The first survey of the Saudi Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry Program: Main results and long-term outcomes (STARS-1 Program).

BACKGROUND: Prior acute coronary syndrome (ACS) registries in Saudi Arabia might not have accurately described the true demographics and cardiac care of patients with ACS. We aimed to evaluate the clinical characteristics, management, and outcomes of a representative sample of patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in Saudi Arabia. METHODS: We conducted a 1-month snap-shot, prospective, multi-center registry study in 50 hospitals from various health care sectors in Saudi Arabia. We followed patients for 1 month and 1 year after hospital discharge. Patients with AMI included those with or without ST-segment elevation (STEMI or NSTEMI, respectively). This program survey will be repeated every 5 years. RESULTS: Between May 2015 and January 2017, we enrolled 2233 patients with ACS (mean age was 56 [standard deviation = 13] years; 55.6% were Saudi citizens, 85.7% were men, and 65.9% had STEMI). Coronary artery disease risk factors were high; 52.7% had diabetes mellitus and 51.2% had hypertension. Emergency Medical Services (EMS) was utilized in only 5.2% of cases. Revascularization for patients with STEMI included thrombolytic therapy (29%), primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI); (42.5%), neither (29%), or a pharmaco-invasive approach (3%). Non-Saudis with STEMI were less likely to undergo primary PCI compared to Saudis (35.8% vs. 48.7%; respectively, p <0.001), and women were less likely than men to achieve a door-to-balloon time of <90 min (42% vs. 65%; respectively, p = 0.003). Around half of the patients with NSTEMI did not undergo a coronary angiogram. All-cause mortality rates were 4%, 5.8%, and 8.1%, in-hospital, at 1 month, and at 1 year, respectively. These rates were significantly higher in women than in men. CONCLUSIONS: There is an urgent need for primary prevention programs, improving the EMS infrastructure and utilization, and establishing organized ACS network programs. AMI care needs further improvement, particularly for women and non-Saudis.

Physiological evaluation of the provisional side-branch intervention strategy for bifurcation lesions using instantaneous wave-free ratio.

BACKGROUND: The provisional side-branch intervention strategy remains the gold standard approach for repair of coronary bifurcation lesions. We performed this study to evaluate the clinical and functional outcomes of using the instantaneous wave-free ratio (iFR) for physiological assessment in provisional side-branch repair of bifurcation lesions. METHODS: Fifty patients with coronary bifurcation lesions were equally divided into two groups: (I) an iFR-guided side-branch intervention group and (II) a conventional group, in which the operator selected a different interventional method. After the procedure, we performed a six-month follow-up for postoperative ejection fraction (EF) and clinical cardiac outcomes. RESULTS: Our results showed that the iFR measurement procedure was technically feasible in bifurcation lesions, with no procedural-related complications. Moreover, measuring iFR significantly predicted the side-branch percent stenosis after stenting of the main branch (r = -0.81, p < 0.0001). Compared to the conventional group, the iFR-guided group showed a significantly shorter procedural time (MD = -14.6 min, 95% CI [-27.7, -1.4]) and hospital stay duration (MD = -0.92 days, 95% CI [-1.6, -0.28]). However, no significant differences were recorded between the iFR-guided and conventional groups in terms of postoperative EF (p = 0.9), six-month heart failure class (p = 0.89), or post-interventional angina (p = 0.066). CONCLUSION: Using iFR for physiological assessment during the provisional side-branch intervention strategy can reduce the procedural time and length of hospital stay in patients with bifurcation lesions. Larger trials should compare the clinical outcomes of iFR to other physiological assessment methods such as the fractional flow reserve (FFR) in patients with coronary bifurcation lesions. ClinicalTrials.gov number: NCT02785510.

Atrial myxoma related myocardial infarction: Case report and review of the literature.

Atrial myxomas are the commonest primary cardiac tumors and usually affect the left atrium. Patients with atrial myxomas present with intracardiac obstruction, embolization to the pulmonary and systemic circulation, or constitutional symptoms. The coronary arteries' involvement in myxomatous embolization, although rare, has been described to cause acute myocardial infarction (AMI). We report a case of atrial myxoma associated MI and present the clinical and echocardiographic features of this presentation followed by review of the English literature for the association of atrial myxomas and acute myocardial infarctions (AMI).

Very late stent thrombosis in a bare-metal stent, 9 years after implantation.

Very late bare-metal stent thrombosis occurring beyond one year after stenting is uncommon. We report a case of bare-metal stent thrombosis presenting as acute myocardial infarction. The patient's stent was implanted 9 years ago, however, he was not adherent to his antiplatelet therapy (aspirin). This case highlights the importance of antiplatelet therapy in patients with stents even many years after implantation.