Complex interventions in the failing heart.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Heart failure is a complex clinical syndrome with a substantial disease burden. We aim to review the interventional aspects of management of advanced heart failure, focusing on the role of management of coronary artery disease, valvular heart disease, and mechanical circulatory support. RECENT FINDINGS: The patients with coronary artery disease and heart failure requiring revascularization are at higher risk than the rest of the general population. Coronary artery bypass grafting or percutaneous intervention can be used depending on varied patient characteristics and coronary anatomy. Transcatheter aortic valve implantation, Mitraclip and transcatheter ventricular restoration help in tackling the valvular and left ventricular remodeling concerns often seen in this patient population. Temporary hemodynamic circulatory support helps stabilizing patients in cardiogenic shock while long-term support can help bridge them to more definitive therapies. SUMMARY: The management strategies in this disease state are ever evolving with robust evidence coming in support of interventional therapies whenever deemed appropriate. It is the multidisciplinary patient-centered approach, which yields maximum benefit out of these complex interventions.

Diabetic foot ulcer: A comprehensive review of pathophysiology and management modalities.

Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) is a debilitating and severe manifestation of uncontrolled and prolonged diabetes that presents as ulceration, usually located on the plantar aspect of the foot. Approximately 15% of individuals with diabetes will eventually develop DFU, and 14%-24% of them will require amputation of the ulcerated foot due to bone infection or other ulcer-related complications. The pathologic mechanisms underlying DFU are comprise a triad: Neuropathy, vascular insufficiency, and secondary infection due to trauma of the foot. Standard local and invasive care along with novel approaches like stem cell therapy pave the way to reduce morbidity, decrease amputations, and prevent mortality from DFU. In this manuscript, we review the current literature with focus on the pathophysiology, preventive options, and definitive management of DFU.

Invasive Strategies for the Treatment of Pulmonary Embolism. Where Are We in 2020?

Pulmonary Embolism (PE) is the third most common cause of cardiovascular mortality in the United States, with 60,000-100,000 deaths per year following myocardial infarction and stroke. During the past 5 years, there has been an introduction of novel interventions as a result of a renewed interest in optimizing PE management, particularly among those individuals with more severe disease of hemodynamic significance. The cornerstone treatment for PE is anticoagulation. More aggressive alternatives have been considered for patients with intermediate and high-risk PE. In general, these options can be grouped into 3 different categories: systemic thrombolysis, catheter-directed interventions, and surgical embolectomy. Systemic thrombolysis has shown statistical benefit in several randomized trials for intermediate- and high-risk PE, however, this benefit has been offset by an elevated risk of major bleeding and intracerebral hemorrhage, limiting their use in clinical practice. Catheter-directed thrombolysis refers to catheter-directed injection of a thrombolytic drug directly into the pulmonary artery. Three interventional devices (EKOSonic endovascular system, FlowTriever embolectomy device and the Indigo thrombectomy system) have recently been cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration for marketing, and several others are in various stages of development. As of today, catheter-based interventions are limited to small randomized trials and single arm-prospective studies focused on short-term surrogate endpoints. Although single arm studies carry some value establishing the preliminary safety and effectiveness of these devices, they are not sufficient to stratify risk and guide clinical practice. Furthermore, no trials have been performed with enough power to assess potential mortality benefit with the use of catheter-directed thrombolysis or catheter-based embolectomy devices, hence treatment decisions continue to be influenced by individual risk of bleeding, the location of thrombus and operator expertise until additional evidence becomes available.

Are Die-Hard Football or Other Sports Fans at Risk of Cardiovascular Events?

Trigger factors such as earthquakes, war, and terrorism have been shown to increase the risk of cardiovascular events in different studies. Similarly, strong emotions and psychological stress have been associated with myocardial infarction, symptomatic arrhythmias, and sudden cardiac death. Die-hard soccer, rugby, football, and baseball fans seem to be at risk of cardiac events, particularly in individuals with prior history of coronary artery disease. Transient hemodynamic changes, endothelial dysfunction, and an overwhelming sympathetic nervous system stimulation appear to affect cardiac hemostasis creating a procoagulant and arrhythmogenic environment. High-risk behaviors such as tobacco abuse and binge drinking appear to contribute to this risk generating a proinflammatory state characterized by elevated levels of endothelin-1 and overexpression of sCD40L, sVCAM-1, MCP-1, and TNF-alpha. The outcome of the game and unexpected results, especially among fans of the defeated team, seem to further correlate with adverse cardiovascular effects.

A Case of Triple-Negative Myasthenia Gravis Lambert-Eaton Overlap Syndrome With Negative Agrin and LRP-4 Antibodies.

A case of triple-negative myasthenia gravis Lambert-Eaton overlap syndrome with negative Agrin and LRP-4 antibodies. Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disorder that shares similar features with Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome. The combined clinical and electrophysiological findings of MG and Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome have been reported, these cases represent the so-called "myasthenia gravis Lambert-Eaton overlap syndrome" (MLOS). A total of 55 MLOS cases have been identified, 13 cases were reported before the acetylcholine receptor (AChR) antibody (ab) testing era, 14 during the AChR-ab era, 26 during the voltage-gated calcium channel (VGCC)-ab era, and 2 cases have been reported during the muscle-specific kinase (MuSK)-ab era, of these; only 1 patient tested negative for all 3 antibodies. New immunological markers have been identified in the study of MG [Agrin and the low-density lipopro-tein receptor-related protein 4 (LRP-4)]. We present a patient with MLOS who tested negative for all 5 (AChR, MuSK, VGCC, Agrin, and LRP-4) serologic markers.

After COACT trial-new perspectives for the management of non-ST elevation myocardial infarction: early versus late cardiac catheterization post cardiac arrest.

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is the leading cause of death in the United States, as 90% of them are fatal per the 2018 American Heart Association statistics. As many as fifty-percent of cardiac arrest events display an initial rhythm of pulseless ventricular tachycardia (pVT) and ventricular fibrillation (VF), and of those, coronary artery disease (CAD) is found in 60-80% of patients. Following return of spontaneous circulation, patients who present with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) should undergo an early invasive strategy and primary intervention, which is well-established guideline-based management. The support of such a strategy in patients suspected to have underlying cardiac cause but without ST-elevation has been waxing and waning in the literature. The Coronary Angiography after Cardiac Arrest (COACT) trial was designed to compare survival between an immediate or delayed coronary angiography strategy in non-STEMI (NSTEMI) OHCA patients, following successful resuscitation. We present a systematic review of the history of management strategies in OHCA and propose guidelines to manage such patients in light of the COACT trial.