An Unusual Etiology of Severe Right Heart Failure Deserving of Wider Recognition.

A previously healthy 31-year-old man presented with worsening shortness of breath and a petechial rash. Echocardiography showed severe right-sided heart failure with midsystolic notching of the antegrade right ventricular outflow Doppler envelope suggesting pulmonary hypertension. An extensive work-up revealed scurvy, with a dramatic resolution of symptoms shortly after vitamin C supplementation.

Impact of frailty index on cardiovascular outcomes and readmissions of patent foramen ovale closure procedure: a propensity matched national analysis.

BACKGROUND: Transcatheter patent foramen ovale (PFO) occluder device is a procedure mostly performed to prevent secondary stroke as a result of paradoxical emboli traversing an intracardiac defect into the systemic circulation. The complications and outcomes following the procedure remain poorly studied. We aimed to investigate morbidity and mortality associated with occluder device procedures using hospital frailty index score stratification. METHODS: The Nationwide Readmission Database was employed to identify patients admitted for PFO closure from 2016 to 2020. Two groups divided by index frailty score were compared to report adjusted odds ratio (aOR) for primary and secondary cardiovascular outcomes. Outcomes included in-hospital mortality, acute kidney injury, acute ischemic stroke, and post-procedure bleeding. Statistical analysis was performed using STATA v.17. RESULTS: Of the 2,063 total patients who underwent the procedure, 45% possessed intermediate to high frailty scores while the other 55% had low frailty scores. The first cohort had higher odds of in-hospital mortality (aOR 6.3, 95% CI 2.05-19.5), acute kidney injury (aOR 17.6, 95% CI 9.5-32.5), and stroke (aOR 3.05, 95% CI 1.5-5.8) than the second cohort. There was no difference in the incidence of post-procedural bleeding and cardiac tamponade and 30/90/180-day readmission rates between the two cohorts. Hospitalizations in the first cohort were associated with a higher median length of stay and total cost. CONCLUSION: High to intermediate frailty scores may predict an increased risk of in-hospital mortality in patients undergoing PFO occluder device procedures.

Outcomes of Intravascular Ultrasound-Guided Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Among Patients With Acute Coronary Syndrome.

Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) use in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) improves outcomes. However, data on outcomes of IVUS-guided PCI in patients presenting with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is scarce. Therefore, we sought to study the utilization rate and outcomes of IVUS-guided PCI in patients with ACS. Using the National Readmission database, we identified all patients with ACS who underwent PCI from 2016 to 2019. We used a 1:1 propensity-matched analysis to compare the outcome of patients with ACS who underwent PCI with and without IVUS. In 1,263,997 patients with ACS, 563,521 (44.6%) underwent PCI without IVUS and 40,095 (3.17%) underwent IVUS-guided PCI. A Propensity scored matched comparison of PCI with and without IVUS showed IVUS-guided PCI was associated with a lower risk of in-hospital mortality (odds ratio 0.74, 95% confidence interval 0.64 to 0.85, p <0.01) compared with PCI without IVUS. The utilization of IVUS increased from 2.64% in 2016 to 4.10% in 2019, p <0.001. In conclusion, IVUS-guided PCI is associated with lower in-hospital mortality in patients with ACS, yet the current utilization of IVUS-guided PCI remains low across the United States.

Hospital admissions for mitral stenosis in pregnancy in the United States: a thirteen-year analysis.

BACKGROUND: Cardiac conditions are a significant cause of maternal morbidity and mortality, significantly exacerbated during the hemodynamic demands of pregnancy. Mitral stenosis in pregnancy (MSp) is rare in the USA however, it has a high risk for maternal complications. METHODS: We aim to outline the burden of MSp hospitalizations nationally. A retrospective review of HCUP/NIS data from 2002-2014 was conducted. RESULTS: There were 2014 weighted discharges for both pregnancy and mitral stenosis (MS). Patients diagnosed with MS had a more considerable mean cost per discharge than the comparison group. Pulmonary Hypertension (PH), Atrial Arrhythmias (AA), Stroke, and Heart Failure (HF) were respectively reported in 25.71%, 7.14%, 0.95%, and 19.28% of the discharges. Our study identified a low incidence of MS in the US over the 12-year period; no deaths were identified. CONCLUSION: Our results substantiate MSp as a risk factor for PH, AA, HF, and stroke in pregnancy. Even though the mortality is low, it is essential that clinicians be aware of this diagnosis due to higher associated morbidity and costs.

A National Perspective on the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Heart Failure Hospitalizations in the United States.

Nationwide data of the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on heart failure (HF) hospitalizations is lacking. We conducted this study to elucidate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on HF hospitalizations. Additionally, we assessed the differences in hospitalization characteristics during the pandemic and the impact that a concurrent diagnosis of COVID-19 has on various outcomes and predictors of inpatient mortality among patients admitted for HF. The National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database was queried for all hospitalizations with a primary diagnosis of HF between 2017 and 2020. Monthly HF hospitalizations were trended longitudinally over this period. Beginning April 1, 2020, concurrent COVID-19 infections were identified. Subsequently, we stratified HF hospitalizations between April 2020 and December 2020 (HF-2020) based on if concomitant COVID-19 was diagnosed, forming the HF-COVID+ve and HF-COVID-ve groups respectively. HF-2020 was also compared with prepandemic HF hospitalizations between April 2019 and December 2019 (HF-2019). Baseline characteristics were compared, and adjusted outcomes were obtained. During the initial COVID-19 surge in April 2020, HF admissions were reduced by 47% compared to January 2020. Following this decline, HF hospitalizations increased but did not reach prepandemic levels. HF-2020 admissions had an increased complication burden compared to HF-2019, including acute myocardial infarction (8.9% vs 6.6%, P < 0.005) and pulmonary embolism (4.1% vs 3.4%, P < 0.005) indicating a sicker cohort of patients. HF-COVID+ve hospitalizations had 2.9 times higher odds of inpatient mortality compared to HF-COVID-ve and an increased adjusted length of stay by 2.16 days (P < 0.005). A pandemic of the same magnitude as COVID-19 can overwhelm even the most advanced health systems. Early resource mobilization and preparedness is essential to provide care to a sick cohort of patients like acute HF, who are directly and indirectly effected by the consequences of the pandemic which has worsened hospitalization outcomes.