Beneficial Effects of IABP in Anterior Myocardial Infarction Complicated by Cardiogenic Shock.

Background and Objectives. Recent guidelines have downgraded the routine use of the intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) in patients with cardiogenic shock (CS) due to ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Despite this, its use in clinical practice remains high. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic impact of the IABP in patients with STEMI complicated by CS undergoing primary PCI (pPCI), focusing on patients with anterior MI in whom a major benefit has been previously hypothesized. Materials and Methods. We enrolled 2958 consecutive patients undergoing pPCI for STEMI in our department from 2005 to 2018. Propensity score matching and mortality analysis were performed. Results. CS occurred in 246 patients (8.3%); among these patients, 145 (60%) had anterior AMI. In the propensity-matched analysis, the use of the IABP was associated with a lower 30-day mortality (39.3% vs. 60.9%, p = 0.032) in the subgroup of patients with anterior STEMI. Conversely, in the whole group of CS patients and in the subgroup of patients with non-anterior STEMI, IABP use did not have a significant impact on mortality. Conclusions. The use of the IABP in cases of STEMI complicated by CS was found to improve survival in patients with anterior infarction. Prospective studies are needed before abandoning or markedly limiting the use of the IABP in this clinical setting.

Intracoronary Pacing during "Chimney Technique" in Transcatheter Aortic Valve-in-Valve Implantation: An Alternative Temporary Rapid Ventricular Stimulation?

Temporary rapid ventricular pacing (TRVP) is required during transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) in order to reduce cardiac output and to facilitate balloon aortic valvuloplasty, prosthesis deployment, and post-deployment balloon dilation. The two most frequently used TRVP techniques are right endocardial (RE)-TRVP and retrograde left endocardial temporary rapid ventricular pacing (RLE)-TRVP. The first one could be responsible for cardiac tamponade, one of the most serious procedural complications during TAVI, while the second one could often be unsuccessful. Intracoronary (IC)-TRVP through a coronary guidewire has been described as a safe and efficient procedure that could avoid such complications. We describe two clinical cases in which IC-TRVP has been effectively used during valve-in-valve TAVI with coronary protection via the "chimney technique", after unsuccessful RLE-TRVP.

Complete Revascularization and One-Year Survival with Good Neurological Outcome in Patients Resuscitated from an Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest.

Background. The survival benefit of complete versus infarct-related artery (IRA)-only revascularization during the index hospitalization in patients resuscitated from an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) with multivessel disease is unknown. Methods. We considered all the OHCA patients prospectively enrolled in the Lombardia Cardiac Arrest Registry (Lombardia CARe) from 1 January 2015 to 1 May 2021 who underwent coronary angiography (CAG) at the Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo (Pavia). Patients' prehospital, angiographical and survival data were reviewed. Results. Out of 239 patients, 119 had a multivessel coronary disease: 69% received IRA-only revascularization, and 31% received a complete revascularization: 8 during the first procedure and 29 in a staged-procedure after a median time of 5 days [IQR 2.5−10.3]. The complete revascularization group showed significantly higher one-year survival with good neurological outcome than the IRA-only group (83.3% vs. 30.4%, p < 0.001). After correcting for cardiac arrest duration, shockable presenting rhythm, peak of Troponin-I, creatinine on admission and the need for circulatory support, complete revascularization was independently associated with the probability of death and poor neurological outcome [HR 0.3 (95%CI 0.1−0.8), p = 0.02]. Conclusions. This observation study shows that complete myocardial revascularization during the index hospitalization improves one-year survival with good neurological outcome in patients resuscitated from an OHCA with multivessel coronary disease.

Validation of the ARC-HBR criteria in 68,874 patients undergoing PCI: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

The Academic Research Consortium High Bleeding Risk (ARC-HBR) criteria aims to stratify patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and are now recommended by international guidelines to stratify bleeding risk in clinical practice. We searched electronic databases from 2019 (ARC-HBR proposal) up to February 2021 for studies that reported the occurrence of major bleedings according to ARC-HBR status in patients undergoing PCI and pooled them as relative risk (RR) in a random-effect analysis. Only studies that reported events according to the number of times the ARC-HBR definition was met were included in a sensitivity analysis and RR for each stratum was calculated. Nine studies and 68,874 subjects were included in our analysis; 39.2% of them were at HBR and they had a significantly higher risk of major bleedings (RR: 2.70; 95% CI: 2.35-3.10; p < 0.0001). The ARC-HBR definition also had a moderate discriminative power (pooled c-stat: 0.69; 95% CI: 0.61-0.75) while calibration was suboptimal with a tendency toward underpredicting bleeding events (pooled observed:expected ratio: 1.47; 95% CI: 0.82-2.60). Our sensitivity analysis included 5 studies and 46,712 patients and confirmed the incremental, additive power of the ARC-HBR when it is met multiple times. Finally, among baseline characteristics explored, only presenting with an acute coronary syndrome had a significant impact on the ARC-HBR predictive ability. The ARC-HBR definition is a useful clinical tool, but with a tendency towards underpredicting major bleedings and its predictive ability might be optimized by including the number of times the definition is met.

Serum uric acid in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: An innocent bystander or leading actor?

Elevated serum uric acid (SUA) levels have been associated with several cardiovascular risk factors and the progression of coronary artery disease. In the setting of acute myocardial infarction, increasing evidence suggests that high SUA levels could be related to adverse outcomes. Interestingly elevated SUA levels have been linked to endothelial dysfunction, inflammation and oxidative stress. The aim of this review is to discuss the potential negative effects of SUA in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention, analyzing the possible underlying pathophysiological mechanisms.

Response to acute vasodilator challenge and haemodynamic modifications after MitraClip in patients with functional mitral regurgitation and pulmonary hypertension.

The effectiveness of transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) in patients with functional mitral regurgitation (FMR) and pulmonary hypertension (PH) is still debated and pre-procedural predictors of haemodynamic improvement after TEER in this setting are currently unknown. We investigated whether normalization of pulmonary artery wedge pressure (PAWP) in response to sodium nitroprusside (SNP) during baseline right heart catheterization might be predictive of a favourable haemodynamic response to MitraClip in patients with FMR and PH. Among 22 patients enrolled, 13 had a positive response to SNP (responders), nine were non-responders. At 6-months follow-up, responders showed a 33% reduction in PAWP and a 25% reduction in mean pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) (P = 0.002 and 0.004, respectively); no significant change occurred in non-responders. In patients with FMR and PH, pre-procedural vasodilator challenge with SNP may help define patients who may have haemodynamic improvement after TEER.

Contrast-Associated Acute Kidney Injury.

Contrast-associated acute kidney injury (CA-AKI) is an impairment of renal function, which occurs within days of intravascular administration of iodinated contrast media. Taking into account that minimally invasive cardiac interventions are becoming increasingly popular, compared to traditional surgery, given their impact on prognosis and costs, CA-AKI remains a subject of increasing interest for patients and physicians. This review summarizes the epidemiology and risk stratification, diagnostic criteria, pathophysiology and clinical implications of CA-AKI, providing evidence for the most studied preventive strategies.

Optimal P2Y12 inhibition in older adults with acute coronary syndromes: a network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

AIMS: Dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) with a P2Y12 inhibitor on top of aspirin is the cornerstone of therapy after acute coronary syndromes (ACS). Nonetheless, the safest and most efficacious P2Y12 for older patients who are both at high ischaemic and bleeding risk remains uncertain. We aimed to examine the effect of available P2Y12 inhibitors on ischaemic and bleeding endpoints in older adults with ACS. METHODS AND RESULTS: Randomized clinical trials that reported separately the results of adults older >70 years for at least the primary endpoint [composite of death, myocardial infarction (MI), and stroke]. Seven studies (14 485 patients-years) were included. Network meta-analysis showed that prasugrel was associated with similar occurrence of the primary endpoint and of a secondary ischaemic endpoint (composite of MI and stroke) and was most likely the best treatment [Surface Under the Cumulative Ranking curve Analysis (SUCRA) 54.5 and 59.8, respectively]. With regards to major bleedings, clopidogrel showed the highest likelihood of event reduction (SUCRA 70.1%), while ticagrelor of stent thrombosis (SUCRA 55.6%). Our meta-regression with a fixed proportion of patients managed invasively of 100% confirmed these trends with increasing SUCRA. CONCLUSION: Among older subjects with ACS, DAPT should be balanced upon ischaemic and bleeding risks as prasugrel is associated with the highest probability of reduction of ischaemic events and clopidogrel of bleedings. Ticagrelor had highest SUCRA for stent thrombosis reduction but seems suboptimal in older adults.

Extracorporeal veno-venous ultrafiltration in patients with acute heart failure.

Hospitalization for congestive heart failure represents a growing burden for health care systems. Heart failure is characterized by extracellular fluid overload and loop diuretics have been for decades the cornerstone of therapy in these patients. However, extensive use of intra-venous diuretics is characterised by several limitations: risk of worsening renal function and electrolyte imbalance, symptomatic hypotension and development of diuretic resistance. Extracorporealveno-venous ultrafiltration (UF) represents an interesting adjunctive therapy to target congestion in patients with heart failure and fluid overload. UF consists of the mechanical removal of iso-tonic plasma water from the blood through a semipermeable membrane using a pressure gradient generated by a pump. Fluid removal through UF presents several advantages such as removal of higher amount of sodium, predictable effect, limited neuro-hormonal activation, and enhanced spontaneous diuresis and diuretic response. After twenty years of "early" studies, since 2000 some pilot studies and randomized clinical trials with modern devices have been carried out with somehow conflicting results, as discussed in this review. In addition, some practical aspects of UF are addressed.

Prevalence and Long-term Outcomes of Patients with Coronary Artery Ectasia Presenting with Acute Myocardial Infarction.

Coronary artery ectasia (CAE) is described in 5% of patients undergoing coronary angiography. Previous studies have shown controversial results regarding the prognostic impact of CAE. The prevalence and prognostic value of CAE in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) remain unknown. In 4788 patients presenting with AMI referred for coronary angiography the presence of CAE (defined as dilation of a coronary segment with a diameter ≥1.5 times of the adjacent normal segment) was confirmed in 174 (3.6%) patients (age 62 ± 12 years; 81% male), and was present in the culprit vessel in 79.9%. Multivessel CAE was frequent (67%). CAE patients were more frequently male, had high thrombus burden and were treated more often with thrombectomy and less often was stent implantation. Markis I was the most frequent angiographic phenotype (43%). During a median follow-up of 4 years (1-7), 1243 patients (26%) experienced a major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE): 282 (6%) died from a cardiac cause, 358 (8%) had a myocardial infarction, 945 (20%) underwent coronary revascularization and 58 (1%) presented with a stroke. Patients with CAE showed higher rates of MACE as compared to those without CAE (36.8% versus 25.6%; p <0.001). On multivariable analysis, CAE was associated with MACE (HR 1.597; 95% CI 1.238-2.060; p <0.001) after adjusting for risk factors, type of AMI and number of narrowed coronary arteries. In conclusion, the prevalence of CAE in patients presenting with AMI is relatively low but was independently associated with an increased risk of MACE at follow-up.

Oral aspirin or low dose of intravenous lysine acetylsalicylate in ST-elevation myocardial infarction undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention.

AIM: To compare the pharmacodynamic effect of an oral loading dose of 'noncoated' ASA 300 mg vs. an intravenous bolus injection of lysine acetylsalicylate 150 mg in patients with STEMI undergoing pPCI. METHODS: This was a prospective single-center, open label, pharmacodynamic study, including nonconsecutive patients presenting at our catheterization laboratory with STEMI undergoing pPCI and not receiving ASA within the previous 7 days. Pharmacodynamic analyses were performed at five time points: baseline, and 1, 2, 4 and 12 h after the loading dose, and measured as ASA reaction units (ARU) by the Verify Now System. An ARU more than 550 was considered as nonresponsiveness to study drugs. The primary end point was the different rate of patients with ARU more than 550 at 2 h after the loading dose of oral vs. intravenous ASA. Secondary end points included the comparison of ARU more than 550 at the other time points and the comparison of continuous ARU at each time point. RESULTS: The study was planned with a sample size of 68 patients, but it was prematurely stopped due to slow enrollment after the inclusion of 23 patients, 12 randomized to oral ASA and 11 to intravenous lysine acetylsalicylate. At 2 h the rate of patients with ARU more than 550 was numerically but not significantly higher in patients receiving oral ASA as compared with intravenous lysine acetylsalicylate (33 vs. 14.2%; Δ -0.19, 95% confidence interval -0.59-0.21, P = 0.58). The difference over time was NS (P = 0.98), though the prevalence of ARU more than 550 was higher at the other time points. Both routes of administration reduced ARU values over time, though with no overall significant difference between profiles (P overall = 0.48). CONCLUSION: In patients with STEMI undergoing pPCI the rate of nonresponsiveness to ASA was not different comparing an oral 'noncoated' loading dose of ASA with an intravenous bolus injection of lysine acetylsalicylate. However, as patient enrollment was prematurely terminated, this study is underpowered to draw a definite conclusion.

Elevated serum uric acid is a predictor of contrast associated acute kidney injury in patient with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention.

BACKGROUND: Contrast associated-acute kidney injury (CA-AKI) has been associated with adverse outcomes after ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). However, early markers of CA-AKI are still needed to improve risk stratification. We investigated the association between elevated serum uric acid (eSUA) and CA-AKI in patients with STEMI treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI). METHODS AND RESULTS: Serum creatinine (Scr) was measured at admission and 24, 48 and 72 h after pPCI. CA-AKI was defined as an increase of 25% (CA-AKI 25%) or 0.5 mg/dl (CA-AKI 0.5) of Scr level above the baseline after 48 h following contrast administration. Multivariable analyses to investigate CA-AKI predictors were performed by binary logistic regression and multivariable backward logistic regression model. In the 3023 patients considered, CA-AKI was more frequent among patients with eSUA as compared with patients with normal SUA levels, considering both CA-AKI definitions (CA-AKI25%: 20.8% vs 16.2%, p < 0.012; CA-AKI 0.5: 10.1% vs 5.8%, p < 0.001). The association between eSUA and CA-AKI was confirmed at multivariable analyses (CA-AKI 25%: odd ratio 1.32, 95% CI 1.03-1.69, p = 0.027; CA-AKI 0.5: odd ratio 1.76, 95% CI 1.11-2.79, p = 0.016). CONCLUSION: Elevated serum uric acid is associated with CA-AKI after reperfusion in patients with STEMI treated with pPCI.

Transcatheter mitral valve repair with MitraClip in patients with pulmonary hypertension: hemodynamic and prognostic perspectives.

Transcatheter mitral valve repair with MitraClip has emerged as a possible therapeutic option for patients with severe mitral regurgitation (MR) with high risk for surgical valve repair. MitraClip intervention has demonstrated to improve haemodynamics and clinical outcomes in selected patients in observational and randomized studies. Preoperative pulmonary hypertension (PH) is known to affect prognosis in patients undergoing surgical mitral valve intervention. The aim of the present review is to discuss the available literature focused on the haemodynamic and clinical effects of MitraClip in patients with severe MR and PH.

Elevated serum uric acid is associated with a greater inflammatory response and with short- and long-term mortality in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Despite elevated serum uric acid (eSUA) has been identified as independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, its prognostic value in the setting of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is still controversial. Although the mechanisms of this possible relationship are unsettled it has been suggested that eSUA could trigger the inflammatory response. This study sought to investigate the association between eSUA with short- and long-term mortality and with inflammatory response in patients with STEMI treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI). METHODS AND RESULTS: Blood samples were collected on admission and at 24 and 48 h after pPCI: the inflammatory biomarkers C-reactive protein (CRP), neutrophil count and neutrophil to lymphocytes ratio (NLR) were considered. Baseline eSUA was defined as ≥6.8 mg/dl. Cumulative 30-days and 1-year mortalities were estimated using the Kaplan-Meyer analysis. Multivariable analyses were performed by Cox proportional hazard models. In the 2369 patients with STEMI considered, 30-day mortality was 5.8% among patients with eSUA and 2% among patient with normal SUA level (p < 0.001); 1-year mortality was 8.5% vs 4%, respectively (p < 0.001). At multivariable analyses eSUA was an independent predictor of 30-day mortality (HR 1.196, 95%CI 1.006-1.321, p = 0.042) and 1-year mortality (HR 1.178, 95%CI 1.052-1.320, p = 0.005). eSUA patients presented higher values in on admission CRP (p < 0.001) and in neutrophil count and NLR at 24 h (respectively, p = 0.020 and p < 0.001) and at 48 h (p = 0.018 and p < 0.001) compared to patients with normal SUA levels. CONCLUSIONS: Elevated serum uric acid is associated with higher short- and long-term mortality and with a greater inflammatory response after reperfusion in patients with STEMI treated with primary PCI.