Cardiac computed tomography-based assessment of mitral annular calcification in patients undergoing mitral transcatheter edge-to-edge repair.

BACKGROUND: The role of assessment of mitral annular calcification (MAC) using cardiac computed tomography (CCT) in mitral transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) remains unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of MAC assessed by CCT with procedural and clinical outcomes in patients undergoing TEER. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 275 patients who underwent pre-procedural CCT prior TEER. Mitral calcium volume (MCV) and MAC score were measured by CCT. Functional procedural success was defined as residual mitral regurgitation of ≤2+ with mean transmitral gradient of <5 â€‹mmHg at discharge. All-cause mortality within two years after TEER was collected. RESULTS: MAC was present in 115 of 275 patients (41.8 %). The median MCV was 198 â€‹mm3 (interquartile range [IQR]: 84 to 863 â€‹mm3), and the median MAC score was 3 (IQR: 2 to 4). Higher MCV and MAC score were inversely related to the rate of functional procedural success, independently of anatomical features of mitral valve. Patients with moderate/severe MAC, defined as MAC score of ≥4, had a lower rate of functional procedural success than those without MAC (56.1 â€‹% vs. 81.3 â€‹%; p â€‹= â€‹0.002). Moreover, higher MCV and MAC score were associated with a higher risk of all-cause mortality within two years, irrespective of baseline characteristics and functional procedural success. CONCLUSIONS: The presence and burden of MAC assessed by CCT were associated with procedural and clinical outcomes in patients undergoing TEER. The CCT-based assessment of MAC may improve patient selection for TEER.

Impact of New eGFR Equations on Risk Assessment In Patients Undergoing Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation.

BACKGROUND: Recently, the Chronic Kidney Disease-Epidemiology Collaboration working group has published new formulas for race-independent estimation of glomerular filtration rate (GFR). We investigated the old and new eGFR equations in patients transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis based on the data from a prospective registry of patients who underwent TAVI from January 2008 to May 2019. The primary endpoint was 30-day mortality after TAVI, and the secondary endpoints included one- and three-year mortality. RESULTS: In total, 1792 patients undergoing TAVI were included in the present analysis. The thirty-day mortality was 4.6 % (95 % CI 3.8-5.7 %), and the one- and three-year mortality were 17.5 % (95 % CI 15.7-19.4 %) and 34.4 % (95 % CI 32.0-37.0 %). After the application of the new eGFR formula, 12.0 % of patients were reclassified within the GFR category in CKD, while 13.2 % of patients were reclassified within the GFR categories of the EuroSCORE II. Hazard ratios for 30-day, one-year, and three-year mortality increased after introduction of the new creatine-based eq. (1.51, 1.52, 1.49 vs. 1.87, 1.79, 1.74, respectively). Compared to the old equation, the new eGFR <60 ml/min/1.73 m2 had a better discrimination ability for the 30-day mortality (Harell's C: 0.563 (95 % CI 0.518-0.608) vs, 0.583 (95 % CI 0.546-0.636); delta Harell's C, 0.031 ± 0.022, p < 0.001). Similar findings were consistently observed in the cystatin creatinine-based equations. CONCLUSIONS: The application of the new race-independent estimators of GFR results in the reassessment of renal function in a significant proportion of TAVI patients and may influence the risk stratification of this population.

Assessment of LAA Strain and Thrombus Mobility and Its Impact on Thrombus Resolution-Added-Value of a Novel Echocardiographic Thrombus Tracking Method.

PURPOSE: The mobility of left atrial appendage (LAA) thrombi and changes hereof under anticoagulation may serve as a marker of both risk of embolism and efficacy of treatment. In this study, we sought to evaluate thrombus mobility and hypothesized that LAA dynamics and thrombus mobility could serve as a baseline marker of thrombus dissolvability. METHODS: Patients with two-dimensional transesophageal echocardiographic images of the LAA, and with evidence of LAA thrombus were included in this study. Using a speckle tracking algorithm, functional information from the LAA and thrombi of different patients was computed. While the LAA motion was quantified through the longitudinal strain, thrombus mobility was evaluated using a novel method by directly tracking the thrombus, isolated from the global cardiac motion. Baseline characteristics and echocardiographic parameters were compared between responders (thrombus resolution) and non-responders (thrombus persistence) to anticoagulation. RESULTS: We included 35 patients with atrial fibrillation with evidence of LAA thrombi. Patients had a mean age of 72.9 ± 14.1 years, exhibited a high risk for thromboembolism (CHA2DS2-VASc-Score 4.1 ± 1.5) and had moderately reduced LVEF (41.7 ± 14.4%) and signs of diastolic dysfunction (E/E' = 19.7 ± 8.5). While anticoagulation was initiated in all patients, resolution was achieved in 51.4% of patients. Significantly higher LAA peak strain (- 3.0 ± 1.3 vs. - 1.6 ± 1.5%, p < 0.01) and thrombus mobility (0.33 ± 0.13 mm vs. 0.18 ± 0.08 mm, p < 0.01) were observed in patients in whom thrombi resolved (i.e. responders against non-responders). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed a high discriminatory ability for thrombus mobility with regards to thrombus resolution (AUC 0.89). CONCLUSION: Isolated tracking of thrombus mobility from echocardiographic images is feasible. In patients with LAA thrombus, higher thrombus mobility appeared to be associated with thrombus resolution. Future studies should be conducted to evaluate the role of the described technique to predict LAA thrombus resolution or persistence.

A novel scoring system to estimate chemotherapy-induced myocardial toxicity: Risk assessment prior to non-anthracycline chemotherapy regimens.

BACKGROUND: Myocardial toxicity is a common side effect of chemotherapy and is associated with adverse outcomes in cancer patients. Sufficient prediction of chemotherapy-induced myocardiotoxicity (CIMC) is desirable. Therefore, we sought to develop a feasible scoring system to predict CIMC in cancer patients undergoing non-anthracycline chemotherapy. METHODS: We determined a scoring system, the "Cardiotoxicitiy Score" (the CardTox-Score), by multivariable regression of the parameters considered relevant to the development of CIMC, based on previously published data and current guidelines. Variables of the risk model consist of clinical (age, presence of cardiovascular risk conditionsconditions), blood tests (NT-proBNP), and echocardiographic parameters (left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction, LV strain analysis). The CardTox-Score was examined in an internal validation cohort by use of ROC and regression analysis. RESULTS: We prospectively investigated 225 patients (58.21 ± 6.3 years, 52.8% female) who received non-anthracycline myocardiotoxic anticancer agent as a derivation cohort. All patients underwent echocardiography before, during and after anticancer therapy. The mean follow-up duration was 25 ± 4 months. We found the CardTox-Score (>6 points) to be a strong independent predictor (AUC: 0.983, OR: 6.38, 95% CI: 1.6 2.8, p < 0.001) for the development of CIMC with high sensitivity (100%) and specificity (84.2%) in the validation cohort (n = 30, 59.2 ± 6.5 years, 57% female). Moreover, the CardTox-Score appropriately predicted all-cause mortality with high specificity (93.7%) and sensitivity (92.9%) as well (OR: 4.85, AUC: 0.978, p = 0.01). CONCLUSION: The CardTox-Score offers a promising, feasible, and easy-to-handle scoring system for predicting CIMC in cancer patients undergoing non-anthracycline regimes, independent from the type of cancer.

Value of Echocardiographic Right Ventricular and Pulmonary Pressure Assessment in Predicting Transcatheter Tricuspid Repair Outcome.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to assess the value of echocardiographic right ventricular (RV) and systolic pulmonary artery pressure (sPAP) assessment in predicting transcatheter tricuspid edge-to-edge valve repair (TTVR) outcome. BACKGROUND: RV dysfunction and pulmonary hypertension are associated with poor prognosis and are systematically sought during tricuspid regurgitation evaluation. The value of echocardiographic assessment in predicting TTVR outcome is unknown. METHODS: Data were taken from the TriValve (Transcatheter Tricuspid Valve Therapies) registry, which includes patients undergoing TTVR at 14 European and North American centers. The primary outcome was 1-year survival free from hospitalization for heart failure, and secondary outcomes were 1-year survival and absence of hospital admission for heart failure at 1 year. RESULTS: Overall, 249 patients underwent TTVR between June 2015 and 2018 (mean tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion [TAPSE] 15.8 ± 15.3 mm, mean sPAP 43.6 ± 16.0 mm Hg). Tricuspid regurgitation grade ≥3+ was found in 96.8% of patients at baseline and 29.4% at final follow-up; 95.6% were in New York Heart Association functional class III or IV initially, compared with 34.3% at follow-up (p < 0.05). Final New York Heart Association functional class did not differ among TAPSE and sPAP quartiles, even when both low TAPSE and high sPAP were present. Rates of 1-year survival and survival free from hospitalization for heart failure were 83.9% and 78.7%, respectively, without significant differences according to baseline echocardiographic RV characteristics (TAPSE, fractional area change, and end-diastolic area) and sPAP (p > 0.05 for all). CONCLUSIONS: TTVR provides clinical improvement, with 1-year survival free from hospital readmission >75% in patients with severe tricuspid regurgitation. Conventional echocardiographic parameters used to assess RV function and sPAP did not predict clinical outcome after TTVR.