Patient-centered treatment in atrial fibrillation.

Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and clinicians treating them are faced with innumerable management choices. Minimizing thromboembolic events and strokes related to AF is paramount. Estimating the risks with the various therapies is important for optimal therapy. Also, patients must choose a rate control or a rhythm control strategy. With so many options, clinical presentations, and patient desires, patients with AF are rarely treated identically. This allows for shared decision-making and patient-centered care.

Clinical utility of regadenoson for assessing fractional flow reserve.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of regadenoson, in comparison with adenosine, for assessing fractional flow reserve (FFR) of intermediate coronary artery stenoses (CAS). BACKGROUND: Fractional flow reserve is an established invasive method for assessing the physiological significance of CAS. Regadenoson, a selective A(2A) receptor agonist, is an approved hyperemic agent for pharmacological stress imaging, but its role for measuring FFR is unknown. METHODS: This prospective, single-center study enrolled 25 consecutive patients with intermediate CAS discovered during elective angiography (25 lesions). In each patient, FFR of the CAS was measured first by IV adenosine (140 µg/kg/min), followed by IV regadenoson (400 µg bolus). The intrapatient FFR correlation between adenosine and regadenoson was evaluated. RESULTS: The mean age was 63 ± 11 years, and mean left ventricular ejection fraction was 58 ± 11%. Most patients were male (52%) and had hypertension (84%) and dyslipidemia (84%), with 24% having diabetes mellitus and 20% chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The CAS was visually estimated during angiography (mean 58 ± 9%) and most often found in the left anterior descending coronary artery (48%). A strong, linear correlation of FFR was noted with adenosine and regadenoson (r = 0.985, p < 0.001). A hemodynamically significant lesion (FFR ≤ 0.80) was present in 52% with no reclassification of significance between adenosine and regadenoson. No serious events occurred with administration of either drug. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that a single IV bolus of regadenoson is as effective as an intravenous infusion of adenosine for measuring FFR and, given its ease of use, should be considered for FFR measurement in the catheterization laboratory.

Effect of statin therapy prior to elective percutaneous coronary intervention on frequency of periprocedural myocardial injury.

This study evaluated whether pretreatment with statins was associated with a decreased incidence of periprocedural myocardial injury. Periprocedural myocardial injury occurs after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and is associated with adverse outcomes. The pleiotropic properties of statins stabilize plaque and decrease the inflammatory milieu of atherosclerotic lesions. Accordingly, we hypothesized that preprocedural statin therapy would decrease periprocedural myocardial injury. We enrolled 425 patients who underwent successful PCI. The control arm (n = 150) included patients not on statin therapy at the time of PCI, and the statin arm (n = 275) included patients who were taking statin medication before PCI. All patients had serial enzymes measured, including creatine kinase (CK), CK-MB, and troponin I. The incidence of increased levels of CK and CK-MB >3 times normal and the absolute increase in CK and troponin I were compared between groups. The control arm had significantly higher periprocedural levels of CK. In the control group, 6% of patients had CK increases >3 times the upper limit of normal compared with 1.8% in the statin group (p = 0.02). The control arm had a higher frequency of CK-MB increases >3 times the upper limit of normal (7.3% vs 2.2%, p = 0.01). There was a trend toward higher levels of troponin I in the control group (3.21 vs 1.85 ng/ml, p = 0.06). Thus, statin therapy before elective PCI was associated with lower levels of periprocedural CK.