Bradyarrhythmia in a marathonist: Cardiac vagal denervation as alternative treatment.

Although not routinely used, cardioneuroablation or modulation of the cardiac autonomic nervous system has been proposed as an alternative approach to treat young individuals with enhanced vagal tone and significant atrioventricular (AV) disturbances. We report the case of a 42-year-old athlete with prolonged ventricular pauses associated with sinus bradycardia and paroxysmal episodes of AV block (maximum of 6.6 s) due to enhanced vagal tone who was admitted to our hospital for pacemaker implantation. Cardiac magnetic resonance and stress test were normal. Although he was asymptomatic, safety concerns regarding possible neurological damage and sudden cardiac death were raised, and he accordingly underwent electrophysiological study (EPS) and cardiac autonomic denervation. Mapping and ablation were anatomically guided and radiofrequency pulses were delivered at empirical sites of ganglionated plexi. Modulation of the parasympathetic system was confirmed through changes in heart rate and AV nodal conduction properties associated with a negative cardiac response to atropine administration. After a follow-up of nine months, follow-up 24-hour Holter revealed an increase in mean heart rate and no AV disturbances, with rare non-significant ventricular pauses, suggesting that this technique may become a safe and efficient procedure in this group of patients.

Acute coronary syndrome and stress: Is there a relationship?

INTRODUCTION: Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is the result of a complex pathophysiological process with various dynamic factors. The 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) is a validated instrument for estimating stress levels in clinical practice and may be useful in the assessment of ACS. METHODS: We carried out a single-center prospective study engaging patients hospitalized with ACS between March 20, 2019 and March 3, 2020. The PSS-10 was completed during the hospitalization period. The ACS group was compared to a control group (the general Portuguese population), and a subanalysis in the stress group were then performed. RESULTS: A total of 171 patients with ACS were included, of whom 36.5% presented ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), 38.1% were female and the mean PSS score was 19.5±7.1. Females in the control group scored 16.6±6.3 on the PSS-10 and control males scored 13.4±6.5. The female population with ACS scored 22.8±9.8 on the PSS-10 (p<0.001). Similarly, ACS males scored a mean of 17.4±6.4 (p<0.001). Pathological stress levels were not a predictor of major adverse cardiovascular events or severity at admission. CONCLUSIONS: ACS patients had higher perceived stress levels compared to the control group. Perceived stress level was not associated with worse prognosis in ACS patients.

Long-Term Impact of Body Mass Index on Survival of Patients Undergoing Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy: A Multi-Centre Study.

Obesity is a risk factor for heart failure (HF), but its presence among HF patients may be associated with favorable outcomes. We investigated the long-term outcomes across different body mass index (BMI) groups, after cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT), and whether defibrillator back-up (CRT-D) confers survival benefit. One thousand two-hundred seventy-seven (1,277) consecutive patients (mean age: 67.0 ± 12.7 years, 44.1% women, and mean BMI: 28.3 ± 5.6 Kg/m2) who underwent CRT implantation in 5 centers between 2000-2014 were followed-up for a median period of 4.9 years (IQR 2.4 to 7.5). More than 10% of patients had follow-up for ≥10 years. Patients were classified according to BMI as normal: <25.0 Kg/m2, overweight: 25.0 to 29.9 Kg/m2 and obese: ≥30.0 Kg/m2. 364 patients had normal weight, 494 were overweight and 419 were obese. CRT-Ds were implanted in >75% of patients, but were used less frequently in obese individuals. The composite endpoint of all-cause mortality or cardiac transplant/left ventricular assist device (LVAD) occurred in 50.9% of patients. At 10-year follow-up, less than a quarter of patients in the lowest and highest BMI categories were still alive and free from heart transplant/LVAD. After adjustment BMI of 25 to 29.9 Kg/m2 (HR = 0.73 [95%CI 0.56 to 0.96], p = 0.023) and use of CRT-D (HR = 0.74 [95% CI 0.55 to 0.98], p = 0.039) were independent predictors of survival free from LVAD/heart transplant. BMI of 25 to 29.9 Kg/m2 at the time of implant was independently associated with favourable long-term 10-year survival. Use of CRT-D was associated with improved survival irrespective of BMI class.

KAsH: A new tool to predict in-hospital mortality in patients with myocardial infarction.

INTRODUCTION: Complex risk scores have limited applicability in the assessment of patients with myocardial infarction (MI). In this work, the authors aimed to develop a simple to use clinical score to stratify the in-hospital mortality risk of patients with MI at first medical contact. METHODS: In this single-center prospective registry assessing 1504 consecutively admitted patients with MI, the strongest predictors of in-hospital mortality were selected through multivariate logistic regression. The KAsH score was developed according to the following formula: KAsH=(Killip class×Age×Heart rate)/systolic blood pressure. Its predictive power was compared to previously validated scores using the DeLong test. The score was categorized and further compared to the Killip classification. RESULTS: The KAsH score displayed excellent predictive power for in-hospital mortality, superior to other well-validated risk scores (AUC: KAsH 0.861 vs. GRACE 0.773, p<0.001) and robust in subgroup analysis. KAsH maintained its predictive capacity after adjustment for multiple confounding factors such as diabetes, heart failure, mechanical complications and bleeding (OR 1.004, 95% CI 1.001-1.008, p=0.012) and reclassified 81.5% of patients into a better risk category compared to the Killip classification. KAsH's categorization displayed excellent mortality discrimination (KAsH 1: 1.0%, KAsH 2: 8.1%, KAsH 3: 20.4%, KAsH 4: 55.2%) and better mortality prediction than the Killip classification (AUC: KAsH 0.839 vs. Killip 0.775, p<0.0001). CONCLUSION: KAsH, an easy to use score calculated at first medical contact with patients with MI, displays better predictive power for in-hospital mortality than existing scores.