The role of radionuclide imaging in heart failure.

The incidence of heart failure (HF) is increasing and it remains the only area in cardiovascular disease wherein hospitalization rates and mortalities have worsened in the past 25 years. This review is provided to assess the role of radionuclide imaging in HF. The focus is on three aspects: the value of nuclear imaging to distinguish ischemic from non-ischemic etiologies; risk stratification of patients with HF with evaluation of candidates for specific treatment strategies; and the role of cardiac neuronal imaging in patients with HF. Distinguishing ischemic from non-ischemic cardiomyopathy is important because patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy can potentially have dramatic improvement with revascularization. Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) has excellent reported sensitivity and negative predictive value in the detection of coronary artery disease in HF patients. SPECT imaging is also useful in establishing treatment strategies in patients with HF, including those with new onset CHF. Cardiac neuronal imaging of mIBG is particularly helpful in risk stratification of patients with HF. The modality can be used to monitor the response to therapy as dysfunctional mIBG uptake may show improvement with pharmacological treatment.

Major adverse cardiac events among postpercutaneous coronary intervention patients on clopidogrel and proton pump inhibitors.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if concomitant use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and clopidogrel is associated with adverse events among postpercutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) patients. METHODS: This is a single-center, retrospective case-control study of 3,287 consecutive patients on clopidogrel who underwent PCI. Univariate and multivariate analyses determined if concomitant PPI and clopidogrel use was associated with major adverse cardiac events (MACE). RESULTS: There were significantly more deaths (3.0% vs 1.1%; P < 0.001), repeat revascularizations (3.8% vs 2.1%; P = 0.005) and MACE (7.1% vs 3.5%; P < 0.001) in the clopidogrel and PPI group. Cox regression revealed that PPI is an independent predictor of MACE (HR 1.70, 95% CI of 1.20-2.41; P = 0.003), mortality (HR 1.79; 95% CI 1.03-3.12, P = 0.038), and target-vessel revascularization (HR 1.75; 95% CI 1.12-2.72, P = 0.014). CONCLUSIONS: Concomitant use of PPIs and clopidogrel among post PCI patients was associated with increased rates of all-cause mortality, target vessel revascularization, and combined MACE at nine months follow-up.

Clinical outcomes after neurogenic stress induced cardiomyopathy in aneurysmal sub-arachnoid hemorrhage: a prospective cohort study.

INTRODUCTION: Neurogenic stress cardiomyopathy (NCM) has been associated with poor outcomes in the setting of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH). Much less is known regarding recovery of cardiac function. The aim of this prospective cohort study was to study the rate of early cardiac recovery after NCM and the potential effect of NCM on short term functional recovery. A secondary aim sought to determine whether certain biomarkers may be associated with the development of NCM. METHODS: Patients with confirmed aSAH between November 2012 and October 2013 were prospectively enrolled and received echocardiograms within 48 h of admission. Ejection fraction (%) and regional wall motion abnormality score index (RWMI) were noted. All patients with confirmed aSAH had a troponin and BNP level drawn on admission. Patients with confirmed NCM received a follow up echocardiogram 7-21 days after the initial echocardiogram. Clinical follow up at 3 months evaluated mortality, mRS and mBI scores. RESULTS: 63 patients with confirmed aSAH were enrolled. In this cohort 11 (17%) patients were confirmed to have NCM. The NCM group had higher in-hospital mortality [n = 4(36.4%)] compared to the non-NCM group [n = 5(9.6%)] (p = .021). At 3 months the development of NCM was associated with an unfavorable mRS (p = 0.042) and mBI (p = 0.005). Both an elevated BNP (> 100 pg/mL) and elevated troponin (>0.3 mg/dL) were associated with the development of NCM. Follow-up echocardiograms were performed within 21 days of admission on 8 patients with NCM. An abnormal RWMI of 1.5 or higher was present in 5(71%) patients. CONCLUSION: NCM is a frequent complication associated with aSAH. The onset of the disease occurs early in the course of aSAH and an elevated BNP and troponin may be associated with the onset of NCM. Cardiac function often remains impaired during the acute recovery phase potentially impeding resuscitation during this period. The routine use of short term follow-up echocardiography may be recommended.