Outcomes of Elderly Patients Undergoing Left Atrial Appendage Closure.

Background Elderly patients have a higher burden of comorbidities that influence clinical outcomes. We aimed to compare in-hospital outcomes in patients ≥80 years old to younger patients, and to determine the factors associated with increased risk of major adverse events (MAE) after left atrial appendage closure. Methods and Results The National Inpatient Sample was used to identify discharges after left atrial appendage closure between October 2015 and December 2018. The primary outcome was in-hospital MAE defined as the composite of postprocedural bleeding, vascular and cardiac complications, acute kidney injury, stroke, and death. A total of 6779 hospitalizations were identified, of which, 2371 (35%) were ≥80 years old and 4408 (65%) were <80 years old. Patients ≥80 years old experienced a higher rate of MAE compared with those aged <80 years old (6.0% versus 4.6%, P=0.01), and this difference was driven by a numerically higher rate of cardiac complications (2.4% versus 1.8%, P=0.09) and death (0.3% versus 0.1%, P=0.05) among individuals ≥80 years old. In patients ≥80 years old, higher odds of in-hospital MAE were observed in women (1.61-fold), and those with preprocedural congestive heart failure (≈2-fold), diabetes (≈1.5-fold), renal disease (≈2.6-fold), anemia (≈2.7-fold), and dementia (≈5-fold). In patients <80 years old, a higher risk of in-hospital MAE was encountered among women (≈1.4-fold) and those with diabetes (≈1.3-fold), renal disease (≈2.6-fold), anemia (≈2-fold), and dyslipidemia (≈1.2-fold). Conclusions Patients ≥80 years old had higher rates of in-hospital MAE compared with patients aged <80 years old. Female sex and the presence of heart failure, diabetes, renal disease, and anemia were factors associated with in-hospital MAE among both groups.

Dual antithrombotic therapy in PCI: Potential harm in routine adoption.

Randomized clinical trials support the use of dual antithrombotic therapy (DAT) in PCI patients but outcomes in clinical practice are unclear. In this observational study of patients at high risk for thromboembolism and bleeding, routine use of a P2Y12 inhibitor alone compared with DAPT with OAC was associated with a significantly higher risk of ischemic events without a lower risk of bleeding. Future randomized trials and observational analyses of large registries are needed to select the ideal patient population for DAT.

Etiologies and predictors of 30-day readmissions in patients undergoing percutaneous mechanical circulatory support-assisted percutaneous coronary intervention in the United States: Insights from the Nationwide Readmissions Database.

BACKGROUND: Patients undergoing percutaneous mechanical circulatory support (pMCS)-assisted percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) represent a high-risk group vulnerable to complications and readmissions. HYPOTHESIS: Thirty-day readmissions after pMCS-assisted PCI are common among patients with comorbidities and account for a significant amount of healthcare spending. METHODS: Patients undergoing PCI and pMCS (Impella, TandemHeart, or intra-aortic balloon pump) for any indication between January 1, 2012, and November 30, 2014, were selected from the Nationwide Readmissions Database. Patients were identified using appropriate ICD-9-CM codes. Clinical risk factors and complications were analyzed for association with 30-day readmission. RESULTS: Our analysis included 29 247 patients, of which 4535 (15.5%) were readmitted within 30 days. On multivariate analysis, age ≥ 65 years, female sex, hypertension, diabetes, chronic lung disease, heart failure, prior implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, liver disease, end-stage renal disease, and length of stay ≥5 days during index hospitalization were independent predictors of 30-day readmission. Cardiac etiologies accounted for ~60% of readmissions, of which systolic or diastolic heart failure (22%), stable coronary artery disease (11.1%), acute coronary syndromes (8.9%), and nonspecific chest pain (4.0%) were the most common causes. In noncardiac causes, sepsis/septic shock (4.6%), hypotension/syncope (3.2%), gastrointestinal bleed (3.1%), and acute kidney injury (2.6%) were among the most common causes of 30-day readmissions. Mean length of stay and cost of readmissions was 4 days and $16 191, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Thirty-day readmissions after pMCS-assisted PCI are common and are predominantly associated with increased burden of comorbidities. Reducing readmissions for common cardiac etiologies could save substantial healthcare costs.

SYNTAX Score and Outcomes of Coronary Revascularization in Diabetic Patients.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review describes the dynamic relationship between diabetes mellitus (DM) and coronary artery disease (CAD) with respect to different revascularization strategies and how angiographic tools such as the Synergy between PCI with Taxus and Cardiac Surgery (SYNTAX) score can supplement clinical decision-making. RECENT FINDINGS: The SYNTAX score characterizes the anatomical extent of CAD in terms of the number of lesions, functional importance, and complexity. Studies not limited to patients with DM suggest that percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is a reasonable alternative to coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in patients with low-medium SYNTAX scores, while patients with high SYNTAX scores should be revascularized with CABG if operable. Similar findings were also observed for diabetes patients with multivessel disease in retrospective pooled analysis. The SYNTAX II score combines anatomical and clinical risk to improve upon the decision regarding the optimal revascularization strategy. The SYNTAX II score can be applied to patients with DM. The SYNTAX scores provide guidance to clinicians faced with determining the optimal revascularization strategy in patients with DM and advanced CAD. Using a heart team approach, the information can be considered along with other factors that influence PCI or CABG risk.

Drug Eluting Stents for Very Long Lesions: Go Long, But Know the Risks.

Long coronary artery lesions are increasingly treated with new technologies including current generation drug eluting stents (DES) despite a lack of robust data on outcomes. In the current study, patients receiving Xience V DES for very long lesions (>35 mm) compared to lesions 25-35 mm had similar outcomes. Future research should address late outcomes, stent thrombosis rates, as well as investigation of lesions greater than 60 mm.

Transcatheter versus surgical aortic valve replacement in intermediate-risk patients: Evidence from a meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: We performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy and safety of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) in comparison to surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) in intermediate-risk patients. BACKGROUND: TAVR is an established treatment option in high-risk patients with severe aortic valve stenosis (AS). There are fewer data regarding efficacy of TAVR in intermediate-risk patients. METHODS: Databases were searched through April 30, 2016 for studies that compared TAVR with SAVR for the treatment of intermediate-risk patients with severe AS. We calculated summary risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) with the random-effects model. RESULTS: The analysis included 4,601 patients from 7 studies (2 randomized and 5 observational). There was no significant difference in all-cause mortality between the two groups after mean follow-up of 1.15 years [14.7% with TAVR vs 15.4% with SAVR; RR 0.93; 95% CI 0.77-1.12]. TAVR resulted in lower rates of acute kidney injury [number needed to treat (NNT) = 26], major bleeding (NNT = 4), and atrial-fibrillation (NNT = 6), but higher rates of major vascular complications [number needed to harm (NNH)= 18], and moderate/severe aortic regurgitation (NNH = 13). The rate of permanent-pacemaker implantation was significantly higher with TAVR in observational studies (RR 2.31; 95% CI 1.22-2.81), but not in RCTs (RR 1.21; 95% CI 0.93-1.56). No significant difference in the rate of stroke or myocardial infarction was observed. CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis of mid-term results showed that TAVR has similar clinical efficacy to SAVR in intermediate-risk patients with severe AS, and can be a suitable alternative to surgical valve replacement. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Saphenous vein graft lesions: Are second-generation drug-eluting stents better?

Long-term outcomes were similar in patients treated with first- or second-generation drug-eluting stents (DES) for saphenous vein graft (SVG) lesions. Patients presenting with acute myocardial infarction as a result of occluded SVG may derive some benefit from the use of second- versus first-generation DES Randomized clinical trials are needed to determine whether newer DES types including those with bioabsorbable polymer or scaffolds offer a distinct advantage in the treatment of SVG lesions.

Myocardial salvage and mortality in STEMI: A race against ischemic time.

Total ischemic time (IT) and door-to-balloon time (DBT) are two important measures in patients with ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). IT is a better predictor of cardiovascular outcomes than DTB, including infarct size and mortality, in STEMI patients treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention. IT should be adopted as a standard metric to measure quality of care in STEMI, and will help to promote improvements to our health care delivery system.