Ten-year prognosis of acute atrial fibrillation in ST-elevation myocardial infarction: recurrence and risk stroke.

BACKGROUND: Atrial fibrillation (AF) often complicates ST elevation acute myocardial infarction (STEMI), with associated risks including stroke and mortality. Anticoagulation therapy for these patients and AF prognosis remains controversial. The aim was to evaluate long-term prognosis of STEMI patients complicated with AF in the acute phase. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis on a prospective register involving 4,184 patients admitted for STEMI to the intensive cardiac care unit of 2 tertiary centres from 2007 to 2015. Patients with pre-existing permanent AF were excluded. Out of these, 269 (6.4%) patients developed AF within the first 48 hours after STEMI and were matched with a control group based on age and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). RESULTS: After matching, a total of 470 patients were included (n=235, AF-STEMI; n=235, control group). Mean age 69.0 years, and 31.7% women. No differences were found in gender, cardiovascular risk factors or ischemic heart disease. AF-STEMI patients experienced more sustained ventricular tachycardia, advanced atrioventricular block, heart failure, and cardiogenic shock. In-hospital mortality was also higher in AF-STEMI patients (11.9% vs 7.2%, p=0.008). After 10-years follow-up, the AF-STEMI group had remained with higher mortality (50.5% vs. 36.2%; p=0.003) and a greater recurrence of AF (44.2% vs. 14.7%; p<0.001), without differences in stroke incidence (10.1% vs. 9.3%). CONCLUSIONS: As a conclusion, patients with AF complicating STEMI have higher rates of heart failure, cardiogenic shock, and in-hospital mortality. After a 10-year follow-up, they exhibit a high risk of AF recurrence and mortality, with no significant differences in stroke incidence.

Killip scale reclassification according to lung ultrasound: Killip pLUS.

AIMS: The Killip scale remains a fundamental tool for prognostic assessment in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) due to its simplicity and predictive value. Lung ultrasound (LUS) has emerged as a valuable adjunct for diagnosing and predicting outcomes in heart failure (HF) and STEMI patients, even those with subclinical congestion. We created a new classification (Killip pLUS), which reclassifies Killip I and II patients into an intermediate category (Killip I pLUS) based on LUS results. This category included Killip I patients and ≥1 positive zone (≥3 B-lines) and Killip II with 0 positive zones. We aimed to evaluate this new classification by comparing it with the Killip scale and a previous LUS-based reclassification scale (LUCK scale). METHODS AND RESULTS: Lung ultrasound was performed within 24 h of admission in a multicentre cohort of 373 patients admitted for STEMI. In-hospital mortality and major adverse cardiovascular events within one year after admission, comprising mortality or readmission for HF, acute coronary syndrome, or stroke, were analysed. When predicting in-hospital mortality, the global comparison of these three classifications was statistically significant: Killip pLUS area under the curve (AUC) 0.90 (95% CI 0.85-0.95) vs. Killip AUC 0.85 (95% CI 0.73-0.96) vs. LUCK 0.83 (95% CI 0.70-0.95), P = 0.024. To predict events during follow-up, the comparison between scales was also significant: Killip pLUS 0.77 (95% CI 0.71-0.85) vs. Killip 0.72 (95% CI 0.65-0.79) vs. LUCK 0.73 (95% CI 0.66-0.81), P = 0.033. CONCLUSION: The Killip pLUS scale provides enhanced risk stratification compared to the Killip and LUCK scales while preserving simplicity.

Lung Ultrasound in the Acute Phase of ST-Segment-Elevation Acute Myocardial Infarction: 1-Year Prognosis and Improvement in Risk Prediction.

BACKGROUND: Lung ultrasound (LUS) has emerged as a useful tool in the acute phase of patients admitted for ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction. However, its long-term significance remains uncertain, and risk scores do not include LUS findings as a predictor. This study aims to assess the 1-year prognostic value of LUS and its ability to enhance existing risk scores. METHODS AND RESULTS: This is a multicenter prospective cohort study involving 373 patients with ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction. LUS was performed during the first 24 hours after angiography. LUS results were assessed both as a categorical (wet/dry lung) and continuous variable (LUS score). The primary end point comprised the following major adverse cardiovascular events: all-cause mortality or hospitalization for heart failure, acute coronary syndrome, or stroke within 1 year. We also evaluated whether LUS could enhance the predictive value of the GRACE (Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events) score. Major adverse cardiovascular events occurred in 51 (13.7%) patients over a median follow-up of 368 days. After multivariate analysis, the LUS score was an independent predictor (hazard ratio [HR], 1.06 [95% CI, 1.01-1.10]; P=0.009] for each additional B-line), whereas the categorical classification was an independent predictor in patients with ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction Killip I (HR, 3.12 [95% CI, 1.34-7.31]; P=0.009). Incorporating LUS into GRACE resulted in a net reclassification index of 31.6% and a significant increase in the area under the curve; GRACE alone scored 0.705 compared with GRACE+LUS 0.791 (P=0.002). CONCLUSIONS: Detecting B-lines on LUS at the acute phase predicts major adverse cardiovascular events at 1 year in patients with ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction and enhances the predictive value of the GRACE score. REGISTRATION: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT04526535.