HEART-score can be simplified without loss of discriminatory power in patients with chest pain - Introducing the HET-score.

BACKGROUND: The History, Electrocardiogram (ECG), Age, Risk factors and Troponin, (HEART) score is useful for early risk stratification in chest pain patients. The aim was to validate previous findings that a simplified score using history, ECG and troponin (HET-score) has similar ability to stratify risk. METHODS: Patients presenting with chest pain with duration of ≥10 min and an onset of last episode ≤12 h but without ST-segment elevation on ECG at 6 emergency departments were eligible for inclusion. The HEART-score and the simplified HET-score were calculated. The endpoint was a composite of myocardial infarction (MI) as index diagnosis, readmission due to new MI or death within 30 days. RESULTS: HEART-score identified 32% as low risk (0-2p), 47% as intermediate risk (3-5p), and 20% as high risk (6-10p) patients. The endpoint occurred in 0.5%, 7.3% and 35.7%, respectively. HET-score identified 39%, 42% and 19% as low- (0p), intermediate- (1-2p) and high-risk (3-6p) patients, with the endpoint occurring in 0.6%, 6.2% and 43.2%, respectively. When all variables included in the HEART-score were included in a multivariable logistic regression analysis, only History (OR, CI [95%]): 2.97(2.16-4.09), ECG (1.61[1.14-2.28]) and troponin level (5.21[3.91-6.95]) were significantly associated with cardiovascular events. When HEART- and HET-score were compared in a ROC-analysis, HET-score had a significantly larger AUC (0.887 vs 0.853, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Compared with HEART-score, HET-score is simpler and appears to have similar ability to discriminate between chest pain patients with and without cardiovascular event.

Few with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction are diagnosed within 10 minutes from first medical contact, and women have longer delay times than men.

BACKGROUND: Previous reports have questioned the feasibility and gender equality of obtaining a prehospital ECG within 10 minutes of ambulance arrival for patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). The main objective of this study was to investigate the proportion of STEMI patients with a prehospital ECG within 10 minutes of ambulance arrival. The secondary objective was to study the gender differences in delay times in prehospital STEMI care. METHODS: This study was a retrospective study based on 539 patients with STEMI at the investigating hospital. Ambulance and medical charts, as well as the national quality registry "SWEDEHEART", were reviewed for each patient for demographics and time information. RESULTS: A prehospital ECG was obtained within 10 minutes of ambulance arrival for 99 (29%) of the men and 19 (14%) of the women, p = 0.001. Women had a 2 minutes longer delay between ambulance arrival and prehospital ECG (95% CI 0-4 min, p = 0.018) than men. Women also had a significantly longer patient delay. None of the other time intervals differed among men and women. CONCLUSIONS: Only for a minority of patients is a prehospital ECG taken within the recommended ten minutes from ambulance arrival. Women have longer patient delay times, as well as delay times to the acquisition of a prehospital ECG than men. Improvements of prehospital ECG acquisition and adjustments of the guidelines are warranted.

Does stress echocardiography add incremental value to baseline ejection fraction for the early identification of candidates for implantable defibrillators?

Objective: A reduction in left ventricular ejection fraction (EF) remains the strongest indicator of increased risk of sudden cardiac death after an acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Guidelines recommend that patients with an EF ≤35%, 6-12 weeks after AMI should be considered for implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) therapy. Stress echocardiography is a safe method to detect viability in a stunned myocardium. The purpose of this study was to investigate if stress echocardiography early after AMI could identify ICD candidates before discharge. Methods: Ninety-six patients with EF ≤40% early after AMI were prospectively included in a cohort study, and investigated by baseline and stress echocardiography before discharge. Follow-up echocardiography was performed after 3 months. EF, mitral annular plane systolic excursion (MAPSE) and peak systolic velocity (PSV) were determined for each examination. Results: There were 80 (83%) patients who completed the baseline, stress and follow-up echocardiography. Among them there were 32 (40%) patients who met the ICD criteria of EF ≤35% at 3 months. For these patients, EF, MAPSE and PSV were significantly lower than for those patients who recovered. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was 85% (95% CI 0.74 to 0.94) for baseline EF to predict non-recovery. None of the other variables had a higher AUC. Conclusion: Patients who met the ICD criteria of EF ≤35% at 3 months after myocardial infarction had lower EF, MAPSE and PSV on baseline and stress echocardiograph before discharge. Stress echocardiography did not add additional value in predicting non-recovery.

Catheterization laboratory activations and time intervals for patients with pre-hospital ECGs.

OBJECTIVE: The use of pre-hospital ECGs (PH-ECG) reduces time to reperfusion for patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). The feasibility of reperfusion therapy within 60 minutes for hospitals with 24/7 PCI capability has been questioned, and current guidelines have set time targets to 90 minutes. Our primary objective was to investigate the proportion of false-positive catheterization laboratory activations by PH-ECG. Our secondary objective was to describe the time intervals from first medical contact to reperfusion and to establish the proportion of patients receiving reperfusion within 60 minutes. DESIGN: A retrospective cohort study among 4298 patients for whom a PH-ECG was transmitted to the investigating hospital, mainly due to chest pain, during 2013 were included. RESULTS: Among patients with PH-ECGs, 139 (3.2%) patients had a STEMI. There were 115 pre-hospital catheterization laboratory activations among which 16% (95% confidence interval 10-23) were false-positive for STEMI. The median total time from emergency call to arterial puncture was 76 minutes. The target of PCI within 60 minutes was met in 83% of the cases. The time from EMS arrival to PH-ECG was 20 minutes for female patients and 13 minutes for male patients (p < .001), and only 16% had a PH-ECG within 10 minutes from Emergency Medical Service arrival. CONCLUSION: The rate of false-positive catheterization laboratory activations based on pre-hospital ECGs was low and the target of PCI within 60 minutes is achievable for a majority of patients. Efforts should be made to reduce the time from ambulance arrival to PH-ECG transmission, especially for female patients.

On the monitoring of dabigatran treatment in "real life" patients with atrial fibrillation.

INTRODUCTION: The oral direct thrombin inhibitor dabigatran is increasingly used to prevent thromboembolic stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Routine laboratory monitoring is currently not recommended, but measurements of dabigatran and/or its effect are desirable in certain situations. We studied dabigatran exposure and compared different tests for monitoring of dabigatran in a real-life cohort of AF patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Ninety AF patients (68 ± 9 years, 67% men, mean CHADS2 score 1.5) were treated with dabigatran 150 (n=73) or 110 mg BID (n=17). Trough plasma concentrations of total and free dabigatran by liquid chromatography-tandem mass-spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) were compared to indirect measurements by Hemoclot thrombin inhibitors (HTI) and Ecarin clotting assay (ECA), as well as PT-INR and aPTT. RESULTS: Total plasma dabigatran varied 20-fold (12-237 ng/mL with 150 mg BID) and correlated well with free dabigatran (r(2)=0.93). There were strong correlations between LC-MS/MS and HTI or ECA (p<0.001) but these assays were less accurate with dabigatran below 50 ng/mL. The aPTT assay was not dependable and PT-INR not useful at all. There were weak correlations between creatinine clearance (Cockcroft-Gault) and LC-MS/MS, HTI and ECA (p<0.001 for all). A high body weight with normal kidney function was associated with low dabigatran levels. CONCLUSIONS: HTI and ECA reflect the intensity of dabigatran anticoagulation, but LC-MS/MS is required to quantify low levels or infer absence of dabigatran. Most real life patients with a normal creatinine clearance had low dabigatran levels suggesting a low risk of bleeding but possibly limited protection against stroke.

Evolution of left ventricular ejection fraction after acute myocardial infarction: implications for implantable cardioverter-defibrillator eligibility.

BACKGROUND: Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator therapy improves survival in patients with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Although the risk of sudden cardiac death is highest in the first month after AMI, there is no survival benefit of early implantable cardioverter-defibrillator implantation, and the optimal time frame has yet to be established. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate what proportion of post-AMI patients had improved LV function to such an extent that the indication for implantable cardioverter-defibrillator was no longer present. METHODS AND RESULTS: Patients admitted for AMI with reduced LVEF (≤40%) were eligible for inclusion. Repeat echocardiographic examinations were performed 5 days, 1 month, and 3 months after the AMI. We prospectively included 100 patients with LVEF of 31±5.8% after AMI. At the 1-month follow-up, 55% had an LVEF >35%. The main improvement in LVEF had occurred by 1 month. The mean difference in LVEF over the next 2 months was small, 1.9 percentage units. During the first 9 weeks, 10% of the patients suffered from life-threatening arrhythmias. CONCLUSIONS: Most patients have improved LVEF after AMI, and in the majority, the improvement can be confirmed after 1 month, implying that further delay of implantable cardioverter-defibrillator implantation may not be warranted. Life-threatening arrhythmias occurred in 10% of the patients, illustrating the high risk for sudden cardiac death in this population.