Association of left pulmonary vein trunk and subclinical atrial fibrillation in patients with cardiac implantable electronic device.

The relationship between subclinical atrial fibrillation (SCAF) and left pulmonary vein anatomy is unknown. This study sought to investigate whether left pulmonary vein trunk predict the development of SCAF in patients with cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED). We also examined the relationship between the duration of SCAF and left pulmonary vein trunk. We retrospectively enrolled 162 patients who underwent implantation of dual-chamber CIEDs and follow-up by remote monitoring system. Computed tomography was used to measure the length of the left pulmonary vein. During median follow up of 2.7 years, the episodes of > 6 min and > 24 h SCAF were observed in 61 (37.7%) and 24 (14.8%) patients, respectively. The diagnosis of sinus node disease (HR: 3.66 [2.06-6.52], P < 0.01 and HR: 2.68 [1.09-6.62], P = 0.04) and left atrial diameter (HR: 1.04 [1.00-1.07], P = 0.04 and HR: 1.05 [1.00-1.10], P = 0.04) were independent predictors for > 6 min and > 24 h SCAF, respectively. Length of the left pulmonary vein trunk was an independent predictor for > 6 min SCAF (HR: 1.06 [1.02-1.10], P < 0.01), but not for > 24 h SCAF (P = 0.06). Sinus node disease, size of the left atrium and length of the left pulmonary vein trunk were related to SCAF. The left pulmonary vein trunk might especially contribute as a trigger rather than as a driver of development of atrial fibrillation.

Calcium Fracture After Intravascular Lithotripsy as Assessed With Optical Coherence Tomography.

BACKGROUND: Plaque characteristics associated with effective intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) treatment of calcification have not been investigated. This study identified calcified plaque characteristics that favor the use of IVL.Methods and Results: Optical coherence tomography (OCT) was performed in 16 calcified lesions in 16 patients treated with IVL and coronary stenting. Cross-sectional OCT images in 262 segments matched across pre-IVL, post-IVL, and post-stenting time points were analyzed. After IVL, 66 (25%) segments had calcium fracture. In multivariable analysis, calcium arc (odds ratio [OR] 1.22; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.13-1.32; P<0.0001), superficial calcification (OR 6.98; 95% CI 0.07-55.57; P=0.0182), minimum calcium thickness (OR 0.66; 95% CI 0.51-0.86; P=0.0013), and nodular calcification (OR 0.24; 95% CI 0.08-0.70; P=0.0056) were associated with calcium fracture. After stenting, stent area was larger for segments with fracture (8.0 [6.9-10.6] vs. 7.1 [5.2-8.9] mm2; P=0.004). CONCLUSIONS: Post-IVL calcium fracture is more likely in calcified lesions with lower thickness, a larger calcium arc, superficial calcification, and non-nodular calcification, leading to a larger stent area.

Characteristics of Discharged Elderly Patients with Acute Heart Failure Followed by Board-Certified-Cardiologists in a Rural Area of Japan.

The worldwide incidence rates of heart failure (HF) are approaching pandemic status due to aging societies. Board-certified cardiologists (BCCs) of the Japanese Circulation Society (JCS) are cardiologists who have completed the respective fellowship program and passed the examination. However, in rural areas, patients have limited access to medical care for social or geographical reasons. The clinical features of the specialist's follow-up for HF patients in rural areas are unclear.This study consists of 205 consecutive discharged elderly patients who were admitted to our hospital due to acute HF (AHF). All patients were recommended for follow-up with BCCs-JCS by the multidisciplinary HF team at the discharge-care planning meeting. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical features and impact of BCC follow-up for discharged elderly patients with AHF in rural areas.A total of 156 patients chose follow-up with BCCs-JCS (BCC group), and 49 patients chose follow-up with non-BCCs-JCS (non-BCC group). Patients in the BCC group were younger (83 [76-86] versus 89 [75-93] years old, P < 0.001) and had more frequent use of ß-blockers (67% versus 39%, P < 0.001). The degree of frailty assessed by the clinical frailty scale was more severe in the non-BCC group than in the BCC group (4 [3-5] versus 6 [4-7], P < 0.001). The non-BCC group lived in nursing homes more frequently than the BCC group (16% versus 5%, P = 0.011).The HF patients followed by BCCS-JCS in rural areas were younger and had less frailty.

Vascular Response After Everolimus-Eluting Stent in Acute Myocardial Infarction Caused by Calcified Nodule.

BACKGROUND: Patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) caused by calcified nodules (CN) have worse clinical outcomes following primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). This study investigated the late vascular response after everolimus-eluting stent (EES) implantation assessed by optical coherence tomography (OCT) in patients with AMI caused by CN, by comparing with plaque rupture (PR) and plaque erosion (PE).Methods and Results: Based on the OCT findings in AMI culprit lesions before PCI, a total of 141 patients were categorized into 3 groups (PR, PE, or CN), and the OCT findings immediately and 10 months after PCI were compared. The frequency of PR, PE, and CN was 85 (60%), 45 (32%), and 11 patients (8%), respectively. In the 10-month follow-up OCT, the frequency of lesions with uncovered struts and lesions with malapposed struts were highest in the CN group, followed by the PR and PE groups (82% vs. 52% vs. 40%, P=0.042 and 73% vs. 26% vs. 16%, P<0.001, respectively). The incidence of intra-stent thrombus, re-appearance of CN within the stent, and target lesion revascularization were higher in the CN group compared with the PR and PE groups (36% vs. 9% vs. 7%, P=0.028; 27% vs. 0% vs. 0%, P<0.001; and 18% vs. 2% vs. 2%, P=0.024, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Late arterial healing response at 10 months after EES implantation in the CN was worse compared with PR and PE in patients with AMI.

Long-Term Outcomes in Elderly Patients After Deferral of Coronary Revascularization Guided by Fractional Flow Reserve.

BACKGROUND: Little evidence is available regarding the long-term outcome in elderly patients after deferral of revascularization based on fractional flow reserve (FFR).Methods and Results: From the J-CONFIRM registry (long-term outcomes of Japanese patients with deferral of coronary intervention based on fractional flow reserve in multicenter registry), 1,262 patients were divided into 2 groups according to age: elderly and younger patients (aged ≥75 or <75 years, respectively). The primary endpoint was the cumulative 5-year incidence of target vessel failure (TVF), defined as a composite of cardiac death, target vessel-related myocardial infarction (TVMI), and clinically driven target vessel revascularization (CDTVR). Cumulative 5-year incidence of TVF was not significantly different between elderly and younger patients (14.3% vs. 10.8%, P=0.12). Cardiac death occurred more frequently in elderly patients than younger patients (4.4% vs. 0.8%, P<0.001), whereas TVMI and CDTVR did not differ between groups (1.3% vs. 0.9%, P=0.80; 10.7% vs. 10.1%, P=0.80, respectively). FFR values in lesions with diameter stenosis <50% were significantly higher in elderly patients than in younger patients (0.88±0.07 vs. 0.85±0.07, P=0.01), whereas this relationship was not observed in those with diameter stenosis ≥50%. CONCLUSIONS: Elderly patients had no excess risk of ischemic events related to the deferred coronary lesions by FFR, although FFR values in mild coronary artery stenosis were modestly different between elderly and younger patients.

Real-time venography-guided extrathoracic puncture technique for cardiovascular implantable electronic device implantation.

Central venous access is an essential technique for cardiovascular implantable electronic device (CIED) implantation, and the use of axillary vein approach has recently been increasing. This study sought to examine whether real-time venography-guided extrathoracic puncture facilitates the procedure. We retrospectively analyzed 179 consecutive patients who underwent CIED implantation using the axillary vein puncture method. Patients were divided into two groups: the conventional method group (CG, n = 107) and the real-time venography-guided group (RG, n = 82). The application of real-time venography was at the discretion of individual operators. Operators with experience of less than 50 CIED implantations were defined as inexperienced operators in this study. Puncture duration and number of attempts were significantly less in the RG group than in the CG group (283 ± 198 vs. 421 ± 361 s, p < 0.01, and 3.19 ± 2.00 vs. 4.18 ± 2.85, p < 0.01). These benefits of real-time venography were observed in inexperienced operators, but not in experienced operators. In addition, the success rate without extra attempts at puncture was higher in the RG group (54% vs. 32%, p < 0.01). Although the total amount of contrast medium was higher in the RG group (16.3 ± 4.1 mL vs. 11.9 ± 6.6 mL, p < 0.01), serum levels of creatinine pre- and post-operation were not different in the two groups (p = NS). We concluded that real-time venography is a safe and effective method for axillary vein puncture, especially in inexperienced operators.

Usefulness of optical coherence tomography with angiographic coregistration in the guidance of coronary stent implantation.

Optical coherence tomography (OCT)-angiography coregistration during stent implantation may be useful to avoid geographical mismatch and incomplete lesion coverage. Untreated lipid-rich plaque at stent edge is associated with subsequent stent edge restenosis. The present study sought to compare the frequency of untreated lipid-rich plaque at the stent edge between OCT-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with and without OCT-angiography coregistration. We investigated 398 patients who underwent OCT-guided stent implantation (n = 198 in the coregistration group, and n = 200 in the no coregistration group). In OCT after PCI, untreated lipid-lich plaque was identified by the maximum lipid arc > 180˚ in the 5-mm stent edge segment. The PCI-targeted lesion characteristics and stent length were not different between the coregistration group and the no coregistration group. The frequency of untreated lipid-rich plaque in either proximal or distal stent edge segment was significantly lower in the coregistration group than in the no coregistration group (16% vs. 26%, P = 0.015). The frequency of stent-edge dissection (5% vs. 6%, P = 0.516) and untreated stenosis (2% vs. 3%, P = 0.724) was low and without significant differences between the two groups. In OCT-guided PCI, the use of OCT-angiography coregistration was associated with a reduced frequency of untreated lipid-rich plaque at stent edges. OCT-angiography coregistration has a positive impact on PCI results.

Impact of Optical Coherence Tomography Imaging on Decision-Making During Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Patients Presented With Acute Coronary Syndromes.

BACKGROUND: Optical coherence tomography (OCT) provides valuable information to guide percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) regarding lesion preparation, stent sizing, and optimization. The aim of the present study was to compare lumen expansion of stent-treated lesions immediately after the procedure for ACS between OCT-guided PCI and angiography-guided PCI.Methods and Results:This study investigated stent-treated lesions immediately after PCI for ACS by using quantitative coronary angiography in 390 patients; 260 patients with OCT-guided PCI and 130 patients with angiography-guided PCI. Before stenting, the frequency of pre-dilatation and thrombus aspiration were not different between the OCT-guided and angiography-guided PCI groups. Stent diameter was significantly larger as a result of OCT-guided PCI (3.11±0.44 mm vs. 2.99±0.45 mm, P=0.011). In post-dilatation, balloon pressure-up (48% vs. 31%, P=0.001) and balloon diameter-up (33% vs. 6%, P<0.001) were more frequently performed in the OCT-guided PCI group. Minimum lumen diameter (2.55±0.35 mm vs. 2.13±0.50 mm, P<0.001) and acute lumen gain (2.18±0.54 mm vs. 1.72±0.63 mm, P<0.001) were significantly larger in the OCT-guided PCI group. Percent diameter stenosis (14±4% vs. 24±10%, P<0.001) and percent area stenosis (15±5% vs. 35±17%, P<0.001) were significantly smaller in the OCT-guided PCI group. CONCLUSIONS: OCT-guided PCI potentially results in larger lumen expansion of stent-treated lesions immediately after PCI in the treatment of ACS compared with angiography-guided PCI.

Impact of left ventricular ejection fraction and preoperative hemoglobin level on perioperative adverse cardiovascular events in noncardiac surgery.

The prediction of a perioperative adverse cardiovascular event (PACE) is an important clinical issue in the medical management of patients undergoing noncardiac surgery. Although several predictors have been reported, simpler and more practical predictors of PACE have been needed. The aim of this study was to investigate the predictors of PACE in noncardiac surgery. We retrospectively analyzed 723 patients who were scheduled for elective noncardiac surgery and underwent preoperative examinations including 12-lead electrocardiography, transthoracic echocardiography, and blood test. PACE was defined as cardiac death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, unstable angina, congestive heart failure, arrhythmia attack that needs emergency treatment (rapid atrial fibrillation, ventricular tachycardia, and bradycardia), acute pulmonary embolism, asystole, pulseless electrical activity, or stroke during 30 days after surgery. PACE occurred in 54 (7.5%) of 723 patients. High-risk operation (11% vs. 3%, p = 0.003) was more often seen, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (55 ± 8% vs. 60 ± 7%, p = 0.001) and preoperative hemoglobin level (11.8 ± 2.2 g/dl vs. 12.7 ± 2.0 g/dl, p = 0.001) were lower in patients with PACE compared to those without PACE. By multivariate logistic regression analysis, high-risk operation (odds ratio (OR): 7.05, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.16-23.00, p = 0.001), LVEF (OR 1.06, every 1% decrement, 95% CI 1.03-1.09, p = 0.001), and preoperative hemoglobin level (OR 1.22, every 1 g/dl decrement, 95% CI 1.07-1.39, p = 0.003) were identified as independent predictors of PACE. Receiver operating characteristic analysis demonstrated that LVEF of 58% (sensitivity = 80%, specificity = 61%, area under the curve (AUC) = 0.723) and preoperative hemoglobin level of 12.2 g/dl (sensitivity = 63%, specificity = 64%, AUC = 0.644) were optimal cut-off values for predicting PACE. High-risk operation, reduced LVEF, and reduced preoperative hemoglobin level were independently associated with PACE in patients undergoing noncardiac surgery.

Global longitudinal strain evaluated by speckle-tracking echocardiography as a surrogate marker for predicting replacement fibrosis detected by magnetic resonance-late gadolinium enhancement in patients with nonischemic cardiomyopathy.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate whether left ventricular (LV) global longitudinal strain (GLS) evaluated by speckle-tracking echocardiography (STE) can be used as a surrogate marker for the detection of replacement fibrosis by late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) on cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) in patients with nonischemic cardiomyopathy (NICM). METHODS: This study analyzed 41 NICM patients who successfully underwent both STE and CMR, and were divided into those with (Group A, n = 18) and those without CMR-LGE (Group B, n = 23). Echocardiographic indexes, including GLS, were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: No significant differences were observed in LV end-diastolic and end-systolic volume indexes, LV ejection fraction, mitral E/A, deceleration time, E/e', left atrial volume index, and the systolic trans-tricuspid pressure gradient between Groups A and B. STE-GLS was significantly worse in Group A than in Group B (-7.6% ± 3.0% vs -9.9% ± 3.2%, P = .01). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that STE-GLS of -7.9% was the best cut-off value for detection of CMR-LGE (sensitivity, 78%; specificity, 74%; and area under the curve, 0.74). CONCLUSIONS: STE-GLS may be a potential surrogate marker for the detection of CMR-LGE-derived replacement fibrosis in patients with NICM.