Single arterial access closure of post-infarction ventricular septal defect: A case series.

BACKGROUND: Post-infarction ventricular septal defect (PIVSD) carries a very poor prognosis. Surgical repair offers reasonable outcomes in patients who survive the initial healing period. Percutaneous device implantation remains a potentially effective earlier alternative. METHODS AND RESULTS: From March 2018 to May 2022, 11 trans-arterial PIVSD closures were attempted in 9 patients from two centers (aged 67.2 ± 11.1 years; 77.8% male). Two patients had a second procedure. Myocardial infarction was anterior in four patients (44.5%) and inferior in five cases (55.5%). Devices were successfully implanted in all patients. There were no major immediate procedural complications. Immediate shunt grade postprocedure was significant (11.1%), minimal (77.8%), or none (11.1%). Median length of stay after the procedure was 14.8 days. Five patients (55%) survived to discharge and were followed up for a median of 605 days, during which time no additional patients died. CONCLUSION: Single arterial access for percutaneous closure of PIVSD is a good option for these extremely high-risk patients, in the era of effective large-bore arterial access closure. Mortality remains high, but patients who survive to discharge do well in the longer term.

Contemporary Evidence-Based Diagnosis and Management of Severe Coronary Artery Calcification.

Percutaneous treatment of heavily calcified coronary lesions remains a challenge for interventional cardiologists with increased risk of incomplete lesion preparation, suboptimal stent deployment, procedural complications, and a higher rate of acute and late stent failure. Adequate lesion preparation through calcium modification is crucial in optimising procedural outcomes. Several calcium modification devices and techniques exist, with rotational atherectomy the predominant treatment for severely calcified lesions. Novel technologies such as intravascular lithotripsy are now available and show promise as a less technical and highly effective approach for calcium modification. Emerging evidence also emphasises the value of detailed characterisation of calcification severity and distribution especially with intracoronary imaging for appropriate device selection and individualised treatment strategy. This review aims to provide an overview of the non-invasive and invasive evaluation of coronary calcification, discuss calcium modification techniques and propose an algorithm for the management of calcified coronary lesions.

The Rise of Transradial Artery Access for Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Patients with Acute Coronary Syndromes in Australia.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) via transradial artery access (TRA) or transfemoral artery access (TFA). BACKGROUND: Over the last decade, evidence for the benefit of TRA for PCI has grown, leading to a steady uptake of TRA around the world. Despite this, the topic remains controversial with contrary evidence to suggest no significant benefit over TFA. METHODS: A retrospective study of consecutive ACS patients from 2011 to 2017 who underwent PCI via TRA or TFA. The primary outcome was Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events (MACE), a composite of death, myocardial infarction (MI), target lesion revascularisation (TLR), or coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) at 12 months. Secondary outcomes included Bleeding Academic Research Consortium (BARC) bleeding events scored 2 or higher, haematoma formation, and stent thrombosis, in addition to all individual components of MACE. RESULTS: We treated 3624 patients (77% male), with PCI via TFA (n = 2391) or TRA (n = 1233). Transradial artery access was associated with a reduction in mortality (3% vs 6.3%; p < 0.0001), MI (1.8% vs 3.9%; p=0.0004), CABG (0.6% vs 1.5%; p=0.0205), TLR (1% vs 2.9%; p < 0.0001), large haematoma (0.4% vs 1.8%; p=0.0003), BARC 2 (0.2% vs 1.1%; p=0.0029), and BARC 3 events (0.4% vs 1.0%; p=0.0426). On multivariate Cox regression analysis, TFA, age ≥ 75, prior PCI, use of bare metal stents, cardiogenic shock, cardiac arrest, and multivessel coronary artery disease were associated with an increased risk of MACE. CONCLUSION: Despite the limitations secondary to the observational nature of our study and multiple confounders, our results are in line with results of major trials and, as such, we feel that our results support the use of TRA as the preferred access site in patients undergoing PCI for ACS to improve patient outcomes.

Acute rupture of a sinus of Valsalva aneurysm into the right atrium: a case report and a narrative review.

BACKGROUND: Sinus of Valsalva aneurysm (SVA) is a rare cardiac anomaly which has potential for spontaneous rupture into other cardiac chambers or the pericardial space (depending on its location). A ruptured SVA has a very poor prognosis with high morbidity and mortality. The development of a shunt between the sinus of Valsalva and right-sided cardiac chambers results in a continuous murmur on examination. Our case report is a case of SVA rupture into the right atrium. CASE PRESENTATION: In this case report, we describe a 23-year-old patient with an acute onset of chest pain, shortness of breath, palpitations and dizziness starting 2 days prior to presentation to the emergency department. The patient was initially treated for presumed pulmonary embolism overnight while awaiting CTPA the next morning. However, further examination by the inpatient medical team demonstrated a continuous machinery cardiac murmur. Subsequent echocardiography demonstrated an acutely ruptured SVA with shunting to the right atrium. Emergency surgical repair resulted in an excellent outcome for the patient. CONCLUSION: A thorough clinical history and physical examination is the cornerstone of all medical encounters. An SVA could be asymptomatic until acute rupture. Echocardiography is the preferred initial diagnostic tool. Additional imaging techniques can be used to confirm the diagnosis. In cases of rupture, prognosis is poor and surgical repair is always required.

A case of covered stent failure in sealing up a coronary perforation potentially related to intravascular lithotripsy treatment: insights from optical coherence tomography.

Background: Intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) is a new modality in treatment of calcified coronary lesions which improves procedural outcomes. Coronary perforation is an extremely uncommon but potentially catastrophic complication of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and IVL therapy. Case summary: We report a case of an elective PCI to a calcified left anterior descending (LAD) and diagonal bifurcation lesion in a 65-year-old man. LAD was treated with two stents. Despite high pressure non-compliant balloon inflation, a focal area of under-expansion remained. IVL successfully treated the under-expansion but was complicated with a large coronary perforation. The perforation was successfully sealed with a PK-PAPYRUS covered stent sacrificing the diagonal branch. Patient remained stable until 3 hours later when he developed tamponade requiring urgent pericardial drainage. Repeat angiography demonstrated recanalization of the diagonal branch and ongoing contrast extravasation along its course. Optical coherence tomography intracoronary imaging was used to delineate the mechanism of ongoing bleeding. This demonstrated an interrupted elastic membrane of the covered stent, potentially caused by underlying fractured calcium. Therefore, a second overlying PAPYRUS stent was deployed which satisfactorily sealed the perforation. Discussion: IVL is an emerging less invasive treatment for calcified coronary stenosis but could be associated with drastic complications. This case highlights the importance of awareness of IVL-related coronary perforation and the potential limitation of new generation thinner-wall covered stents. Intracoronary imaging plays an important role in identifying mechanisms of stent failure, tailoring treatment, and optimizing outcomes.

Early Australian experience with intravascular lithotripsy treatment of severe calcific coronary stenosis: IVL in acute/chronic coronary syndromes.

Aims: Calcified coronary stenoses are a serious impediment to optimal stent expansion and can lead to stent failure and catastrophic adverse outcomes. We hereby present early Australian experience with intravascular lithotripsy for the treatment of calcific lesions in acute and chronic coronary syndromes. Methods and results: This was a single-centre retrospective study of all patients treated with intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) between October 2019 and June 2021. Patient demographics, procedural variables, and treatment safety/efficacy outcomes were evaluated. During this period, there were 40 patients and 41 coronary lesions with IVL-assisted percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) (70% male; mean age 72.8±9.5 years). Indications for PCI were acute coronary syndromes in 25 patients (62.5%), and stable angina in 15 patients (37.5%). Upfront IVL usage occurred in 5% of cases with the rest being bailout procedures due to suboptimal initial balloon predilatation or stent underexpansion. Angiographic success (<20% residual stenosis) occurred in 37 cases (92.5%), with mean residual stenosis of 8.25%±8.5%. Two patients experienced procedural complications (5%). Conclusions: IVL appears to be a safe and effective modality in modifying coronary calcium to achieve optimal stent expansion in real-world practice. This device obviates the need for more complex lesion preparation strategies such as rotational or orbital atherectomy.

Overcoming very late severe calcific stenosis due to two layers of under-expanded stents with intravascular lithotripsy treatment: A case report.

Intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) shockwave treatment is effective in treatment of severe calcific coronary stenosis within two layers of old under-expanded stents. Intravascular imaging is essential to analyze the mechanism of in-stent failure and optimize treatment.

Iodine staining outperforms phosphotungstic acid in high-resolution micro-CT scanning of post-natal mice cardiac structures.

Purpose: Micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) scan provides high-resolution three-dimensional images of mineralized tissues in small animal models. Contrast enhancement is essential to visualize non-mineralized tissues with micro-CT scan. We attempted to compare the two most common contrast agents to stain and image mouse cardiac structures. Approach: Ex-vivo micro-CT scan images of the mouse hearts were obtained following staining by potassium iodide or phosphotungstic acid (PTA). PTA-stained samples were imaged after various durations following staining (14 days, 25 days, 187 days, and 780 days), whereas iodine-stained samples were imaged after 72 hours. We compared median staining intensity between PTA and iodine at 0.1-mm intervals from the edge using the Mann Whitney test with correction for multiple comparisons. Results: Sixty post-natal mice hearts were stained with either PTA or iodine and imaged using micro-CT scan. Iodine proved to be faster and more uniform in complete enhancement of cardiac tissue in as short as 72 h, whereas PTA required a significantly longer time period to penetrate mouse cardiac structure ( > 150 days ). Median staining intensity with iodine was strongly higher than that with PTA from 0.1- to 1.5-mm distance from the epicardial edge (2-tailed P value < 0.01 or lower throughout). Conclusions: Iodine-stained soft tissue imaging by micro-CT scan provides a non-destructive, efficient, and accurate visualization tool for anatomical analysis of animal heart models of human cardiovascular conditions. Iodine is more efficient compared to PTA to achieve complete murine myocardial staining in a significantly shorter time period.

A unique case report of mitral valve endocarditis associated with coronary stent infection.

BACKGROUND: Despite increasing use of percutaneous coronary intervention and stenting, septic complications such as coronary stent infections are rare. We report a unique case of mitral valve infective endocarditis and associated coronary stent infection which emerged 6 months after index stent insertion. CASE SUMMARY: A 56-year-old previously healthy man underwent percutaneous coronary intervention and stenting of left circumflex (LCx) coronary artery in the setting of non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. Six months later, he represented with inferior ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction and was found to have a coronary pseudoaneurysm of stented segment of LCx. The pseudoaneurysm was treated with insertion of a covered stent, and immediately following that he developed sepsis with methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia. Comprehensive work-up resulted in the diagnosis of mitral valve endocarditis complicated by coronary stent infection and myocardial abscess formation. He was managed with initial prolonged systemic antibiotic treatment followed by mitral valve replacement. Post-operative course was uneventful with a short duration of oral antibiotics. At 6-year follow-up, the patient was well with the satisfactory echocardiographic result. DISCUSSION: This is a very rare case of mitral valve endocarditis with extensive cardiac involvement including coronary stent infection and surrounding myocardial abscess. Stents can act as an ideal vector for bacterial adherence from which bacteria could spread to the arterial wall and adjacent myocardium. This case suggests a potential complication of delayed endothelialization and risk of infective complication due to bacterial seeding or embolization.

Micro-CT scan with virtual dissection of left ventricle is a non-destructive, reproducible alternative to dissection and weighing for left ventricular size.

Micro-CT scan images enhanced by iodine staining provide high-resolution visualisation of soft tissues in laboratory mice. We have compared Micro-CT scan-derived left ventricular (LV) mass with dissection and weighing. Ex-vivo micro-CT scan images of the mouse hearts were obtained following staining by iodine. The LV was segmented and its volume was assessed using a semi-automated method by Drishti software. The left ventricle was then dissected in the laboratory and its actual weight was measured and compared against the estimated results. LV mass was calculated multiplying its estimated volume and myocardial specific gravity. Thirty-five iodine-stained post-natal mouse hearts were studied. Mice were of either sex and 68 to 352 days old (median age 202 days with interquartile range 103 to 245 days) at the time of sacrifice. Samples were from 20 genetically diverse strains. Median mouse body weight was 29 g with interquartile range 24 to 34 g. Left Ventricular weights ranged from 40.0 to 116.7 mg. The segmented LV mass estimated from micro-CT scan and directly measured dissected LV mass were strongly correlated (R2 = 0. 97). Segmented LV mass derived from Micro-CT images was very similar to the physically dissected LV mass (mean difference = 0.09 mg; 95% confidence interval - 3.29 mg to 3.1 mg). Micro-CT scanning provides a non-destructive, efficient and accurate visualisation tool for anatomical analysis of animal heart models of human cardiovascular conditions. Iodine-stained soft tissue imaging empowers researchers to perform qualitative and quantitative assessment of the cardiac structures with preservation of the samples for future histological analysis.