The impact of concomitant chronic total occlusion on clinical outcomes in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement: a large single-center analysis.

Background: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a common finding in patients with severe aortic stenosis undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). However, the impact on prognosis of chronic total occlusions (CTOs), a drastic expression of CAD, remains unclear. Methods and results: We retrospectively reviewed 1,487 consecutive TAVR cases performed at a single tertiary care medical center. Pre-TAVR angiograms were analyzed for the presence of a CTO. At the time of TAVR, 11.2% (n = 167) patients had a CTO. There was no significant association between the presence of a CTO and in-hospital or 30-day mortality. There was also no difference in long-term survival. LV ejection fraction and mean aortic gradients were lower in the CTO group. Conclusions: Our analysis suggests that concomitant CTO lesions in patients undergoing TAVR differ in their risk profile and clinical findings to patients without CTO. CTO lesion per se were not associated with increased mortality, nevertheless CTOs which supply non-viable myocardium in TAVR population were associated with increased risk of death. Additional research is needed to evaluate the prognostic significance of CTO lesions in TAVR patients.

Sex differences in the management and outcome of acute coronary syndrome-Still an issue of equal treatment?

Significant sex-specific differences were described in the presentation, management and outcome of acute coronary syndrom (ACS) patients. Female ACS patients more often presented with noncardiac symptoms, which lead to significant time delays between symptom onset and treatment. Furthermore, multiple studies from various countries described that women with ACS were less likely to receive the medical or reperfusion therapy recommended by the respective guidelines, resulting in higher in-hospital mortality rates.The treating physicians and the patients need to be more aware of the described differences to ensure the best possible medical care for ACS patients, irrespective of sex.

In-hospital outcomes and conditions in patients with acute coronary syndrome and coronary artery aneurysms who undergo percutaneous coronary intervention.

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery aneurysms (CAA) are uncommon, often incidental findings in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) that represent a management challenge due to as there is a paucity of literature in this area. METHODS: We analyzed the National Inpatient Sample database from 2016 to 2020 by including all patients with the admission diagnosis of the ACS who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We sought to evaluate the association of CAA with other relevant systemic conditions and determine the impact of CAA on in-hospital outcomes. RESULTS: Among 1,733,655 hospital admission with ACS who underwent PCI, 2675 had CAA. There was a 2-fold increase in odds of CAA if the patient had coronary artery dissection (OR 2.05 95%CI 1.12-3.75, p = 0.020) or extracoronary aneurysm (OR 2.47 95%CI 1.46-4.16, p = 0.001) and a 3-fold increase in odds if they had a systematic inflammatory disorder (OR 3.24 95%CI 2.08-5.07, p < 0.001). CAA was not associated with increased odds of mortality (OR 1.22 95%CI 0.76-1.95, p = 0.42), bleeding (OR 1.29 95%CI 0.86-1.95, p = 0.22), acute stroke (OR 0.91 95%CI 0.40-2.07, p = 0.83), major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (OR 1.08 95%CI 0.72-1.61, p = 0.71) or cardiac complications (OR 0.85 95%CI 0.49-1.47, p = 0.55). However, it was significantly associated with increased odds of vascular complications (OR 2.17 95%CI 1.47-3.19, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: For patients with ACS who undergo PCI, the presence of CAA is associated with greater odds of vascular complications but after adjustments there was no difference in mortality or other complications. In this population, CAA is more prevalent in patients with coronary dissection, extracoronary aneurysms and systemic inflammatory disorders.

In-Hospital Outcomes and Conditions Associated With Coronary Artery Aneurysms in Chronic Coronary Syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery aneurysms (CAA) are infrequent findings among patients undergoing coronary angiography and may be associated with systemic diseases. METHODS: We analyzed the National Inpatient Sample database from 2016 to 2020 by including all patients with the admission diagnosis of the chronic coronary syndrome (CCS). We sought to determine the impact of CAA on in-hospital outcomes encompassing all-cause death, bleeding, cardiovascular complications, and stroke. Secondly, we examined the association of CAA with other relevant systemic conditions. RESULTS: The presence of CAA was associated with a 3-fold increase in the odds of cardiovascular complications (OR 3.1, 95 % CI 2.9-3.8), however, it was associated with reduced odds of stroke (OR 0.7, 95 % CI 0.6-0.9). There was no significant impact on all-cause death and overall bleeding complications, although there appeared to be a reduction in the odds of gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding associated with CAA (OR 0.6, 95 % CI 0.4-0.8). Patients with CAA vs. those without CAA had a significantly greater prevalence of extracoronary arterial aneurysms (7.9 % vs. 1.4 %), systemic inflammatory disorders (6.5 % vs. 1.1 %), connective tissue disease (1.6 % vs. 0.6 %), coronary artery dissection (1.3 % vs. 0.1 %), bicuspid aortic valve (0.8 % vs. 0.2 %), and extracoronary arterial dissection (0.3 % vs. 0.1 %). In the multivariable regression, systemic inflammatory disorders, extracoronary aneurysms, coronary artery dissection, and connective tissue diseases were independent predictors of CAA. CONCLUSIONS: CAA in patients with CCS is associated with greater odds of cardiovascular complications during hospitalization. These patients also had a substantially greater prevalence of extracardiac vascular and systemic abnormalities.

The impact of chronic total occlusions in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is frequently encountered in patients evaluated for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) due to severe aortic stenosis. The prognostic relevance of chronic total occlusions (CTOs) in this setting is poorly understood. We conducted a search of MEDLINE and EMBASE to identify studies evaluating patients who underwent TAVR and evaluated outcomes depending on the presence of coronary CTOs. Pooled analysis was performed to estimate the rate and risk ratio for mortality. Four studies involving 25,432 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The follow up ranged from in-hospital outcomes to 8-years follow-up. Coronary artery disease was present in 67.8% to 75.5% of patients in 3 studies which reported this variable. The prevalence of CTOs varied between 2% and 12.6% in this cohort. The presence of CTOs was associated with increase in length of stay (8.1 ± 8.2 vs. 5.9 ± 6.5, p < 0.01), cardiogenic shock (5.1% vs. 1.7%, p < 0.01), acute myocardial infarction (5.8% vs. 2.8%, p = 0.02) and acute kidney injury (18.6% vs. 13.9%, p = 0.048). The pooled 1-year death rate revealed 41 deaths in 165 patients in the CTO group and 396 deaths in 1663 patients with no CTO ((24.8%) vs. (23.8%)). The meta-analysis of death with CTO versus no CTO showed a nonsignificant trend toward increased mortality with CTOs (risk ratio 1.11 95% CI 0.90-1.40, I2 = 0%). Our analysis suggests that concomitant CTO lesions in patients undergoing TAVR are common, and its presence was associated with increased in-hospital complications. However, CTO presence by itself was not associated with increased long-term mortality, only a nonsignificant trend toward an increased risk of death in patients with CTO was found. Further studies are warranted to assess the prognostic relevance of CTO lesion in TAVR patients.

Emergency transvenous temporary pacing during rotational atherectomy.

Background: Rotational atherectomy (RA) during percutaneous coronary intervention may cause transient bradycardia or a higher-degree heart block. Traditionally, some operators use prophylactic transvenous pacing wire (TPW) to avoid haemodynamic complications associated with bradycardia. Objective: We sought to establish the frequency of bail-out need for emergency TPW insertion in patients undergoing RA that have received no upfront TPW insertion. Methods: We performed a single-centre retrospective study of all patients undergoing RA between October 2009 and October 2022. Patient characteristics, procedural variables, and in-hospital complications were registered. Results: A total of 331 patients who underwent RA procedure were analysed. No patients underwent prophylactic TPW insertion. The mean age was 73.3 ± 9.1 years, 71.6% (n = 237) were male, while nearly half of the patients were diabetic [N = 158 (47.7%)]. The right coronary artery was the most common target for RA (40.8%), followed by the left anterior descending (34.1%), left circumflex (14.8%), and left main stem artery (10.3%). Altogether 20 (6%) patients required intraprocedural atropine therapy. Emergency TPW insertion was needed in one (0.3%) patient only. Eight (2.4%) patients died, although only one (0.3%) was adjudicated as being possibly related to RA-induced bradycardia. Five patients (1.5%) had ventricular fibrillation arrest, while nine (2.7%) required cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Six (1.8%) procedures were complicated by coronary perforation, two (0.6%) were complicated by tamponade, while 17 (5.1%) patients experienced vascular access complications. Conclusions: Bail-out transvenous temporary pacing is very rarely required during RA. A standby temporary pacing strategy seems reasonable and may avoid unnecessary TPW complications compared with routine use.

Left vs. right radial approach for coronary catheterization: Relation to age and severe aortic stenosis.

Background: Old age and the presence of aortic stenosis are associated with the unfolding of the intrathoracic aorta. This may result in increased difficulties navigating catheters from the right compared to the left radial approach. Objective: To investigate whether increasing age or presence of severe aortic stenosis was associated with increased catheterization success rates from left (LRA) compared to right radial artery approach (RRA). Methods: We compared coronary angiography success rates of RRA and LRA according to different age groups and in a subgroup of patients with severe aortic stenosis. Results: A total of 21,259 coronary angiographies were evaluated. With increasing age, the first pass success rate from either radial access decreased significantly (p < 0.001). In patients aged <85 years, there was no difference between LRA and RRA. However, in patients aged ≥85 years, LRA was associated with significantly higher success rates compared to RRA (90.1 vs. 82.8%, p = 0.003). Patients aged ≥85 years received less contrast agent and had shorter fluoroscopy time when LRA was used [86.6 ± 41.1 vs. 99.6 ± 48.7 ml (p < 0.001) and 4.5 ± 4.1 min vs. 6.2 ± 5.7 min (p < 0.001), mean (±SD)]. In patients with severe aortic stenosis (n = 589) better first pass success rates were observed via LRA compared to the RRA route (91.9 vs. 85.1%, p = 0.037). Conclusion: LRA, compared to RRA, is associated with a higher first-pass catheter success rate for coronary artery angiography in patients aged ≥85 years and those with severe aortic stenosis.

Outcomes of Patients Who Undergo Elective Covered Stent Treatment for Coronary Artery Aneurysms.

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery aneurysms (CAA) are reported in up to 5% of patients undergoing coronary angiography. Treatment of CAAs with covered stents has been reported in several case reports, however there is limited evidence available on the effectiveness and safety of this interventional practice. PURPOSE: To evaluate the current practice and outcomes of elective treatment of coronary artery aneurysms with covered stents. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review of published case reports and case series of patients presenting with CAA that have been treated with covered stents in a non-emergency setting. RESULTS: A total of 63 case reports and 3 case series were included in the final analysis comprising data from 81 patients. The treated CAA was situated in a native coronary artery in 92.6%, and in a saphenous vein graft in 7.4%. Procedural success was achieved in 95.1%. The types of stents used were mainly polytetrafluoroethylene (75.3%) and Papyrus (11.1%). In 11.0% of cases additional abluminal drug eluting stents (DES) and in 6.8% additional adluminal DES were implanted. After a mean follow up of 13.4 months overall major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), mortality, myocardial infarction, stroke, stent thrombosis and target lesion revascularization were reported in 26.2, 0.0, 7.6, 0.0, 4.6 and 18.5% of cases, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The use of covered stents for elective treatment of CAA appears to be effective and reasonably safe. Nevertheless, it is associated with higher MACE rate, driven mainly by higher target lesion revascularization. Further studies, particularly in form of randomized trials and controlled registries are warranted to identify patients who might profit the most from this procedure.