Cardiovascular events in patients with deferred lesions and chronic kidney disease.

No study has reported the association between the worsening of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and cardiovascular events in patients with deferred coronary artery lesions. We included patients with deferred lesions, defined as a fractional flow reserve (FFR) value > 0.80 treated with conservative medical therapy. Patients were divided into three groups: group 1, CKD stages 1-2; group 2, CKD stages 3-5; and group 3, CKD stage 5D (hemodialysis), with the clinical outcomes compared. The primary endpoint was the first occurrence of target vessel myocardial infarction, ischemia-driven target-vessel revascularization, or all-cause death. The primary endpoint was noted in 17, 25, and 36 patients in groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Within the three groups, the incidence rate of deferred lesions was 7.0%, 10.4%, and 32.4%, respectively. No difference was observed in the incidence of the primary endpoint between groups 1 and 2 (log-rank p = 0.16). However, the patients in group 3 had a significantly higher risk for the primary endpoint than those in groups 1 and 2 (log-rank p < 0.0001). In the multivariate Cox proportional hazards model, the patients in group 3 exhibited a higher incidence of the primary endpoint than those in group 1 (HR: 2.14; 95% CI 1.02-4.49; p < 0.01). Careful management is needed in patients undergoing hemodialysis, even if coronary artery stenosis is considered a deferred lesion.

Clinical outcomes after balloon angioplasty with Crosser device for heavily calcified common femoral and popliteal artery disease.

Data on the mid-term clinical outcomes after endovascular treatment (EVT) using a Crosser catheter (C. R. Bard, Inc.) as a crossing or flossing device for a heavily calcified lesion in the common femoral artery (CFA) or popliteal artery (PA) are lacking. The aim of this study was to investigate the safety and efficacy of EVT using a Crosser catheter for isolated and heavily calcified CFA or PA disease. We retrospectively analyzed 64 consecutive patients (72 lesions; CFA 30, PA 42) who underwent EVT for heavily calcified CFA or PA lesions with Crosser catheters between April 2015 and April 2019. The primary endpoint was clinically driven target lesion revascularization (CD-TLR). The median follow-up was 18.5 months. The mean age of the study population was 70 ± 9.5 years, with a male prevalence of 73.6%. The mean Proposed Peripheral Artery Calcification Scoring System grade was 2.9 ± 0.9. Procedure success, defined as 50% or less residual stenosis without suboptimal results, was achieved in 94.4% of lesions. There were no cases of bailout stenting or target lesion-related complications. After EVT, the 1-year CD-TLR-free rate for CFA and PA lesions was 87.4 and 76.8%, respectively. The corresponding rates at 2 years were 82.2 and 62.8%, respectively. In the multivariate analysis used to define CD-TLR predictors for CFA and PA lesions, hemodialysis was the only independent predictor (HR 3.35, 95% CI 1.02-13.95, P = 0.045). EVT with a Crosser device for heavily calcified CFA and PA lesions seems to be safe and feasible.

Hemodynamic and Lesion Characteristics Associated with Discordance between the Instantaneous Wave-Free Ratio and Fractional Flow Reserve.

BACKGROUND: The instantaneous wave-free ratio (iFR) is an invasive coronary physiological index that is not inferior to fractional flow reserve- (FFR-) guided revascularization. The indexes of iFR and FFR are similar and closely correlated, but there are a few key differences. Previous studies suggested that patient characteristics and lesion severity could induce discordance between iFR and FFR. This study aimed to clarify the hemodynamics and lesion characteristics that influence discordance between iFR and FFR. METHODS: In this retrospective study, we enrolled 225 patients (304 lesions) who underwent clinically indicated invasive coronary angiography and both iFR and FFR examinations between 2012 and 2017. We included only patients who underwent right heart catheterization and had blood pressure and heart rates recorded immediately prior to iFR and FFR. RESULTS: Discordance (iFR ≤0.89 and FFR >0.8 or iFR >0.89 and FFR ≤0.8) was observed in 80 lesions (26.3%). The heart rate, rate-pressure product, and cardiac index tended to be higher in the iFR ≤0.89 group than in the iFR >0.89 group. These trends were not seen between the FFR ≤0.8 group and FFR >0.8 group. A multivariate analysis showed that independent predictors of iFR ≤0.89 and FFR >0.8 discordance were female sex and higher rate-pressure product. iFR >0.89 and FFR ≤0.8 discordance was rare in hemodialysis patients. CONCLUSION: Even if iFR is functionally significant in intermediate stenosis, additional FFR evaluations should be considered for women, especially those with a high rate-pressure product, to avoid unnecessary percutaneous coronary intervention. If iFR is not functionally significant with intermediate stenosis in hemodialysis patients, then further FFR evaluations are unnecessary.

Safety and Efficacy of Low-Dose Prasugrel as Part of Triple Therapy With Aspirin and Oral Anticoagulants in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention　- From the TWMU-AF PCI Registry.

BACKGROUND: Using the standard maintenance dose of prasugrel (10 mg/day) as part of triple therapy with aspirin and an oral anticoagulant (OAC) is not recommended in the current guidelines because it increases the risk of bleeding compared with clopidogrel. However, the safety and efficacy of low-dose prasugrel (3.75 mg/day) as part of triple therapy has not been reported. Methods and Results: We registered 816 consecutive patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) from January 2011 to June 2016 at 8 hospitals in Japan. We examined the clinical outcomes of patients who received either low-dose prasugrel (n=57) or clopidogrel (n=451) as part of triple therapy after PCI. The incidences of bleeding (TIMI major and minor) and major adverse cerebrocardiovascular events (MACCE; all-cause death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, stent thrombosis, unplanned revascularization, and stroke) were evaluated. The cumulative 1-year incidence of bleeding was not significantly different (prasugrel 5.6% vs. clopidogrel 8.1%, log-rank P=0.55). In addition, the cumulative 1-year incidence of MACCE was also not significantly different (prasugrel 11.5% vs. clopidogrel 12.3%, log-rank P=0.88). CONCLUSIONS: Low-dose prasugrel, as part of triple therapy, did not increase the risk of bleeding compared with clopidogrel. Therefore, it can be an alternative to clopidogrel for patients with AF undergoing PCI.

Clinical outcome and its predictors in hemodialysis patients with critical limb ischemia undergoing endovascular therapy.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to examine prognosis and causes of death in hemodialysis (HD) patients with critical limb ischemia (CLI) after endovascular therapy (EVT). BACKGROUND: EVT is becoming a first-line treatment in patients with CLI. Nonetheless, only a few studies have examined prognosis and its predictors in HD patients with CLI undergoing EVT, who are known to be at high-risk. Moreover, causes of death in this population are not clarified to date. METHODS: We examined 175 consecutive patients who underwent EVT for CLI between March 2009 and March 2014. RESULTS: Among these, 126 patients were dependent on HD and their 2-year all-cause death and 2-year major amputation rates were 28% and 14%, respectively. Cox proportional hazards analyses revealed that lower body mass index (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.89, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.82-0.98, P = 0.03) and prior stroke (HR = 2.34, 95%CI = 1.10-4.85, P = 0.03) were independent predictors of all-cause death, and lower serum albumin (HR = 0.44, 95%CI = 0.22-0.92, P = 0.03) along with currently smoking (HR = 4.73, 95%CI = 1.43-14.1, P = 0.01) were independent predictors of major amputation in HD patients. The leading cause of death in this population was infections, most of which were lower extremity infections. CONCLUSIONS: The incidences of all-cause death and major amputation seemed acceptable in HD patients undergoing EVT for CLI. In this high-risk subset, management of infection might be a potential therapeutic target.

Effect of Hemodialysis on 7-Year Clinical Outcomes After Sirolimus-Eluting Stent Implantation.

BACKGROUND: Hemodialysis (HD) patients are reported to show poor clinical outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with sirolimus-eluting stent (SES) compared with non-HD patients and their long-term prognosis remains unclear. METHODS AND RESULTS: We prospectively enrolled 489 consecutive patients undergoing PCI with SES and performed a retrospective analysis focusing on HD patients. Median follow-up was 7.0 years (interquartile range, 4.2-7.9) and the follow-up rate was 100%. At the 7-year follow-up, the cumulative incidences of all-cause death, target lesion revascularization (TLR) and major adverse cardiac events (MACE) were significantly higher in HD patients than in non-HD patients (HD vs. non-HD=34.7% vs. 9.6%, 42.6% vs. 10.2% and 75.3% vs. 24.4%, respectively; log-rank P<0.001). Cox-proportional hazard analysis revealed that independent predictors of all-cause death were HD (hazard ratio [HR] 2.88, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.39-6.00), insulin-treated diabetes mellitus (HR 2.19, 95% CI: 1.17-4.11), heart failure (HR 2.58, 95% CI: 1.25-5.32) and older age (HR 1.06/1-age, 95% CI: 1.02-1.10). Moreover, HD was an independent predictor of TLR (HR 3.63, 95% CI: 1.85-7.11) and MACE (HR 3.54, 95% CI: 2.19-5.73). CONCLUSIONS: In the present study, Japanese HD patients undergoing PCI with SES showed poorer long-term clinical outcomes than non-HD patients. HD was a strong predictor of long-term adverse events after SES implantation.

Syntheses of [14C]-labeled 2-(3-chlorophenyloxy)-3-[3-(3-hydroxy) pyridin-4-yl propoxy]pyridine, a phosphodiesterase 4 inhibitor and its metabolites.

We describe here the synthesis of [(14)C]-2-(3-chlorophenyloxy)-3-[3-(3-hydroxy)pyridin-4-yl propoxy]pyridine (1), a phosphodiesterase 4 inhibitor. [(14)C]-Labeled 1 was prepared in three steps from [(14)C]-2-bromopyridin-3-ol in an overall yield of 32%. Preparation of [(14)C]-labeled 2 and 3, two metabolites of 1, is also described.

Prognostic Impact of Statins on Patients With Peripheral Artery Disease With Elevated C-Reactive Protein Levels.

This study aimed to elucidate the prognostic influence of statins in relation to the degree of inflammation at the time of endovascular therapy (EVT) for patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD). This observational study included patients with PAD who underwent EVT, including 285 statin users and 275 statin non-users. They were assigned into four groups depending on C-reactive protein (CRP) level at the time of EVT: low CRP (<0.1 mg/dL), intermediate-low CRP (0.1-0.3 mg/dL), intermediate-high CRP (0.3-1.0 mg/dL), and high CRP (>1.0 mg/dL). A composite of death and major amputation as the primary endpoint was compared between statin users and non-users in each CRP category. Overall, statin users showed a lower event rate than non-users (log-rank, p=0.02). However, the event rates did not differ significantly between statin users and non-users in the low, intermediate-low, and intermediate-high CRP categories. In the high CRP category, statin users showed a lower event rate than non-users (p=0.002). In this population, multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that statin use was independently associated with the primary endpoint (hazard ratio: 0.28 [95% confidence interval: 0.14-0.55]). Statins may exert favorable prognostic effects in PAD patients with highly elevated CRP levels, but not in those with low-to-moderate CRP levels.

Novel interventional technique for the treatment of an iatrogenic pseudoaneurysm of the brachial artery.

This report presents the successful repair of an iatrogenic brachial artery pseudoaneurysm in a 72-year-old man who had peripheral artery disease and received endovascular treatment. A novel interventional method for treating iatrogenic femoral pseudoaneurysms with Perclose Proglide (Abbott Vascular Devices, Redwood City, CA, USA) has been reported; however, since a direct sheath insertion into the lumen of the pseudoaneurysm is initially required at the first step of this procedure, this strategy may prove limited in cases with small pseudoaneurysms. We describe the complete hemostasis of the pseudoaneurysm that was successfully achieved with endovascular treatment using the Perclose ProGlide suture-mediated closure system without using direct sheath insertion into the lumen of pseudoaneurysm. Our method may be effective in the repair of refractory pseudoaneurysms, in which direct sheath insertion is challenging. .

Clinical outcomes of endovascular therapy with vascular stents for central venous obstruction in hemodialysis patients.

BACKGROUND: Symptomatic central venous obstruction (CVO) is sometimes observed in patients undergoing hemodialysis. Angioplasty is generally performed for salvage purposes, and stent implantation is performed as a last resort to prevent permanent venous occlusion. However, published reports about the clinical outcomes of stenting for CVO have been limited by the small number of included patients and the relatively old generation of analyzed stents. This study aimed to clarify the safety and efficacy of endovascular therapy (EVT) using stents for symptomatic CVO in contemporary practice. METHODS: This retrospective review was performed between May 2012 and August 2021. We retrospectively analyzed consecutive 31 lesions (31 patients, 64 ±â€¯10.7 years old) treated with a vascular stent for elastic recoil after balloon angioplasty or recurrent stenosis <3 months after angioplasty. The primary outcome was primary patency, defined as freedom from target lesion revascularization. The secondary outcome was assisted primary patency, defined as freedom from permanent occlusion of the target stents. RESULTS: In all cases, stents were successfully deployed on the target lesions. No EVT-related complications were observed. Self-expandable and balloon-expandable stents were used in 26 and 5 lesions, respectively. The median follow-up period was 18 months (interquartile range, 7-40). Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that the primary patency rates were 66.1 % at 6 months, 61.7 % at 12 months, and 38.4 % at 24 months after EVT. The assisted primary patency rate was 70.3 % 24 months after EVT. In the multivariate analysis, younger age was the only independent predictor of target lesion revascularization (hazard ratio: 0.92, 95 % CI: 0.85-0.99, p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Stent implantation for CVO that is resistant to standard angioplasty seems safe and effective.

A case of heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia requiring strict low-density lipoprotein cholesterol management with proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin 9 inhibitor after coronary artery bypass grafting.

Heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH) is a common, autosomal dominant, genetic disease that results in premature atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease secondary to high-level low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) exposure. We present a 68-year-old male patient with HeFH who was diagnosed with acute coronary syndrome at 9 months after coronary artery bypass grafting, although his LDL-C level was decreased to 77 mg/dL from 213 mg/dL. The emergency coronary angiography revealed that all bypass grafts were occluded, and the large atherosclerotic plaque burden was observed even in right internal thoracic artery (RITA) by intravascular ultrasound examination. Emergency percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) was performed to his RITA bypass graft. After strict LDL-C management with proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin 9 (PCSK-9) inhibitors, re-stenosis was not observed at the PCI site and the atherosclerotic plaque burden in his graft drastically disappeared. The high-risk HeFH patients, including those suffering from coronary bypass graft stenosis despite receiving medical therapy, might need stricter management of lipid profile with PCSK-9 inhibitors. .

One-year limb outcome and mortality in patients undergoing revascularization therapy for acute limb ischemia: short-term results of the Edo registry.

The present study aimed to clarify the current status, therapeutic strategy, and 1-year outcome in acute limb ischemia (ALI) patients in Japan. The EnDOvascular treatment (Edo) registry database includes 324 patients from 10 institutes who were registered between November 2011 and October 2013. A total of 70 ALI patients (mean age 74.0 years) from the Edo registry database were enrolled in this study. Of the 70 included patients, 72.9% were male and 35.7% had embolism. Of patients, 38.6%, 42.9%, and 18.6% underwent EVT, surgery, and hybrid thrombectomy, respectively, in primary revascularization strategy. Limb ischemia was categorized into four classes at initial evaluation: SVS/ISCVS class I (n = 13, 18.6%), SVS/ISCVS class IIa (n = 36, 51.4%), SVS/ISCVS class IIb (n = 21, 30%), and SVS/ISCVS class III (n = 0, 0%). Three patients with SVS/ISCVS class IIb limb ischemia developed myonephropathic metabolic syndrome. No catheter-directed thrombolysis was employed as a primary revascularization strategy. The 1-year rates of all-cause death, major amputation, and a composite of perioperative death or major adverse limb event were 28.6%, 5.7%, and 40.0%, respectively. Lower age, male sex, dyslipidemia, high estimated glomerular filtration rate, high albumin level, and low C-reactive protein level were independent positive predictors of all-cause death. In this registry, SVS/ISCVS class IIa ALI was predominant. Approximately 40% of primary revascularization strategy was surgery and EVT, followed by hybrid therapy. All-cause death and major amputation rates at 1 year were less than 30% and 6%, respectively.

Outcomes of Renal Transplant Recipients after Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

Renal transplantation (RT) can improve life expectancy in hemodialysis (HD) patients. However, little is known about the outcomes of renal transplant recipients after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). This study aimed to elucidate the effect of RT on clinical outcomes after PCI. Renal transplant recipients who underwent PCI from 2002 to 2017 were enrolled. To evaluate the effectiveness of RT, we retrospectively reviewed HD patients who underwent PCI. Propensity-score matching was performed using logistic regression to control for differences in baseline characteristics. The primary outcome was the incidence of major adverse cardiac events. After propensity matching, patients were classified into the RT (n = 50) group and HD (n = 50) group. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that the incidence of major adverse cardiac events was significantly lower in the RT group than in the HD group (p < 0.0001). Moreover, RT was associated with a lower risk for all-cause death (odds ratio 0.04; 95% confidence interval 0.002 to 0.03; p = 0.0054) and target vessel revascularization (OR 0.27; 95% CI 0.07 to 0.79; p = 0.015). RT may improve clinical outcomes after PCI, and it is encouraged for HD patients to increase life expectancy and reduce the occurrence of adverse events after PCI. Further research would be warranted to support this finding.

Long-term clinical outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention to treat long lesions in hemodialysis patients in the era of second-generation drug-eluting stents.

BACKGROUND: There is little knowledge about clinical outcomes after the percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in hemodialysis patients with long lesions. The objective of the present study was to examine the long-term prognosis after PCI in hemodialysis patients in the second-generation drug-eluting stents (DES) era. METHODS: We retrospectively enrolled 270 consecutive hemodialysis patients who underwent PCI using second-generation DES from January 2010 to July 2015. We defined long lesions as the total stent length >30mm. In total, 96 hemodialysis patients (35.6%) underwent PCI for long lesions. The median follow-up period was 2.7 years. The endpoints of this study were cardiac death, target lesion revascularization (TLR), and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), including cardiac death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, non-fatal stroke, stent thrombosis, and TLR. RESULTS: The patients' baseline characteristics were similar between the long lesion and the non-long lesion groups, except for prior PCIs (long-lesion vs. non-long lesion=30.2% vs. 46.0%; p= 0.01). Kaplan-Meier analyses revealed that the incidence of cardiac death, TLR, and MACE were comparable between the two groups (long lesion vs. non-long lesion; 5.2% vs. 5.7%, log-rank p=0.84, 26.0% vs. 23.0%, log-rank p=0.29, and 43.8% vs. 40.2%; log-rank p=0.49, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Clinical outcomes of PCI for long lesions in hemodialysis patients were similar to that of non-long lesions. Long-stenting in hemodialysis patients, who were considered high-risk subset of adverse cardiovascular events, might be acceptable in the second-generation DES era.

Clinical outcomes of high-pressure balloon angioplasty for common femoral artery disease in contemporary practice.

In recent years, improvements in endovascular equipment and the technical skills of operators have led to an increasing number of percutaneous common femoral artery (CFA) interventions. However, there are few reports of the detailed treatment strategy for CFA intervention and its subsequent clinical outcomes. We evaluated the safety and efficacy of endovascular therapy (EVT) with a high-pressure balloon for CFA disease. Fifty-five consecutive patients (59 lesions) who underwent EVT with high-pressure ballooning were analyzed retrospectively. The primary endpoint was clinically driven target lesion revascularization (TLR). The median follow-up was 34.0 months. The mean age was 68.0 ± 10.1 years, and 70.1% were men. The procedural success rate was 98.3%. All patients underwent high-pressure balloon angioplasty (mean pressure 17.7 atm). Clinically driven TLR-free rates at 2, 3, and 4 years were 88.7%, 77.9%, and 74.2%, respectively. Endovascular interventions with high-pressure ballooning for CFA showed an acceptable mid-term freedom rate from TLR.

The Baseline Nutritional Status Predicts Long-Term Mortality in Patients Undergoing Endovascular Therapy.

INTRODUCTION: Peripheral artery disease (PAD) occurs at an advanced stage of atherosclerosis and its comorbidities are associated with poor prognoses. Malnutrition is related to the severity of atherosclerosis in patients with cardiovascular disease and it predicts mortality. The Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) score is calculated from serum albumin concentration, peripheral lymphocyte count and total cholesterol concentration, and it robustly represents the nutritional status of hospitalized patients. This study aimed to determine the prognostic value of the CONUT score in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) who were undergoing endovascular therapy (EVT). METHODS AND RESULTS: This study included 628 PAD patients who underwent EVT between 2013 and 2017 and were assigned to low (CONUT score 0: n = 81), mild (CONUT score 1-2: n = 250), moderate (CONUT score 3-4: n = 169), and high (CONUT score ≥ 5: n = 128) risk groups. The study's primary endpoint was any death. Patients in the groups with higher CONUT scores were more likely to have chronic kidney disease (p < 0.001), impaired left ventricular ejection fractions (p < 0.001), and critical limb ischemia (p < 0.001) on admission. During follow-up, 95 patients (15%) died. Kaplan-Meier analyses revealed that the patients with higher CONUT scores had lower survival rates (p < 0.001; log-rank trend test). Multivariate Cox regression analyses showed that following adjustments for the confounding factors, a higher CONUT score was significantly associated with any death (hazard ratio, 1.15; 95% confidence interval, 1.03-1.30). CONCLUSION: The simple index CONUT score at the time of EVT may predict long-term mortality in PAD patients.

Stent implantation for May-Thurner syndrome with acute deep venous thrombosis: acute and long-term results from the ATOMIC (AcTive stenting for May-Thurner Iliac Compression syndrome) registry.

The outcomes of stent implantation in managing May-Thurner syndrome (MTS) are not well understood. To clarify the acute and long-term outcomes of stent implantation in patients with MTS having acute deep venous thrombosis (DVT), we retrospectively investigated consecutive 59 patients from 10 hospitals in Japan who were treated with stents for left iliac vein stenosis with acute DVT. Stents were considered successful if the stent was patent at discharge, which in turn was defined as patient success. The primary endpoint for the study was stent patency, and the secondary endpoint was recurrence of DVT and development of post-thrombotic syndrome (PTS) during follow-up. The patient success was achieved in 56 patients (95%). Clinical follow-up was conducted for 50 patients (89%) for a median duration of 40 months (range 8-165 months). Among them, 44 patients (79%) were followed up using imaging modalities. During this period, stent occlusion was revealed in four patients (9%), and one patient was successfully treated using balloon angioplasty. Primary and secondary patency rates were 84% at 19 months and 93% at 20 months, respectively. Recurrence of DVT was documented in 3 (8%) patients. PTS was evaluated from 36 patients. Three patients (8%) had PTS; however, none of the patients had severe PTS. This multicenter retrospective study of the use of stents for treating patients with MTS having acute DVT demonstrated good acute and long-term outcomes and long-term stent patency.

Evaluation of the cut-off value for the instantaneous wave-free ratio of patients with aortic valve stenosis.

The aim of this study was to examine the clinical value of iFR for AS patients. Functional evaluation of coronary stenosis in patients with aortic valve stenosis (AS) is challenging because the stress-induced test is often thought to be a contraindication. AS patients have a unique coronary flow pattern dependent on the diastolic phase. The instantaneous wave-free ratio (iFR) is a vasodilator-free, invasive pressure wire index of the functional severity of coronary stenosis and is calculated under resting conditions. And iFR calculated during a specific period of diastole may have the potential benefit to assess the functional severity of coronary stenosis in AS patients. We examined 158 consecutive patients (217 stenoses) whose iFR and fractional flow reserve (FFR) were measured simultaneously. Among the 158 patients, AS was observed in 13 (8.2%). The iFR showed good correlation with FFR in AS patients. The best cut-off value of iFR for the receiver-operator curve analysis to predict FFR of 0.8 was 0.9 for non-AS patients. However, it was 0.73 for AS patients. The present study demonstrated good correlation between iFR and FFR for AS patients. Vasodilator-free assessment using iFR may provide potential benefits when evaluating coronary stenosis in patients with AS. In AS patients, the best cut-off of iFR value predicting FFR value of 0.8 was lower than 0.9 that is the standard predictive value of iFR.

Trial for quality control in mercury contents by using tail muscle of full-cycle cultured bluefin tuna (Thunnus orientalis).

Substantial amounts of mercury are usually present in tuna muscle, with levels in excess of 10 times the standard safety value present in some individuals. Inspection of individual fish for mercury content would be desirable but may not be cost-effective. In this study, we tried to establish a low-cost system for checking the mercury content of tuna by using a tail muscle that is usually discarded. The samples used in this experiment were bluefin tuna, cultured in the Fisheries Laboratory of Kinki University (Oshima Experimental Station, Wakayama, Japan). They were raised from eggs spawned in 2002. Ninety-eight individuals, weighing 22.3 to 61.6 kg, were selected between December 2004 and November 2005. In nine individuals, the mercury content of the tail was compared with that of the whole body. The total mercury level was measured using the reduction vaporizing atomic absorption method after acid digestion. Except for the front of the abdomen, where the mercury content was lower (0.490 ppm), the mercury content of other parts of the fish did not differ from that of the tail muscle (0.631 ppm). Therefore, the overall mercury concentration in bluefin tuna could be estimated to be almost the same and/or lower than that of the tail muscle. On the basis of these results, for 1 year we investigated the quantity of mercury in full-cycle cultured bluefin tuna that were shipped. The mercury concentration showed no increase irrespective of increases of body weight.

The impact of tissue Doppler index E/e' ratio on instantaneous wave-free ratio.

BACKGROUND: The instantaneous wave-free ratio (iFR) is a vasodilator-free, invasive pressure wire index of the functional severity of coronary stenosis and is calculated under resting conditions. In a recent study, iFR was found to be more closely linked to coronary flow reserve (CFR) than fractional flow reserve (FFR). E/e' is a surrogate marker of left ventricular (LV) filling pressure and LV diastolic dysfunction. Coronary resting flow was found to be increased in patients with elevated E/e', and higher coronary resting flow was associated with lower CFR. Higher baseline coronary flow induces a greater loss of translesional pressure and may affect iFR. However, no reports have examined the impact of E/e' on iFR. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between iFR and E/e' compared with FFR. METHODS AND RESULTS: We retrospectively examined 103 consecutive patients (142 with stenosis) whose iFR, FFR, and E/e' were measured simultaneously. The mean age, LV mass index, and systolic blood pressure of patients with elevated E/e' were higher than those of patients with normal E/e'. Although no significant differences were observed in mean FFR values and % diameter stenosis, the mean iFR value in patients with elevated E/e' was significantly lower than that in patients with normal E/e'. The iFR was negatively correlated with E/e', while there was no correlation between FFR and E/e'. Multivariate analysis showed that E/e' and % diameter stenosis were independent determinants of iFR. CONCLUSION: E/e' ratio affects iFR values. Our results suggest that FFR mainly reflects the functional severity of the epicardial stenosis whereas iFR could potentially be influenced by not only epicardial stenosis but also other factors related to LV filling pressure or LV diastolic dysfunction. Further research is needed to understand the underlying mechanisms that influence the evaluation of iFR in patients with elevated E/e'.