Isolated bicuspid pulmonary valve in adult diagnosed by three-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography.

Isolated bicuspid pulmonary valve is a rare arterial valve anomaly with very few reports in the literature, which regard overall cases of postmortem diagnosis. However, the true incidence of bicuspid pulmonary valve could be underestimated because of the difficulty in imaging pulmonary valve morphology with conventional two-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography (TTE). We report a case of isolated bicuspid pulmonary valve in an adult diagnosed by three-dimensional TTE. Off line multidimensional analysis of full-volume 3D allowed to obtain a short axis view of pulmonary valve showing a bicuspid valve characterized by an anterior and a posterior cups, normally thickened and with preserved systolic opening.

Epidemiology and clinical impact of different anatomical phenotypes of the left main coronary artery.

Several studies have produced estimates of the outcome of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in the field of left main (LM) coronary artery disease, but no research has been found that surveyed the issue of a comprehensive knowledge of LM anatomy and assessed the impact of different anatomic phenotypes on the likelihood of developing complications after LM PCI. We sought to develop a specific investigation on the basis of the regional anatomy and quantitative analysis of a large series of angiograms performed in our institution. We reviewed the baseline selective digital coronary angiographic examinations of 1,000 patients who did not undergo LM PCI and 296 patients with significant LM stenosis who did undergo PCI. All patients in both groups underwent a comprehensive qualitative and quantitative assessment of LM anatomical features according to several parameters. Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) was used to identify different anatomic phenotypes of the LM coronary artery. Three different anatomical patterns were identified by HCA. The proportion of patients with LM disease increased across clusters (19% in cluster 1, 27% in cluster 2 and 44% in cluster 3, p < 0.001). No differences were observed in terms of 18-month major adverse cardiac event-free survival among patients with LM disease undergoing PCI stratified by clusters (log rank p = 0.77). In conclusion, LM phenotypes can be identified that are more likely to present with atherosclerotic disease and significant stenosis.

Long-term outcomes after drug-eluting stent for the treatment of ostial left anterior descending coronary artery lesions.

BACKGROUND: Although drug-eluting stents (DES) have reduced restenosis in a broad range of lesions, there is limited data, from relatively small studies, on the safety and efficacy of DES for isolated ostial left anterior descending (LAD) stenoses. In addition, in the setting of these high-risk lesions, there is the issue of the potential involvement of the left main (LM) bifurcation, requiring subsequent revascularization for a lesion involving this critical location. METHODS: Patients with a de novo isolated unprotected ostial LAD stenoses treated with DES were included. Evaluated end points were cardiac death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, overall target lesion revascularization (TLR), and the reintervention for a restenotic lesion located at the LM segment adjacent to the stent (TLR-LM). RESULTS: A total of 162 patients were included: 95 underwent focal ostial LAD stenting and 67 stenting from the distal LM into the LAD ostium. The 2-year Kaplan-Meier estimates of cardiac death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, overall TLR, and TLR-LM were 2.6%, 2.1%, 8.3%, and 4.7%, respectively. Overall TLR and TLR-LM rates were higher in the focal ostial LAD stenting group. There was a trend toward an independent increased risk of TLR associated with focal ostial stenting. In addition, final minimal luminal diameter trended to be independently associated with TLR. CONCLUSION: The present study showed that DES for isolated ostial LAD lesions is a feasible, safe, and effective treatment strategy. In addition, this study suggested the hypothesis that a default distal LM-LAD stenting, rather than focal ostial stenting, might provide more favorable outcomes. Nevertheless, larger specifically designed studies are needed.

Plaque distribution patterns in distal left main coronary artery to predict outcomes after stent implantation.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between plaque distribution at left main (LM) bifurcation and target lesion revascularization (TLR) after stenting. BACKGROUND: Despite favorable reported mid- and long-term results, stent implantation on LM bifurcation remains challenging. The role of atherosclerotic plaque distribution in affecting LM bifurcation stenting outcomes has not been explored. METHODS: A total of 329 patients undergoing LM bifurcation stenting in 2 centers were included. A method based on different plaque locations within the bifurcation area was applied. The overall population was divided in 2 groups according to the presence of a specific pattern characterized by plaque occupying (n = 145) or not occupying (n = 184) the whole bifurcation (WB) area. RESULTS: Baseline clinical, angiographic, and procedural characteristics were well-balanced between the 2 groups. The WB group showed a significantly higher risk of 3-year TLR compared with the non-WB group (24.9% vs. 8.3%; unadjusted hazard ratio: 3.12; 95% confidence interval: 1.59 to 6.11; p = 0.001; adjusted hazard ratio: 2.84; 95% confidence interval: 1.43 to 5.64; p = 0.003). The 3-year TLR rate was not significantly different between patients treated with 1-or 2-stent techniques either in the WB or non-WB groups. In the WB group, TLR was similar between patients with lesions classified as 1,1,1 and non-1,1,1 by the Medina classification (20.7% vs. 26.8%, p = 0.57, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The WB pattern is associated with enhanced TLR risk, regardless of stent technique and plaque severity. This could impact the treatment strategy of high-risk lesions involving the whole bifurcation area.

Long-term clinical follow-up of drug-eluting stent restenosis treatment: retrospective analysis from two high volume catheterisation laboratories.

AIMS: To evaluate clinical outcome of patients undergoing repeated percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for drug-eluting stent (DES) restenosis. METHODS AND RESULTS: We identified 213 patients who underwent re-PCI for DES restenosis. The study population was divided in two groups according to the treatment strategy: 94 patients were treated with at least one repeat DES implantation (DES-sandwich group); 119 patients were treated with balloon angioplasty alone (BA group). Diffuse pattern of restenosis was more frequent in DES-sandwich group (34.0% vs. 17.6%; P=0.006). During a median follow-up of 20.2 months (interquartile range 13.7 to 30.1), the incidence of cardiac death was 6.5% in the DES-sandwich and 2.5% in the BA group (P=0.18), the incidence of myocardial infarction 6.5% and 0.8% (P=0.04), and the incidence of TLR 13% and 10.9% (P=0.63), respectively. After adjustment for angiographic characteristics, DES-sandwich strategy tended to be associated with a higher rate of myocardial infarction (OR 8.2, 95%CIs[0.9-69.6]; P=0.05). By multivariate analysis, early and diffuse pattern of restenosis were found as predictors of adverse outcome at follow-up (OR 4.7, 95%CI[2.2-9.6], P<0.001; OR 2.3, 95%CI[1.1-4.8], P=0.02, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: A default strategy of repeat DES implantation does not seem to be advantageous and could be associated with a higher rate of myocardial infarction.

Complete versus incomplete revascularization in patients with multivessel disease undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention with drug-eluting stents.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the long-term prognostic implications of complete versus incomplete revascularization in multivessel coronary artery disease (MVD) patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with drug-eluting stent (DES). BACKGROUND: Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in patients with MVD provides better outcomes when complete revascularization is achieved. There is a paucity of data on the outcomes of complete versus incomplete revascularization of MVD patients undergoing PCI, and currently there is no data available with DES. METHODS: Patients with MVD undergoing PCI with DES (sirolimus- or paclitaxel-eluting stent) were included. Comparisons of long-term outcomes between completely versus incompletely revascularized patients were made. The primary outcome measure was the composite of cardiac death, nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI), or any revascularization. Secondary endpoints were the components of the composite endpoint. RESULTS: A total of 508 patients were considered for this analysis: 212 (41.7%) and 296 (58.3%) had complete and incomplete revascularization, respectively. The median follow-up was 27.0 (interquartile range: 23.0-37.1) months. After adjusting for baseline characteristics, the hazard ratio (HR, 95% confidence interval) for complete revascularization was 0.43 (0.29-0.63, P < 0.0001) for the primary composite endpoint. Complete revascularization was associated with better outcomes for components of the composite endpoint: 0.37 (0.15-0.92, P = 0.03) for cardiac death, 0.34 (0.16-0.75 P = 0.008) for the composite of cardiac death or MI and 0.45 (0.29-0.69, P = 0.0003) for any repeat revascularization. This association was confirmed in a propensity-matched population. CONCLUSIONS: Complete revascularization with DES of MVD patients is associated with lower rates of long-term adverse events.

Sicilian DES Registry: prospective in-hospital and 9-month clinical and angiographic follow-up in selected high restenosis risk patients.

OBJECTIVE: This is a multicentre, open label, prospective non-randomized registry, with 9-month angiographic follow-up, conducted to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of drug-eluting stents (DES) when used in high restenosis risk patients from the real world. METHODS: From June 2004 to February 2005, a total of 1622 consecutive patients were enrolled to the Sicilian DES Registry, according to specific inclusion criteria. Both paclitaxel-eluting and sirolimus-eluting stents were used. The analysis was performed on 1472 patients because 150 patients were excluded from the study. The primary endpoint was to evaluate the rate of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) within 9 months after DES implantation. Major adverse cardiac events were defined as cardiac death, non-Q-wave or Q-wave myocardial infarction (MI) and target vessel revascularization (TVR). The secondary endpoints were procedural success, angiographic binary restenosis and stent thrombosis within 9 months post-procedure. RESULTS: Patients were more frequently male; 472 (32.1%) were diabetics, of whom 130 (27.5%) were treated with insulin. Mean ejection fraction of the left ventricle was 51.5 +/- 8.7%. Multivessel disease was found and treated in 627 patients (42.6%). A total of 2439 lesions were treated with DES. Final angiographic success was achieved in 2422 (99.3%) lesions. Procedural success was achieved in 1422 (96.6%) patients. The 9-month cumulative incidence of MACE was 7.3% with 0.8% of cardiac deaths, 0.8% non-fatal MI, 7.9% TVR. Binary restenosis was observed in 101 patients (8.3%). Stent thrombosis was documented in 11 patients (0.8%). CONCLUSIONS: Drug-eluting stents appear to be safe and associated with a low incidence of MACE at 9-month follow-up, even in patients selected for their complexity.