Impact of intra-aortic balloon pump on short-term clinical outcomes in ST-elevation myocardial infarction complicated by cardiogenic shock: A "real life" single center experience.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the use and impact of the intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) upon the 30-day mortality rate and short-term clinical outcome of non-selected patients with ST-elevation acute myocardial infarction (acute STEMI) complicated by cardiogenic shock (CS). DESIGN: A single-center retrospective case-control study was carried out. SETTING: Coronary Care Unit. PATIENTS: Data were collected from 825 consecutive patients with acute STEMI admitted to a Coronary Care Unit from January 2009 to August 2015. Seventy-three patients with CS upon admission subjected to emergency percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were finally included in the analysis and were stratified according to IABP use (44 patients receiving IABP). VARIABLES: Cardiovascular history, hemodynamic situation upon admission, angiographic and procedural characteristics, and variables derived from admission to the Coronary Care Unit. RESULTS: Cumulative 30-day mortality was similar in the patients subjected to IABP and in those who received conventional medical therapy only (29.5% and 27.6%, respectively; HR with IABP 1.10, 95% CI 0.38-3.11; p=0.85). Similarly, no significant differences were found in terms of the short-term clinical outcome between the groups: time on mechanical ventilation, days to hemodynamic stabilization, vasoactive drug requirements and stay in the Coronary Care Unit. Poorer renal function (HR 3.9, 95% CI 1.4-10.6; p=0.008), known peripheral artery disease (HR 3.3, 95% CI 1.2-9.1; p=0.019) and a history of diabetes mellitus (HR 3.2, 95% CI 1.2-8.1; p=0.018) were the only variables independently associated to increased 30-day mortality. CONCLUSION: In our "real life" experience, IABP does not modify 30-day mortality or the short-term clinical outcome in patients presenting STEMI complicated with CS and subjected to emergency percutaneous coronary revascularization.

Prognostic value of analysing the bioimpedance vector for patients hospitalised for acute decompensated heart failure: A validation cohort.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the prognostic impact of the bioimpedance vector (bioelectrical impedance vector analysis [BIVA]) for patients hospitalized for heart failure (HF). MATERIAL AND METHODS: A prospective cohort of 105 patients hospitalized for HF. BIVA was performed prior to discharge, and the final sample was divided into 3 groups according to the value obtained: hyperhydration [hyperH] (>74.3%), normal hydration [normoH] (72.7-74.3%) and dehydration [desH] (<72.7%). In the follow-up, total mortality and readmissions for HF were considered adverse events. RESULTS: A higher incidence of events was observed among the patients with hyperH and desH compared with those with normoH (Kaplan-Meier: log-rank, 2.1; p=.04), with an increase in independent risk in the multivariate analysis (HR, 2.6 [1.05-6.44]; p=.039). CONCLUSIONS: BIVA helps stratify the risk of readmission for HF and total mortality in the long-term follow-up of patients hospitalized for HF.

Cardiac sympathetic innervation assessed with (123)I-MIBG retains prognostic utility in diabetic patients with severe left ventricular dysfunction evaluated for primary prevention implantable cardioverter-defibrillator.

BACKGROUND: Scintigraphy with iodine-123-metaiodobenzylguanidine ((123)I-MIBG) is a non-invasive tool for the assessment of cardiac sympathetic innervation (CSI) that has proven to be an independent predictor of survival. Recent studies have shown that diabetic patients with heart failure (HF) have a higher deterioration in CSI. It is unknown if (123)I-MIBG has the same predictive value for diabetic and non-diabetic patients with advanced HF. An analysis is performed to determine whether CSI with (123)I-MIBG retains prognostic utility in diabetic patients with HF, evaluated for a primary prevention implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Seventy-eight consecutive HF patients (48 diabetic) evaluated for primary prevention ICD implantation were prospectively enrolled and underwent (123)I-MIBG to assess CSI (heart-to-mediastinum ratio - HMR). A Cox proportional hazards multivariate analysis was used to determine the influence of (123)I-MIBG images for prediction of cardiac events in both diabetic and non-diabetic patients. The primary end-point was a composite of arrhythmic event, cardiac death, or admission due to HF. RESULTS: During a mean follow-up of 19.5 [9.3-29.3] months, the primary end-point occurred in 24 (31%) patients. Late HMR was significantly lower in diabetic patients (1.30 vs. 1.41, p=0.014). Late HMR≤1.30 was an independent predictor of cardiac events in diabetic (hazard ratio 4.53; p=0.012) and non-diabetic patients (hazard ratio 12.31; p=0.023). CONCLUSIONS: Diabetic patients with HF evaluated for primary prevention ICD show a higher deterioration in CSI than non-diabetics; nevertheless (123)I-MIBG imaging retained prognostic utility for both diabetic and non-diabetic patients.

Prescription of oral anticoagulation for patients with atrial fibrillation and previous hospitalization in a cardiology department. Experience in actual practice in a tertiary hospital. / Prescripción de anticoagulación oral en pacientes con fibrilación auricular e ingreso previo en un servicio de cardiología. Experiencia en un hospital terciario.

INTRODUCTION: Atrial fibrillation is the main reason for oral anticoagulation in our community. New oral anticoagulants (NOACs) overcome the disadvantages of vitamin K antagonists (VKAs), although there are scarce data on its use in our community. The aim of our study was to assess the use of NOACs and anticoagulation control using VKA as measured by the time within the therapeutic range (TTR) in an actual clinical scenario. METHODS: A retrospective cohort analysis was conducted of 816 patients admitted to cardiology over a period of 3 years, with a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation and anticoagulant treatment at discharge. We assessed the percentage of patients prescribed NOACs and the TTR with VKA. We compared safety and efficacy events during the 15-month follow-up among the patients prescribed NOAC, those prescribed VKA with a good TTR and those with a poor TTR. RESULTS: The percentage of patients prescribed NOAC was 7.6%. Serial INR measurements found that 71.3% of patients had a poor TTR. Although the groups were not comparable, a higher incidence of the combined event was observed in those treated with VKA and a poor TTR compared with those prescribed NOAC (p=.01). CONCLUSIONS: For patients with a previous hospitalization in cardiology in a tertiary hospital and a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation, the rate of NOAC prescription is low, and the TTR with VKA was poor.

High-density lipoproteins and myocardial necrosis in patients with acute myocardial infarction and ST segment elevation.

INTRODUCTION AND AIM: Low plasma levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC) is a prognostic factor in patients with acute coronary syndrome. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between HDLC and myocardial necrosis estimated by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) in patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and reperfusion strategy. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of 139 patients (mean age 59.8 years; 79% men) admitted with STEMI who underwent a CMR in the first week. RESULTS: With a comparable reperfusion strategy used and time of ischemia, patients with HDLC ≤40 mg/dl (69% of total) had more extensive areas of myocardial necrosis after STEMI, in number of segments with late gadolinium enhancement (RTG) with transmural necrosis pattern (4.7 vs. 2.1%, p < .001) and in percentage of RTG with respect to total mass myocardial (18.2 vs. 11.3%, p < .01), and worst left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (49.7 vs. 57.2%, p < .001). CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that low HDLC are very common in patients with STEMI and associated with increased necrosis and a worse LVEF in the CRM study.

PGC-1α induction in pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Idiopathic Pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH) is characterized by the obstructive remodelling of pulmonary arteries, and a progressive elevation in pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP) with subsequent right-sided heart failure and dead. Hypoxia induces the expression of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor γ coactivator-1α (PGC-1α) which regulates oxidative metabolism and mitochondrial biogenesis. We have analysed the expression of PGC-1α, cytochrome C (CYTC), superoxide dismutase (SOD), the total antioxidant status (TAS) and the activity of glutathione peroxidase (GPX) in blood samples of IPAH patients. Expression of PGC-1α was detected in IPAH patients but not in healthy volunteers. The mRNA levels of SOD were lower in IPAH patients compared to controls (3.93 ± 0.89 fold change). TAS and GPX activity were lower too in patients compared to healthy donors, (0.13 ± 0.027 versus 0.484 ± 0.048 mM and 56.034 ± 10.37 versus 165.46 ± 11.38 nmol/min/mL, resp.). We found a negative correlation between expression levels of PGC-1α and age, PAP and PVR, as well as a positive correlation with CI, PaO(2), mRNA levels of CYTC and SOD, TAS and GPX activity. These results taken together are indicative of the possible role of PGC-1α as a potential biomarker of the progression of IPAH.