Treatment of elderly patients with non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction: the nationwide POPular age registry.

OBJECTIVE: We describe the current treatment of elderly patients with non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) enrolled in a national registry. METHODS: The POPular AGE registry is a prospective, multicentre study of patients ≥ 75 years of age presenting with NSTEMI, performed in the Netherlands. Management was at the discretion of the treating physician. Cardiovascular events consisted of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction and ischaemic stroke. Bleeding was classified according to the Bleeding Academic Research Consortium (BARC) criteria. RESULTS: A total of 646 patients were enrolled between August 2016 and May 2018. Median age was 81 (IQR 77-84) years and 58% were male. Overall, 75% underwent coronary angiography, 40% percutaneous coronary intervention, and 11% coronary artery bypass grafting, while 49.8% received pharmacological therapy only. At discharge, dual antiplatelet therapy (aspirin and P2Y12 inhibitor) was prescribed to 56.7%, and 27.4% received oral anticoagulation plus at least one antiplatelet agent. At 1­year follow-up, cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction or stroke had occurred in 13.6% and major bleeding (BARC 3 and 5) in 3.9% of patients. The risk of both cardiovascular events and major bleeding was highest during the 1st month. However, cardiovascular risk was three times as high as bleeding risk in this elderly population, both after 1 month and after 1 year. CONCLUSIONS: In this national registry of elderly patients with NSTEMI, the majority are treated according to current European Society of Cardiology guidelines. Both the cardiovascular and bleeding risk are highest during the 1st month after NSTEMI. However, the cardiovascular risk was three times as high as the bleeding risk.

Morphological characteristics of lesions with thin cap fibroatheroma-a substudy from the COMBINE (OCT-FFR) trial.

AIMS: To study if any qualitative or quantitative optical coherence tomography (OCT) variables in combination with thin cap fibroatheroma (TCFA) patients could improve the identification of lesions at risk for future major adverse cardiac events (MACEs). METHODS AND RESULTS: From the combined optical coherence tomography morphologic and fractional flow reserve hemodynamic assessment of non- culprit lesions to better predict adverse event outcomes in diabetes mellitus patients: COMBINE (OCT-FFR) trial database (NCT02989740), we performed a detailed assessment OCT qualitative and quantitative variables in TCFA carrying diabetes mellitus (DM) patients with vs. without MACE during follow-up. MACEs were defined as a composite of cardiac death, target vessel myocardial infarction, clinically driven target lesion revascularization, and hospitalization for unstable angina. From the 390 fractional flow reserve (FFR)-negative DM patients, 98 (25.2%) had ≥1 OCT-detected TCFA, of which 13 (13.3%) had MACE and 85 (86.7%) were event-free (non-MACE). The baseline characteristics were similar between both groups; however, a smaller minimal lumen area (MLA) and lower mean FFR value were observed in MACE group (1.80 vs. 2.50 mm2, P = 0.01, and 0.85 vs. 0.89, P = 0.02, respectively). Prevalence of healed plaque (HP) was higher in the MACE group (53.85 vs. 21.18%, P = 0.01). TCFA were predominantly located proximal to the MLA. TCFA area was smaller in the MACE group, while no difference was observed regarding the lesion area. CONCLUSION: Within TCFA carrying patients, a smaller MLA, lower FFR values, and TCFA location adjacent to a HP were associated with future MACE. Carpet-like measured lesion area surface was similar, while the TCFA area was smaller in the MACE arm, and predominantly located proximal to the MLA.

Thin-Cap Fibroatheroma Rather Than Any Lipid Plaques Increases the Risk of Cardiovascular Events in Diabetic Patients: Insights From the COMBINE OCT-FFR Trial.

BACKGROUND: Autopsy studies have established that thin-cap fibroatheromas (TCFAs) are the most frequent cause of fatal coronary events. In living patients, optical coherence tomography (OCT) has sufficient resolution to accurately differentiate TCFA from thick-cap fibroatheroma (ThCFA) and not lipid rich plaque (non-LRP). However, the impact of OCT-detected plaque phenotype of nonischemic lesions on future adverse events remains unknown. Therefore, we studied the natural history of OCT-detected TCFA, ThCFA, and non-LRP in patients enrolled in the prospective multicenter COMBINE FFR-OCT trial (Combined Optical Coherence Tomography Morphologic and Fractional Flow Reserve Hemodynamic Assessment of Non-Culprit Lesions to Better Predict Adverse Event Outcomes in Diabetes Mellitus Patients). METHODS: In the COMBINE FFR-OCT trial, patients with diabetes and ≥1 lesion with a fractional flow reserve >0.80 underwent OCT evaluation and were clinically followed for 18 months. A composite primary end point of cardiac death, target vessel-related myocardial infarction, target-lesion revascularization, and hospitalization for unstable angina was evaluated in relation to OCT-based plaque morphology. RESULTS: A total of 390 patients (age 67.5±9 years; 63% male) with ≥1 nonischemic lesions underwent OCT evaluation: 284 (73%) had ≥1 LRP and 106 (27%) non-LRP lesions. Among LRP patients, 98 (34.5%) had ≥1 TCFA. The primary end point occurred in 7% of LRP patients compared with 1.9% of non-LRP patients (7.0% versus 1.9%; hazard ratio [HR], 3.9 [95% CI, 0.9-16.5]; P=0.068; log rank-P=0.049). However, within LRP patients, TCFA patients had a much higher risk for primary end point compared with ThCFA (13.3% versus 3.8%; HR, 3.8 [95% CI, 1.5-9.5]; P<0.01), and to non-LRP patients (13.3% versus 1.9%; HR, 7.7 [95% CI, 1.7-33.9]; P<0.01), whereas ThCFA patients had risk similar to non-LRP patients (3.8% versus 1.9%; HR, 2.0 [95% CI, 0.42-9.7]; P=0.38). Multivariable analyses identified TCFA as the strongest independent predictor of primary end point (HR, 6.79 [95% CI, 1.50-30.72]; P=0.013). CONCLUSIONS: Among diabetes patients with fractional flow reserve-negative lesions, patients carrying TCFA lesions represent only one-third of LRP patients and are associated with a high risk of future events while patients carrying LRP-ThCFA and non-LRP lesions portend benign outcomes. REGISTRATION: URL: https://www. CLINICALTRIALS: gov; Unique identifier: NCT02989740.

Thin-cap fibroatheroma predicts clinical events in diabetic patients with normal fractional flow reserve: the COMBINE OCT-FFR trial.

AIMS: The aim of this study was to understand the impact of optical coherence tomography (OCT)-detected thin-cap fibroatheroma (TCFA) on clinical outcomes of diabetes mellitus (DM) patients with fractional flow reserve (FFR)-negative lesions. METHODS AND RESULTS: COMBINE OCT-FFR study was a prospective, double-blind, international, natural history study. After FFR assessment, and revascularization of FFR-positive lesions, patients with ≥1 FFR-negative lesions (target lesions) were classified in two groups based on the presence or absence of ≥1 TCFA lesion. The primary endpoint compared FFR-negative TCFA-positive patients with FFR-negative TCFA-negative patients for a composite of cardiac mortality, target vessel myocardial infarction, clinically driven target lesion revascularization or unstable angina requiring hospitalization at 18 months. Among 550 patients enrolled, 390 (81%) patients had ≥1 FFR-negative lesions. Among FFR-negative patients, 98 (25%) were TCFA positive and 292 (75%) were TCFA negative. The incidence of the primary endpoint was 13.3% and 3.1% in TCFA-positive vs. TCFA-negative groups, respectively (hazard ratio 4.65; 95% confidence interval, 1.99-10.89; P < 0.001). The Cox regression multivariable analysis identified TCFA as the strongest predictor of major adverse clinical events (MACE) (hazard ratio 5.12; 95% confidence interval 2.12-12.34; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Among DM patients with ≥1 FFR-negative lesions, TCFA-positive patients represented 25% of this population and were associated with a five-fold higher rate of MACE despite the absence of ischaemia. This discrepancy between the impact of vulnerable plaque and ischaemia on future adverse events may represent a paradigm shift for coronary artery disease risk stratification in DM patients.

One-year performance of thin-strut cobalt chromium sirolimus-eluting stent versus thicker strut stainless steel biolimus-eluting coronary stent: a propensity-matched analysis of two international all-comers registries.

OBJECTIVES: Recent improvements in coronary stent design have focussed on thinner struts, different alloys and architecture, more biocompatible polymers, and shorter drug absorption times. This study evaluates safety and efficacy of a newer generation thin-strut cobalt chromium sirolimus-eluting coronary stent (SES, Ultimaster) in comparison with a second-generation thicker strut stainless steel biolimus-eluting stent (BES, Nobori) in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) practice. METHODS: A propensity score analysis was performed to adjust for differences in baseline characteristics of 8137 SES patients and 2738 BES patients of two PCI registries (e-Ultimaster and NOBORI 2). An independent clinical event committee adjudicated all endpoint-related adverse events. RESULTS: The use of SES, as compared with BES was associated with a significantly lower rate of myocardial infarction (MI) (1.2% vs 2.2%; P = 0.0006) and target vessel-related MI (1.1% vs 1.8%; P = 0.002) at 1 year. One-year composite endpoints of all predefined endpoints were lower in patients undergoing SES implantation (target lesion failure: 3.2% vs 4.1%; P = 0.03, target vessel failure: 3.7% vs 5.0%; P = 0.003, patient-oriented composite endpoint 5.7% vs 6.8%; P = 0.03). No significant differences between SES and BES were observed in all-cause death (2.0% vs 1.6%; P = 0.19), cardiac death (1.2% vs 1.2%; P = 0.76) or stent thrombosis (0.6% vs 0.8%; P = 0.43). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest an improved clinical safety and efficacy of a newer generation thin-strut SES as compared with a second-generation thicker strut BES.

Correction to: One­year clinical outcomes in patients with renal insuffciency after contemporary PCI: data from a multicenter registry.

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake. The given name and family name of the fourth author Saaraaken Kulenthiran were switched in the original publication.

One-year clinical outcomes in patients with renal insufficiency after contemporary PCI: data from a multicenter registry.

BACKGROUND: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is highly prevalent in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). OBJECTIVE: The outcome following revascularization using contemporary technologies (new-generation abluminal sirolimus-eluting stents with thin struts) in patients with CKD (i.e., glomerular filtration rate of < 60 mL/min/1.73m2) and in patients with hemodialysis (HD) is unknown. METHODS: e-Ultimaster is a prospective, single-arm, multi-center registry with clinical follow-up at 3 months and 1 year. RESULTS: A total of 19,475 patients were enrolled, including 1466 patients with CKD, with 167 undergoing HD. Patients with CKD had a higher prevalence of overall comorbidities, multiple/small vessel disease (≤ 2.75 mm), bifurcation lesions, and more often left main artery treatments (all p < 0.0001) when compared with patients with normal renal function (reference). CKD patients had a higher risk of target lesion failure (unadjusted OR, 2.51 [95% CI 2.04-3.08]), target vessel failure (OR, 2.44 [95% CI 2.01-2.96]), patient-oriented composite end point (OR, 2.19 [95% CI 1.87-2.56]), and major adverse cardiovascular events (OR, 2.34 [95% CI 1.93-2.83, p for all < 0.0001]) as reference. The rates of target lesion revascularization (OR, 1.17 [95% CI 0.79-1.73], p = 0.44) were not different. Bleeding complications were more frequently observed in CKD than in the reference (all p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: In this worldwide registry, CKD patients presented with more comorbidities and more complex lesions when compared with the reference population. They experienced higher rate of adverse events at 1-year follow-up. One-year summary outcomes of contemporary PCI in renal insufficiency. CKD chronic kidney disease, POCE patient oriented composite endpoint, MACE major adverse cardiovascular events, TLF target lesion failure, TLR target lesion revascularization, ST stent thrombosis.

Dutch multicenter experience using the STENTYS Xposition S self-apposing stent in complex coronary lesions.

OBJECTIVES: The aim is to assess the experience in the Netherlands using the Xposition S self-apposing stent in complex coronary lesions in clinical practice. BACKGROUND: Treatment of complex coronary lesions could be accompanied with stent sizing difficulties and complications, particularly due to vessel overdilation or stent underexpansion. The self-apposing feature of the Xposition S stent (STENTYS, Paris, France) supports good strut apposition in complex anatomies and allows for an increase in diameter after implantation. METHODS: In this real-world registry, data from patients treated with Xposition S in four Dutch clinical sites were prospectively collected and analyzed. Any patient suitable for implantation with Xposition S according to current recommendations was enrolled. Primary endpoint was major adverse cardiac events (MACE) at 1 year. RESULTS: Between 2015 and 2018, data from 251 patients were collected. Clinical presentation was an acute coronary syndrome in majority of the patients (76.9%). Main angiographic indications were lesions in aneurysmatic or ectatic vessels (32.3%), thrombus containing lesions (13.1%), and bifurcation/left main stenosis (10.4%). Most of the target lesions (TLs) were classified as AHA/ACC Type C (53.6%). Despite lesion complexity, device was successfully implanted at TL in 96.8%. MACE rate, reported on patients having completed 1-year follow-up (n = 203), was 6.6%, with low rate of definite/probable stent thrombosis (1.0%). CONCLUSIONS: In clinical practice of several Dutch sites, STENTYS Xposition S showed good procedural results and low 1-year clinical events rate, despite complex coronary anatomy.

Delayed and decreased LV untwist and unstrain rate in mutation carriers for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

BACKGROUND: The echocardiographic focus to detect abnormalities in genetically hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) affected subjects without left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy (G+/LVH-) has been on diastolic abnormalities in transmitral flow and longitudinal myocardial function with tissue Doppler imaging. The aim of this study was to assess diastolic LV unstrain and untwist. METHODS AND RESULTS: Forty-one consecutive genotyped family members of HCM patients (mean age 37 ± 11 years, 16 men) and 41 age- and gender-matched healthy volunteers underwent speckle-tracking echocardiography to measure untwist and unstrain. No significant differences between G+/LVH- and control subjects were seen in maximal systolic twist and global longitudinal strain. In diastole, the early peak untwist rate was significantly lower in G+/LVH- subjects compared with control subjects (62 ± 19°s - 1 vs. 76 ± 30°s - 1, P <0.05), whereas the late peak untwist rate tended to be higher. Untwist from maximal twist until the first 20% of diastole was delayed in G+/LVH- subjects (39.3 ± 12.9% vs. 51.3 ± 15.6%, P <0.005). Late diastolic unstrain rate was significantly higher in G+/LVH- subjects in the inferoseptal wall (111 ± 33 s - 1 vs. 94 ± 32 s - 1, P = 0.024), the inferolateral wall (105 ± 42 vs. 75 ± 35 s - 1, P = 0.007) and the anteroseptal wall (97 ± 26 vs. 80 ± 23 s - 1, P = 0.010). Unstrain from maximal twist until the first 20% of diastole was delayed in G+/LVH- subjects in the inferoseptal (18.9 ± 14.0% vs. 30.1 ± 17.7%, P = 0.005), inferolateral (27.1 ± 16.3% vs. 39.2 ± 18.0%, P = 0.015) and anteroseptal (19.1 ± 14.7% vs. 35.8 ± 18.5%, P = 0.0003) segments. CONCLUSIONS: In mutation carriers, for HCM LV, untwist and unstrain are delayed and untwist rate and unstrain rate are decreased.

The Rotterdam Radial Access Research: Ultrasound-Based Radial Artery Evaluation for Diagnostic and Therapeutic Coronary Procedures.

BACKGROUND: Radial artery wall might be damaged after cannulation for cardiac catheterization. We investigated structural changes of the radial artery wall after catheterization to understand whether these might predict radial pulsation loss or occlusion and local pain or functional impairment of the upper extremity. METHODS AND RESULTS: Ninety patients underwent transradial coronary angiography or intervention and were scanned with a high-resolution 40-MHz ultrasound before cannulation and at 3 hours and 30 days after procedure. Acute injuries of the radial artery occurred in all patients: dissection and intramural hematoma were the most common. However, these phenomena did not predict loss of radial pulsation or occlusion, local pain, or functional impairment at 30 days. Overall, the radial artery lumen was significantly reduced distal to the puncture site. Radial artery intima and total wall thickness increased 3 hours after puncture and persisted at 30 days. Radial occlusion and pulsation loss were observed in 3.9% and 9.2% of patients, respectively, at 30 days. Smaller radial artery lumen at baseline increased the risk of radial pulsation loss at 30 days (odds ratio, 1.23; P=0.049). The number of radial puncture attempts predicted pulsation loss (odds ratio, 2.64; P=0.027), occlusion (odds ratio, 3.49; P=0.022), and symptoms (odds ratio, 2.24; P=0.05) at 30-day follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: After catheterization, radial artery puncture site is associated with increased intima and total wall thickness and with modest decrease of inner lumen diameter. Acute injuries of the vessel wall were ubiquitous, but contrary to repeated puncture attempts, did not seem to affect postprocedural radial occlusion or loss of pulsation.

Role of left ventricular twist mechanics in cardiomyopathies, dance of the helices.

Left ventricular twist is an essential part of left ventricular function. Nevertheless, knowledge is limited in "the cardiology community" as it comes to twist mechanics. Fortunately the development of speckle tracking echocardiography, allowing accurate, reproducible and rapid bedside assessment of left ventricular twist, has boosted the interest in this important mechanical aspect of left ventricular deformation. Although the fundamental physiological role of left ventricular twist is undisputable, the clinical relevance of assessment of left ventricular twist in cardiomyopathies still needs to be established. The fact remains; analysis of left ventricular twist mechanics has already provided substantial pathophysiological understanding on a comprehensive variety of cardiomyopathies. It has become clear that increased left ventricular twist in for example hypertrophic cardiomyopathy may be an early sign of subendocardial (microvascular) dysfunction. Furthermore, decreased left ventricular twist may be caused by left ventricular dilatation or an extensive myocardial scar. Finally, the detection of left ventricular rigid body rotation in noncompaction cardiomyopathy may provide an indispensible method to objectively confirm this difficult diagnosis. All this endorses the value of left ventricular twist in the field of cardiomyopathies and may further encourage the implementation of left ventricular twist parameters in the "diagnostic toolbox" for cardiomyopathies.

Angiographic and optical coherence tomography insights into bioresorbable scaffold thrombosis: single-center experience.

BACKGROUND: As bioresorbable vascular scaffolds (BVSs) are being increasingly used in complex real-world lesions and populations, BVS thrombosis cases have been reported. We present angiographic and optical coherence tomography (OCT) findings in a series of patients treated in our center for definite bioresorbable scaffold thrombosis. METHODS AND RESULTS: Up to June 2014, 14 patients presented with definite BVS thrombosis in our center. OCT was performed in 9 patients at the operator's discretion. Angiographic and OCT findings were compared with a control group comprising 15 patients with definite metallic stent thrombosis. In the BVS group, time interval from index procedure to scaffold thrombosis ranged from 0 to 675 days. Incomplete lesion coverage by angiography was identified in 4 of 14 cases, malapposition by OCT in 5 of 9 cases, strut discontinuity in 2 of 9 cases, and underexpansion in 2 of 9 cases. Five patients had discontinued dual antiplatelet therapy, and in 3 of them discontinued dual antiplatelet therapy discontinuation had occurred the week preceding the event. There were no significant differences in angiographic or OCT findings between BVS and metallic stent thrombosis. CONCLUSIONS: Suboptimal implantation with incomplete lesion coverage, underexpansion, and malapposition comprises the main pathomechanism for both early and late BVS thrombosis, similar to metallic stent thrombosis. Dual antiplatelet therapy discontinuation seems to also be a secondary contributor in several late events. Our observations suggest that several potential triggers for BVS thrombosis could be avoided.

Feasibility and observer reproducibility of speckle tracking echocardiography in congenital heart disease patients.

AIMS: The twisting motion of the heart has an important role in the function of the left ventricle. Speckle tracking echocardiography is able to quantify left ventricular (LV) rotation and twist. So far this new technique has not been used in congenital heart disease patients. The aim of our study was to investigate the feasibility and the intra- and inter-observer reproducibility of LV rotation parameters in adult patients with congenital heart disease. METHODS AND RESULTS: The study population consisted of 66 consecutive patients seen in the outpatient clinic (67% male, mean age 31 ± 7.7 years, NYHA class 1 ± 0.3) with a variety of congenital heart disease. First, feasibility was assessed in all patients. Intra- and inter-observer reproducibility was assessed for the patients in which speckle tracking echocardiography was feasible. Adequate image quality, for performing speckle echocardiography, was found in 80% of patients. The bias for the intra-observer reproducibility of the LV twist was 0.0°, with 95% limits of agreement of -2.5° and 2.5° and for interobserver reproducibility the bias was 0.0°, with 95% limits of agreement of -3.0° and 3.0°. Intra- and inter-observer measurements showed a strong correlation (0.86 and 0.79, respectively). Also a good repeatability was seen. The mean time to complete full analysis per subject for the first and second measurement was 9 and 5 minutes, respectively. CONCLUSION: Speckle tracking echocardiography is feasible in 80% of adult patients with congenital heart disease and shows excellent intra- and inter-observer reproducibility.

Regional left ventricular rotation and back-rotation in patients with reverse septal curvature hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

AIMS: This study sought to investigate regional left ventricular (LV) rotation in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). METHODS AND RESULTS: The study comprised 44 patients with HCM with a typical reverse septal curvature (age 40 ± 14 years, 33 men) and 44 healthy volunteers (age 39 ± 14 years, 32 men) in whom LV rotation could be assessed at the basal and apical LV level with speckle-tracking echocardiography, using the QLAB Advanced Quantification Software version 6.0 (Philips, Best, The Netherlands). In HCM patients, lower values of initial counter-clockwise rotation at the basal LV level (1.5 ± 1.2 vs. 0.6 ± 0.9°, P < 0.001) were seen, in particular in the septal segment (1.7 ± 1.6 vs. 0.4 ± 0.7°, P < 0.001). After this period, the direction of rotation changed to clockwise with a peak basal rotation of -4.8 ± 2.0° in controls vs. -6.1 ± 2.5° in HCM patients (P < 0.05). Peak basal rotation in HCM patients was in particular higher in the anterior (-6.6 ± 3.0 vs. -4.4 ± 2.4°, P < 0.01) and septal (-5.4 ± 2.6 vs. -3.9 ± 1.9°, P < 0.05) segments. The normalized (corrected for peak basal rotation) global back-rotation rate was lower in HCM patients (4.1 ± 3.1 vs. 6.3 ± 4.9 s(-1), P < 0.05), in particular driven by a lower rate in the septal segment (3.8 ± 2.6 vs. 6.4 ± 4.8 s(-1), P < 0.01). At the apical level, changes in rotation and back-rotation were more homogeneous. CONCLUSION: Changes in rotation and back-rotation at the LV basal level in HCM patients are mainly caused by regional changes in the basal septal and anterior segments, the segments mostly involved in the hypertrophic process.

Diastolic abnormalities in normal phenotype hypertrophic cardiomyopathy gene carriers: a study using speckle tracking echocardiography.

BACKGROUND: Tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) of the mitral annulus has been proposed as an alternative for the identification of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) genetically affected subjects without left ventricular hypertrophy (G+/LVH-). Unfortunately, conflicting results have been described in the literature, potentially caused by the angle-dependency of TDI. This study sought to assess abnormalities in mitral annular velocities in G+/LVH- subjects as detected by speckle tracking echocardiography (STE). METHODS: The study population consisted of 23 consecutive genotyped family members without major or minor criteria for the diagnosis of HCM (mean age 37 ± 13 years, 9 men) and 23 healthy volunteers (age 38 ± 12 years, 12 men) who prospectively underwent STE. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in global peak systolic annular velocity (7.4 ± 1.2 vs. 7.1 ± 1.0 cm/sec) and early diastolic annular velocity (10.2 ± 2.5 vs. 11.3 ± 2.2 cm/sec) between G+/LVH- and control subjects. Global peak late diastolic annular velocity was higher in G+/LVH- subjects (8.1 ± 1.7 vs. 5.7 ± 1.1 cm/sec, P < 0.001). Regionally, this difference was seen in all 6 studied LV walls. CONCLUSIONS: This STE study confirms our previous TDI observations on increased peak late diastolic annular velocities in G+/LVH- subjects. Because of the complete overlap in early diastolic annular velocities this parameter cannot be used in the genotypes we studied to differentiate genotype (+) from genotype (-) individuals.

Diagnostic value of rigid body rotation in noncompaction cardiomyopathy.

BACKGROUND: The diagnosis of noncompaction cardiomyopathy (NCCM) remains subject to controversy. Because NCCM is probably caused by an intrauterine arrest of the myocardial fiber compaction during embryogenesis, it may be anticipated that the myocardial fiber helices, normally causing left ventricular (LV) twist, will also not develop properly. The resultant LV rigid body rotation (RBR) may strengthen the diagnosis of NCCM. The purpose of the current study was to explore the diagnostic value of RBR in a large group of patients with prominent trabeculations. METHODS: The study comprised 15 patients with dilated cardiomyopathy, 52 healthy subjects, and 52 patients with prominent trabeculations, of whom a clinical expert in NCCM defined 34 as having NCCM. LV rotation patterns were determined by speckle-tracking echocardiography and defined as follows: pattern 1A, completely normal rotation (initial counterclockwise basal and clockwise apical rotation, followed by end-systolic clockwise basal and counterclockwise apical rotation); pattern 1B, partly normal rotation (normal end-systolic rotation but absence of initial rotation in the other direction); and pattern 2, RBR (rotation at the basal and apical level predominantly in the same direction). RESULTS: The majority of normal subjects had LV rotation pattern 1A (98%), whereas the 18 subjects with hypertrabeculation not fulfilling diagnostic criteria for NCCM predominantly had pattern 1B (71%), and the 34 patients with NCCM predominantly had pattern 2 (88%). None of the patients with dilated cardiomyopathy showed RBR. Sensitivity and specificity of RBR for differentiating NCCM from "hypertrabeculation" were 88% and 78%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: RBR is an objective, quantitative, and reproducible functional criterion with good predictive value for the diagnosis of NCCM as determined by expert opinion.

Frequency of conduction abnormalities after transcatheter aortic valve implantation with the Medtronic-CoreValve and the effect on left ventricular ejection fraction.

New conduction abnormalities occur frequently after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). The relation between new conduction disorders and left ventricular (LV) systolic function after TAVI is unknown. The purpose of the present prospective, single-center study was to investigate the effect of TAVI on LV systolic function in relation to TAVI-induced conduction abnormalities. A total of 27 patients had undergone electrocardiography and transthoracic echocardiography the day before and 6 days after TAVI with the Medtronic-CoreValve system. The LV ejection fraction (EF) was calculated using the biplane Simpson method. The systolic mitral annular velocities and longitudinal strain were measured using speckle tracking echocardiography. After TAVI, 18 patients (67%) had new conduction abnormalities; 4 (15%) had a new paced rhythm and 14 patients (52%) had new left bundle branch block. In the patients with new conduction abnormalities, the EF decreased from 47 ± 12% to 44 ± 10%. In contrast, in those without new conduction abnormalities, the EF increased from 49 ± 12% to 54% ± 12%. The change in EF was significantly different among those with and without new conduction abnormalities (p <0.05). In patients without new conduction abnormalities, an improvement was found in the systolic mitral annular velocities and longitudinal strain (p <0.05). In contrast, in patients with new conduction abnormalities, the changes were not significant. In conclusion, the induction of new conduction abnormalities after TAVI with the Medtronic-CoreValve was associated with a lack of improvement in LV systolic function.

Left ventricular twist and untwist in aortic stenosis.

BACKGROUND: To optimally exploit the potential added diagnostic and prognostic value of new left ventricular (LV) deformation parameters, better understanding of LV mechanics in aortic stenosis (AS) is warranted. We sought to determine a broad spectrum of LV rotation parameters in AS patients and age-matched healthy controls, in order to gain insight into the mechanical properties of the LV in AS. METHODS: The study comprised 48 AS patients with an aortic valve area<2.0 cm2 and LV ejection fraction>50%, and 24 healthy--for age and gender matched--control subjects. LV peak systolic rotation (Rotmax), LV peak systolic twist (Twistmax), untwisting rate (mean diastolic untwisting velocity from Twistmax to mitral valve opening), peak diastolic untwisting velocity, and time-to-peak diastolic untwisting velocity were determined by speckle tracking echocardiography. RESULTS: AS patients had normal basal Rotmax and increased apical Rotmax, resulting in increased Twistmax (13.4±4.0° vs. 11.4±2.7°, P<0.05). Apical Rotmax and Twistmax correlated significantly to echo-Doppler indicators of AS severity. Time-to-peak diastolic untwisting velocity was increased (20±10% vs. 15±9%, P<0.05) and untwisting rate was decreased (-38±21°/s vs. -50±28°/s, P<0.01) in AS patients. CONCLUSIONS: Twistmax increases proportionally to the severity of AS, which might serve as a compensatory mechanism to maintain systolic LV function. LV diastolic untwisting is delayed and the untwisting rate is reduced in AS.