RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Sex differences in the calculation of coronary heart disease risk have been analysed extensively. However, data on coronary plaque morphology diverge. We analysed plaque characteristics in patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) and defined prognostic factors using coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA). METHODS: A total of 6,050 consecutive patients underwent CCTA and were enrolled in the registry. Patients with known CAD were excluded. The patients were propensity score matched (1:1 male:female) for age and known coronary risk factors. Coronary arteries were evaluated for stenosis, plaque types (non-calcified, mixed and calcified) and high-risk plaque features (napkin-ring sign, low-attenuation plaque, spotty calcifications, positive remodelling). Clinical follow-up was performed. RESULTS: A total of 1,050 patients (525 female, 525 male) in matched cohorts were selected for analysis. CCTA showed significantly higher calcium scores for males (mean 180.5 vs 67.8 AU, pâ¯< 0.0001) and a higher rate of CAD (66.0% vs 34.1%, pâ¯< 0.0001). In a total of 16,800 segments, males had significantly more plaques (861 vs 752, pâ¯< 0.0001) with a significantly larger proportion of calcified plaques, while females had more mixed and non-calcified plaques (33.5% vs 24.4%, pâ¯= 0.006 and 24.1% vs 13.6%, pâ¯= 0.22, respectively). After a mean follow-up of 5.6 years, major adverse cardiac event (MACE) rate was 5.3% in male and 1.9% in female patients (pâ¯< 0.05). The relative odds ratio for high-risk plaque features to predict MACE was higher in females. CONCLUSION: Based on a higher relative risk for women with high-risk plaque features, the findings of our study support the increased importance of a differentiated qualitative plaque analysis to improve the risk stratification for both sexes.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Exposure to high doses of radiation during cardiac interventional procedures is associated with increased rates of cataract and cancer in patients and staff members. Thus, reduction of radiation is recommended by international medical societies. The aim of this study was to evaluate, if the lowest reasonable fluoroscopic acquisition setting for electrophysiological procedures using a novel X-ray detector operated at a minimum detector entrance dose per fluoroscopy pulse is feasible and safe. METHODS: 641 consecutive patients (407 m/234f) underwent ablation procedures at our institution between August 2015 and December 2017. All ablations were performed using an Artis Q.zen X-ray system (Siemens, Germany). The first 308 patients were treated using the conventional dose program ("fluoroscopy zen standard"), from October 2016 until December 2017 another 333 patients underwent ablations using the optimized X-ray dosing program "fluoroscopy zen ULD". For the standard program fluoroscopy dose was set to 18nGy/f, for the minimized dosing program the dose was set to 6nGy/pulse and could be increased to 10 or 15 nGy/pulse manually. RESULTS: A total of 213 AV-node reentry tachycardia (AVNRT), 73 accessory pathways (AP), 71 atrial flutter and 284 atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation procedures were performed. Pulmonary vein isolation was performed using an electroanatomic mapping system (CARTO, Biosense Webster, USA) in 117 or a cryoballoon (Cryocath Medtronic, USA) in 167 patients. Total area dose could be reduced in all groups by a mean of 74.7% (4201.4µGym² vs. 1063.7µGym²), with a relative reduction of 73.1% for left atrial and 78.0% for right sided ablations. Total fluoroscopy time, procedure duration, acute ablation success, recurrence rate and complications remained unchanged. CONCLUSION: Fluoroscopy dose could be significantly reduced using an optimized X-ray dosing program in a novel X-ray detector without increasing total fluoroscopy time and without alterations of the incidence of recurrences or complications.