Routine Functional Testing or Standard Care in High-Risk Patients after PCI.

BACKGROUND: There are limited data from randomized trials to guide a specific follow-up surveillance approach after myocardial revascularization. Whether a follow-up strategy that includes routine functional testing improves clinical outcomes among high-risk patients who have undergone percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is uncertain. METHODS: We randomly assigned 1706 patients with high-risk anatomical or clinical characteristics who had undergone PCI to a follow-up strategy of routine functional testing (nuclear stress testing, exercise electrocardiography, or stress echocardiography) at 1 year after PCI or to standard care alone. The primary outcome was a composite of death from any cause, myocardial infarction, or hospitalization for unstable angina at 2 years. Key secondary outcomes included invasive coronary angiography and repeat revascularization. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 64.7 years, 21.0% had left main disease, 43.5% had bifurcation disease, 69.8% had multivessel disease, 70.1% had diffuse long lesions, 38.7% had diabetes, and 96.4% had been treated with drug-eluting stents. At 2 years, a primary-outcome event had occurred in 46 of 849 patients (Kaplan-Meier estimate, 5.5%) in the functional-testing group and in 51 of 857 (Kaplan-Meier estimate, 6.0%) in the standard-care group (hazard ratio, 0.90; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.61 to 1.35; P = 0.62). There were no between-group differences with respect to the components of the primary outcome. At 2 years, 12.3% of the patients in the functional-testing group and 9.3% in the standard-care group had undergone invasive coronary angiography (difference, 2.99 percentage points; 95% CI, -0.01 to 5.99), and 8.1% and 5.8% of patients, respectively, had undergone repeat revascularization (difference, 2.23 percentage points; 95% CI, -0.22 to 4.68). CONCLUSIONS: Among high-risk patients who had undergone PCI, a follow-up strategy of routine functional testing, as compared with standard care alone, did not improve clinical outcomes at 2 years. (Funded by the CardioVascular Research Foundation and Daewoong Pharmaceutical; POST-PCI ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT03217877.).

Comparison of Factors Associated With Direct Versus Transferred-in Admission to Government-Designated Regional Centers Between Acute Ischemic Stroke and Myocardial Infarction in Korea.

BACKGROUND: There has been no comparison of the determinants of admission route between acute ischemic stroke (AIS) and acute myocardial infarction (AMI). We examined whether factors associated with direct versus transferred-in admission to regional cardiocerebrovascular centers (RCVCs) differed between AIS and AMI. METHODS: Using a nationwide RCVC registry, we identified consecutive patients presenting with AMI and AIS between July 2016 and December 2018. We explored factors associated with direct admission to RCVCs in patients with AIS and AMI and examined whether those associations differed between AIS and AMI, including interaction terms between each factor and disease type in multivariable models. To explore the influence of emergency medical service (EMS) paramedics on hospital selection, stratified analyses according to use of EMS were also performed. RESULTS: Among the 17,897 and 8,927 AIS and AMI patients, 66.6% and 48.2% were directly admitted to RCVCs, respectively. Multivariable analysis showed that previous coronary heart disease, prehospital awareness, higher education level, and EMS use increased the odds of direct admission to RCVCs, but the odds ratio (OR) was different between AIS and AMI (for the first 3 factors, AMI > AIS; for EMS use, AMI < AIS). EMS use was the single most important factor for both AIS and AMI (OR, 4.72 vs. 3.90). Hypertension and hyperlipidemia increased, while living alone decreased the odds of direct admission only in AMI; additionally, age (65-74 years), previous stroke, and presentation during non-working hours increased the odds only in AIS. EMS use weakened the associations between direct admission and most factors in both AIS and AMI. CONCLUSIONS: Various patient factors were differentially associated with direct admission to RCVCs between AIS and AMI. Public education for symptom awareness and use of EMS is essential in optimizing the transportation and hospitalization of patients with AMI and AIS.

Heart failure with mid-range ejection fraction and the effect of ß-blockers after acute myocardial infarction.

There is currently an ongoing debate about the 'grey area' of heart failure with mid-range ejection fraction (HFmrEF). We evaluated characteristics, prognosis, and the effect of ß-blockers on clinical outcomes in patients with HFmrEF after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). We included a total of 10,785 patients and divided them into three groups: EF 40-49% (HFmrEF; n = 2717; reference); EF < 40% (reduced EF [HFrEF]; n = 1194); and EF ≥ 50% (preserved EF [HFpEF]; n = 6874). The primary outcome was 2-year all-cause mortality. HFmrEF was intermediate between HFrEF and HFpEF for baseline characteristics. The risk of all-cause mortality was lower for HFmrEF patients compared to HFrEF patients (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 0.710; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.544-0.927; P = 0.012). However, HFmrEF patients tended to be at higher risk for 2-year all-cause mortality than HFpEF patients (adjusted HR 1.235; 95% CI 0.989-1.511; P = 0.090). ß-blockers were associated with reductions in all-cause mortality for the entire cohort (adjusted HR 0.760; 95% CI 0.592-0.975; P = 0.031). ß-blockers were effective in patients with HFrEF (adjusted HR 0.667; 95% CI 0.471-0.944; P = 0.022), tended to be effective in patients with HFmrEF (adjusted HR 0.665; 95% CI 0.426-1.038; P = 0.072), but not effective in patients with HFpEF (adjusted HR 0.852; 95% CI 0.548-1.326; P = 0.478; interaction P = 0.026). In conclusion, clinical profiles and prognosis of patients with post-AMI HFmrEF are largely intermediate between HFrEF and HFpEF. ß-blockers reduced or tended to reduce 2-year all-cause mortality in patients with HFrEF or HFmrEF, respectively, but not those with HFpEF after AMI.

Clinically Significant Bleeding With Ticagrelor Versus Clopidogrel in Korean Patients With Acute Coronary Syndromes Intended for Invasive Management: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

BACKGROUND: Owing to the differential propensity for bleeding and ischemic events with response to antiplatelet therapy, the safety and effectiveness of potent P2Y12 inhibitor ticagrelor in East Asian populations remain uncertain. METHODS: In this multicenter trial, 800 Korean patients hospitalized for acute coronary syndromes with or without ST elevation and intended for invasive management were randomly assigned to receive, in a 1:1 ratio, ticagrelor (180 mg loading dose, 90 mg twice daily thereafter) or clopidogrel (600 mg loading dose, 75 mg daily thereafter). The primary safety outcome was clinically significant bleeding (a composite of major bleeding or minor bleeding according to PLATO (Platelet Inhibition and Patient Outcomes) criteria at 12 months. RESULTS: At 12 months, the incidence of clinically significant bleeding was significantly higher in the ticagrelor group than in the clopidogrel group (11.7% [45/400] vs 5.3% [21/400]; hazard ratio [HR], 2.26; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.34 to 3.79; P=0.002). The incidences of major bleeding (7.5% [29/400] vs 4.1% [16/400], P=0.04) and fatal bleeding (1% [4/400] vs 0%, P=0.04) were also higher in the ticagrelor group. The incidence of death from cardiovascular causes, myocardial infarction, or stroke was not significantly different between the ticagrelor group and the clopidogrel group (9.2% [36/400] vs 5.8% [23/400]; HR, 1.62; 95% CI, 0.96 to 2.74; P=0.07). Overall safety and effectiveness findings were similar with the use of several different analytic methods and in multiple subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: In Korean acute coronary syndrome patients intended to receive early invasive management, standard-dose ticagrelor as compared with clopidogrel was associated with a higher incidence of clinically significant bleeding. The numerically higher incidence of ischemic events should be interpreted with caution, given the present trial was underpowered to draw any conclusion regarding efficacy. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT02094963.

Randomized Trial Evaluating Percutaneous Coronary Intervention for the Treatment of Chronic Total Occlusion.

BACKGROUND: Procedural results for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in coronary vessels with chronic total occlusion (CTO) have improved in recent years, and PCI strategies have moved toward more complete revascularization with more liberal use of CTO-PCI. However, evidence evaluating CTO-PCI is limited to observational studies and small clinical trials. METHODS: In this open-label, multicenter, randomized, noninferiority trial, PCI-eligible patients were assigned to receive either 1 of 2 strategies: PCI or no PCI for the qualifying de novo CTO lesion with the option for PCI of obstructive non-CTO lesions at the discretion of the operator. The primary end point was a composite of death, myocardial infarction, stroke, or any revascularization. Health-related quality of life was assessed at baseline and at 1, 6, 12, 24, and 36 months. Because of slow recruitment, the trial was stopped before completion of the 1284 planned enrollments. RESULTS: Between March 2010 and September 2016, 834 patients were randomly assigned to the CTO-PCI (n=417) or no CTO-PCI (n=398) strategy. Among the patients assigned to the no CTO-PCI strategy, 78 (19.6%) crossed over to receive staged CTO-PCI within 3 days of randomization. The overall CTO-PCI success rate was 90.6%. Serious nonfatal complications associated with CTO-PCI occurred in 3 patients (1 stroke, 1 cardiac tamponade, and 1 patient with recurrent episodes of ventricular tachyarrhythmia induced by intracoronary thrombus). Approximately half of the patients in each group underwent PCI for an average of 1.3 non-CTO lesions, resulting in a comparable residual SYNTAX score (Synergy Between PCI With TAXUS and Cardiac Surgery; 3.7±5.4 versus 4.0±5.9, P=0.42) confined to non-CTO vessels. During a median follow-up of 4.0 years (interquartile range, 2.4 to 5.1 years), there was no significant difference between the CTO-PCI and the no CTO-PCI strategies in the incidence of the primary end point (22.3% versus 22.4%, hazard ratio, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.77 to 1.37; P=0.86). Both CTO-PCI and no CTO-PCI strategy were associated with significant improvements but without between-group differences in disease-specific health status that was sustained through 36 months. CONCLUSIONS: CTO-PCI was feasible with high success rates. There was no difference in the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events with CTO-PCI versus no CTO-PCI, but the study was limited by low power for clinical end points and high crossover rates between groups. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier: NCT01078051.

Pragmatic trial comparing routine versus no routine functional testing in high-risk patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention: Rationale and design of POST-PCI trial.

BACKGROUND: Although the need to detect restenosis has diminished in the contemporary practice of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with drug-eluting stents (DES), the surveillance of ischemia owing to restenosis or disease progression deserves attention in high-risk PCI settings. It is unknown whether follow-up strategy of routine noninvasive functional testing potentially reduces the risk of major cardiovascular events in high-risk PCI patients. METHODS: The POST-PCI study is an investigator-initiated, multicenter, prospective randomized trial comparing the effectiveness of two follow-up strategies in patients with high-risk anatomic or clinical characteristics who underwent PCI. Study participants were randomly assigned to either (1) the routine noninvasive stress testing (exercise electrocardiography, nuclear stress imaging, or stress echocardiography) at 12 months post-PCI or (2) the standard-care without routine testing. In the routine stress testing group, depending on the testing results, all clinical decisions regarding subsequent diagnostic or therapeutic procedures were at the treating physician's discretion. The primary endpoint was a composite outcome of death from any causes, myocardial infarction, or hospitalization for unstable angina at 2 years post-PCI. RESULTS: More than 1700 high-risk PCI patients have been randomized over 2.0 years at 11 major cardiac centers in Korea. CONCLUSION: This pragmatic POST-PCI trial will provide valuable clinical evidence on the effectiveness of follow-up strategy of routine noninvasive stress testing in high-risk PCI patients.

Fractional Flow Reserve and Cardiac Events in Coronary Artery Disease: Data From a Prospective IRIS-FFR Registry (Interventional Cardiology Research Incooperation Society Fractional Flow Reserve).

BACKGROUND: We evaluated the prognosis of deferred and revascularized coronary stenoses after fractional flow reserve (FFR) measurement to assess its revascularization threshold in clinical practice. METHODS: The IRIS-FFR registry (Interventional Cardiology Research In-cooperation Society Fractional Flow Reserve) prospectively enrolled 5846 patients with ≥1coronary lesion with FFR measurement. Revascularization was deferred in 6468 lesions and performed in 2165 lesions after FFR assessment. The primary end point was major adverse cardiac events (cardiac death, myocardial infarction, and repeat revascularization) at a median follow-up of 1.9 years and analyzed on a per-lesion basis. A marginal Cox model accounted for correlated data in patients with multiple lesions, and a model to predict per-lesion outcomes was adjusted for confounding factors. RESULTS: For deferred lesions, the risk of major adverse cardiac events demonstrated a significant, inverse relationship with FFR (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.06; 95% confidence interval, 1.05-1.08; P<0.001). However, this relationship was not observed in revascularized lesions (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.00; 95% confidence interval, 0.98-1.02; P=0.70). For lesions with FFR ≥0.76, the risk of major adverse cardiac events was not significantly different between deferred and revascularized lesions. Conversely, in lesions with FFR ≤0.75, the risk of major adverse cardiac events was significantly lower in revascularized lesions than in deferred lesions (for FFR 0.71-0.75, adjusted hazard ratio, 0.47; 95% confidence interval, 0.24-0.89; P=0.021; for FFR ≤0.70, adjusted hazard ratio 0.47; 95% confidence interval, 0.26-0.84; P=0.012). CONCLUSIONS: This large, prospective registry showed that the FFR value was linearly associated with the risk of cardiac events in deferred lesions. In addition, revascularization for coronary artery stenosis with a low FFR (≤0.75) was associated with better outcomes than the deferral, whereas for a stenosis with a high FFR (≥0.76), medical treatment would be a reasonable and safe treatment strategy. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01366404.

Impaired left ventricular diastolic function is related to the formation of left ventricular apical thrombus in patients with acute anterior myocardial infarction.

Left ventricular (LV) apical thrombus is a clinically important complication which can cause systemic embolization in patients with anterior acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Systolic dysfunction has been a risk factor for developing LV apical thrombus in AMI patients. However, the role of diastolic dysfunction in the development of LV apical thrombus in these patients is still unknown. We performed this study to evaluate whether diastolic dysfunction can influence the development of LV apical thrombus in anterior AMI patients. We retrospectively analyzed all consecutive anterior AMI patients with available echocardiographic images within 1 month from January 2005 to April 2016. After gathering clinical characteristics from their medical records, systolic and diastolic functions were analyzed from digitally stored echocardiographic images. We included a total of 1045 patients (748 males, mean age 64 ± 12 years) with anterior AMI, and 494 (47%) were diagnosed as STEMI. The incidence of LV apical thrombus was 3.3% (34/1045). The LV apical thrombus group had larger LV diastolic dimension, larger LV diastolic and systolic volumes, and lower LVEF than the no LV thrombus group. The LV apical thrombus group showed higher mitral E velocity over mitral annular E' velocity ratio, an indicator of LV end-diastolic pressure (P < 0.001). In the LV apical thrombus group, the incidence of grade 2 diastolic dysfunction (32 vs 12%, P = 0.001) and grade 3 diastolic dysfunction (26 vs 2%, P < 0.001) were significantly higher than in the no LV apical thrombus group. The presence of more than grade 2 diastolic dysfunction, LVEF and presence of LV apical aneurysm were statistically significant factors associated with LV apical thrombus after the multivariate analysis. In conclusion, along with LV systolic dysfunction and LV apical aneurysm, LV diastolic dysfunction was also related with the presence of LV apical thrombus in patients with anterior AMI.

Intrinsic changes of left ventricular function in patients with Behçet disease and comparison according to systemic disease activity.

PURPOSE: Although cardiac manifestation of Behçet disease (BD) has been described in sporadic reports, its timely diagnosis remains difficult. The objective of this study was to describe early cardiac manifestations of BD. We also performed a comprehensive classification of systemic BD activity and compared their cardiac manifestations. METHODS: A prospective screening using speckle tracking echocardiography was performed in 85 patients with BD who had no history of heart disease. After excluding subjects with left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (LVEF) <50% (n = 1), atrial fibrillation (n = 2), or inadequate echocardiographic images (n = 1), we analyzed their clinical and echocardiographic parameters including LV global longitudinal strains (GLS) and compared them with those of an age- and gender-matched control group (n = 145). Systemic BD activity was classified as minimal (Group A), controlled (Group B), and active (Group C). RESULTS: In 81 study patients (59 females, age of 51 ± 11 years), echocardiography revealed a mean LVEF of 64 ± 5% without any significant valvular dysfunction or aortic aneurysm. Although there was no difference in LVEF between the control group and the patient group, the patient group showed significant reduction in GLS (-17.1 ± 2.9% vs -20.8 ± 2.2%, P < .001). Groups A (n = 21, 26%), B (n = 47, 58%), and C (n = 13, 58%) consistently showed reduction in GLS compared with the control group. However, there was no significant difference in cardiac manifestations among these groups according to systemic disease activity. CONCLUSION: Patients with BD present intrinsic LV dysfunction despite no apparent abnormality on routine echocardiography. However, their cardiac manifestations are not proportional to systemic BD activity.

Extracorporeal CPR and intra-aortic balloon pumping in tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy complicating cardiac arrest.

Although tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy (TIC) due to atrial fibrillation occurs frequently, it is under-recognized in clinical settings. TIC has a wide range of clinical manifestations, from asymptomatic tachycardia to cardiomyopathy leading to end stage heart failure. We present a case of a 48year-old-woman who presented as cardiogenic shock, and rapidly progressed to cardiac arrest from recently diagnosed but undertreated atrial fibrillation, resulting TIC in the emergency department (ED). She was rescued by extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (E-CPR) for refractory cardiac arrest in the ED, and received concomitant intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation (IABP) support for severe left ventricular failure. Cardiogenic shock can present as an initial manifestation of TIC, and E-CPR and subsequent IABP support can be a valuable rescue therapy for severe TIC.

Brachial-ankle PWV for predicting clinical outcomes in patients with acute stroke.

BACKGROUND: Although brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) is well-known for predicting the cardiovascular mortality and morbidity, its anticipated value is not demonstrated well concerning acute stroke. METHODS: Total 1557 patients with acute stroke who performed baPWV were enrolled. We evaluated the prognostic value of baPWV predicting all-cause death and vascular death in patients with acute stroke Results: Highest quartile of baPWV was ≥23.64 m/s. All-caused deaths (including vascular death; 71) were 109 patients during follow-up periods (median 905 days). Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that patients with the highest quartile of baPWV had higher risk for vascular death when they are compared with patients with all other three quartiles of baPWV (Hazard ratio with 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.879 [1.022-3.456], p = .042 for vascular death). CONCLUSION: High baPWV was a strong prognostic value of vascular death in patients with acute stroke.

The Curves Exercise Suppresses Endotoxemia in Korean Women with Obesity.

Obesity and metabolic syndrome is a worldwide pandemic and associated with high cardiovascular risk. Metabolic endotoxemia (ME) is thought to be an underlying molecular mechanism. It triggers toll-like receptor 4-mediated inflammatory adipokines and causes a chronic low grade inflammatory status, which results in cardiovascular risk increase. Exercise is the best nonpharmacological treatment to improve prognosis. In this study, we examined the circulating endotoxin level in Korean obese women and investigated effects of exercise on it. Women over body mass index (BMI) 25 kg/m² participated in a resistance training exercise, Curves. At baseline and after 12 weeks exercise, tests including blood samples were taken. In Korean obese women, the fasting endotoxin was 1.45 ± 0.11 EU/mL. Ingestion of a high calorie meal led to a peak level after 2 hours (postprandial 2 hours [PP2]) and a significant rise over the 4 hours (postprandial 4 hours [PP4]) in it (1.78 ± 0.15 and 1.75 ± 0.14 EU/mL for PP2 and PP4, P < 0.05 vs. fasting). After exercise, BMI and hip circumference were reduced significantly. The total cholesterol (TC) at fasting, PP2 and PP4 were decreased significantly. All levels of circulating endotoxin at fasting, PP2 and PP4 showed reduction. But, the peak change was only significant (baseline vs. 12 weeks for PP2; 1.78 ± 0.15 vs. 1.48 ± 0.06 EU/mL, P < 0.05). We report the circulating endotoxin level in Korean obese women for the first time. Also, we establish that energy intake leads to endotoxemia and exercise suppresses the peak endotoxemia after meal. It suggests an impact for a better prognosis in obese women who follow regular exercise.

Nafamostat mesilate promotes endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation via the Akt-eNOS dependent pathway.

Nafamostat mesilate (NM), a synthetic serine protease inhibitor, has anticoagulant and anti-inflammatory properties. The intracellular mediator and external anti-inflammatory external signal in the vascular wall have been reported to protect endothelial cells, in part due to nitric oxide (NO) production. This study was designed to examine whether NM exhibit endothelium dependent vascular relaxation through Akt/endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) activation and generation of NO. NM enhanced Akt/eNOS phosphorylation and NO production in a dose- and time-dependent manner in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and aorta tissues obtained from rats treated with various concentrations of NM. NM concomitantly decreased arginase activity, which could increase the available arginine substrate for NO production. Moreover, we investigated whether NM increased NO bioavailability and decreased aortic relaxation response to an eNOS inhibitor in the aorta. These results suggest that NM increases NO generation via the Akt/eNOS signaling pathway, leading to endothelium-dependent vascular relaxation. Therefore, the vasorelaxing action of NM may contribute to the regulation of cardiovascular function.

Thread-like Bone Cement in the Right-side Heart and Pulmonary Arteries Causing Diffuse Pulmonary Embolism as a Late Complication.

Pulmonary embolism (PE) is usually associated with deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in the lower extremities. However, foreign bodies in the pulmonary arteries can rarely cause PE without evidence of DVT. In this report, we present a case of diffuse PE associated with a migrated thread-like structure of the right-side heart and pulmonary arteries in a 70 year-old woman. The patient underwent several episodes of percutaneous vertebroplasty (PV) to treat compression fractures. The thread-like foreign bodies were identified as the bone cement injected during the previous PV procedures. We present this case study to emphasise that clinicians should consider the possibility of PE as a late complication, especially those with a history of PV.

Reverse dipper and high night-time heart rate in acute stage of cerebral infarction are associated with increased mortality.

BACKGROUND: Reverse dipper, blood pressure (BP) rises during night-time, is a risk factor of increased cardiovascular events in hypertensive patients. However, we have little information whether reverse dipper in acute stage of cerebral infarction (CI) affects on the recurrence and mortality. We studied to assess the relationship between reverse dipper and adverse clinical outcomes in the acute stage of CI. METHODS: We screened and enrolled consecutive patients with acute CI with ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) within 2 weeks after admission from August 2001 to July 2005. According to systolic blood pressure (SBP) dropping pattern during night-time compared with daytime, we classified into extreme dipper (≥20%), dipper (≥10%, <20%), nondipper (≥0%, <10%), and reverse dipper (BP rises during night-time). RESULTS: We analyzed 426 patients (72 ± 13 years old, 255 men) and checked recurrence of CI or all-cause mortality for further 7.6 ± 3.1 years for checking of recurrence or all-cause mortality. Of 426 patients, 202 patients were nondippers (47%), 134 were reverse dippers (32%), 80 were dippers (19%), and 10 were extreme dippers (2%). During the follow-up period, 89 patients (21%) had recurrence of CI. After multivariate analysis, daytime SBP (hazard ratio = 1.014, P = .018) was the significant predictor of recurrence. There were 141 deaths (33%) in our study cohort. Multivariate analysis showed that age (hazard ratio = 1.106, P < .001), nocturnal mean heart rate (hazard ratio = 1.023, P = .004), and reverse dipper (hazard ratio = 1. 676, P = .007) were statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Reverse dipper and high night-time heart rate in the acute stage of CI were associated with total mortality during long-term follow-up. These findings suggest the clinical utility of ABPM in acute stage of CI.

Intracranial hemodynamic stabilization patterns after stenting of severe stenosis in the proximal internal carotid artery.

PURPOSE: To evaluate intracranial hemodynamic stabilization patterns after carotid artery stenting (CAS) in patients having variable collateral developments before CAS. METHODS: The hemodynamic and angiographic data of 62 patients (58 men; mean age 68.0±8.4 years) who underwent CAS for unilateral proximal internal carotid artery stenosis were analyzed. The patients had transcranial Doppler examinations before and at 1 and 90 days after CAS. Patients were classified according to pre-CAS mean blood flow velocity (MBFV) of the ipsilateral middle cerebral artery (MCA): low (<30 cm/s; n=17), normal (30 to 48 cm/s; n=26), or high (>48 cm/s; n=19). The collaterals from contralateral anterior and/or posterior circulations prior to CAS, the stabilization pattern of MBFV, and the pulsatility index (PI) after CAS were compared across the 3 groups. RESULTS: The presence of collaterals was lowest in the low MBFV group (17.6% of patients) than in the normal (38.5%) or high (68.4%) MBFV groups (p=0.008). The low MBFV group exhibited an increase in MBFV and PI in the ipsilateral MCA at 1 and 90 days after CAS (p<0.05). By contrast, the high MBFV group exhibited a decrease in MBFV and no change in PI in the ipsilateral MCA up to 90 days after CAS (p<0.05). The normal MBFV group showed an increase in MBFV at post-CAS day 1 but a subsequent decrease at 90 days and an increase in PI in the ipsilateral MCA at 1 and 90 days post-CAS (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The pattern of post-CAS intracranial hemodynamic stabilization differs according to the pre-CAS MBFV in the ipsilateral MCA.

Oral sarpogrelate can improve endothelial dysfunction as effectively as oral cilostazol, with fewer headaches, in active young male smokers.

Sarpogrelate and cilostazol are two commonly used adjunctive antiplatelet agents that also can be used to improve endothelial dysfunction. We compared the effects of sarpogrelate and cilostazol on endothelial dysfunction in active male smokers with flow-mediated dilatation (FMD). We enrolled and compared baseline and follow-up FMD in 20 young male smokers without any known cardiovascular diseases. Two participants who were initially medicated with cilostazol dropped out because of severe headache after taking medication. However, they continued the other experiment with sarpogrelate medication. Baseline endothelium-dependent dilatation (EDD) after reactive hyperemia was 7.5 % ± 1.9 % and endothelium-independent dilatation (EID) after sublingual administration of nitroglycerin was 13.3 % ± 3.4 %. After a 2-week treatment of cilostazol, follow-up EDD significantly increased (7.7 % ± 1.9 to 8.8 ± 2.0 %, P = 0.016), but follow-up EID changed insignificantly (13.2 % ± 3.5 to 12.5 % ± 3.9 %, P = 0.350). With the sarpogrelate treatment, follow-up EDD was significantly increased (7.4 % ± 1.9 % to 8.8 % ± 1.9 %, P = 0.021), but follow-up EID was similar (13.5 % ± 3.5 to 14.0 % ± 3.2 %, P = 0.427). There was no clinical significance between the two groups on follow-up EDD and EID (P = 0.984 and 0.212, respectively). However, the mean score of intensity of headache was significantly higher in the cilostazol group than in the sarpogrelate group (3.8 % ± 2.5 % vs 1.4 % ± 2.2 %, P = 0.005). EDD showed a similar significant increase with 2-week treatment of cilostazol and sarpogrelate. However, intensity of headaches was significantly higher in the cilostazol group.

Prasugrel-Based De-Escalation in Patients With Acute Coronary Syndrome According to Renal Function.

Background: Patients with coronary artery disease and impaired renal function are at higher risk for both bleeding and ischemic adverse events after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Objectives: This study assessed the efficacy and safety of a prasugrel-based de-escalation strategy in patients with impaired renal function. Methods: We conducted a post hoc analysis of the HOST-REDUCE-POLYTECH-ACS study. Patients with available estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) (n = 2,311) were categorized into 3 groups. (high eGFR: >90 mL/min; intermediate eGFR: 60 to 90 mL/min; and low eGFR: <60 mL/min). The end points were bleeding outcomes (Bleeding Academic Research Consortium type 2 or higher), ischemic outcomes (cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, stent thrombosis, repeated revascularization, and ischemic stroke), and net adverse clinical event (including any clinical event) at 1-year follow-up. Results: Prasugrel de-escalation was beneficial regardless of baseline renal function (P for interaction = 0.508). The relative reduction in bleeding risk from prasugrel de-escalation was higher in the low eGFR group than in both the intermediate and high eGFR groups (relative reductions, respectively: 64% (HR: 0.36; 95% CI: 0.15-0.83) vs 50% (HR: 0.50; 95% CI: 0.28-0.90) and 52% (HR: 0.48; 95% CI: 0.21-1.13) (P for interaction = 0.646). Ischemic risk from prasgurel de-escalation was not significant in all eGFR groups (HR: 1.18 [95% CI: 0.47-2.98], HR: 0.95 [95% CI: 0.53-1.69], and HR: 0.61 [95% CI: 0.26-1.39]) (P for interaction = 0.119). Conclusions: In patients with acute coronary syndrome receiving PCI, prasugrel dose de-escalation was beneficial regardless of the baseline renal function.

Randomized comparison of everolimus-eluting stent versus sirolimus-eluting stent implantation for de novo coronary artery disease in patients with diabetes mellitus (ESSENCE-DIABETES): results from the ESSENCE-DIABETES trial.

BACKGROUND: Drug-eluting stents significantly improved angiographic and clinical outcomes compared with bare metal stents in diabetic patients. However, a comparison of everolimus-eluting stents and sirolimus-eluting stents in diabetic patients has not been evaluated. Therefore we compared effectiveness of everolimus-eluting stents and sirolimus-eluting stents in patients with diabetes mellitus. METHODS AND RESULTS: This prospective, multicenter, randomized study compared everolimus-eluting stent (n=149) and sirolimus-eluting stent (n=151) implantation in diabetic patients. The primary end point was noninferiority of angiographic in-segment late loss at 8 months. Clinical events were also monitored for at least 12 months. Everolimus-eluting stents were noninferior to sirolimus-eluting stents for 8-month in-segment late loss (0.23 ± 0.27 versus 0.37 ± 0.52 mm; difference, -0.13 mm; 95% confidence interval, -0.25 to -0.02; upper 1-sided 95% confidence interval, -0.04; P<0.001 for noninferiority), with reductions in in-stent restenosis (0% versus 4.7%; P=0.029) and in-segment restenosis (0.9% versus 6.5%; P=0.035). However, in-stent late loss (0.11 ± 0.26 versus 0.20 ± 0.49 mm; P=0.114) was not statistically different between the 2 groups. At 12 months, ischemia-driven target lesion revascularization (0.7% versus 2.6%; P=0.317), death (1.3% versus 3.3%; P=0.448), and myocardial infarction (0% versus 1.3%; P=0.498) were not statistically different between the 2 groups. Major adverse cardiac events, including death, myocardial infarction, and ischemia-driven target lesion revascularization (2.0% versus 5.3%; P=0.218), were also not statistically different between the 2 groups. CONCLUSION: Everolimus-eluting stents were noninferior to sirolimus-eluting stents in reducing in-segment late loss and reduced angiographic restenosis at 8 months in patients with diabetes mellitus and coronary artery disease.

Gender Differences in All-Cause Mortality after Acute Myocardial Infarction: Evidence for a Gender-Age Interaction.

Gender difference studies in mortality after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) have shown inconsistent results. A total of 13,104 patients from the KAMIR-NIH between November 2011 and December 2015 were classified into young (n = 3837 [29.3%]) and elderly (n = 9267 [70.7%]) patients. For the study, women <65 and men <55 years of age were considered "young". In the adjusted model of the entire cohort, there was no significant difference in three-year all-cause mortality between women and men (17.8% vs. 10.3%; adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 0.953; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.799-1.137). However, when the entire cohort was subdivided into two age groups, young women showed an 84.3% higher mortality rate than young men (adjusted HR, 1.843; 95% CI, 1.098-3.095). Contrariwise, elderly women patients had a 20.4% lower hazard of mortality compared with elderly men (adjusted HR, 0.796; 95% CI, 0.682-0.929). The interaction of gender with age was significant, even after multiple adjustments (adjusted p for interaction = 0.003). The purpose of this study was to assess whether gender differences depend on the patients' age. Based on our analysis, higher mortality of young women remains even in the contemporary era of AMI. A better understanding of the mechanisms underlying these differences is warranted.