Prognostic Impact of Pre-Transcatheter and Post-Transcatheter Aortic Valve Intervention Troponin: A Large Cohort Study.

Background Biomarkers were advocated as prognostic factors in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve intervention, with contradictory results concerning prognostic impact of troponin. Our aim was to assess the prognostic impact of preprocedural and postprocedural troponin in transcatheter aortic valve intervention. Methods and Results Preprocedural and postprocedural high-sensitivity troponin levels were measured in all patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve intervention. Primary end point was 1-year mortality. This study included 1390 patients, with a mean age of 83.4±6.8 years. Patients were divided into 3 tertiles according to preprocedural troponin values: tertile 1: 0.001 to 0.023 µg/L; tertile 2: 0.024 to 1.80 µg/L; and T3: 1.81 to 12.1 µg/L. One-year mortality was higher in patients in tertile 2 (hazard ratio, 2.1; P=0.001) and T3 (hazard ratio, 1.8; P=0.009) compared with those in tertile 1. Myocardial injury was predictive of 1-year mortality (hazard ratio, 1.7; P=0.01). This effect may be stronger in the tertile 1 subgroup (hazard ratio, 5.1; P=0.03 [ P value for interaction: 0.18]). Conclusions Elevated preprocedural troponin and myocardial injury are associated with 1-year mortality after transcatheter aortic valve intervention.

Cardiovascular magnetic resonance predictors of clinical outcome in patients with suspected acute myocarditis.

BACKGROUND: The natural history of acute myocarditis (AM) remains highly variable and predictors of outcome are largely unknown. The objectives were to determine the potential value of various cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) parameters for the prediction of adverse long-term outcome in patients presenting with suspected AM. METHODS: In a single-centre longitudinal prospective study, 203 routine consecutive patients with an initial CMR-based diagnosis of AM (typical Late Gadolinium Enhancement, LGE) were followed over a mean period of 18.9 ± 8.2 months. Various CMR parameters were evaluated as potential predictors of outcome. The primary endpoint was defined as the occurrence of at least one of the combined Major Adverse Clinical Events (MACE) (cardiac death or aborted sudden cardiac death, cardiac transplantation, sustained documented ventricular tachycardia, heart failure, recurrence of acute myocarditis, and the need for hospitalization for cardiac causes). RESULTS: The vast majority of patients (N = 143,70 %) presented with chest pain, mild to moderate troponin elevation and ST-segment or T wave abnormalities. Various CMR parameters were evaluated on initial CMR performed 3 ± 2 days after acute clinical presentation (LV functional parameters, presence/extent of edema on T2 CMR, and extent of late gadolinium enhancement lesions). Out of the 203 patients, 22 experienced at least one major cardiovascular event (10.8 %) during follow-up for a total of 31 major cardiovascular events. Among all CMR parameters, the only independent CMR predictor of adverse clinical outcome by multivariate analysis was an initial alteration of LVEF (p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: In routine consecutive patients without severe hemodynamic compromise and a CMR-based diagnosis of AM, various CMR parameters such as the presence and extent of myocardial edema and the extent of late gadolinium-enhanced LV myocardial lesions were not predictive of outcome. The only independent CMR predictor of adverse clinical outcome was an initial alteration of LVEF.

Double giant coronary aneurysm: improved morphological study by computed tomography.

Coronary artery aneurysm may cause coronary artery rupture, thromboembolism or haemodynamic problems related to compression. We report the case of a 68-year old man who was referred to an intensive cardiological care unit for recurrence of ventricular tachycardia. Coronary angiography revealed two large aneurysms of the mid-right coronary artery. A multislice computed tomography (CT) study demonstrated marked underestimation by invasive angiography because of the large thrombus. The patient was referred for cardiac surgery. The right mammary artery was used as a bypass graft to the distal segment of the right coronary artery and the two aneurysms were ligated proximally and distally after removal of their thrombus filling. The postoperative CT confirmed patency of the bypass graft and the vascular exclusion of the aneurysm, with no opacification. Cardiac CT is a promising tool for the comprehensive study of coronary aneurysms, both before and after surgery.

Early and mid-term cardiovascular outcomes following TAVI: impact of pre-procedural transvalvular gradient.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the relation of aortic transvalvular gradient with outcomes following transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). BACKGROUND: Relatively little is known about the predictors of adverse outcomes in patients with severe aortic stenosis following TAVI. METHODS: We studied 126 consecutive patients (mean age 83.2 ± 6.3 years; 59% women) who underwent TAVI (23% transapical; 77% transfemoral) at our institution. All patients were followed for the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), including myocardial infarction, heart failure, stroke, and cardiovascular death. RESULTS: The acute procedural success rate was 98%; at 1 year, the cumulative incidence of MACE and cardiovascular death was 29% and 10%, respectively. In multivariable analyses adjusting for clinical and echocardiographic risk factors, presence of a baseline mean transvalvular gradient (MTG) <40 mmHg was a significant predictor of 30-day MACE in the total sample (OR 4.4, 95% CI 1.7-11.4; P=0.003) as well as in patients with an ejection fraction ≥ 50% (OR 10.3, 95% CI 3.0-33.4; P<0.001). In multivariable analyses, low MTG was also associated with 2-fold and 4-fold increased hazards for MACE (HR 4.2, 95% CI 2.0-8.9; P<0.001) and cardiovascular death (HR 4.2 95% CI 1.2-14.9; P=0.03), respectively, within 1 year following TAVI. CONCLUSION: Presence of a low MTG (<40 mmHg) prior to TAVI was associated with a greater risk of major adverse events, including cardiovascular death, up to 1 year following the procedure. Pre-procedural MTG could be used to identify patients at a high risk for adverse outcomes following TAVI.

Incidence, predictors and prognostic value of serious hemorrhagic complications following transcatheter aortic valve implantation.

BACKGROUND: TAVI is an alternative solution for patients with aortic valve stenosis (AS) who are refused for conventional surgery. We sought to evaluate the incidence, characteristics, predictors and prognosis impact of serious hemorrhagic complications following transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). METHODS: One hundred and seventy one consecutive patients with symptomatic severe AS (83.5 ± 6.1 y; 53% women; mean EuroSCORE=22.1 ± 12.3) underwent transapical (TA) or transfemoral (TF) TAVI in our institution using Edwards SAPIEN© and Medtronic CoreValve© devices. The primary evaluated criterion was the incidence of any bleeding complication, according to the Valve Academic Research Consortium (VARC) criteria. RESULTS: VARC serious hemorrhagic complications occurred in 34.5% of patients (n=23 life-threatening/disabling (LT/D) and n=36 major bleedings). Most of these complications were related to access site complications (69%). Multivariable analysis revealed that TA access, low weight and underlying coronary artery diseases were independent predictors for development of serious bleeding. The mortality was significantly higher in patients with serious events compared to patients without bleeding (p=0.008, log-rank analysis). Although the survival didn't significantly differ in patients with major hemorrhagic events, subjects with LT/D bleeding events had a higher mortality than the subjects with no hemorrhagic complications (p<0.001, log-rank analysis). Occurrence of VARC LT/D event independently predicted all-cause mortality (HR=5.35 [2.51-11.43], p<0.001) during the first year following TAVI in multivariate Cox regression analysis. CONCLUSION: Severe bleeding is frequent following TAVI procedure and is mainly related to local hemorrhage. VARC LT/D events are associated with decreased survival after AS correction.