Cohort profile of BIOMArCS: the BIOMarker study to identify the Acute risk of a Coronary Syndrome-a prospective multicentre biomarker study conducted in the Netherlands.

PURPOSE: Progression of stable coronary artery disease (CAD) towards acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is a dynamic and heterogeneous process with many intertwined constituents, in which a plaque destabilising sequence could lead to ACS within short time frames. Current CAD risk assessment models, however, are not designed to identify increased vulnerability for the occurrence of coronary events within a precise, short time frame at the individual patient level. The BIOMarker study to identify the Acute risk of a Coronary Syndrome (BIOMArCS) was designed to evaluate whether repeated measurements of multiple biomarkers can predict such 'vulnerable periods'. PARTICIPANTS: BIOMArCS is a multicentre, prospective, observational study of 844 patients presenting with ACS, either with or without ST-elevation and at least one additional cardiovascular risk factor. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We hypothesised that patterns of circulating biomarkers that reflect the various pathophysiological components of CAD, such as distorted lipid metabolism, vascular inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, increased thrombogenicity and ischaemia, diverge in the days to weeks before a coronary event. Divergent biomarker patterns, identified by serial biomarker measurements during 1-year follow-up might then indicate 'vulnerable periods' during which patients with CAD are at high short-term risk of developing an ACS. Venepuncture was performed every fortnight during the first half-year and monthly thereafter. As prespecified, patient enrolment was terminated after the primary end point of cardiovascular death or hospital admission for non-fatal ACS had occurred in 50 patients. A case-cohort design will explore differences in temporal patterns of circulating biomarkers prior to the repeat ACS. FUTURE PLANS AND DISSEMINATION: Follow-up and event adjudication have been completed. Prespecified biomarker analyses are currently being performed and dissemination through peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations is expected from the third quarter of 2016. Should identification of a 'vulnerable period' prove to be feasible, then future research could focus on event reduction through pharmacological or mechanical intervention during such periods of high risk for ACS. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NTR1698 and NTR1106.

Individualized Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme (ACE)-Inhibitor Therapy in Stable Coronary Artery Disease Based on Clinical and Pharmacogenetic Determinants: The PERindopril GENEtic (PERGENE) Risk Model.

BACKGROUND: Patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD) constitute a heterogeneous group in which the treatment benefits by angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE)-inhibitor therapy vary between individuals. Our objective was to integrate clinical and pharmacogenetic determinants in an ultimate combined risk prediction model. METHODS AND RESULTS: Clinical, genetic, and outcomes data were used from 8726 stable CAD patients participating in the EUROPA/PERGENE trial of perindopril versus placebo. Multivariable analysis of phenotype data resulted in a clinical risk score (range, 0-21 points). Three single-nucleotide polymorphisms (rs275651 and rs5182 in the angiotensin-II type I-receptor gene and rs12050217 in the bradykinin type I-receptor gene) were used to construct a pharmacogenetic risk score (PGXscore; range, 0-6 points). Seven hundred eighty-five patients (9.0%) experienced the primary endpoint of cardiovascular mortality, nonfatal myocardial infarction or resuscitated cardiac arrest, during 4.2 years of follow-up. Absolute risk reductions ranged from 1.2% to 7.5% in the 73.5% of patients with PGXscore of 0 to 2. As a consequence, estimated annual numbers needed to treat ranged from as low as 29 (clinical risk score ≥10 and PGXscore of 0) to 521 (clinical risk score ≤6 and PGXscore of 2). Furthermore, our data suggest that long-term perindopril prescription in patients with a PGXscore of 0 to 2 is cost-effective. CONCLUSIONS: Both baseline clinical phenotype, as well as genotype determine the efficacy of widely prescribed ACE inhibition in stable CAD. Integration of clinical and pharmacogenetic determinants in a combined risk prediction model demonstrated a very wide range of gradients of absolute treatment benefit.

Perindopril and ß-blocker for the prevention of cardiac events and mortality in stable coronary artery disease patients: A EUropean trial on Reduction Of cardiac events with Perindopril in stable coronary Artery disease (EUROPA) subanalysis.

BACKGROUND: ß-Blockers relieve angina/ischemia in stable coronary artery disease (CAD), and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors prevent CAD outcomes. In EUROPA, the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor perindopril reduced cardiovascular outcomes in low-risk stable CAD patients over 4.2 years. This post hoc analysis examined whether the addition of perindopril to ß-blocker in EUROPA had additional benefits on outcomes compared with standard therapy including ß-blocker. METHODS: EUROPA was a multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial in patients with documented stable CAD. Randomized EUROPA patients who received ß-blocker at baseline were identified, and the effect on cardiovascular outcomes of adding perindopril or placebo was analyzed. Endpoints were the same as those in EUROPA. RESULTS: At baseline, 62% (n = 7534 [3789 on perindopril and 3745 on placebo]) received ß-blocker. Treatment with perindopril/ß-blocker reduced the relative risk of the primary end point (cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, and resuscitated cardiac arrest) by 24% compared with placebo/ß-blocker (HR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.64-0.91; P = .002). Addition of perindopril also reduced fatal or nonfatal myocardial infarction by 28% (HR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.59-0.88; P = .001) and hospitalization for heart failure by 45% (HR, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.33-0.93; P = .025). Serious adverse drug reactions were rare in both groups, and cardiovascular death and hospitalizations occurred less often with perindopril/ß-blocker. CONCLUSIONS: The addition of perindopril to ß-blocker in stable CAD patients was safe and resulted in reductions in cardiovascular outcomes and mortality compared with standard therapy including ß-blocker.

[LDL cholesterol lowering therapy: no target value but personalised treatment]. / LDL-cholesterolverlagende therapie: geen streefwaarde maar behandeling op maat.

We previously recommended that LDL cholesterol lowering therapy be based on the risk for (recurrent) coronary events, rather than on arbitrary targets for serum LDL cholesterol concentration. We also recommended refraining from therapy with ezetimibe until its efficacy in preventing cardiovascular events had been documented. At the American Heart Association scientific sessions 2014 the results of the IMPROVE-IT study were reported. In this large, randomised trial, a modest benefit of the combination of simvastatin plus ezetimibe over simvastatin alone was reported after 7 years of treatment. The efficacy of such combination therapy was similar to the efficacy of high-dose statin therapy, while the combination therapy is much more expensive. Comparing the efficacy and costs of different preventive therapies, we recommend first prescribing aspirin and a moderate dose of statin, secondly an ACE inhibitor. A high-dose statin should be considered in high-risk patients. The combination of simvastatin and ezetimibe should be prescribed only in high-risk patients (e.g. diabetics after myocardial infarction) who do not tolerate high-dose statins.

Prediction of absolute risk reduction of cardiovascular events with perindopril for individual patients with stable coronary artery disease - results from EUROPA.

BACKGROUND: Angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibition reduces the risk of cardiovascular events at a group level. Presumably, the absolute effect of treatment varies between individuals. We sought to develop multivariable prediction scores to estimate individual treatment effect of perindopril in patients with stable coronary artery disease (sCAD). METHODS: In EUROPA trial participants, we estimated the individual patient 5-year absolute risk reduction (ARR) of major adverse cardiovascular events(MACE) by perindopril. Predictions were based on a new Coxproportional-hazards model with clinical characteristics and an external risk score in combination with the observed relative risk reduction. Second, a genetic profile modifying the relative efficacy of perindopril was added. The individual patient ARR was defined as the difference in MACE risk with and without treatment. The group level impact of selectively treating patients with the largest predicted treatment effect was evaluated using net benefit analysis. RESULTS: The risk score combining clinical and genetic characteristics estimated the 5-year absolute treatment effect to be absent or adverse in 27% of patients. On the other hand, the risk score estimated a small 5-year ARR of ≤2% (NNT5≥50) in 20% of patients, a modest ARR of 2-4% (NNT5 25-50) in 26%, and a large ARR of ≥4% (NNT5≤25) in 28%. The external risk score yielded similar predictions. Selective prediction-based treatment resulted in higher net benefit compared to treat everyone at any treatment threshold. CONCLUSION: A prediction score combining clinical characteristics and genetic information can quantify the ARR of MACE by perindopril for individual patients with sCAD and may be used to guide treatment decisions. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN37166280.

Identifying genetic risk variants for coronary heart disease in familial hypercholesterolemia: an extreme genetics approach.

Mutations in the low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) gene cause familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), a disorder characterized by coronary heart disease (CHD) at young age. We aimed to apply an extreme sampling method to enhance the statistical power to identify novel genetic risk variants for CHD in individuals with FH. We selected cases and controls with an extreme contrast in CHD risk from 17,000 FH patients from the Netherlands, whose functional LDLR mutation was unequivocally established. The genome-wide association (GWA) study was performed on 249 very young FH cases with CHD and 217 old FH controls without CHD (above 65 years for males and 70 years of age for females) using the Illumina HumanHap550K chip. In the next stage, two independent samples (one from the Netherlands and one from Italy, Norway, Spain, and the United Kingdom) of FH patients were used as replication samples. In the initial GWA analysis, we identified 29 independent single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with suggestive associations with premature CHD (P<1 × 10(-4)). We examined the association of these SNPs with CHD risk in the replication samples. After Bonferroni correction, none of the SNPs either replicated or reached genome-wide significance after combining the discovery and replication samples. Therefore, we conclude that the genetics of CHD risk in FH is complex and even applying an 'extreme genetics' approach we did not identify new genetic risk variants. Most likely, this method is not as effective in leveraging effect size as anticipated, and may, therefore, not lead to significant gains in statistical power.

Conventional hemodynamic resuscitation may fail to optimize tissue perfusion: an observational study on the effects of dobutamine, enoximone, and norepinephrine in patients with acute myocardial infarction complicated by cardiogenic shock.

AIM: To investigate the effects of inotropic agents on parameters of tissue perfusion in patients with cardiogenic shock. METHODS AND RESULTS: Thirty patients with cardiogenic shock were included. Patients received dobutamine, enoximone, or norepinephrine. We performed hemodynamic measurements at baseline and after titration of the inotropic agent until cardiac index (CI) ≥ 2.5 L.min-1.m(-2) or mixed-venous oxygen saturation (SvO2) ≥ 70% (dobutamine or enoximone), and mean arterial pressure (MAP) ≥ 70 mmHg (norepinephrine). As parameters of tissue perfusion, we measured central-peripheral temperature gradient (delta-T) and sublingual perfused capillary density (PCD). All patients reached predefined therapeutic targets. The inotropes did not significantly change delta-T. Dobutamine did not change PCD. Enoximone increased PCD (9.1 [8.9-10.2] vs. 11.4 [8.4-13.9] mm.mm(-2); p<0.05), and norepinephrine tended to decrease PCD (9.8 [8.5-11.9] vs. 8.8 [8.2-9.6] mm.mm-2, p = 0.08). Fifteen patients (50%) died within 30 days after admission. Patients who had low final PCD (≤ 10.3 mm.mm-2; 64%) were more likely to die than patients who had preserved PCD (>10.3 mm.mm(-2); mortality 72% vs. 17%, p = 0.003). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates the effects of commonly used inotropic agents on parameters of tissue perfusion in patients with cardiogenic shock. Despite hemodynamic optimization, tissue perfusion was not sufficiently restored in most patients. In these patients, mortality was high. Interventions directed at improving microcirculation may eventually help bridging the gap between improved hemodynamics and dismal patient outcome in cardiogenic shock.

Risk stratification for sudden cardiac death: current status and challenges for the future.

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) remains a daunting problem. It is a major public health issue for several reasons: from its prevalence (20% of total mortality in the industrialized world) to the devastating psycho-social impact on society and on the families of victims often still in their prime, and it represents a challenge for medicine, and especially for cardiology. This text summarizes the discussions and opinions of a group of investigators with a long-standing interest in this field. We addressed the occurrence of SCD in individuals apparently healthy, in patients with heart disease and mild or severe cardiac dysfunction, and in those with genetically based arrhythmic diseases. Recognizing the need for more accurate registries of the global and regional distribution of SCD in these different categories, we focused on the assessment of risk for SCD in these four groups, looking at the significance of alterations in cardiac function, of signs of electrical instability identified by ECG abnormalities or by autonomic tests, and of the progressive impact of genetic screening. Special attention was given to the identification of areas of research more or less likely to provide useful information, and thereby more or less suitable for the investment of time and of research funds.

[Abandon LDL cholesterol target levels]. / Laat de streefwaarden voor LDL-cholesterol los.

In guidelines for the management of stable cardiovascular disease, targets are specified for LDL cholesterol and blood pressure. However, observational studies reveal that in many patients such targets cannot be reached, in spite of intensive medication. In particular, LDL cholesterol levels of < 1.7 mmol/l (European guidelines) or < 2.5 mmol/l (Dutch guidelines) can often not be reached with statin therapy. Recent USA guidelines recommend statin therapy without specific targets for the LDL cholesterol level. Since no clinical efficacy has been demonstrated for other cholesterol-lowering drugs, in particular ezetimibe and fibrates, these are not recommended as preventive therapy. Physicians should prescribe statins at doses used in the relevant clinical trials, independent of the LDL cholesterol level achieved.

Genetic variation and gender determine bradykinin type 1 receptor responses in human tissue: implications for the ACE-inhibitor-induced effects in patients with coronary artery disease.

The efficacy of the ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibitor perindopril in coronary artery disease [EUROPA (European trial on reduction of cardiac events with perindopril in stable coronary artery disease) study] is associated with the rs12050217 A/G single nucleotide polymorphism in the B1 receptor (bradykinin type 1 receptor) gene. To investigate the underlying mechanism, we examined the effect of this polymorphism on B1-receptor-mediated coronary artery dilation and peripheral blood mononuclear cell activation. Vasorelaxant responses of human coronary microarteries from subjects without coronary disease to des-Arg(9)-bradykinin and to bradykinin were studied in organ bath experiments. Des-Arg9-bradykinin responses were endothelium-dependent and exclusively mediated by B1 receptors, whereas responses to bradykinin were induced through B2 receptors (bradykinin type 2 receptors). The presence of the G allele reduced the response to 3 × 10(-8) mol/l des-Arg(9)-bradykinin by 29% [AA (n=13) compared with AG/GG (n=8); P<0.03], and tended to lower concentration-related responses (P=0.065) to this agonist, whereas the responses to bradykinin were unaffected by the rs12050217 genotype. In freshly obtained human mononuclear cells 1 µmol/l des-Arg(9)-bradykinin increased expression of the pro-inflammatory factors CXCL5 (CXC chemokine ligand 5) and IL6 (interleukin-6). These responses were not affected by genotype and exclusively occurred in blood cells from women, correlating (in the case of CXCL5) with their plasma 17ß-oestradiol levels (r(2)=0.32, P=0.02; n=17). IL-1ß (interleukin-1ß) increased CXCL5 and IL6 expression in both genders, and this response was not associated with 17ß-oestradiol levels. The gender difference in responses to B1 receptor stimulation in blood mononuclear cells implies possible gender differences in the response to ACE inhibitor therapy, which needs to be studied more comprehensively. The observed decrease in coronary vasodilator response might contribute to the impaired treatment response to perindopril of G allele carriers found in the EUROPA study.

Dabigatran versus warfarin in patients with mechanical heart valves.

BACKGROUND: Dabigatran is an oral direct thrombin inhibitor that has been shown to be an effective alternative to warfarin in patients with atrial fibrillation. We evaluated the use of dabigatran in patients with mechanical heart valves. METHODS: In this phase 2 dose-validation study, we studied two populations of patients: those who had undergone aortic- or mitral-valve replacement within the past 7 days and those who had undergone such replacement at least 3 months earlier. Patients were randomly assigned in a 2:1 ratio to receive either dabigatran or warfarin. The selection of the initial dabigatran dose (150, 220, or 300 mg twice daily) was based on kidney function. Doses were adjusted to obtain a trough plasma level of at least 50 ng per milliliter. The warfarin dose was adjusted to obtain an international normalized ratio of 2 to 3 or 2.5 to 3.5 on the basis of thromboembolic risk. The primary end point was the trough plasma level of dabigatran. RESULTS: The trial was terminated prematurely after the enrollment of 252 patients because of an excess of thromboembolic and bleeding events among patients in the dabigatran group. In the as-treated analysis, dose adjustment or discontinuation of dabigatran was required in 52 of 162 patients (32%). Ischemic or unspecified stroke occurred in 9 patients (5%) in the dabigatran group and in no patients in the warfarin group; major bleeding occurred in 7 patients (4%) and 2 patients (2%), respectively. All patients with major bleeding had pericardial bleeding. CONCLUSIONS: The use of dabigatran in patients with mechanical heart valves was associated with increased rates of thromboembolic and bleeding complications, as compared with warfarin, thus showing no benefit and an excess risk. (Funded by Boehringer Ingelheim; ClinicalTrials.gov numbers, NCT01452347 and NCT01505881.).

Clinical and prognostic implications of circulating pentraxin 3 levels in non ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome.

OBJECTIVES: Pentraxin 3 (PTX3) is the prototype of the long pentraxin family. PTX3 is involved in inflammatory processes affecting the cardiovascular system, and PTX3 levels have been shown to be elevated and independently prognostic in ST-elevation myocardial infarction. Data on PTX3 levels in non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS), in contrast, are limited. The aim of the present analysis was to investigate the implications of PTX3 levels in a fairly large sample of NSTE-ACS patients and in comparison to levels of C-reactive protein (CRP). DESIGN AND METHODS: We measured levels of PTX3 and CRP in both 82 healthy controls and 401 NSTE-ACS patients from the GUSTO IV study, and studied the associations of these biomarkers to clinical data and 1-year mortality. RESULTS: NSTE-ACS patients had significantly higher median PTX3 levels compared to healthy controls (3.8 vs. 1.9 µg/L; p<0.001). PTX3 levels in patients with NSTE-ACS were independently related to female sex and cardiac troponin T levels, but not to age or cardiovascular risk factors. PTX3 levels were higher in patients who died within 1 year but did not emerge as an independent predictor of 1-year mortality (adjusted OR 1.2 [95% CI 0.6-2.3]). This was in contrast to CRP (adjusted OR 1.5 [95% CI 1.1-2.3]). Neither PTX3 nor CRP yielded significant discriminative value regarding mortality prediction. CONCLUSIONS: PTX3 levels are elevated in NSTE-ACS. However, the prognostic information provided by PTX3 levels is limited and inferior compared to CRP. Our data, thus, do not support the measurement of PTX3 in patients with NSTE-ACS.

Development and validation of a cardiovascular risk assessment model in patients with established coronary artery disease.

Appropriate risk stratification of patients with established, stable coronary artery disease could contribute to the prevention of recurrent cardiovascular events. The purpose of the present study was to develop and validate risk prediction models for various cardiovascular end points in the EURopean trial On reduction of cardiac events with Perindopril in stable coronary Artery disease (EUROPA) database, consisting of 12,218 patients with established coronary artery disease, with a median follow-up of 4.1 years. Cox proportional hazards models were used for model development. The end points examined were cardiovascular mortality, noncardiovascular mortality, nonfatal myocardial infarction, coronary artery bypass grafting, percutaneous coronary intervention, resuscitated cardiac arrest, and combinations of these end points. The performance measures included Nagelkerke's R², time-dependent area under the receiver operating characteristic curves, and calibration plots. Backward selection resulted in a prediction model for cardiovascular mortality (464 events) containing age, current smoking, diabetes mellitus, total cholesterol, body mass index, previous myocardial infarction, history of congestive heart failure, peripheral vessel disease, previous revascularization, and previous stroke. The model performance was adequate for this end point, with a Nagelkerke R² of 12%, and an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.73. However, the performance of models constructed for nonfatal and combined end points was considerably worse, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of about 0.6. In conclusion, in patients with established coronary artery disease, the risk of cardiovascular mortality during longer term follow-up can be adequately predicted using the clinical characteristics available at baseline. However, the prediction of nonfatal outcomes, both separately and combined with fatal outcomes, poses major challenges for clinicians and model developers.