Acute Coronary Syndrome After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (Results from Over 40,000 Patients).

Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) encompasses a broad category of presentations from unstable angina to ST-elevation myocardial infarctions. Most patients undergo coronary angiography upon presentation for diagnosis and treatment. However, the ACS management strategy after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) may be complicated because of challenging coronary access. The National Readmission Database was reviewed to identify all patients who were readmitted with ACS within 90 days after TAVI between 2012 and 2018. Their outcomes were described between patients who were readmitted with ACS (ACS group) and without (non-ACS group). A total of 44,653 patients were readmitted within 90 days after TAVI. Among them, 1,416 patients (3.2%) were readmitted with ACS. The ACS group had a higher prevalence of men, diabetes, hypertension, congestive heart failure, peripheral vascular disease, and a history of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). In the ACS group, 101 patients (7.1%) developed cardiogenic shock, whereas 120 patients (8.5%) developed ventricular arrhythmias. Overall, 141 patients (9.9%) in the ACS group died during readmissions (vs 3.0% in the non-ACS group, p <0.001). Among the ACS group, PCI was performed in 33 (5.9%), whereas coronary bypass grafting was performed in 12 (0.82%). The factors associated with ACS readmission included a history of diabetes, congestive heart failure, chronic kidney disease, and PCI, and nonelective TAVI. Coronary artery bypass grafting was an independent factor related to in-hospital mortality during ACS readmission (odds ratio 11.9, 95% confidence interval 2.18 to 65.4, p = 0.004), whereas PCI was not (odds ratio 0.19, 95% confidence interval 0.03 to 1.44, p = 0.11). In conclusion, patients readmitted with ACS have significantly higher mortality compared with those readmitted without ACS. History of PCI is an independent factor associated with ACS after TAVI.

Challenges in the development and implementation of a healthcare system based extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) program for the treatment of out of hospital cardiac arrest.

INTRODUCTION: Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) can treat cardiac arrest refractory to conventional therapies. Many institutions are interested in developing their own ECPR program. However, there may be challenges in logistics and implementation. AIMS: The aim of our protocol was to demonstrate that an ECPR team was feasible within our healthcare system and that the identification of UPMC Presbyterian as a receiving center allowed for successful treatment within 30 min from EMS dispatch. METHODS: We developed out of hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) ECPR protocols for Emergency Medical Services (EMS), EMS communications, and our in-hospital ECPR team. Inclusion criteria indentified patients with a potentially reversible arrest etiology and high probability of recoverable brain injury using a simple checklist: witnessed collapse, layperson CPR, initial shockable rhythm, and age 18-60 years. We trained local EMS crews to screen patients and reviewed the criteria with a Medic Command Physician prior to transport to our hospital. RESULTS: From October 2015 to March 31st 2018, EMS treated 1165 EMS OHCA cases, transported 664 (57%) to a local hospital, and transported 120 (10%) to our institution. Of these, five (4.1%) patients underwent ECPR. Among excluded cases, 64 (53%) had nonshockable rhythms, 48 (40%) were unwitnessed arrests, 50 (42%) were over age 60 and the remaining 20 (17%) had no documented reasons for exclusion. For ECPR cases, median pre-hospital CPR duration was 26 [IQR 25-40] min. Four patients (80%) received mechanical CPR. Interval from arrest to arrival on scene was 5 [IQR 4-6] min and interval from radio call to activation of ECPR was 13 [IQR 7-21] min. Interval from EMS dispatch to departure from scene was 20 [IQR 19-21] min. Time from EMS dispatch to initiation of ECPR was 63 [IQR 59-69] min. CONCLUSIONS: ECPR is an infrequent occurrence in EMS practice. Most apparently eligible patients did not get ECPR, highlighting the need for ongoing programmatic development, provider education, and qualitative work exploring barriers to implementation.

Echocardiographic evaluation and guidance for MitraClip procedure.

Transcatheter mitral valve repair using the MitraClip system (Abbott, Abbott Park, Il, USA) has become a world-wide, well-established therapeutic alternative to treat symptomatic patients with severe mitral regurgitation and prohibitive surgical risk. This article offers a comprehensive review of the important clinical and imaging aspects related to the patient selection, imaging evaluation and intraprocedural guidance for optimal results using this transcatheter device therapy. This article provides an updated framework for the interested practitioners summarizing the current understanding and applications for this device based on the current literature and growing experience of this technique.

A pathoanatomic approach to the management of mitral regurgitation.

Mitral regurgitation remains the most common global valvular heart disease. From otherwise unsuspecting healthy patients without overt symptoms to those with recalcitrant heart failure, mitral valve (MV) disease touches millions of patients per year. While MV prolapse without regurgitation remains benign, once regurgitation begins, quantification of severity is related to prognosis. Understanding the mechanism of regurgitation guides appropriate treatment. Current management guidelines emphasize early therapy after careful assessment of both anatomy and severity of mitral regurgitation. The objective of this review is to provide an update on the treatment of MV disease and to offer additional granularity on pathoanatomic decision making that may aid a more precise application of optimal guideline-directed therapy of primary and secondary mitral regurgitation.