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.

Validation of the Arabic version of the cyberchondria severity scale 12 items (CSS-12-Ar) among a sample of Lebanese adults.

BACKGROUND: To the best of our knowledge, the Cyberchondria Severity Scale-12 (CSS-12) has not been translated into Arabic; therefore, our objective was to assess the psychometric properties of the Arabic version of the CSS (CSS-12-Ar) among a sample of Lebanese adults. METHODS: Participants were enrolled in January 2021. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was carried out using the MPlus software v.7.2, reporting several goodness-of-fit indicators: Relative Chi-square (χ2/df), Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA), Comparative Fit Index (CFI) and Tucker Lewis Index (TLI). To evaluate measurement invariance across gender, we conducted higher-order multiple group confirmatory analysis using lavaan software. RESULTS: 449 participants enrolled in this study (mean age: 24.34 ± 8.22 years, 70.6% females). Since the correlations between the four-factor model were very high (r > 0.8), we ran the higher-order CFA in which all first-order latent variables were loading a general factor. The analyzed model was well-fitted to the data χ2(50) = 173.34; p < 0.001; CFI = 0.926; RMSEA = 0.074 [0.062, 0.086]. The Cronbach's alpha values were good for the total score (0.92), as well as for excessiveness (0.80), distress (0.77), reassurance (0.81) and compulsion (0.76). The results provided evidence of full scalar invariance across gender. The comparison of latent mean scores revealed no significant differences across gender, in either the cyberchondria total score or its facets. The CSS-12 score was positively associated with anxiety (r = 0.10; p = 0.003) (convergent validity), OCD (r = 0.11; p = 0.016) and stress (r = 0.35; p < 0.001) (concurrent validity). CONCLUSION: The CSS-12-Ar was deemed a suitable scale to measure the severity of cyberchondria among Lebanese university students. We hope that researchers and clinicians can benefit now from this scale.

Insights for increased risk of failed fibrinolytic therapy and stent thrombosis associated with COVID-19 in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction patients.

Important health resources are dedicated worldwide to the management of COVID-19. This new disease, due to its large diffusion, may significantly hamper the prognosis of other pathologies, such as ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) because of (a) a possible direct negative impact and (b) shortage of first response medical resources and increased delays to reperfusion. We report the case of a 68-year-old man admitted for anterior STEMI and asymptomatic COVID-19. Due to extended transportation delays to a cathlab, he received intravenous fibrinolytic therapy, which failed. Reperfusion was achieved with rescue coronary angioplasty, but the patient experienced two episodes of acute stent thrombosis at 2- and 36-hr following admission and despite optimal medical therapy. He finally died because of cardiogenic shock. This raises concerns about a possible increase in platelet aggregability associated with COVID-19 leading to an increased risk of stent thrombosis, particularly in the context of STEMI. This pleads for the promotion of primary coronary angioplasty as the first-choice revascularization technique in this population and the use of new generation P2Y12 inhibitors. In addition, the use of GPIIb/IIIa inhibitors may be considered in every STEMI patient with COVID-19 to prevent the risk of acute stent thrombosis.

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.

Prevalence and incidence of cardiovascular and renal diseases in type 1 compared with type 2 diabetes: A nationwide French observational study of hospitalized patients.

BACKGROUND: Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) increase risks of cardiovascular (CV) and renal disease compared with diabetes-free populations. There are only a few studies comparing T1DM and T2DM for the relative risk of these clinical events. METHODS: All adult patients hospitalized in French hospitals in 2013 with at least 5 years of follow-up were identified and categorized by their diabetes status. A total of 50,623 patients with T1DM (age 61.4 ± 18.6, 53% male) and 425,207 patients with T2DM (age 68.6 ± 14.3, 55% male) were followed over a median period of 5.3 years (interquartile range: 2.8 - 5.8 years). Prevalence and event rates of myocardial infarction (MI), heart failure (HF), ischemic stroke, chronic kidney disease (CKD), all-cause death and CV death were assessed with age stratification of 10-year intervals. For clinical events during follow-up, we report hazard ratios (HRs) in T1DM relative to T2DM. RESULTS: The age and sex-adjusted prevalence of CV diseases was higher in T2DM for ages above 40 years whereas the prevalence of CKD was more common in T1DM between ages 18 and 70 years. During 2,033,239 person-years of follow-up, age and sex-adjusted HR event rates comparing T1DM, versus T2DM as reference, showed that MI and HF relative risks were increased above 60 years (1.2 and 1.4 -fold). HR of ischemic stroke did not markedly differ between T1DM and T2DM. Risk of incident CKD was 2.4-fold higher in T1DM above 60 years. All-cause death HR risk was 1.1-fold higher in T1DM after 60 years and the CV death risk was 1.15-fold higher in T1DM between 60 and 69 years compared to T2DM. CONCLUSIONS: Although the crude prevalent burden of CV diseases may be lower in T1DM than in T2DM, patients with T1DM may have a higher risk of incident MI, HF, all-cause death and CV death above 60 years of age, highlighting the need for improved prevention in this population.

Myocardial Revascularization Strategies in ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction Without Urgent Revascularization: Insight From a Nationwide Study.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the outcomes of patients presenting with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) without early (<48 hours) revascularization, according to percutaneous versus surgical revascularization. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Based on the French administrative hospital discharge database, the study collected information for all consecutive patients seen for a STEMI in France between January 1, 2010, to June 31, 2019, who underwent either a first percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or a first coronary artery bypass graft between 48 hours and 90 days after the index hospitalization. Propensity score matching was used for the analysis of outcomes. RESULTS: Of 71,365 patients with STEMI in the analysis, 59,340 patients underwent PCI and 12,025 patients underwent coronary artery bypass graft. In a matched analysis of 12,012 patients by arm, surgical revascularization was associated with lower rates of all cause (5.1% vs 7.1%; hazard ratio [HR], 0.70; 95% CI, 0.66 to 0.75) and cardiovascular (2.6% vs 3.1%; HR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.76 to 0.91) death. Rehospitalization for heart failure was less often reported after surgery (5.5% vs 7.5%; HR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.71 to 0.81) whereas stroke incidence was not statistically different between the two arms (2.1% vs 2.3%; HR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.80 to 1.00). Major bleeding was less often reported in the PCI arm (4.6% vs 6.1%; HR, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.22 to 1.41). CONCLUSION: In patients with STEMI who did not undergo urgent revascularization (ie, within 48 hours after presentation), surgical revascularization was associated with better outcomes and should be individually considered as an alternative to PCI.

Outcomes in patients with acute myocardial infarction and history of illicit drug use: a French nationwide analysis.

AIMS: Several reports suggest that illicit drug use may be a major cause of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) independently of smoking habits and associated with a poorer prognosis. The aim of our study was to evaluate the impact of illicit drug use on (i) the risk of AMI and (ii) its prognosis. METHODS AND RESULTS: This French longitudinal cohort study was based on the administrative hospital-discharge database from the entire population. First, we collected data for all patients admitted in hospital in 2013 with at least 5 years of follow-up to identify potential predictors of AMI. In a second phase, we collected data for all patients admitted with AMI from January 2010 to December 2018. We identified patients with a history of illicit drug use (cannabis, cocaine, or opioid). These patients were matched with patients without illicit drug use to assess their prognosis. In 2013, 3 381 472 patients were hospitalized with a mean follow-up of 4.7 ± 1.8 years. In multivariable analysis, among all drugs under evaluation, only cannabis use was significantly associated with a higher risk of AMI [HR 1.32 (95% CI 1.09-1.59), P = 0.004]. Between January 2010 and December 2018, we then identified 738 899 AMI patients. Among these patients, 3827 (0.5%) had a known history of illicit drug use. These patients were younger, most often male and had less comorbidities. After 1:1 propensity score matching, during a mean follow-up of 1.9 ± 2.3 years, there was no significant difference between patients without illicit drug use and patients with illicit drug use regarding all-cause death, cardiovascular death, stroke, or heart failure. CONCLUSION: In a large and systematic nationwide analysis, cannabis use was an independent risk factor for the incidence of AMI. However, the prognosis of illicit drug users presenting with AMI was similar to patients without illicit drug use.

Impact of gender on relative rates of cardiovascular events in patients with diabetes.

AIM: To investigate whether diabetes confers higher relative risks of cardiovascular events in women compared with men using contemporary data and also whether such gender-differences are dependent on age. METHODS: All patients discharged from French hospitals in 2013 with at least 5 years of follow-up and no history of major adverse cardiovascular events including heart failure (MACE-HF; heart failure, myocardial infarction, ischaemic stroke, cardiovascular death) were identified and categorized by diabetes status. Overall and age-stratified incidence rates, hazard ratios (HRs) and women-to-men ratios (WMRs) for MACE-HF leading to hospitalization were also calculated. Adjustments were then made for age and baseline characteristics according to cardiovascular risk factors and non-cardiovascular comorbidities. RESULTS: The study included 2,953,816 subjects, among whom 349,928 (11.9%) had diabetes. Of those with diabetes, the absolute rate of MACE-HF was higher in men than in women (96 vs 66 per 1000 person-years); corresponding absolute rates in men and women without diabetes were 44 vs 27 per 1000 person-years. Comparing those with and without diabetes, women had a higher unadjusted HR of MACE-HF (2.45, 95% CI: 2.42-2.47) than men (2.15, 95% CI: 2.14-2.17), with an adjusted WMR of 1.13 (95% CI: 1.12-1.15). HRs of MACE-HF related to diabetes were highest in women aged around 45 years and in the youngest men and decreased with advancing age in both these groups. However, HRs were higher in women of all ages > 40 years. After adjustment, this effect was more apparent for myocardial infarction (adjusted WMR: 1.43, 95% CI: 1.38-1.48) than for either ischaemic stroke (adjusted WMR: 1.10, 95% CI: 1.07-1.14) or heart failure (adjusted WMR: 1.13, 95% CI: 1.11-1.14). CONCLUSION: Although men have higher absolute risks of cardiovascular complications, the relative risks of cardiovascular complications associated with diabetes are higher in women than in men.

Risk Scores in ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction Patients with Refractory Cardiogenic Shock and Veno-Arterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation.

Although many risk models have been tested in patients implanted by veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO), few scores assessed patients' prognosis in the setting of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) with refractory cardiogenic shock. We aimed at assessing the performance of risk scores, notably the prEdictioN of Cardiogenic shock OUtcome foR AMI patients salvaGed by VA-ECMO (ENCOURAGE) score, for predicting mortality in this particular population. This retrospective observational study included patients admitted to Tours University Hospital for STEMI with cardiogenic shock and requiring hemodynamic support by VA-ECMO. Among the fifty-one patients, the 30-day and 6-month survival rates were 63% and 56% respectively. Thirty days after VA-ECMO therapy, probabilities of mortality were 12, 17, 33, 66, 80% according to the ENCOURAGE score classes 0-12, 13-18, 19-22, 23-27, and ≥28, respectively. The ENCOURAGE score (AUC of the Receiving Operating Characteristic curve = 0.83) was significantly better compared to other risk scores. The hazard ratio for survival at 30 days for each point of the ENCOURAGE score was 1.10 (CI 95% (1.06, 1.15); p < 0.001). Decision curve analysis indicated that the ENCOURAGE score had the best clinical usefulness of the tested risk scores and the Hosmer-Lemeshow test suggested an accurate calibration. Our data suggest that the ENCOURAGE score is valid and the most relevant score to predict 30-day mortality after VA-ECMO therapy in STEMI patients with refractory cardiogenic shock. It may help decision-making teams to better select STEMI patients with shock for VA-ECMO therapy.

ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: Management and association with prognosis during the COVID-19 pandemic in France.

BACKGROUND: Systems of care have been challenged to control progression of the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether this has been associated with delayed reperfusion and worse outcomes in French patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is unknown. AIM: To compare the rate of STEMI admissions, treatment delays, and outcomes between the first peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in France and the equivalent period in 2019. METHODS: In this nationwide French survey, data from consecutive STEMI patients from 65 centres referred for urgent revascularization between 1 March and 31 May 2020, and between 1 March and 31 May 2019, were analysed. The primary outcome was a composite of in-hospital death or non-fatal mechanical complications of acute myocardial infarction. RESULTS: A total of 6306 patients were included. During the pandemic peak, a 13.9±6.6% (P=0.003) decrease in STEMI admissions per week was observed. Delays between symptom onset and percutaneous coronary intervention were longer in 2020 versus 2019 (270 [interquartile range 150-705] vs 245 [140-646]min; P=0.013), driven by the increase in time from symptom onset to first medical contact (121 [60-360] vs 150 [62-420]min; P=0.002). During 2020, a greater number of mechanical complications was observed (0.9% vs 1.7%; P=0.029) leading to a significant difference in the primary outcome (112 patients [5.6%] in 2019 vs 129 [7.6%] in 2020; P=0.018). No significant difference was observed in rates of orotracheal intubation, in-hospital cardiac arrest, ventricular arrhythmias and cardiogenic shock. CONCLUSIONS: During the first peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in France, there was a decrease in STEMI admissions, associated with longer ischaemic time, exclusively driven by an increase in patient-related delays and an increase in mechanical complications. These findings suggest the need to encourage the population to seek medical help in case of symptoms.