Spontaneous delayed expansion of self-expanding stents in stenotic arteries in Takayasu arteritis.

PURPOSE Despite frequent use of self-expanding stents (SES) in treating obstructive arterial lesions in Takayasu arteritis (TA), spontaneous delayed stent expansion (SDSE) in TA remains unstudied. This study aimed primarily to document and quantify SDSE and secondarily to determine factors that might be associated with this process. METHODS Consecutive TA patients with obstructive arterial lesions undergoing routine percutaneous intervention involving SES use (sized 1:1 with normal vessel diameter but dilated only to 4mm/5mm) were recruited prospectively. Final stent diameters obtained were measured at 1cm intervals along the length of the stent using fluoroscopic images and an indwelling marker catheter. At angiographic follow-up, stent diameters were measured again in identical fashion. Interval change in stent diameter at each point was averaged for each stent. In a small sub-study intravascular ultrasound was used at follow-up to obtain potential mechanistic insights. RESULTS Seventeen TA patients (age 33 ± 13 years, 15 female) had 22 arterial obstructive lesions (16 occlusions, 18 subclavian) treated with one SES each. Follow-up obtained in all patients after 8.7 ± 3.8 months (range 3-18 months) showed interval increase in mean stent diameter of 1.6 ± 0.5 mm, range 0.7-2.8 mm (P < 0.001); 36% of stents achieved 100% of the nominal diameter at follow-up, while 90% of stents achieved ≥90%. The degree of SDSE did not correlate with the segment of artery stented or with TA disease activity at baseline. Intravascular ultrasound in four lesions showed that SDSE was associated with positive medial-adventitial remodelling and that neointimal hyperplasia occurs concurrently, causing in-stent luminal narrowing. CONCLUSION SDSE, to diameters equal or close to nominal, occurs in all stenotic TA lesions treated with SES. The degree of SDSE does not correlate with the segment of artery stented or with TA disease activity at baseline. Preliminary results suggest that the mechanism by which SDSE is accommodated by the arterial wall is by positive medial-adventitial remodelling.

Coronary artery disease management and cost implications with fractional flow reserve guided coronary intervention in Indian patients with stable ischemic coronary artery disease.

OBJECTIVES: To study the safety of stent avoidance, frequency of change in management decisions, and its cost implications while using a fractional flow reserve (FFR)-guided treatment strategy for intermediate-grade coronary artery stenosis. BACKGROUND: The impact of FFR in guiding management decisions and its cost implications has not been studied after imposition of a ceiling on stent prices by the Government of India. METHODS: In 400 patients with 477 intermediate-grade coronary lesions for whom coronary intervention was planned, functional assessment using FFR was done. Incidence of the primary composite endpoint (major adverse cardiac event [MACE], cardiac death, myocardial infarction, objective evidence of ischemia, and target vessel revascularization) in the stent avoided subset was compared with the stented group at follow-up. Micro-costing analysis was done using a computed model with current stent and FFR wire prices. RESULTS: The overall incidence of MACE was 4.9%, 0.9% in the stent-avoided subset and 6.9% in stented group (p = 0.04, comparing the latter two) at a median follow-up of 21 months (interquartile range 12-31 months). Serious adverse events occurred only in 1% of patients receiving adenosine. The average cost saving was Indian rupees (INR) 51,847 [United States Dollar (USD) 746] per patient, resulting in total savings of INR 15,813,379 (USD 227,530). Cost savings persisted but were lower by 36% (INR 18,613/USD 268 per patient) after the ceiling of stent prices. CONCLUSION: FFR-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) strategy is safe and cost-effective in countries where majority of patients self-finance their health care, resulting in stent and PCI avoidance in approximately one in three patients referred for coronary angioplasty.

Intravascular Brachytherapy for the Management of Repeated Multimetal-Layered Drug-Eluting Coronary Stent Restenosis.

BACKGROUND: Because of the widespread acceptance of percutaneous coronary intervention with drug-eluting stents as an effective treatment strategy for in-stent restenosis, it is common to encounter multimetal layer stent restenosis in the recent years. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical outcomes of such patients treated with intravascular brachytherapy (IVBT) in comparison with other percutaneous options. METHODS AND RESULTS: We enrolled patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention during the period between 2011 and 2015 for recurrent drug-eluting stents in-stent restenosis with at least 2 layers of stents at the lesion site. This analysis compared patients who underwent treatment with IVBT and those who did not (non-IVBT group). The primary end point measured was major adverse cardiac events defined as a composite of target lesion revascularization, myocardial infarction, and all-cause mortality at 12 months. Adjusted associations were measured using propensity score matching. A total of 328 percutaneous coronary intervention patients met the eligibility criteria, of which 197 patients received IVBT, and 131 patients underwent routine percutaneous intervention. The primary end point was significantly lower in patients undergoing IVBT (13.2% and 28.2%; P=0.01). A propensity score matching for risk factors of in-stent restenosis identified 182 patients. The advantages of IVBT with regard to 1-year major adverse cardiac events were confirmed in this matched cohort (13.2% and 30.8%; adjusted hazard ratio [95% CI]: 0.37 [0.18-0.73]; P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: In this analysis, IVBT led to significantly lower major adverse cardiac events in patients with multilayered drug-eluting stents restenosis when compared with other percutaneous options at 1-year follow-up.

Comparison of transesophageal and transthoracic echocardiography under moderate sedation for guiding transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

The optimal periprocedural imaging strategy during transcathether aortic valve replacement (TAVR) performed under moderate sedation is debated. Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) provides suboptimal views due to poorer resolution and patient positioning, whereas use of transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) under moderate sedation is not widely utilized. The aim of our study was to compare the value of TTE in comparison with TEE guidance under moderate sedation during TAVR. The study population included 144 consecutive patients (mean age 83 ± 11 years, 78 (54%) females) who had TAVR under moderate sedation using either a TTE (n = 96) or TEE (n = 48). We compared procedural outcomes using propensity score matching. There were no significant inter-group differences in age, sex, ejection fraction, aortic valve area, pressure gradients, creatinine or type of valve used. The procedural time was significantly shorter in the TEE group (P < 0.001) and associated with a lower need for periprocedural aortograms (7.7 ± 1.9 vs 8.2 ± 1.9, P = 0.022) and a lower occurrence of acute kidney injury (1 vs 11, P = 0.047). The 1:1 propensity score matching also showed a lower procedural time (P = 0.032), number of aortograms (P = 0.014) and a trend toward lower acute kidney injury in the TEE group (P = 0.077). TAVR guidance using TEE is associated with a lower fluoroscopic time, a lower need for additional aortograms and trend in lower occurrence of post-TAVR acute kidney injury.

Longitudinal ventricular systolic dysfunction in patients with very severe obstructive sleep apnea: A case control study using speckle tracking imaging.

OBJECTIVE: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a prevalent condition that is increasingly recognized to be associated with cardiovascular disease. We aimed to investigate the subclinical systolic ventricular dysfunction of patients with OSA using novel speckle tracking echocardiographic (STE) techniques. METHODS: This study included 31 patients of polysomnography proven very severe OSA [Apnea Hypopnea Index(AHI) >40] and an equal number of matched population with no OSA as controls. All the study participants underwent a detailed conventional and tissue Doppler strain echocardiogram in addition to STE. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in conventional ventricular systolic function parameters including left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction, and myocardial performance index of left ventricle. Diastolic function was significantly reduced in patients with OSA as compared to controls. There was no difference in global circumferential strain or time to its peak between the two groups. However global longitudinal LV strain (GLS) was significantly reduced in patients with OSA (p<0.01). Similarly time to peak longitudinal strain was prolonged in the OSA group as compared to controls. Segmental analysis revealed that the longitudinal strain abnormalities were more pronounced in the apical and mid segments of LV. AHI remained the only significant predictor of GLS in these patients. CONCLUSION: Very severe OSA is associated with significant diastolic dysfunction as well as early systolic abnormalities as evidenced by abnormal global longitudinal strain. Sleep apnea severity as measured by AHI was the only significant predictor of abnormal longitudinal strain in these patients.

Transjugular balloon mitral valvotomy in a patient with severe kyphoscoliosis.

Balloon mitral valvotomy (BMV) performed by the conventional transfemoral approach can be difficult or even impossible in the presence of structural impediments such as severe kyphoscoliosis, gross cardiac anatomic distortion and inferior vena caval anomalies. A 25-year-old woman with severe thoracolumbar kyphoscoliosis due to poliomyelitis presented with symptomatic rheumatic mitral valve stenosis. After the failure of transfemoral BMV, the procedure was attempted from the right jugular access, using a modified septal puncture technique. The left atrium was entered from the jugular access and the mitral valve was crossed and dilated successfully using over the wire balloon technique. Transjugular BMV is an effective alternative in patients with kyphoscoliotic spine that preclude transfemoral approach. The detailed technique used for the procedure, its advantages as well as the other percutaneous treatment options are also discussed.

Unraveling the Mystery Behind A Patient with 'Refractory Seizures'.

Neurological manifestations such as seizures although rare are well recognized presentations of cardiac arrhythmias. Almost always, such events are primarily generalized in nature leading on to loss of consciousness. Rarely however, cardiac seizures can manifest with focal neurological events. We report a case of a sexagenarian who presented with recurrent focal seizures with secondary generalization, who was misdiagnosed and treated as seizure disorder; only a careful history and focussed investigations helped in realising a precise diagnosis.

Externalized Guidewires to Facilitate Fenestrated Endograft Deployment in the Aortic Arch.

PURPOSE: To describe a precannulated fenestrated endograft system utilizing externalized guidewires to facilitate aortic arch endovascular repair and to report its use in 2 patients with challenging anatomy. TECHNIQUE: For distal arch repair, a fenestration for the left subclavian artery (LSA) is made onsite in a standard thoracic endograft tailored to the patient anatomy; it is precannulated with a nitinol guidewire (NGw), which is passed from the femoral artery and externalized from the left brachial artery prior to endograft delivery system introduction over a parallel stiff guidewire. Steps are then taken to remove guidewire intertwining, prevent NGw wrapping around the delivery system, and orient the LSA fenestration superiorly when the delivery system moves into the arch. Gentle traction on the ends of the NGw during endograft deployment facilitates proper fenestration alignment. A covered stent is deployed in the LSA fenestration. The technique is illustrated in a patient with congenital coarctation of the aorta and descending aortic aneurysm. For total arch repair, endograft fenestrations are made for all 3 arch branches; the left common carotid artery (LCCA) and LSA fenestrations are each cannulated with NGws, which travel together from the femoral artery, pass through a LSA snare loop, and are exteriorized from the LCCA. After endograft deployment, the innominate artery fenestration is separately cannulated using right brachial access. Placement of a parallel externalized hydrophilic guidewire passing through the LCCA fenestration (but not the LSA snare loop) and removal of the LCCA fenestration NGw allows exteriorization of the LSA fenestration NGw from the left brachial artery by pulling the LSA snare. Covered stents are deployed in all 3 fenestrations. The technique is presented in a patient with type B aortic dissection. CONCLUSION: Use of the precannulated fenestrated endograft system described is feasible and has the potential to make aortic arch endovascular repair simpler, more reliable, and safer.

Transcatheter closure of direct right pulmonary artery to left atrial communication using vascular plug.

A direct right pulmonary artery to left atrial fistula is a rare congenital condition in which patients usually present with isolated cyanosis in the absence of abnormal cardiovascular findings. We report the percutaneous closure of such a defect in a young woman who presented with severe cyanosis. This was achieved without making a conventional venovenous loop and was performed using an Amplatzer vascular plug. We believe, in patients with a suitable anatomy, closure with vascular plug without a venovenous loop should be the method of choice for treating this malady in view of the technical ease.

Familial hypercholesterolemia: A review.

Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is a genetic disorder of lipoprotein metabolism resulting in elevated serum low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels leading to increased risk for premature cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). The diagnosis of this condition is based on clinical features, family history, and elevated LDL-cholesterol levels aided more recently by genetic testing. As the atherosclerotic burden is dependent on the degree and duration of exposure to raised LDL-cholesterol levels, early diagnosis and initiation of treatment is paramount. Statins are presently the mainstay in the management of these patients, although newer drugs, LDL apheresis, and other investigational therapies may play a role in certain subsets of FH, which are challenging to treat. Together these novel treatments have notably improved the prognosis of FH, especially that of the heterozygous patients. Despite these achievements, a majority of children fail to attain targeted lipid goals owing to persistent shortcomings in diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment. This review aims to highlight the screening, diagnosis, goals of therapy, and management options in patients with FH.

Complete heart block due to diphtheritic myocarditis in the present era.

Diphtheria continues to be reported from many parts of the world. Complete heart block is rare but often fatal complication of diphtheric myocarditis. We report six children with diphtheric myocarditis who presented with complete heart block. Three patients survived, one with persistent complete heart block. Aggressive supportive management including transvenous pacing may result in complete recovery in a significant number of children with diphtheric myocarditis.