Pilot Cohort Study Assessing the Efficacy of Endovascular Revascularization in the Restoration of Peripheral Sensory Disturbance in Patients With Critical Limb Ischemia.

BACKGROUND: Sensory disturbance (SD) is a common consequence of peripheral nerve damage associated with diabetes and severe ischemia. Progression of SD places patients at high risk for lower extremity ulcers and amputations. SD has been thought to be progressive and irreversible, and possibly caused by microvascular dysfunction. The aim of this study was to determine whether endovascular revascularization (EVR) induces quantifiable changes in SD in chronic critical limb ischemia (CLI) patients with neuropathy.Methods and Results:In all, 36 legs from 28 chronic CLI patients who underwent elective EVR were prospectively enrolled in this study (64% with diabetes and 54% on maintenance hemodialysis). The current perception threshold (CPT), an established diagnostic parameter for SD, was measured before and 3 months after EVR. Of the target lesions, 11%, 47%, and 81% were in the aortoiliac, femoropopliteal, and below-the-knee arteries, respectively, and 58% were totally occluded. Overall CPT in the target foot had improved significantly 3 months after EVR (from 53 to 30 µA; P=0.010); however, EVR did not change CPT in the non-target foot (from 44 to 33 µA; P=0.33). Patients with improved SD after EVR had a significantly higher 180-day survival rate (94% vs. 63%; P=0.040). CONCLUSIONS: EVR improved CPT in target limbs of patients with CLI, and may be a promising option to improve SD associated with peripheral ischemic sensory neuropathy.

Optimal lipid-lowering therapy in patients who were functionally deferred percutaneous coronary intervention.

Deferral of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for functionally insignificant stenosis, defined as fractional flow reserve (FFR) > 0.80, is associated with favorable long-term prognoses. The lower-the-better strategy for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) management is an established non-angioplasty therapy to improve the clinical outcomes of patients undergoing PCI. We examined the optimal LDL-C management in cases of intermediate coronary stenosis with deferred PCI on the basis of FFR values. This observational study included 273 consecutive patients with a single target vessel and deferred PCI with an FFR > 0.80. Patients with an FFR of 0.81-0.85 (n = 93) and those with FFR > 0.85 (n = 180) were classified into the lower (< 100 mg/dL) and higher (≥ 100 mg/dL) LDL-C groups. The endpoint was major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE), including death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, heart failure hospitalization, and unplanned revascularization. Patients with an FFR of 0.81-0.85 had a significantly higher MACCE rate than those with an FFR > 0.85 (log-rank, p = 0.003). In patients with an FFR of 0.81-0.85, the lower LDL-C group showed a significantly lower MACCE rate than the higher LDL-C group (log-rank, p = 0.006). However, the event rate did not differ significantly between the two groups in patients with FFR > 0.85 (log-rank, p = 0.84). Uncontrolled LDL-C levels were associated with higher MACCE rates in cases with deferred PCI due to an FFR of 0.81-0.85. This high-risk population for adverse cardiovascular events should receive strict LDL-C-lowering therapy.

Direct Oral Anticoagulants Affect Activated Clotting Time During and Bleeding Events After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

Inappropriately high activated clotting time (ACT) during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is associated with an increased risk of bleeding events. However, whether the prescription of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) affects ACT kinetics during heparin use and adverse clinical events in patients who underwent PCI remains unclear. We aimed to evaluate the relations between ACT changes during and adverse clinical events after PCI in patients who were prescribed DOAC. This observational study included 246 patients who underwent PCI at the 2 cardiovascular centers who were not receiving warfarin and whose ACT was recorded immediately before and 30 minutes after injection of unfractionated heparin. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to DOAC prescription at the time of the index PCI: DOAC users (n = 31) and nonusers (n = 215). Any bleeding and systemic thromboembolic events were investigated until 30 days after PCI. The average age of this population was 70.5 years, and 66.3% were male. Average ACT was significantly higher in DOAC users than nonusers both before and 30 minutes after unfractionated heparin induction (157.2 ± 30.1 vs 131.8 ± 25.1 seconds, p <0.001; 371.1 ± 122.2 vs 308.3 ± 82.2 seconds, p <0.001; respectively). The incidence of systemic thromboembolism after PCI was low and comparable between the 2 groups (0% vs 3.7%, p = 0.60). However, the rate of any bleeding event was significantly higher in DOAC users than in nonusers (16.1% vs 4.7%, p = 0.028). Patients receiving DOAC have higher ACT during PCI and higher incidence of bleeding events than those not receiving DOAC.

Persistent high blood urea nitrogen level is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular events in patients with acute heart failure.

AIMS: The association between kinetics of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels in hospital and cardiovascular outcomes in patients with acutely decompensated congestive heart failure (HF) is unclear. We aimed to estimate the impact of changes in BUN level during hospitalization on clinical prognosis in patients with acute HF. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 353 consecutive patients that were urgently hospitalized due to acutely decompensated HF and discharged alive were divided into four subgroups depending on their BUN level at admission and discharge, using a cut-off level of 21.0 mg/dL. Among 206 patients with high baseline BUN level, 46 (22%) and 160 (78%) had normal and persistent high BUN levels at discharge, respectively. In contrast, of the 147 patients with normal baseline BUN level, 55 (37%) and 92 (63%) had high and normal BUN levels at discharge, respectively. During the observational period after discharge, Kaplan-Meier analysis showed the highest rate of combined outcome of cardiovascular death and HF readmission in patients with persistent high BUN (log-rank test: P < 0.001). After adjustment for comorbidities, the hazard ratio for a combined outcome was significantly lower in patients with normalized BUN level compared with those with persistent high BUN (hazard ratio 0.48, 95% confidence interval 0.23-0.99, P = 0.049). CONCLUSIONS: Persistent high BUN levels in hospital are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular death and HF readmission. Normalization of BUN levels during hospitalization may be associated with long-term clinical outcomes.