[Cardiologist training in Chile and contributions from the Chilean Society of Cardiology and Cardiovascular Surgery]. / Formación del cardiólogo en Chile y contribuciones desde la Sociedad Chilena de Cardiología y Cirugía Cardiovascular.

The Chilean Society of Cardiology and Cardiovascular Surgery (SOCHICAR) is a scientific society whose mission is to improve the nation's cardiovascular health. Its primary goals include discussing issues affecting the specialty and engaging in various activities that support its advancement. To achieve these goals, numerous educational initiatives are undertaken for health professionals, including physicians in cardiology training programs. Training specialists in Chile is the responsibility of the universities, which design the curriculum and plan the program according to the graduate profile. SOCHICAR seeks to integrate these new generations of cardiologists, setting up tasks that contribute to their training. It seemed relevant to us to state our position as a Scientific Society in importants aspects related to this process: the graduate profile of the clinical cardiologist, the necessary competencies for their performance nationally, the identification of deficient areas in their training period, and the Society's contributions to this university-dependent process. A total of 15 cardiologists from SOCHICAR, at different stages of professional development, various geographic areas, and areas of performance and functions, were invited to participate in three working groups. This SOCHICAR position statement may be useful and an important source of information to be considered by authorities, accrediting entities, training centers, and the Chilean Society of Cardiology.

Clinical outcome and quality of life of patients surviving 20 years or longer after heart transplantation.

To evaluate outcome and quality of life (QoL) in ≥ 20 years survivors after heart transplantation. Patients surviving ≥ 20 years with a single graft were retrospectively reviewed. Heterotopic, multiorgan and retransplantations were excluded. QoL was evaluated using the SF-36 survey. Eight hundred and twenty-seven heart transplants were performed from 1981 to 1993, and among these, 131 (16%) patients survived ≥ 20 years; 98 (75%) were male and mean age at transplant was 43 ± 13 years. Conditional survival in these 20 years survivors was 74.1 ± 4.3% at 23 years and 60.9 ± 5.3% at 25 years (45 deaths, 34%). Forty-four (34%) patients suffered rejection ≥ 2R. Conditional survival free from rejection ≥ 2R was 68 ± 4.1% at 5 years and 66.4 ± 4.2% at 10 years. Thirty-five (27%) patients had cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) grade 2-3. Conditional CAV-free survival was 76 ± 3.8% at 20 years and 72.1 ± 4% at 25. Sixty-nine (53%) patients developed malignancy, mostly skin cancers. Conditional malignancy-free survival was 53.5 ± 4.4% at 20 years and 45.2 ± 4.6% at 25 years. At latest follow-up, 24.0 ± 3.0 years after transplantation, mean left ventricular ejection fraction was 62 ± 11% and mean physical and mental scores were 57 ± 23 and 58 ± 21, respectively. Sixteen per cent of heart recipients survived ≥ 20 years with good ventricular performance and QoL. CAV and malignancies account for late morbidity and mortality.

Multislice computed tomography to rule out coronary allograft vasculopathy in heart transplant patients.

BACKGROUND: This study assessed if invasive coronary angiogram (CA) could be replaced by multislice (64- or 256-row) computed tomography (MSCT) to systematically rule out coronary allograft vasculopathy in heart transplant patients. METHODS: Electrocardiogram-gated contrast-enhanced MSCT (64-row for the first 25 patients and 256-row for the others) was compared with CA. MSCT parameters, adapted to the patient's weight, included 120 kV, 800 mAs, 0.625-mm slice thickness, and 0.42/0.27-second rotation time. The primary end point was the negative predictive value (NPV) of MSCT for the detection of significant (>50%) coronary stenosis. Secondary end points were the comparison of X-ray (mSv) and iodine contrast agent (ml) exposures. RESULTS: The study prospectively included 102 patients (mean age, 53±14 years). Transplantation occurred 6±5 years before inclusion. At CA, 41.8% had stenosis ≤50% and 8% had stenosis>50%. Among the 1,308 angiographic coronary segments ≥1.5 mm, 1,250 (95.6%) were evaluable by MSCT. The NPV of MSCT was 96.6% by patient analysis and 99.7% by segment analysis. The positive predictive value (PPV) was 45.5%. The total volume of contrast agent was 139±43 vs 91±12 vs 56±19 ml (p<0.05) with 64-row MSCT, 256-row MSCT, and CA, respectively. The effective radiation dose was higher using retrospective gating (17.8±5.5 mSv, p<0.05), but similar with prospective gating (6.2±1.9 mSv, p = 0.571) compared with CA (6.0±3.5 mSv). CONCLUSION: Newer generations of MSCT (64- or 256-row) have a good NPV and may represent an alternative to invasive CA to rule out significant (>50%) coronary vasculopathy in heart transplant patients, despite a low PPV.

Long-term outcome after bare-metal or drug-eluting stenting for allograft coronary artery disease.

BACKGROUND: Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with bare-metal stenting (BMS) has been reported to be associated with high rates of target-lesion revascularization (TLR) in heart transplant recipients. We aimed to assess the outcome of successful PCI with BMS or drug-eluting stenting (DES) in such patients. METHODS: Ninety-four consecutive heart transplant recipients with successful PCI of de novo lesions with BMS (n = 53) or DES (n = 60) were prospectively followed-up for 3.7 +/- 2.5 years after PCI. An angiographic lesion-based analysis at 12-month follow-up and a long-term, patient-based survival analysis were performed. RESULTS: The lesion-based analysis within 12 months after PCI showed a reduction of TLR rates with the use of DES (6.6% vs 26.4%, p < 0.01). DES were associated with better preservation of left ventricular function at this time-point. The patient-based, long-term analysis showed sustained local benefit of DES (hazard ratio 4.5 [1.4 to 14.5] for BMS vs DES), but no effect on mortality, remote-site PCI and total revascularization rates. Anti-hypertensive (hazard ratio 0.2 [0.1 to 0.5]) and aspirin (hazard ratio 0.3 [0.1 to 0.8]) therapy, and left ventricular ejection fraction (0.96 [0.94 to 0.98] per percent) were the only correlates of long-term mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with BMS, DES are associated with a sustained reduction in rates of TLR and could safely be used in heart transplant recipients with coronary artery disease. Despite excellent local effects, DES use failed to reduce mortality. Anti-hypertensive and anti-platelet therapy, and left ventricular function preservation, may be considered as aims of treatment to improve long-term survival in such patients.