Iron Deficiency in Heart Failure: A Scientific Statement from the Heart Failure Society of America.

Iron deficiency is present in approximately 50% of patients with symptomatic heart failure and is independently associated with worse functional capacity, lower quality of, life and increased mortality. The purpose of this document is to summarize current knowledge of how iron deficiency is defined in heart failure and its epidemiology and pathophysiology, as well as pharmacological considerations for repletion strategies. This document also summarizes the rapidly expanding array of clinical trial evidence informing when, how, and in whom to consider iron repletion.

The use of enoxaparin as bridge to therapeutic INR after LVAD implantation.

BACKGROUND: Left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) have been increasingly used in the treatment of end-stage heart failure. While warfarin has been uniformly recommended in the long-term as anticoagulation strategy, no clear recommendation exists for the post-operative period. We sought to evaluate the feasibility of enoxaparin in the immediate and early postoperative period after LVAD implantation. METHODS: This is a two-center, retrospective analysis of 250 consecutive patients undergoing LVAD implantation between January 2017 and December 2018. Patients were bridged postoperatively to therapeutic INR by either receiving unfractionated heparin (UFH) or low molecular weight heparin (LMWH). Patients were followed while inpatient and for 3 months after LVAD implantation. The efficacy outcome was occurrence of first and subsequent cerebrovascular accident while safety outcome was the occurrence of bleeding events. Length of stay (LOS) was also assessed. RESULTS: Two hundred fifty and 246 patients were analyzed for index admission and 3-month follow up respectively. No statistically significant differences were found between the two groups in CVA (OR = 0.67; CI = 0.07-6.39, P = 0.73) or bleeding events (OR = 0.91; CI = 0.27-3.04, P = 0.88) during index admission. Similarly, there were no differences at 3 months in either CVAs or bleeding events (OR = 0.85; 0.31-2.34; p = 0.76). No fatal events occurred during the study follow-up period. Median LOS was significantly lower (4 days; p = 0.03) in the LMWH group. CONCLUSIONS: LMWH in the immediate and early postoperative period after LVAD implantation appears to be a concurrently safe and efficacious option allowing earlier postoperative discharge and avoidance of recurrent hospitalizations due to sub-therapeutic INR.

Correlates and Impact of Coronary Artery Calcifications in Women Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention With Drug-Eluting Stents: From the Women in Innovation and Drug-Eluting Stents (WIN-DES) Collaboration.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical correlates and prognostic impact of coronary artery calcification (CAC) in women undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention with drug-eluting stents (DES). BACKGROUND: The clinical correlates and the prognostic significance of CAC in women undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention with DES remain unclear. METHODS: Patient-level data from female participants in 26 randomized trials of DES were pooled. Study population was categorized according to the presence of moderate or severe versus mild or no target lesion CAC, assessed through coronary angiography. Co-primary endpoints of interest were the composite of death, myocardial infarction (MI), or target lesion revascularization and death, MI, or stent thrombosis at 3-year follow-up. RESULTS: Among 11,557 women included in the pooled dataset, CAC status was available in 6,371 women. Of these, 1,622 (25.5%) had moderate or severe CAC. In fully adjusted models, independent correlates of CAC were age, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, smoking, previous coronary artery bypass graft surgery, and worse left ventricular and renal function. At 3 years, women with CAC were at higher risk for death, MI, or target lesion revascularization (18.2% vs. 13.1%; adjusted hazard ratio: 1.56; 95% confidence interval: 1.33 to 1.84; p < 0.0001) and death, MI, or stent thrombosis (12.7% vs. 8.6%; adjusted hazard ratio: 1.48; 95% confidence interval: 1.21 to 1.80; p = 0.0001). The adverse effect of CAC on ischemic outcomes appeared to be consistent across clinical and angiographic subsets of women, including new-generation DES. CONCLUSIONS: Women undergoing PCI of calcified lesions tend to have worse clinical profile and remain at increased ischemic risk, irrespective of new-generation DES.

Sex-Based Differences in Cessation of Dual-Antiplatelet Therapy Following Percutaneous Coronary Intervention With Stents.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to compare the incidence and impact of cessation of dual-antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) in women and men treated with percutaneous coronary intervention. BACKGROUND: Nonadherence to cardiovascular medications and female sex are associated with worse outcomes. However, the patterns and impact of DAPT cessation in women compared with men following percutaneous coronary intervention have not been studied. METHODS: Baseline characteristics, patterns of DAPT cessation, and 2-year clinical outcomes were compared in 5,031 patients (1,279 women, 3,739 men) enrolled following successful percutaneous coronary intervention with stents in the PARIS (Patterns of Non-Adherence to Antiplatelet Regimens in Stented Patients) study. DAPT cessation was adjudicated as physician-guided discontinuation, interruption for surgery, or disruption due to bleeding or noncompliance. Clinical endpoints were major adverse cardiac events (a composite of cardiac death, definite or probable stent thrombosis, spontaneous myocardial infarction, or clinically indicated target lesion revascularization), a second restricted definition of major adverse cardiac events excluding target lesion revascularization, and bleeding. RESULTS: DAPT cessation was more common in women than men (59.1% vs. 55.9%, p = 0.007) and comprised increased rates of discontinuation, disruption for bleeding, and disruption due to noncompliance. The impact of DAPT cessation was similar regardless of sex and varied according the mode; in particular, disruption was associated with increased risk for both ischemic and bleeding events. After adjusting for differences in baseline and treatment characteristics as well as DAPT cessation events, female sex remained an independent predictor of bleeding but not of ischemic events. CONCLUSIONS: DAPT cessation was more common in women, but its impact was similar in women and men. Female sex was an independent predictor of bleeding but not of ischemic events after adjustment for differences in DAPT cessation and baseline and treatment characteristics.

Stroke after transcatheter aortic valve replacement: incidence, risk factors, prognosis, and preventive strategies.

The first transcatheter aortisc valve replacement (TAVR) was performed in 2002, and has been proven beneficial in inoperable and high-risk patients for open heart surgery. Stroke occurrence after TAVR, both periprocedure and at follow-up, has not been well described. We sought to review incidence, pathophysiology, predictors, prognosis, and current preventive strategies of cerebrovascular accidents (CVAs) after TAVR. Studies were selected from a Medline search if they contained clinical outcomes data after TAVR. Acute and subacute CVAs after TAVR have been reported in 3% to 6% of patients. Approximately 45% of CVAs occur within 2 days after TAVR; 28% between 3 and 10 days; 4% between 10 and 30 days; and 10.5% occur from 1 month to 2 years. Clinically silent cerebral embolisms have been reported, with an incidence greatly exceeding that of overt CVAs. Underlying pathophysiologic mechanisms for CVAs can be broadly categorized into embolic and nonembolic causes, as well as procedural and postprocedural (early and late). Important predictors of early CVAs are small aortic valve area, atrial fibrillation, and balloon postdilation, whereas late CVAs are mostly influenced by chronic atrial fibrillation, prior cerebrovascular disease, and transapical approach. Following stroke, patients exhibit increased morbidity and mortality. A multilevel approach for the prevention of CVAs includes improved interventional techniques, embolic protection devices, antithrombotic treatment, close monitoring, and aggressive management of modifiable risk factors. Technology advances notwithstanding stroke morbidity and mortality remains steady. The significance of silent cerebral embolism on prognosis remains uncertain, and optimal medical treatment during and after TAVR should be further investigated.