[Stent loss and successful retrieval with the loop snare technique]. / Perdita dello stent e recupero mediante "loop snare technique".

A 79-year-old woman was admitted to our coronary care unit for non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction. Urgent left transradial coronary angiography showed mid-distal high-grade stenosis of the left circumflex coronary artery. During percutaneous coronary intervention, stent dislodgement from the balloon catheter occurred. Fortunately, the guidewire was left in place through the detached stent, but a loop snare failed to cross the proximal circumflex artery. A second wire was placed in parallel to the first one and the first wire was caught in the loop snare, which was pulled back and closed at the level of the stent. Then, we cautiously pulled the guiding catheter together with the stent as a whole unit out of the introducer.

[Acute coronary syndrome after insect bites: a systematic review of available literature]. / Sindrome coronarica acuta dopo puntura di insetto: una revisione sistematica della letteratura.

BACKGROUND: Kounis syndrome is a hypersensitivity coronary disorder induced by exposure to several triggers; the most common are antibiotics, followed by insect bites. METHODS: We reviewed the literature and identified 66 patients who experienced acute coronary syndrome after insect bites. RESULTS: The median age was 51 years, and 19.0% were women and only 12% had a history of allergy. The most involved insects were bee and wasp (86%) and the most frequent clinical manifestations were chest pain and anaphylaxis (36% and 29%, respectively). ST-segment elevation was the most common electrocardiographic finding (>70%). There was a not negligible rate of complications (15%), with a possible increased arrhythmic burden in patients without significant coronary atherosclerosis. CONCLUSIONS: Acute coronary syndrome after insect bites is not so rare and it could have serious complications, with a possible increased arrhythmic burden in patients without significant coronary atherosclerosis.

Long-term outcomes with drug-eluting stents versus bare metal stents in the treatment of saphenous vein graft disease (results from the REgistro Regionale AngiopLastiche Emilia-Romagna registry).

Percutaneous revascularization of saphenous vein grafts (SVGs) remains a challenging task. Drug-eluting stents (DESs) have been shown to decrease the incidence of restenosis in de novo native coronary artery lesions. However, their clinical value in SVGs remains to be established. We compared long-term clinical outcomes of percutaneous coronary intervention with DESs and bare metal stents (BMSs) for de novo lesions in SVGs. In a large prospective, multicenter registry, 360 patients underwent stenting of a de novo lesion in SVGs using BMSs (288 patients) or DESs (72 patients). Incidence of major adverse cardiac events (MACEs), including all-cause mortality, reinfarction, and target vessel revascularization, was recorded at a 12-month follow-up. Compared with the DES group, patients receiving BMSs were more likely to be men, to have chronic renal insufficiency or higher Charlson scores, but less likely to have undergone previous percutaneous coronary intervention. Incidence of MACEs at 12-month follow-up was similar in the 2 groups (17.8% in DES group vs 20.3% in BMS group, respectively, p = 0.460). Cox regression analysis identified age, chronic renal failure, cardiogenic shock at presentation, and ostial location of stenosis as independent predictors of long-term MACEs. In conclusion, our data suggest that rates of 12-month MACEs associated with the use of DESs and BMSs are similar in patients undergoing treatment of de novo lesions in SVGs.

Time course of effects of cardiac resynchronization therapy in chronic heart failure: benefits in patients with preserved exercise capacity.

OBJECTIVES: To assess in patients with chronic heart failure the effect of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) over 12 months' follow-up the time course of the changes in functional and neurohormonal indices and to identify responders to CRT. METHODS: Eighty-nine patients (74.1 +/- 1 years, left ventricular ejection fraction [LVEF] < 35%), QRS complex duration >150 ms, in stable New York Heart Association (NYHA) class III or IV on optimal medical treatment were prospectively randomized either in a control (n = 45) or CRT (n = 44) group and underwent clinical evaluation, cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET), 2D-Echo, heart rate variability (HRV), carotid baroreflex (BRS), and BNP assessments before and at 6- and 12-month follow-up. RESULTS: In the CRT group, improvement of cardiac indices and BNP concentration were evident at medium term (over 6 months) follow-up, and these changes persisted on a longer term (12 months) (all P < 0.05). Instead CPET indices and NYHA class improved after 12 months associated with restoration of HRV and BRS (all P < 0.05). We identified 26 responders to CRT according to changes in LVEF and diameters. Responders presented less depressed hemodynamic (LVEF 25 +/- 1.0 vs 22 +/- 0.1%), functional (peak VO(2) 10.2 +/- 0.2 vs 6.9 +/- 0.3 ml/kg/min), and neurohormonal indices (HRV 203.6 +/- 15.7 vs 147.6 +/- 10.ms, BRS 4.9 +/- 0.2 vs 3.6 +/- 0.3 ms/mmHg) (all P < 0.05). In the multivariate analysis, peak VO(2) was the strongest predictor of responders. CONCLUSIONS: Improvement in functional status is associated with restoration of neurohormonal reflex control at medium term. Less depressed functional status (peak VO(2)) was the strongest predictor of responders to CRT.

Indexed maximal left atrial volume predicts response to cardiac resynchronization therapy.

AIMS: Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) has shown morbidity and mortality benefits in patients with advanced congestive heart failure (HF). Since about one-third of the patients did not appear to respond to CRT, it would seem reasonable to try to identify patients more accurately before implantation. Left atrial (LA) dimension has been proposed as a powerful outcome predictor in patients with heart disease. Accordingly, the aim of this study is to prospectively assess the predictive value of LA for selecting CRT responders. METHODS: Fifty two consecutive patients with refractory HF, sinus rhythm and left bundle branch block were enrolled in the study and planned for CRT implantation. Clinical and echocardiographic evaluations were performed before CRT implantation and after 6 months. Three LA volumes indexed to body surface area (iLAV) were computed to evaluate the LA complexity: maximal LAV (iLAVmax), LAV just before atrial systole (iLAVpre), and minimal LAV (iLAVpost). CRT responders were defined as those who presented a reduction of >10% in LVESVi at 6-month follow-up. RESULTS: Responders (63%) and nonresponders (37%) had similar baseline clinical characteristics and pre-implantation LV volumes. However, baseline LA volumes were significantly associated with the extent of LV reverse remodeling: in particular, baseline iLAVmax was remarkably lower in responders than in nonresponders (50.2±14.1 ml/m(2) vs 65.8±15.7 ml/m(2), p=0.001) resulting predictive for CRT response. CONCLUSION: Patients with small iLAV result as better responders to CRT than larger one. iLAVmax is an independent predictor of LV reverse remodeling and allows to indentify the best candidates for CRT.