Clinical outcomes of discordant exercise electrocardiographic and echocardiographic findings compared with concordant findings in patients with chest pain and no history of coronary artery disease: An observational study.

The aim of this study was to evaluate comparative clinical outcomes of discordant electrocardiographic (ECG) and echocardiographic (Echo) findings compared with concordant findings during treadmill exercise echocardiography in patients with chest pain and no history of coronary artery disease (CAD).A total of 1725 consecutive patients who underwent treadmill echocardiography with chest pain and no history of CAD were screened. The patients were classified into 4 groups: ECG-/Echo- (negative ECG and Echo), ECG+/Echo- (positive ECG and negative Echo), ECG-/Echo+, and ECG+/Echo+. Concomitant CAD was determined using coronary angiography or coronary computed tomography. Major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) were defined as a composite of coronary revascularization, acute myocardial infarction, and death.MACEs were similar between ECG-/Echo- and ECG+/Echo- groups. Compared with ECG+/Echo- group, ECG-/Echo+ group had more MACEs (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] adjusted by clinical risk factors [95% confidence interval {CI}], 3.57 [1.75-7.29], P < .001). Compared with ECG+/Echo+ group, ECG-/Echo+ group had lower prevalence of concomitant CAD and fewer MACEs (HR, 0.49 [0.29-0.81], P = .006).Positive exercise Echo alone during treadmill exercise echocardiography had worse clinical outcomes than positive ECG alone, and the latter had similar outcomes to both negative ECG and Echo. Positive exercise Echo alone also had better clinical outcomes than both positive ECG and Echo. Therefore, exercise Echo findings might be superior for predicting clinical outcomes compared with exercise ECG findings. Additional consideration of ECG findings on positive exercise Echo will also facilitate better prediction of clinical outcomes.

Slow Heart Rate Recovery Is Associated with Increased Exercise-induced Arterial Stiffness in Normotensive Patients without Overt Atherosclerosis.

BACKGROUND: This study evaluated whether blunted autonomic activity as measured by heart rate recovery (HRR) was associated with increased arterial stiffness, especially increased exercise-induced arterial stiffness, in normotensive patients without overt atherosclerosis. METHODS: One hundred fifty-four normotensive patients without overt atherosclerosis who had undergone a treadmill exercise test were consecutively enrolled. HRR was measured at one minute after exercise. Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) at rest was measured, and carotid arterial stiffness indices at rest (CSI at rest) and after exercise (CSI after exercise) were assessed. RESULTS: Patients with slow HRR were older and tended to be male, and they had diabetes, higher resting and peak systolic blood pressures, higher resting heart rate, lower peak heart rate, lower metabolic equivalents, increased baPWV, and increased CSIs at rest and after exercise. HRR was inversely associated with baPWV and CSI after exercise when established cardiovascular risk factors were adjusted as confounding factors, and HRR was associated with CSI after exercise when resting systolic blood pressure and metabolic equivalent of tasks on cardiovascular risk factors were added as confounding factors. CONCLUSIONS: Sympathovagal imbalance demonstrated by slow HRR was associated with increased arterial stiffness and, above all, was closely associated with exercise-induced arterial stiffness in normotensive patients without overt atherosclerosis. This phenomenon might have been observed because blunt carotid arterial vasomotion following exercise results from autonomic dysfunction as well as vascular endothelial dysfunction.

Clinical characteristics of occluded culprit arteries and collaterals in patients with non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction and impact on clinical outcomes.

The presence of an occluded culprit artery or collaterals in non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) is relatively common; however, limited data are available regarding their clinical significance. The aim of the current study was to determine the clinical characteristics of occluded culprit arteries and coronary collaterals in patients with NSTEMI and their impact on patient outcomes. A total of 345 patients diagnosed with NSTEMI via coronary angiography between February 2006 and May 2013 were evaluated in the present study. Patient demographics, procedural characteristics and clinical outcomes of patients were analyzed according to the presence of an occluded culprit artery and coronary collaterals. A total of 78 (22.6%) and 166 patients (48.1%) exhibited an occluded artery and coronary collaterals, respectively. The left anterior descending artery is a more common location of culprit arteries in patients with NSTEMI with patent artery (NSTEMIPA) and distal parts of the artery are more common location of culprit arteries in patients with NSTEMI with occluded arteries (NSTEMIOA). Patients with NSTEMIOA exhibited higher peak creatine kinase-MB (CKMB) and troponin-I levels compared with patients that had NSTEMIPA. The presence of coronary collaterals is associated with a lower mean left ventricular ejection fraction, higher regional wall motion score index and extensive coronary artery disease. However, the clinical outcomes of patients with collaterals did not differ, irrespective of the presence of an occluded culprit artery or coronary collaterals. In the current study, ~25% of patients with NSTEMI had an occluded culprit coronary artery whereas 50% of patients with NSTEMI had coronary collaterals. The presence of an occluded artery and/or coronary collaterals did not affect clinical outcomes. Further studies are required to evaluate the long-term prognostic impact of an occluded artery and collaterals.

Predictors of decreased left ventricular function subsequent to follow-up echocardiography after percutaneous coronary intervention following acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction.

The preferred treatment for patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). However, not all patients improve or maintain heart function following primary PCI, and certain patients may experience decreased heart function. The present study investigated factors associated with left ventricular (LV) dysfunction, and improvement or deterioration of LV ejection fraction (LVEF) at follow-up echocardiography following successful primary PCI. The clinical outcomes following primary PCI were also investigated. The present study assessed 4,044 patients who underwent primary PCI following a diagnosis of STEMI between January 2008 and March 2012. A total of 1,736 patients who underwent echocardiography between 30 days and 1 year after STEMI and PCI, and who had completed clinical follow-up, were included in the present study. A total of 243 patients (14.0%) demonstrated LV dysfunction at follow-up echocardiography. Multivariate analysis revealed that LV dysfunction (≤40%) at index STEMI, LVEF at index admission, renal insufficiency (creatinine ≥1.4 mg/dl), peak creatine kinase (CK) and peak CK MB isoenzyme (CKMB) were independent predictors of LV dysfunction at follow-up. Independent predictors for the deterioration of LVEF at follow-up were dyslipidemia, LVEF at index admission, LVEF ≤40% at index admission, peak CK and peak troponin-I. Furthermore, being male, having no history of coronary artery disease, pre-thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) flow, LVEF at index admission, LVEF ≤40% at index admission, peak CKMB and peak troponin I were independent predictors of LVEF improvement at follow-up. One-year major adverse cardiac events were significantly increased in the LV dysfunction group compared with patients who did not exhibit LV dysfunction according to Cox regression analysis (13.6 vs. 20.4%; P=0.017). Therefore, the present study may provide valuable prognostic information for clinicians to advise patients who experience LV dysfunction despite having undergone successful primary PCI. Additional management is required in patients with these high-risk features following STEMI.

Increased interarm blood pressure difference is associated with autonomic dysfunction and atherosclerosis in patients with chest pain and no history of coronary artery disease.

OBJECTIVES: Interarm blood pressure (BP) difference has been reported to be associated with atherosclerosis and increased cardiovascular death. We were to investigate associations of interarm systolic blood pressure (SBP) difference with heart rate recovery (HRR) after exercise, an index of autonomic function, and carotid atherosclerotic markers, and to evaluate the association of interarm SBP difference with concurrent coronary artery disease (CAD). METHODS: A total of 995 consecutive patients who underwent treadmill stress echocardiography with chest pain but no history of CAD were enrolled. Interarm SBP difference, carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and plaque were measured before exercise, and HRR 2min following exercise was assessed. Suspected CAD was defined as newly developed wall motion abnormalities after treadmill exercise. RESULTS: Patients with an interarm SBP difference≥10mmHg had higher prevalence of hypertension, increased right and left SBP, right diastolic BP, mean arterial pressure, body mass index and carotid IMT, existent carotid plaque, lower metabolic equivalents and slower HRR. Interarm SBP difference≥10mmHg was independently associated with slower HRR and existent carotid plaque. Suspected CAD was associated with existent carotid plaque or slower HRR, but not with an interarm SBP difference≥10mmHg. CONCLUSIONS: Increased interarm SBP difference was associated with lower autonomic modulation and carotid atherosclerosis in patients with chest pain and no history of CAD, but not with suspected CAD. Observed adverse prognosis in patients with increased interarm BP difference might result from long-term persistent autonomic dysfunction and atherosclerosis.

Comparative clinical implications of admission electrocardiographic findings for patients with non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction.

Early risk stratification is crucial for appropriate management using invasive strategies in non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), and electrocardiography (ECG) has been widely used for risk stratification. However, ECG findings in NSTEMI vary, and there is a need to define the clinical characteristics and outcomes according to ECG.We analyzed the admission ECGs of 345 NSTEMI patients who underwent coronary angiography from 2006 to 2013. Demographics, procedural characteristics, and clinical outcomes were analyzed.The ST-segment depression, T-wave inversion, and no ECG change groups included 114, 90, and 141 patients, respectively. The ST-segment depression group trended toward older, nonsmoking, and female, with a lower body mass index (BMI) and a higher incidence of comorbidities, than the no ECG change group. The ST-segment depression group also had a higher Killip class, a lower left ventricular ejection fraction, a higher regional wall motion score index (RWMSI), and 3-vessel coronary artery disease angiographically, than the no ECG change group. Patients with T-wave inversion trended toward older, female, lower BMI, less smoking, lower creatine kinase MB, and more left anterior descending (LAD) artery involvement, than the no ECG change group. In clinical outcomes, the ST-segment depression group had a higher mortality rate at 30 days and 12 months after the index procedure than the no ECG change group, whereas the T-wave inversion group showed similar clinical outcomes.Patients with ST-segment depression have a greater burden of comorbidities with risk factors and worse clinical outcomes, whereas patients with T-wave inversion have an intermediate number of risk factors but similar outcomes, compared with the no ECG change group. Further study is necessary to evaluate the prognostic impact of the baseline ECG on admission.

Full-blown cardiac manifestations in ankylosing spondylitis.

Ankylosing spondylitis often involves a heart, such as aortic or mitral regurgitation, conduction disorder, or cardiomyopathy. We present a 34-year-old male patient with ankylosing spondylitis who has severe aortic regurgitation, mild mitral stenosis, and a conduction disturbance of the left bundle branch block, identified using multimodal images.

Roles of High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol in Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction.

Many observational studies showed hogh-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) is a strong inverse predictor of cardiovascular (CV) outcome. However, recent large clinical trials evaluating therapies to raise HDL-C level in those already on statin therapy have been discouraging. This complexity is not well-known.A total of 28,357 acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients were enrolled in the Korea Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry (KAMIR), which was a prospective, multicenter, nationwide, web-based database of AMI in Korea. From this registry, we evaluated 3574 patients with AMI who have follow-up HDL-C level to investigate its association with clinical outcomes. The primary endpoint was the relationship between follow-up change in HDL-C and a 12-month composite of major adverse cardiac events (MACEs).Patients with initial HDL-C ≥ 40 mg/dL showed significantly lower rates of 12-month MACEs, especially cardiac and all-cause mortalities (P < 0.001). When patients were stratified into 4 groups according to the change of HDL-C, patients with decreasing HDL-C showed significantly higher rates of 12-month MACEs as comparable with patients with increasing HLD-C. A multivariate analysis indicated that HDL-C level was a significant predictor of CV events (hazard ratio, 1.38; 95% confidence interval, 1.12-1.71) after correcting for confounding variables.The follow-up change in HDL-C level was significantly related with CV outcomes in patients with AMI.

Impacts of lesion angle on incidence and distribution of acute vessel wall injuries and strut malapposition after drug-eluting stent implantation assessed by optical coherence tomography.

AIMS: To investigate the impact of lesion angle on the incidence and distribution of acute vessel wall injuries and incomplete stent apposition (ISA) following second-generation drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation using optical coherence tomography (OCT). Several ex vivo studies demonstrated that angled arterial walls are exposed to imbalanced mechanical stress from deployed stents. METHODS AND RESULTS: We included 243 lesions treated with a single DES (148 everolimus-eluting stent and 95 zotarolimus-eluting stent). Angled lesions were defined as lesions with angle ≥45° on an angiogram (n = 58). The vessel wall injuries and ISA were evaluated by OCT. The results were compared with non-angled lesions (<45°, n = 185). The incidence of instent dissection, thrombus, and ISA was significantly higher in the angled group than in the non-angled group (84.5 vs. 63.2%, P < 0.01; 55.2 vs. 35.1%, P < 0.01; 75.9 vs. 44.9%, P < 0.001, respectively). In the angled group, the normalized tissue protrusion volume around the centre of angle (6.59 ± 6.81, mm(3) × 10(2)) was higher than in the distal sub-segment (2.21 ± 2.87, mm3 × 10(2), P < 0.001), in the proximal sub-segment (4.14 ± 5.34, mm3 × 10(2), P = 0.02), and in the non-angled group (3.30 ± 2.81, mm3 × 10(2), P < 0.001). The incidence of major adverse cardiac events within 12 months was similar between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: Angled coronary lesions had a higher incidence rate of OCT-detected vessel wall injuries and ISA compared with non-angled lesions following second-generation DES implantation. Further studies are needed to understand the long-term clinical significance of these findings.

The value of assessing myocardial deformation at recovery after dobutamine stress echocardiography.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether performing an assessment of myocardial deformation using speckle tracking imaging during the recovery period after dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) allows detection of significant coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with chest discomfort. METHODS: DSE and coronary angiography were performed in 44 patients with chest discomfort. The mean global longitudinal peak systolic strain (GLS) was measured at rest, at low stress (dobutamine infusion rate of 10 µg/kg/min) and at recovery (5 min after cessation of dobutamine infusion) of DSE using automated function imaging with apical views. Fractional flow reserve (FFR) was also performed in patients with intermediate coronary stenosis. CAD was defined as having a ≥ 70% diameter stenosis on coronary angiography or as having a FFR < 0.8. Patients were divided two groups based on the absence or presence of CAD [CAD (-) group vs. CAD (+) group]. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the clinical characteristics and results of conventional echocardiography between the two groups. GLS at recovery was lower in the CAD (+) group than in the CAD (-) group (-18.0 ± 3.4% vs. -21.0 ± 1.9%, p = 0.003). The optimal cutoff of GLS at recovery for detection of CAD was -19% (sensitivity of 70.6%, specificity of 83.3%). CONCLUSION: Assessment of GLS at recovery of DSE is a reliable and objective method for detection of CAD. This finding may suggest that systolic myocardial stunning remains even after recovery of wall motion abnormalities in patients with CAD.

Paraplegia due to Acute Aortic Coarctation and Occlusion.

Coarctation and occlusion of the aorta is a rare condition that typically presents with hypertension or cardiac failure. However, neuropathy or myelopathy may be the presenting features of the condition when an intraspinal subarachnoid hemorrhage has compressed the spinal cord causing ischemia. We report two cases of middle-aged males who developed acute non-traumatic paraplegia. Undiagnosed congenital abnormalities, such as aortic coarctation and occlusion, should be considered for patients presenting with nontraumatic paraplegia in the absence of other identifiable causes. Our cases suggest that spinal cord ischemia resulting from acute spinal subarachnoid hemorrhage and can cause paraplegia, and that clinicians must carefully examine patients presenting with nontraumatic paraplegia because misdiagnosis can delay initiation of the appropriate treatment.

Identification of independent risk factors for restenosis following bare-metal stent implantation: Role of bare-metal stents in the era of drug-eluting stents.

In the era of drug-eluting stents (DESs), the ability of clinicians to predict which patients have a low risk of coronary restenosis following bare-metal stent (BMS) implantion is likely to be of benefit. The study population consisted of 2,711 patients who underwent BMS implantation in 3,770 lesions between 1995 and 2004. With clinical and 6 month follow-up angiographic data, we retrospectively sought to identify the independent risk predictors of restenosis, applied a previously proposed prediction model and assessed the characteristics of patients with a low likelihood of coronary restenosis within 6 months of BMS implantation. A 6-month follow-up coronary angiography was performed in 65.0% of the patients who had undergone the BMS implantation and the rate of restenosis was 26.6%. Using multivariate analysis, diabetes [odds ratio (OR), 1.294; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.094-1.483; P=0.005], current smoking (OR, 1.294; 95% CI, 1.094-1.483; P=0.002), a reference vessel diameter of <3.25 mm (OR, 1.238; 95% CI, 1.021-1.501; P<0.001), a lesion length of >30 mm (OR, 1.645; 95% CI, 1.336-2.026; P<0.001), ostial lesion (OR, 1.858; 95% CI, 1.437-2.402; P<0.001), post-stenting minimal luminal diameter (OR, 0.576; 95% CI, 0.484-0.685; P<0.001) and bifurcation lesion (OR, 1.353; 95% CI, 1.070-1.711; P=0.012) were identified as significant independent predictors of restenosis. However, the accuracy of the prediction obtained with the current model, which used the clinical and angiographic variables correlated with the risk of restenosis, was poor. Various clinical and angiographic independent risk variables were revealed to be correlated with the risk of restenosis following BMS implantation in the present large dataset. Certain groups of patients with a relatively low risk of restenosis may be considered for BMS implantation as an alternative to DESs. However, the prediction models used at present are incomplete and further studies are required.

Endovascular repair of bilateral iliac artery aneurysm with branched iliac stents: case report and review of the current literature.

Common iliac artery aneurysm (CIA) often occurs in conjunction with an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), which extends into one or both CIAs in 20% to 30% of patients. Conventional endovascular treatment includes coil embolization of the internal iliac artery (IIA), followed by extension of the main bifurcated AAA stent-graft into the external iliac artery. However, complications from intentional occlusion of unilateral or bilateral IIAs are frequent and sometimes serious. Several methods try to preserve the unilateral or bilateral IIA. Here we report a case of concomitant bilateral CIA and AAA successfully treated with bilateral branched iliac stent-grafts.

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy recurrence with left ventricular apical ballooning following isolated right ventricular involvement: A case report.

We report a case of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, which involved the right ventricle at first presentation and demonstrated involvement of the left ventricle during recurrence. The patient was admitted to Kyung Hee University Hospital due to a left hip fracture, which was considered a result of physical stress. Complete recovery was confirmed by echocardiography prior to recurrence. The cause of the second event was surgery for the left hip fracture. Recurrence of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy at various cardiac locations provides evidence against the existing hypotheses that variants of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy are associated with anatomically different distributions of cardiac adrenergic receptors, the degree of stimulation by sympathetic activity and different susceptibilities to such sympathetic stimulation.

Comparison of zotarolimus-eluting stent and everolimus-eluting stent for vascular healing response: serial 3-month and 12-month optical coherence tomography study.

BACKGROUND: Everolimus-eluting stents (EES) have shown favorable clinical outcomes. However, there have been no studies evaluating early vascular response after EES implantation. We designed a prospective study to compare the neointimal response between zotarolimus-eluting stents (ZES) and EES at 3 and 12 months using serial optical coherence tomography examinations. METHODS AND RESULTS: Sixty patients who underwent 3-month and 12-month follow-up optical coherence tomography (36 EES, 24 ZES) were included. Neointimal coverage and malapposition were evaluated using a strut-based analysis at both 3 and 12 months. Neointimal hyperplasia area and thrombus were assessed. ZES showed a higher incidence of covered struts (81.5 vs. 77.1%, P<0.0001) and lower incidence of malapposed struts (1.4 vs. 2.3%, P=0.001) than EES at 3 months. However, at 12 months, EES showed a slightly higher incidence of covered struts (96.4 vs. 93.6%, P<0.0001) and a lower incidence of malapposed struts (0.9 vs. 1.1%, P=0.03) than ZES. Neointimal hyperplasia area was greater in the ZES group than in the EES group at both 3 and 12 months (0.77 vs. 0.49 mm, P=0.03 and 1.50 vs. 0.97 mm, P=0.01, respectively). No significant difference in the incidence of thrombus was observed at both 3 and 12 months. CONCLUSION: ZES showed rapid neointimal healing compared with EES at 3 months. However, at 12 months, EES had a slightly better vascular healing profile than ZES.