Spuriously Elevated Cardiac Troponin in the Setting of Atypical Chest Pain Presentation: A Diagnostic Conundrum.

A 47-year-old woman presented with atypical chest pain and a troponin level of 30.15 ng/dl. A detailed diagnostic work-up did not detect an acute myocardial infarction but revealed the presence of heterophile antibodies. Laboratory values need to be interpreted in the context of the clinical picture when test results do not correspond to clinical findings. (Level of Difficulty: Beginner.).

Preoperative heart failure in the Medicare population undergoing mitral valve repair and replacement: an opportunity for improvement.

BACKGROUND: Elderly patients are under-represented in most surgical series of mitral valve surgery. The impact of preoperative heart failure (HF) on the outcomes of this subset has not been extensively studied. METHODS AND RESULTS: The study included 45,082 Medicare beneficiaries who underwent primary isolated mitral valve repair (MVP) (n=16,850) or replacement (MVR) (n=28,232) from 2000 to 2009. Medicare claims from the year before and the year of the index hospitalization were reviewed for documentation of HF to examine the operative mortality and long-term survival of patients with and without preoperative HF. Preoperative HF was present in 52.5% and 64.8% of patients who underwent repair and replacement, respectively. Duration of HF greater than 3 months was present in a significant proportion of patients (18.2% for MVP and 22.7% for MVR). Adjusted operative mortality was higher for patients with preoperative HF (MVP odds ratio [OR], 1.46; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.21-1.78; MVR OR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.23-1.51). Patients without preoperative HF had better long-term survival (MVP hazard ratio [HR], 2.23 [95% CI, 2.09-2.36]; MVR HR, 1.80 [95% CI, 1.73-1.86]). After adjustment, a preoperative HF diagnosis was still associated with 52% and 36% increased risk of death over the 10-year follow-up period for patients who underwent MVP and MVR, respectively. Preoperative HF duration greater than 3 months conferred an excess 28% higher risk of death on long-term follow-up compared with patients with HF less than 3 months. CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative HF is present in a large number of elderly patients undergoing primary isolated mitral valve surgery and adversely affects their short-term and long-term survival, irrespective of procedure type (repair or replacement). The study supports the early identification of elderly patients with mitral valve disease and referral to surgery before the onset of HF.

Heart failure readmission after mitral valve repair and replacement: five-year follow-up in the Medicare population.

BACKGROUND: Readmission rates are well established as a quality indicator for heart failure (HF). We analyzed HF readmission rates after mitral valve repair (MVP) and replacement (MVR). METHODS: We included 21,138 Medicare beneficiaries with primary isolated MVP (n=6,896) or MVR (n=14,242) from 2000 through 2004. Readmission rates were identified using MedPar records subsequent to the index procedure during a 5-year follow-up. Treating death as a competing risk, cumulative readmission incidences were analyzed and stratified by presence or absence of preoperative HF. RESULTS: Preoperative HF was present in 61.0% of the patients. All-cause readmission rates were 24.9% at 30 days and 78.0% at 5 years. The cumulative incidence of readmission for HF remained almost 3 times higher in patients with preoperative HF compared with those without for MVP (2.1% vs 5.9% in 30 days and 10.3% vs 26.3% in 5 years) and 2 times higher for MVR (3.6% vs 7.4% in 30 days and 15.8% vs 30.4% in 5 years). Regardless of procedure type, patients without preoperative HF had significantly lower HF readmission rates (3.0% vs 7.0% in the first 30 days and 13.6% vs 29.2% after 5 years) (p=0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Hospital readmission after mitral surgery is high. Preoperative heart failure is associated with higher postoperative readmission rates. Because admission for heart failure accounts for a significant proportion of these readmissions, close follow-up of patients with known mitral valve disease and referral to surgery prior to development of heart failure may decrease postoperative readmission rates.