Clinical Characteristics and Prognosis of Life-Threatening Acute Myocardial Infarction in Patients Transferred to an Emergency Medical Care Center.

Patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) triaged as life-threatening are transferred to our emergency medical care center (EMCC). However, data on these patients remain limited. We aimed to compare the characteristics and AMI prognosis of patients transferred to our EMCC with those transferred to our cardiovascular intensive care unit (CICU) using whole and propensity-matched cohorts.We analyzed the data of 256 consecutive AMI patients transferred from the scene to our hospital by ambulance between 2014 and 2017. The EMCC and CICU groups comprised 77 and 179 patients, respectively. There were no significant between-group age or sex differences. Patients in the EMCC group had more disease severity score and had the left main trunk identified as the culprit more frequently (12% versus 0.6%, P < 0.001) than those in the CICU group; however, the number of patients with multiple culprit vessels did not differ. The EMCC group had a longer door-to-reperfusion time (75 [60, 109] minutes versus 60 [40, 86] minutes, P< 0.001) and a higher in-hospital mortality (19% versus 4.5%, P < 0.001), especially from non-cardiac causes (10% versus 0.6%, P < 0.001), than the CICU group. However, peak myocardial creatine phosphokinase did not significantly differ between the groups. The EMCC group had a significantly higher 1-year post-discharge mortality than the CICU group (log-rank, P = 0.032); this trend was maintained after propensity score matching, although the difference was not statistically significant (log-rank, P = 0.094).AMI patients transferred to the EMCC exhibited more severe disease and worse overall in-hospital and non-cardiac mortality than those transferred to the CICU.

Clinical features and predictors of non-cardiac death in patients hospitalised for acute myocardial infarction: Insights from the Tokyo CCU network multicentre registry.

BACKGROUND: Patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) commonly have multiple comorbidities, and some die in hospitals due to causes other than cardiac complications. However, limited information is available on noncardiac death in patients hospitalised for AMI. Therefore, the present study was performed to determine the incidence, annual trend, clinical characteristics, and predictors of in-hospital non-cardiac death in patients with AMI using the Tokyo Cardiovascular Care Unit (CCU) network registry. METHODS: The registry included 38,589 consecutive patients with AMI who were admitted to the CCU between 2010 and 2019. The primary endpoint was in-hospital noncardiac death. Further, predictors of cardiac and non-cardiac death were identified. RESULTS: The incidence of all-cause in-hospital mortality was 7.0% (n = 2700), and the proportion of mortality was 15.6% (n = 420) and 84.4% (n = 2280) for noncardiac and cardiac causes, respectively. The proportion of noncardiac deaths did not change annually over the last decade (p = 0.66). After adjusting for all variables, age, Killip classification grade, peak creatine kinase, hemoglobin, serum creatinine, and C-reactive protein were common predictors of cardiac and non-cardiac deaths. Indicators of malnutrition, such as lower body mass index (kg/m2) [odds 0.94, 95%CI (0.90-0.97), p < 0.001] and serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level (per 10 mg/dl) [odds 0.92, 95%CI (0.89-0.96), p < 0.001] were the specific predictors for non-cardiac deaths. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of in-hospital noncardiac death was significant in patients with AMI, accounting for 15.6% of all in-hospital mortalities. Thus, prevention and management of non-cardiac complications are vital to improve acute-phase outcomes, especially those with predictors of non-cardiac death.

High Non-Cardiac Death Incidence Should Be a Limitation of Drug-Eluting Stents Implantation? Insights from Recent Randomized Data.

Despite the introduction of drug-eluting stents (DES) significantly improved the efficacy and safety of percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI), particularly in a high-risk group of patients, the gap between PCI with his competitor's coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) and/or optimal medical treatment alone was not reduced. In this revision, we highlighted the fact that in recent years landmark randomized studies reported at mid and long-term follow-ups a high incidence of non-cardiac death, cancer incidence, or both in the DES group of patients. The overall incidence of non-cardiac death was significantly higher in the DES vs. the comparator arm: 5.5% and 3.8%, respectively, p = 0.000018, and non-cardiac death appears to be more divergent between DES vs. the comparator at the extended follow-up to expenses of the last one. One of these trials reported five times greater cancer incidence in the DES arm at late follow-up, 5% vs. 0.7% p < 0.0018. We review the potential reason for these unexpected findings, although we can discard that DES biology could be involved in it. Until all these issues are resolved, we propose that DES implantation should be tailored accorded patient age, life expectancy, and lesion complexity.

The genetic basis of sudden death in young people - Cardiac and non-cardiac.

Sudden death is one of the major causes of death in young adults. Sudden death could be a result from both genetic and environmental or acquired factors. Understanding the genetic etiology is crucial to prevent preventable sudden death for those who are not aware of their genetic condition. In fact, the spectrum of causes of sudden death is complex and varied. In this study, we reviewed the genes that are associated with multiple causes of sudden death in terms of both sudden cardiac death and sudden noncardiac death. A summary of genetic risk factors of the major causes of genetic relevant sudden death is also provided. We believe this review could benefit the researchers who are interested in sudden death genetic studies or the young people who are concerning about their own risk on sudden death.

Sudden unexpected non-cardiac death in the Genoa Medico-Legal District: A six year study (2014-2019) and literature review.

Sudden death is described as a natural but unexpected death occurring within one hour from the onset of the patient's final symptoms. Despite cardiac disease being recognised as the cause of death in most people, sudden and unexpected death can also be non-cardiac related. Often a natural but sudden death is not subject to an autopsy, but only to an external examination, and this runs the risk of wrongly attributing the death to a cardiac cause. The present review is a retrospective-observational study which looks into the cases of sudden non-cardiac death recorded in the Genoa District (Italy) from 2014 to 2019 and investigated through complete autopsy examinations. Amongst these cases, 39 (31.5%) were attributable to gastrointestinal diseases, mostly due to the rupture of oesophageal varices; 39 (31.5%) to respiratory diseases, especially pulmonary infections; 31 (25%) to peripheral vascular disease, mostly attributable to pulmonary thromboembolisms or the acute dissection of aneurysms whilst the remaining 15 cases (12%) were attributable to intracranial haemorrhages.

Renal Function Effect on the Association Between Body Mass Index and Mortality Risk After Acute Myocardial Infarction.

Background: Body mass index (BMI) is a critical determinant of mortality after acute myocardial infarction (AMI), and higher BMI is associated with survival benefit in patients with renal impairment. However, there are no studies investigating the interactive effects of BMI and renal function on mortality risk after AMI occurrence. Methods: We enrolled 12,647 AMI patients from Korea Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry between November 2011 and December 2015. Patients were categorized based on estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR) and BMI. The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality after AMI treatment. Results: Within each renal function category, the absolute mortality rate was decreased in patients with higher BMI. However, the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of all-cause mortality for higher BMI was decreased as renal function worsened [adjusted HR (95% confidence interval) at BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2: 0.63 (0.41-0.99), 0.76 (0.59-0.97), and 0.84 (0.65-1.08) for patients with eGFR ≥ 90, 90-45, and <45 mL/min/1.73 m2, respectively]. There was a significant interaction between BMI and renal function (P for interaction = 0.010). The protective effect of higher BMI was preserved against non-cardiac death and it was also decreased with lowering eGFR in competing risks models [adjusted HR at BMI ≥25 kg/m2: 0.38 (0.18-0.83), 0.76 (0.59-0.97), and 0.84 (0.65-1.08) for patients with eGFR ≥ 90, 90-45, and <45 mL/min/1.73 m2, respectively; P for interaction = 0.03]. However, renal function did not significantly affect the association between BMI and risk of cardiac death (P for interaction = 0.20). Conclusions: The effect of BMI on the mortality risk after AMI was dependent on renal function. The association between greater BMI and survival benefit was weakened as renal function was decreased. In addition, the negative effect of renal function on the BMI - mortality association was pronounced in the non-cardiac death.

Incidence and predictors of in-hospital non-cardiac death in patients with acute heart failure.

BACKGROUND: Patients with acute heart failure (AHF) commonly have multiple co-morbidities, and some of these patients die in the hospital from causes other than aggravated heart failure. However, limited information is available on the mode of death in patients with AHF. Therefore, the present study was performed to determine the incidence and predictors of in-hospital non-cardiac death in patients with AHF, using the Acute Decompensated Heart Failure Syndromes (ATTEND) registry Methods: The ATTEND registry included 4842 consecutive patients with AHF admitted between April 2007-September 2011. The primary endpoint of the present study was in-hospital non-cardiac death. A stepwise regression model was used to identify the predictors of in-hospital non-cardiac death. RESULTS: The incidence of all-cause in-hospital mortality was 6.4% ( n=312), and the incidence was 1.9% ( n=93) and 4.5% ( n=219) for non-cardiac and cardiac causes, respectively. Old age was associated with in-hospital non-cardiac death, with a 42% increase in the risk per decade (odds 1.42, p=0.004). Additionally, co-morbidities including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (odds 1.98, p=0.034) and anaemia (odds 1.17 (per 1.0 g/dl decrease), p=0.006) were strongly associated with in-hospital non-cardiac death. Moreover, other predictors included low serum sodium levels (odds 1.05 (per 1.0 mEq/l decrease), p=0.045), high C-reactive protein levels (odds 1.07, p<0.001) and no statin use (odds 0.40, p=0.024). CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of in-hospital non-cardiac death was markedly high in patients with AHF, accounting for 30% of all in-hospital deaths in the ATTEND registry. Thus, the prevention and management of non-cardiac complications are vital to prevent acute-phase mortality in patients with AHF, especially those with predictors of in-hospital non-cardiac death.