Optimización de la detección de fibrilación auricular subclínica tras un ESUS / Optimizing the detection of subclinical atrial fibrillation after ESUS

Introducción: Se ha estimado que aproximadamente el 20% de los ictus isquémicos tiene un origen cardioembólico y que no se detecta la causa o que puede haber más de una en el 9-25% de ellos. Un proceso diagnóstico adecuado de ESUS permitiría optimizar el tratamiento antitrombótico. Objetivo: Revisión bibliográfica sobre la evidencia disponible acerca de la mejor aproximación diagnóstica y terapéutica de los pacientes con ESUS y cómo optimizar la detección de la posible fibrilación auricular como causa. Desarrollo: Se realizó una búsqueda a través de PubMed (MEDLINE), mediante los términos MeSH [ESUS] + [atrial fibrillation] + [diagnosis] + [treatment]. Se seleccionaron publicaciones originales de ensayos clínicos, y estudios prospectivos, retrospectivos y de revisión. Conclusiones: La detección de fibrilación auricular tras un ESUS es fundamental para optimizar el tratamiento. Sin embargo, no todos los pacientes tienen el mismo riesgo de presentar fibrilación auricular silente. Existen determinados factores que incrementan este riesgo (dilatación de la aurícula izquierda, edad avanzada, extrasistolia supraventricular frecuente). En estos pacientes, una monitorización más prolongada permitiría aumentar las posibilidades de diagnóstico de la fibrilación auricular y, por lo tanto, beneficiarse, en mayor medida, del tratamiento anticoagulante para evitar ictus recurrentes.(AU)

Introduction: It has been estimated that approximately 20% of ischemic strokes have a cardioembolic origin and the cause is not detected or there are more than one in 9-25% of ischemic strokes. An adequate diagnostic approach of ESUS would allow an optimization of antithrombotic treatment. Objective: Narrative update about the available evidence on the best diagnostic and therapeutic approach among patients with ESUS and how to optimize the detection of atrial fibrillation as a potential cause is reviewed. Development: A search was conducted on PubMed (MEDLINE), using the MeSH terms [ESUS] + [atrial fibrillation] + [diagnosis] + [treatment]. Original data from clinical trials, prospective and retrospective studies and reviews were selected. Conclusions: The detection of atrial fibrillation after ESUS is mandatory to optimize the treatment. However, not all patients have the same risk of developing silent atrial fibrillation. There are some factors that increase this risk (left atrium enlargement, elderly, frequent premature supraventricular complexes). In these patients, a more prolonged monitorization could increase the possibility of detecting atrial fibrillation, and consequently, to benefit more from anticoagulant treatment.(AU)

[Optimizing the detection of subclinical atrial fibrillation after ESUS]. / Optimización de la detección de fibrilación auricular subclínica tras un ESUS.

INTRODUCTION: It has been estimated that approximately 20% of ischemic strokes have a cardioembolic origin and the cause is not detected or there are more than one in 9-25% of ischemic strokes. An adequate diagnostic approach of ESUS would allow an optimization of antithrombotic treatment. OBJECTIVE: Narrative update about the available evidence on the best diagnostic and therapeutic approach among patients with ESUS and how to optimize the detection of atrial fibrillation as a potential cause is reviewed. DEVELOPMENT: A search was conducted on PubMed (MEDLINE), using the MeSH terms [ESUS] + [atrial fibrillation] + [diagnosis] + [treatment]. Original data from clinical trials, prospective and retrospective studies and reviews were selected. CONCLUSIONS: The detection of atrial fibrillation after ESUS is mandatory to optimize the treatment. However, not all patients have the same risk of developing silent atrial fibrillation. There are some factors that increase this risk (left atrium enlargement, elderly, frequent premature supraventricular complexes). In these patients, a more prolonged monitorization could increase the possibility of detecting atrial fibrillation, and consequently, to benefit more from anticoagulant treatment.

TITLE: Optimización de la detección de fibrilación auricular subclínica tras un ESUS.Introducción. Se ha estimado que aproximadamente el 20% de los ictus isquémicos tiene un origen cardioembólico y que no se detecta la causa o que puede haber más de una en el 9-25% de ellos. Un proceso diagnóstico adecuado de ESUS permitiría optimizar el tratamiento antitrombótico. Objetivo. Revisión bibliográfica sobre la evidencia disponible acerca de la mejor aproximación diagnóstica y terapéutica de los pacientes con ESUS y cómo optimizar la detección de la posible fibrilación auricular como causa. Desarrollo. Se realizó una búsqueda a través de PubMed (MEDLINE), mediante los términos MeSH [ESUS] + [atrial fibrillation] + [diagnosis] + [treatment]. Se seleccionaron publicaciones originales de ensayos clínicos, y estudios prospectivos, retrospectivos y de revisión. Conclusiones. La detección de fibrilación auricular tras un ESUS es fundamental para optimizar el tratamiento. Sin embargo, no todos los pacientes tienen el mismo riesgo de presentar fibrilación auricular silente. Existen determinados factores que incrementan este riesgo (dilatación de la aurícula izquierda, edad avanzada, extrasistolia supraventricular frecuente). En estos pacientes, una monitorización más prolongada permitiría aumentar las posibilidades de diagnóstico de la fibrilación auricular y, por lo tanto, beneficiarse, en mayor medida, del tratamiento anticoagulante para evitar ictus recurrentes.

Cardiac complications during pregnancy are better predicted with the modified WHO risk score.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Several risk scores (RSs) have been used to stratify risk of cardiac complications (CCs) in pregnant patients with heart disease. We aimed to compare and contrast the accuracy of several RSs for predicting CC in this population. METHODS: Prospective inclusion of all consecutive pregnant patients with heart disease, and follow-up until 6 months postpartum. CCs were defined as primary if admission was required due to heart failure, arrhythmia or thromboembolic events, and secondary if the decline in NYHA class compared with baseline was >2 or urgent invasive cardiac procedures were needed. The discriminatory power of each RS was assessed by the area-under-the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC). RESULTS: 179 patients, mean age: 32 years, accounted for 13.4% of CC (primary 11.7%, secondary 1.7%); the main diagnosis was congenital heart disease (CHD) in 68% followed by valvulopathies in 16%, arrhythmia in 7% and myocardiopathies in 5%. 22% (n=40) were classified as mWHO=1, 59% (n=105) mWHO=2 including subgroup 2-3, 14% (n=26) mWHO=3 and 4%(n=7) mWHO=4; 1 patient was unclassifiable. mWHO showed a better AUC (0.763) than CARPREG (0.67). For the CHD population, ZAHARA RS showed an AUC of 0.74, and Khairy an AUC of 0.632. CONCLUSIONS: mWHO was better at predicting CC than CARPREG; mWHO was also better at predicting CC than the specific CHD RS in the CHD subgroup. PRACTICE: There are an increasing number of pregnant women with HD. IMPLICATIONS: Improved prediction of CC risk during pregnancy can provide better preconception assessment in women with HD.

Prospective registry of symptomatic severe aortic stenosis in octogenarians: a need for intervention.

OBJECTIVE: To study the factors associated with choice of therapy and prognosis in octogenarians with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis (AS). STUDY DESIGN: Prospective, observational, multicenter registry. Centralized follow-up included survival status and, if possible, mode of death and Katz index. SETTING: Transnational registry in Spain. SUBJECTS: We included 928 patients aged ≥80 years with severe symptomatic AS. INTERVENTIONS: Aortic-valve replacement (AVR), transcatheter aortic-valve implantation (TAVI) or conservative therapy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: All-cause death. RESULTS: Mean age was 84.2 ± 3.5 years, and only 49.0% were independent (Katz index A). The most frequent planned management was conservative therapy in 423 (46%) patients, followed by TAVI in 261 (28%) and AVR in 244 (26%). The main reason against recommending AVR in 684 patients was high surgical risk [322 (47.1%)], other medical motives [193 (28.2%)], patient refusal [134 (19.6%)] and family refusal in the case of incompetent patients [35 (5.1%)]. The mean time from treatment decision to AVR was 4.8 ± 4.6 months and to TAVI 2.1 ± 3.2 months, P < 0.001. During follow-up (11.2-38.9 months), 357 patients (38.5%) died. Survival rates at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months were 81.8%, 72.6%, 64.1% and 57.3%, respectively. Planned intervention, adjusted for multiple propensity score, was associated with lower mortality when compared with planned conservative treatment: TAVI Hazard ratio (HR) 0.68 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.49-0.93; P = 0.016) and AVR HR 0.56 (95% CI 0.39-0.8; P = 0.002). CONCLUSION: Octogenarians with symptomatic severe AS are frequently managed conservatively. Planned conservative management is associated with a poor prognosis.

Therapeutic strategies after coronary stenting in chronically anticoagulated patients: the MUSICA study.

OBJECTIVES: To identify the therapeutic regimens used at discharge in patients receiving oral anticoagulant therapy (OAT) who undergo stenting percutaneous coronary intervention and stent implantation (PCI-S), and to assess the safety and efficacy associated with different therapeutic regimens according to thromboembolic risk. DESIGN: A prospective multicentre registry. SETTING: In hospital, after discharge and follow-up by telephone call. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 405 patients (328 male/77 female; mean (SD) age 71 (9) years) receiving OAT who underwent PCI-S between November 2003 and June 2006 from nine catheterisation laboratories of tertiary care teaching hospitals in Spain and one in the United Kingdom were included. RESULTS: Three therapeutic regimens were identified at discharge: triple therapy (TT) -- that is, any anticoagulant (AC) plus double antiplatelet therapy (DAT; 278 patients (68.6%); AC and a single antiplatelet (AC+AT; 46 (11.4%)) and DAT only (81 (20%)). At 6 months, patients receiving TT showed the greatest rate of bleeding events. No patients receiving DAT at low thromboembolic risk presented a bleeding event (14.8% receiving TT, 11.8% receiving AC+AT and 0% receiving DAT, p = 0.033) or cardiovascular event (6.7% receiving TT, 0% receiving AC+AT and 0% receiving DAT, p = 0.126). The combination of AC+AT showed the worst rate of adverse events in the whole cohort, especially in patients at moderate-high thromboembolic risk. CONCLUSIONS: In patients receiving OAT, TT was the most commonly used regimen after PCI-S. DAT was associated with the lowest rate of bleeding events and a similar efficacy to TT in patients at low thromboembolic risk. TT should probably be restricted to patients at moderate-high thromboembolic risk.

Enoxaparin as bridging anticoagulant treatment in cardiac surgery.

OBJECTIVE: To assess enoxaparin as bridging anticoagulant treatment in cardiac surgery. METHODS: Prospective registry of those patients who underwent cardiac surgery in our centre between December 2003 and June 2004 and required long-term anticoagulation. Subcutaneous enoxaparin was used as bridging anticoagulant treatment according to a pre-established protocol. The global thromboembolic risk was carefully assessed in all patients. All patients were followed up for 3 months. RESULTS: Of 140 patients who were included (mean (SD) age 66 (11); 49% female), 51 were already receiving long-term acenocumarol treatment before the index intervention. 50% of the patients were at high or very high risk for thromboembolic events in the postoperative period. The mean (SD) number of days between surgery and the first dose of anticoagulant was 2.01 (7) for acenocumarol and 1 (1.01) for enoxaparin. The mean (SD) daily dose of enoxaparin was 1.1 (0.27) mg/kg. Six thromboembolic events (4.3%; 95% CI 1.6 to 9.1) occurred, but only four of them were plausibly related to enoxaparin (2.9%; 95% CI 0.8 to 7.1). Six major haemorrhagic events (4.3%; 95% CI 1.6 to 9.1) occurred, but only three were plausibly related to enoxaparin (2.1%; 95% CI 0.4 to 6.1). CONCLUSIONS: These findings show a reasonable rate of adverse events using enoxaparin as bridging anticoagulant treatment in cardiac surgery. Randomised studies are necessary to evaluate the real efficacy and safety of enoxaparin as bridging anticoagulant treatment in cardiac surgery.