P<0.0001). Decision curve analysis demonstrated that the French HCM score had the best clinical usefulness of the 3 tested risk scores. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with HCM have a high prevalence of AF and a significant risk of IS, and the presence of AF in patients with HCM was independently associated with worse outcomes. A simple French HCM score shows good prediction of IS in patients with HCM and clinical usefulness, with good calibration.

Physiological pacing with a DF-1 single chamber defibrillator in a patient with permanent atrial fibrillation and heart block: A case report.

We report a case report of a 68-year-old man with chemotherapy-induced cardiomyopathy and uncontrolled permanent atrial fibrillation. Cardiac resynchronization therapy implantation and atrioventricular junction ablation were planned. DF-1 single chamber defibrillator was connected to lead's defibrillation and a lead destinated to left bundle branch area pacing. This system leads to reduce costs by one-third, improve battery longevity, and provide a more physiological pacing.

Breast cancer and incident cardiovascular events: A systematic analysis at the nationwide level.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer (BC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide, and the treatments are frequently cardiotoxic. Whether BC is associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular events is a matter of debate. We evaluated the associations among BC and incident cardiovascular events in a contemporary population. METHODS: All female patients discharged from French hospitals in 2013 with at least 5 years of follow-up and without a history of major adverse cardiovascular event (myocardial infarction [MI], heart failure [HF], ischaemic stroke or all-cause death, and MACE-HF, which includes cardiovascular death, MI, ischaemic stroke or HF) or cancer (except BC) were identified. After propensity score matching, patients with BC were matched 1:1 with patients with no BC. Hazard ratios (HRs) for cardiovascular events during follow-up were adjusted on age, sex and smoking status at baseline. RESULTS: 1,795,759 patients were included, among whom 64,480 (4.3%) had history of BC. During a mean follow-up of 5.1 years, matched female patients with BC had a higher risk of all-cause death (HR 3.55, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.47-3.64), new-onset HF (HR 1.08, 95% CI 1.04-1.11), major bleeding (HR 1.43, 95% CI 1.36-1.49), MACE-HF (HR 1.07, 95% CI 1.04-1.11) and net adverse clinical events (NACE) including all-cause death, MI, ischaemic stroke, HF or major bleeding (HR 2.53, 95% CI 2.48-2.58) compared with those with no BC. By contrast, risks were not higher for cardiovascular death (HR 0.94, 95% CI 0.88-1.00) and were lower for MI (HR 0.81, 95% CI 0.75-0.88) and ischaemic stroke (HR 0.85, 95% CI 0.79-1.11). CONCLUSIONS: In a large and contemporary analysis of female patients seen in French hospitals, women with history of breast cancer had a higher risk of all-cause mortality, new-onset heart failure and major bleeding compared to a matched cohort of women without breast cancer. In contrast, they have a reduced risk of cardiovascular mortality, MI and stroke.

Long-term impact of cardiorenal syndromes on major outcomes based on their chronology: a comprehensive French nationwide cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Cardiorenal syndromes (CRSs) are reputed to result in worse prognosis than isolated heart failure (HF) and chronic kidney disease (CKD). Whether it is true for all major outcomes over the long-term regardless of CRS chronology (simultaneous, cardiorenal and renocardiac CRS) is unknown. METHODS: The 5-year adjusted risk of major outcomes was assessed in this nationwide retrospective cohort study in all 385 687 with either CKD or HF (out of 5 123 193 patients who were admitted in a French hospital in 2012). RESULTS: Overall, 84.0% patients had HF and 8.9% had CKD (they had similar age, sex ratio, diabetes and hypertension prevalence), while 7.1% had CRS (cardiorenal: 44.6%, renocardiac: 14.5%, simultaneous CRS: 40.8%).The incidence of major outcomes was 57.3%, 53.0%, 79.2% for death; 18.8%, 10.9%, 27.5% for cardiovascular death; 52.6%, 34.7%, 64.3% for HF; 6.2%, 5.5%, 5.6% for myocardial infarction (MI); 6.1%, 5.8%, 5.3% for ischaemic stroke; and 23.1%, 4.8%, 16.1% for end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) for isolated CKD, isolated HF and CRS, respectively.As compared with isolated CKD or HF, the risk of death, cardiovascular death and HF was markedly increased in CRS, the worse phenotype being cardiorenal CRS, while the increased risk of MI and ischaemic stroke associated with CRS subtypes was statistically but not clinically significant. As compared with isolated CKD, the risk of ESKD was similar for cardiorenal CRS only and marginally increased for renocardiac and simultaneous CRS. We could not find a synergy between HF and CKD on major clinical outcomes in the whole population (n = 5 123 193 patients). CONCLUSIONS: The additional impact of CRS versus isolated HF or CKD on long-term kidney and cardiovascular risk is highly heterogenous, depending of the event considered and CRS chronology. No synergy between HF and CKD could be demonstrated.

Impact of Sapien 3 Balloon-Expandable Versus Evolut R Self-Expandable Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation in Patients With Aortic Stenosis: Data From a Nationwide Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Two competing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) technologies are currently available. Head-to-head comparisons of the relative performances of these 2 devices have been published. However, long-term clinical outcome evaluation remains limited by the number of patients analyzed, in particular, for recent-generation devices. METHODS: Based on the French administrative hospital-discharge database, the study collected information for all consecutive patients treated with a TAVR device commercialized in France between 2014 and 2018. Propensity score matching was used for the analysis of outcomes during follow-up. The objective of this study was to analyze the outcomes of TAVR according to Sapien 3 balloon-expandable (BE) versus Evolut R self-expanding TAVR technology at a nationwide level in France. RESULTS: A total of 31 113 patients treated with either Sapien 3 BE or Evolut R self-expanding TAVR were found in the database. After matching on baseline characteristics, 20 918 patients were analyzed (10 459 in each group with BE or self-expanding valves). During follow-up (mean [SD], 358 [384]; median [interquartile range], 232 [10-599] days), BE TAVR was associated with a lower yearly incidence of all-cause death (relative risk, 0.88; corrected P=0.005), cardiovascular death (relative risk, 0.82; corrected P=0.002), and rehospitalization for heart failure (relative risk, 0.84; corrected P<0.0001). BE TAVR was also associated with lower rates of pacemaker implantation after the procedure (relative risk, 0.72; corrected P<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: On the basis of the largest cohort available, we observed that Sapien 3 BE valves were associated with lower rates of all-cause death, cardiovascular death, rehospitalization for heart failure, and pacemaker implantation after a TAVR procedure.

Thromboembolism, mortality, and bleeding in 2,435,541 atrial fibrillation patients with and without cancer: A nationwide cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The number of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and cancer is rapidly increasing in clinical practice. The impact of cancer on clinical outcomes in this patient population is unclear, as is the performance of the HAS-BLED (Hypertension, Abnormal Renal/Liver Function, Stroke, Bleeding History or Predisposition, Labile INR, Elderly, Drugs/Alcohol) and CHA2 DS2 -VASc (Congestive Heart Failure, Hypertension, Age ≥ 75 years, Diabetes Mellitus, Stroke or Transient Ischemic Attack, Vascular Disease, Age 65 to 74 Years, Sex Category) scores. METHODS: This was an observational, retrospective cohort study including 2,435,541 adults hospitalized with AF. The authors investigated the incidence rates (IRs) of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, ischemic stroke, major bleeding, and intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) according to the presence of cancer and cancer types. RESULTS: Overall, 399,344 (16.4%) had cancer, with the most common cancers being metastatic, prostatic, colorectal, lung, breast, and bladder. During a mean follow-up of 2.0 years, cancer increased all-cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 2.00; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.99-2.01). The IR of ischemic stroke was higher with pancreatic cancer (2.8%/y), uterine cancer (2.6%/y), and breast cancer (2.6%/y), whereas it was lower with liver/lung cancer (1.9%/y) and leukemia/myeloma (2.0%/y), in comparison with noncancer patients (2.4%/y). Cancer increased the risk of major bleeding (HR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.26-1.28) and ICH (HR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.05-1.10). Leukemia, liver cancer, myeloma, and metastatic cancers showed the highest IRs for major bleeding/ICH. Major bleeding and ICH rates progressively increased with the HAS-BLED score, which showed generally good predictivity with C indexes > 0.70 for all cancer types. The CHA2 DS2 -VASc score's predictivity was slightly lower in AF patients with cancer. CONCLUSIONS: Cancer increased all-cause mortality, major bleeding, and ICH risk in AF patients. The association between cancer and ischemic stroke differed among cancer types, and in some types, the risk of bleeding seemed to exceed the thromboembolic risk.

Sex, age, type of diabetes and incidence of atrial fibrillation in patients with diabetes mellitus: a nationwide analysis.

BACKGROUND: There remain uncertainties regarding diabetes mellitus and the incidence of atrial fibrillation (AF), in relation to type of diabetes, and the interactions with sex and age. We investigated whether diabetes confers higher relative rates of AF in women compared to men, and whether these sex-differences depend on type of diabetes and age. METHODS: All patients aged ≥ 18 seen in French hospitals in 2013 with at least 5 years of follow-up without a history of AF were identified and categorized by their diabetes status. We calculated overall and age-dependent incidence rates, hazard ratios, and women-to-men ratios for incidence of AF in patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes (compared to no diabetes). RESULTS: In 2,921,407 patients with no history of AF (55% women), 45,389 had prevalent type 1 diabetes and 345,499 had prevalent type 2 diabetes. The incidence rates (IRs) of AF were higher in type 1 or type 2 diabetic patients than in non-diabetics, and increased with advancing age. Among individuals with diabetes, the absolute rate of AF was higher in men than in women. When comparing individuals with and without diabetes, women had a higher adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of AF than men: adjusted HR 1.32 (95% confidence interval 1.27-1.37) in women vs. 1.12(1.08-1.16) in men for type 1 diabetes, adjusted HR 1.17(1.16-1.19) in women vs. 1.10(1.09-1.12) in men for type 2 diabetes. CONCLUSION: Although men have higher absolute rates for incidence of AF, the relative rates of incident AF associated with diabetes are higher in women than in men for both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

Metabolically healthy obesity and cardiovascular events: A nationwide cohort study.

AIM: To evaluate the associations between metabolically healthy obesity (MHO) and different types of incident cardiovascular events in a contemporary population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All patients discharged from French hospitals in 2013 with at least 5 years of follow-up and without a history of major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE; myocardial infarction, heart failure [HF], ischaemic stroke or cardiovascular death [MACE-HF]) or underweight/malnutrition were identified. They were categorized by phenotypes defined by obesity and three metabolic abnormalities (diabetes, hypertension and hyperlipidaemia). Hazard ratios (HRs) for cardiovascular events during follow-up were adjusted on age, sex and smoking status at baseline. RESULTS: In total, 2 873 039 individuals were included in the analysis, among whom 272 838 (9.5%) had obesity. During a mean follow-up of 4.9 years, when pooling men and women, individuals with MHO had a higher risk of MACE-HF (multivariate-adjusted HR 1.22, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.19-1.24), new-onset HF (HR 1.34, 95% CI 1.31-1.37) and atrial fibrillation (AF; HR 1.33, 95% CI 1.30-1.37) compared with individuals with no obesity and zero metabolic abnormalities. By contrast, risks were not higher for myocardial infarction (HR 0.92, 95% CI 0.87-0.98), ischaemic stroke (HR 0.93, 95% CI 0.88-0.98) and cardiovascular death (HR 0.99, 95% CI 0.93-1.04). MHO in men was associated with a higher risk of clinical events compared with metabolically healthy men of normal weight (HR 1.12-1.80), while women with MHO had a lower risk for most events than metabolically healthy women of normal weight (HR 0.49-0.99). CONCLUSIONS: In a large and contemporary analysis of patients seen in French hospitals, individuals with MHO did not have a higher risk of myocardial infarction, ischaemic stroke or cardiovascular death than metabolically healthy individuals with no obesity. By contrast, they had a higher risk of new-onset HF and new-onset AF. However, notable differences were observed in men and women in the sex-stratified analysis.

Left bundle area pacing, an elegant alternative in failed cardiac resynchronization therapy implantation: A case report.

Left ventricular lead placement for cardiac resynchronization therapy may be challenging or even impossible. Left bundle area pacing has emerged as an interesting alternative method in case of failed implantation.

The Defibrillation Conundrum: New Insights into the Mechanisms of Shock-Related Myocardial Injury Sustained from a Life-Saving Therapy.

Implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICDs) are recommended to prevent the risk of sudden cardiac death. However, shocks are associated with an increased mortality with a dose response effect, and a strategy of reducing electrical therapy burden improves the prognosis of implanted patients. We review the mechanisms of defibrillation and its consequences, including cell damage, metabolic remodeling, calcium metabolism anomalies, and inflammatory and pro-fibrotic remodeling. Electrical shocks do save lives, but also promote myocardial stunning, heart failure, and pro-arrhythmic effects as seen in electrical storms. Limiting unnecessary implantations and therapies and proposing new methods of defibrillation in the future are recommended.