Time course of ischemic and bleeding burden in consecutive patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (FOCUS-ONE Registry).

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Ischemic or bleeding events might occur after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), with the potential to hamper clinical outcomes. This study aimed to characterize the average daily ischemic risks (ADIRs) and the average daily bleeding risks (ADBRs) over 1-year in all consecutive patients undergoing TAVR. METHODS: ADBR included all bleeding events according to VARC-2 definition, and ADIR included cardiovascular deaths, myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke. ADIRs and ADBRs were assessed within different timeframes post TAVR: acute (0-30 days), late (31-180 days), and very late (>181 days). Generalized estimating equations were used to test the least squares mean differences for the pairwise comparison of ADIRs and ADBRs. Our analysis was performed in the overall cohort and according to antithrombotic strategy (LT-OAC vs No LT-OAC). RESULTS: Ischemic burden was higher than bleeding burden, independently from the indication to LT-OAC, and in all timeframes examined. In the overall population, ADIRs were three-fold ADBRs (0.0467 [95% CI, 0.0431-0.0506] vs 0.0179 [95% CI, 0.0174-0.0185]; p < 0.001*). While ADIR was significantly higher in the acute phase, ADBR was relatively stable in all timeframes analysed. Of note, in LT-OAC population, OAC + SAPT group showed lower ischemic risk and higher bleeding events compared with OAC alone (ADIR: 0.0447 [95% CI: 0.0417-0.0477] vs 0.0642 [95% CI: 0.0557-0.0728]; p < 0.001*, ADBR 0.0395 [95% CI: 0.0381-0.0409] vs 0.0147 [95% CI: 0.0138-0.0156]; p < 0.001*). CONCLUSIONS: In patients undergoing TAVR Average daily risk fluctuates over time. However, ADIRs overcome ADBRs in all timeframes, especially in the acute phase and regardless of antithrombotic strategy adopted.

Withdrawal of active treatments in terminally ill heart failure patients.

INTRODUCTION: Heart failure (HF) constitutes a growing public health problem in aging societies: when pharmacological therapies fail, HF can be sustained intensively if patients are eligible for either orthotopic heart transplantation (OHT) or mechanical ventricular assistance, otherwise additional treatments could be inappropriate. In December 2017 Italian Legislator brought in the provisions regarding the end-of-life choices, including indications for withdrawing and withholding life-sustaining therapies. The aim of our study was to provide an overview of the daily practice of our center with regard to terminally ill HF patients. METHODS AND RESULTS: In April 2019 the 7 intensivist cardiologists and 21 nurses of a tertiary ICCU were asked in, to complete a questionnaire relating to a hypothetical terminally ill HF patient for whom the decision to withdraw active treatment had been made. To assess current practice, we also identified patients who died in the previous 12 months. Out of 29 deceased patients, 18 were identified as terminally ill HF, with no indications for therapy upgrading. We observed a striking disparity between belief and practice. CONCLUSIONS: Our survey showed that the care of terminally ill HF patients in our ICCU was characterized by aggressive use of medical therapy and invasive technology. The wide disparity between belief and practice could be in part a consequence of lack of professional training, with regard to law, ethics and communication techniques.

Psoriasis and the risk of acute coronary syndrome in the elderly.

BACKGROUND: Psoriasis has been associated with a higher prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors. However, there is inadequate quantification on the association between psoriasis and acute coronary syndrome (ACS), particularly in the elderly. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to assess the risk of ACS according to history of psoriasis in subjects aged 75 years and older. METHODS: We carried out a case control study based on 1455 cases and 1108 controls. Cases were all the patients admitted in the randomized Elderly ACS 2 trial. Controls were selected from subjects aged ≥75 years included in the Prevalence of Actinic Keratoses in the Italian Population Study (PraKtis), based on a representative sample of the general Italian population. Odds ratios (OR) of ACS according to history of psoriasis were obtained using a multiple logistic regression model including terms for age, sex and smoking. RESULTS: The prevalence of psoriasis was lower among cases (12/1455, 0.8%) than among controls (18/1108, 1.6%). The multivariate OR of ACS according to history of psoriasis was 0.51 (95% confidence interval: 0.23-1.09). CONCLUSIONS: Our data does not support an association between psoriasis and risk of ACS in the elderly.

New pharmacological protocols to prevent or reduce contrast media nephropathy.

Contrast media associated acute renal failure represents the third cause of in-hospital renal function deterioration after decreased renal perfusion and post-operative renal insufficiency. Although generally benign, this complication shows a mortality rate ranging from 3.8% to 64%, depending on the increase of creatinine concentration. The mechanism by which contrast-induced renal failure occurs is not well understood. Contrast agent-associated nephrotoxicity appears to be a result of direct contrast induced renal tubular epithelial cell toxicity and renal medullary ischemia. Furthermore, a key mechanism seems to be alteration in renal dynamics, probably caused by imbalances between vasodilator and vasoconstrictor factors, including the activities of nitric oxide, prostaglandins, endothelin and reactive oxygen species. Recommendations to prevent contrast-associated nephrotoxicity are: 1) periprocedural hydration, 2) use of a low osmolality contrast, and 3) limiting the amount of contrast agent. Recently, considerable interest has resulted from the preliminary positive data on the effectiveness of prophylactic administration of antioxidant compounds (such as acetylcysteine and ascorbic acid) and fenoldopam.