Prediction of 1-year clinical outcomes using the SYNTAX score in patients with prior heart failure undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention: sub-analysis of the SHINANO registry.

Although coronary artery disease (CAD) is common in patients with heart failure (HF), little is known about the prognostic significance of coronary lesion complexity in patients with prior HF undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The aim of this study was to investigate whether the coronary Synergy between Percutaneous Coronary Intervention with TAXus and Cardiac Surgery (SYNTAX) score could improve risk stratification in HF patients with CAD. Two hundred patients (mean age 73 ± 11 years, left ventricular ejection fraction 49 ± 15 %) with prior HF who underwent PCI were divided into two groups stratified by SYNTAX score (median value 12) and tracked prospectively for 1 year. The study endpoint was the composite of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), including all-cause death, myocardial infarction, stroke, and hospitalization for worsening HF. Adverse events were observed in 39 patients (19.5 %). Patients with high SYNTAX scores (n = 100) showed worse prognoses than those with low scores (n = 100) (26.0 vs. 13.0 %, respectively, P = 0.021). In multivariate Cox-regression analysis, SYNTAX score ≥12 was significantly associated with MACE (hazard ratio: 1.99, 95 % confidence interval: 1.02-3.97; P = 0.045). In patients with prior HF and CAD, high SYNTAX scores predicted a high incidence of MACE. These results suggest that the SYNTAX score might be a useful parameter for improving risk stratification in these patients.

In-hospital clinical outcomes of elderly patients (≥80 years) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention.

BACKGROUND: The clinical outcomes of elderly patients (≥80 years old) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has not been well established, despite recent advances in both devices and techniques. METHODS AND RESULTS: We recruited patients from the SHINANO Registry, a prospective, observational, multicenter, cohort study. From August 2012 to July 2013, a total of 1,923 consecutive patients with 2,250 elective/urgent PCIs (2,105 admissions) (mean age, 71±11 years; ≥80 years, 23%; men, 77%) were enrolled. The primary endpoint was procedural success. The secondary endpoints were in-hospital death and in-hospital major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). The procedural success rate was significantly lower (83.7% vs. 89.1%, P=0.0001), and the rates of in-hospital mortality and MACE were significantly higher in elderly than in non-elderly patients (3.6% vs. 1.5%, P=0.005; 4.4% vs. 2.3%, P=0.016, respectively). For elective PCI, the rates of procedural success and in-hospital MACE were similar between groups (90.3% vs. 91.3%, P=0.65, 2.3% vs. 1.2%, P=0.2, respectively). On multivariate analysis, being elderly was not an independent predictor of procedural failure (OR, 1.15; CI, 0.81-1.61; P=0.43). CONCLUSIONS: In elderly patients, PCI is safe and feasible. The presence of comorbidities is a more important factor than age alone.

Malignant pericardial tamponade in a patient with hormone-refractory prostate cancer.

An 82-year-old man who was receiving treatment for prostate cancer and cholangiocellular carcinoma was admitted to our hospital because of chest discomfort and dyspnea. At the time of admission, 16 months after the start of hormone therapy, the prostate-specific antigen level was 454.08 ng/ml. Chest radiography revealed cardiomegaly, and ultrasonography demonstrated significant pericardial effusion. Pericardiocentesis yielded a hemorrhagic exudate, and a routine cytological study revealed malignant cells. It was difficult to determine whether these cells had originated from the prostate cancer or the cholangiocellular carcinoma. However, immunohistochemical analysis of a cell-block section of the pericardial effusion allowed a diagnosis of pericardial metastasis from the prostate cancer. After drainage and intrapericardial injection of cisplatin, the amount of effusion was decreased. After removal of the pericardial drain, the patient was discharged, but the pericardial effusion was found to have accumulated again 1 month later.

Comparison of mid-term outcomes between patients with and without atrial fibrillation undergoing coronary stenting in the second-generation drug-eluting stent era: from the SHINANO registry.

Little is known about the mid-term outcomes of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) who undergo coronary stenting in the second-generation drug-eluting stent (DES) era. We evaluated the 1-year outcomes of AF patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with second-generation DES. This retrospective cohort analysis used integrated data from the SHINANO registry, a prospective observational multicenter cohort study, which enrolled 1923 consecutive patients undergoing PCI for any coronary artery disease. We retrospectively recruited 917 of these patients (mean age, 71.3 ± 10.0 years; male, 77 %) who received PCI with 2nd generation DES. The primary endpoint was net adverse clinical events (NACE: cardiac death, stroke, MI, stent thrombosis, and major bleeding) at 1 year. The secondary endpoints were major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE: cardiac death, stroke, and MI), stroke, MI, and major bleeding at 1 year. One-year follow-up was completed in 871 (94.9 %) patients, of whom 85 had AF. The incidence of NACE (15.4 vs. 7.3 %, P = 0.008), MACE (10.6 vs. 5.4 %, P = 0.047), and major bleeding (6.0 vs. 2.3 %, P = 0.049) were all significantly higher in AF compared to non-AF patients. On multivariate analysis, AF was an independent predictor of NACE (HR 2.32, 95 % CI 1.24-4.34, P = 0.008). In the second-generation DES era, patients with AF undergoing PCI still have a poorer prognosis, with more thrombotic and bleeding events, than those without AF. More attention should be paid to the thrombotic and bleeding risk in AF patients undergoing PCI.

Predictive Value of Combining the Ankle-Brachial Index and SYNTAX Score for the Prediction of Outcome After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (from the SHINANO Registry).

The Synergy Between PCI With TAXUS and Cardiac Surgery (SYNTAX) score is effective in predicting clinical outcome after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). However, its prediction ability is low because it reflects only the coronary characterization. We assessed the predictive value of combining the ankle-brachial index (ABI) and SYNTAX score to predict clinical outcomes after PCI. The ABI-SYNTAX score was calculated for 1,197 patients recruited from the Shinshu Prospective Multi-center Analysis for Elderly Patients with Coronary Artery Disease Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (SHINANO) registry, a prospective, observational, multicenter cohort study in Japan. The primary end points were major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACE; all-cause death, myocardial infarction, and stroke) in the first year after PCI. The ABI-SYNTAX score was calculated by categorizing and summing up the ABI and SYNTAX scores. ABI ≤ 0.49 was defined as 4, 0.5 to 0.69 as 3, 0.7 to 0.89 as 2, 0.9 to 1.09 as 1, and 1.1 to 1.5 as 0; an SYNTAX score ≤ 22 was defined as 0, 23 to 32 as 1, and ≥ 33 as 2. Patients were divided into low (0), moderate (1 to 2), and high (3 to 6) groups. The MACE rate was significantly higher in the high ABI-SYNTAX score group than in the lower 2 groups (low: 4.6% vs moderate: 7.0% vs high: 13.9%, p = 0.002). Multivariate regression analysis found that ABI-SYNTAX score independently predicted MACE (hazards ratio 1.25, 95% confidence interval 1.02 to 1.52, p = 0.029). The respective C-statistic for the ABI-SYNTAX and SYNTAX score for 1-year MACE was 0.60 and 0.55, respectively. In conclusion, combining the ABI and SYNTAX scores improved the prediction of 1-year adverse ischemic events compared with the SYNTAX score alone.

Nocturnal oxygen desaturation correlates with the severity of coronary atherosclerosis in coronary artery disease.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: It has been suggested that sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is a risk factor for ischemic heart disease, and may be associated with increased morbidity and mortality due to cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to examine the relation between nocturnal oxygen desaturation (NOD) due to SDB and the Gensini score, which is given to define the severity of coronary atherosclerosis, based on coronary angiograms findings, in patients with coronary artery disease. DESIGN: We examined the NOD index (ODI) (desaturation of > 3%/events per hour) using pulse oximetry in 59 consecutive patients with coronary artery disease (ejection fraction, > 40%) that was diagnosed by coronary angiography, 30 patients with angina pectoris and 29 patients with old myocardial infarction. The Gensini score was calculated for each patient from the coronary arteriogram. The patients were classified into the following three groups according to the severity of oxygen desaturation: ODI of < 5 events per hour (group N; 16 patients); ODI of > or = 5 but < 15 events per hour (group A; 27 patients); and ODI of > or = 15 events per hour (group B; 16 patients). The groups then were examined for the relation between the ODI and the Gensini score. RESULTS: Of the total number of patients, 72.9% had a nocturnal ODI of more than five events per hour. The Gensini score was significantly higher in groups A and B than in group N, and showed a significant positive correlation with the ODI (R = 0.45; p = 0.01) in all patients. Multiple regression analysis showed that the ODI was the most significant, independent determinant of the Gensini score among the coronary risk factors tested, and that it explained 13.4% of the variance. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that NOD due to SDB may be an important contributor to coronary atherosclerosis in the patients with cardiovascular disease.

Congenital solitary kidney with renovascular hypertension diagnosed by means of captopril-enhanced renography and magnetic resonance angiography.

A 24 year-old woman had a congenital solitary kidney with renovascular hypertension due to fibromuscular dysplasia. She had been treated as having essential hypertension until she developed preeclampsia and HELLP (hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelet count) syndrome at 28 weeks of gestation. Plasma renin activity and captopril test results did not indicate any abnormalities. However, renography revealed captopril-induced deterioration. Magnetic resonance angiography was also useful to detect renal artery stenosis. These findings were confirmed by renal angiography. After successful percutaneous transluminal renal angioplasty, her blood pressure and the pattern of captopril renography normalized.

A critical increase in right-to-left shunt after acute myocardial infarction in a 68-year-old male with tetralogy of Fallot.

A male patient with tetralogy of Fallot accompanied by aortic regurgitation had maintained sufficient exercise capacity for a number of decades with the status of acyanotic tetralogy of Fallot. When he was 67 years old, he suffered a posterior wall acute myocardial infarction and direct percutaneous coronary angioplasty successfully revascularised the target lesion in the left circumflex artery. However, a few months after the onset of the myocardial infarction, his shortness of breath became clinically significant and was associated with increased right-to-left shunt and increased right ventricular end-diastolic pressure, as well as hypoxia. At 68 years old, therefore, total corrective repair of the tetralogy with replacement of the aortic and pulmonary valves was performed. The patient was asymptomatic after the successful operation. This report suggests that coronary artery disease can be one of the potential factors in inducing critical hemodynamic changes in aging patients with congenital heart disease, especially those who have a shunt between the right and left chambers. The unique clinical course is described with some discussion of the repair of tetralogy in adults.

Impact of mitral regurgitation on long-term survival in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy: efficacy of combined mitral valve repair and revascularization.

Ischemic cardiomyopathy complicated by severe mitral regurgitation (MR) has a poor prognosis. In such cases, whether mitral valve repair for MR improves the prognosis of survival remains unclear. In this study, 50 patients diagnosed with ischemic cardiomyopathy at our hospital between August 1991 and August 1996 were studied to examine the long-term prognosis and factors determining the prognosis. Among 17 patients with the complication of severe MR, 11 underwent mitral valve repair (repair group) and 6 did not (nonrepair group). Among the 33 patients without MR, 15 underwent revascularization (revascularization group) and 18 received medical treatment alone (medical group). Patients with MR showed significantly poorer baseline activities of daily living (ADL) [New York Heart Association (NYHA) class III or above: MR(+) vs MR(-) = 14 vs 8; P = 0.0001] and survival rate [MR(+) vs MR(-); log rank = 3.8, P = 0.05]. In contrast, patients in whom mitral valve repair was actively performed to resolve MR had favorable outcomes for both ADL (NYHA class improved from 3.9 +/- 0.3 to 2.7 +/- 1.0; P = 0.0004) and survival rate (MV repair vs nonrepair: long rank = 10.1, P = 0.0015). In addition, among patients without MR, the revascularization group showed more favorable results in terms of ADL (NYHA class improved from 3.5 +/- 0.7 to 2.5 +/- 0.8; P = 0.0059) and survival rate (revascularization vs medical: log rank = 3.7, P = 0.05), irrespective of improvement of left ventricular function. When the factors determining the prognosis for ischemic cardiomyopathy were examined by multivariate analysis, whether or not revascularization was conducted, the presence or absence of mitral regurgitation, and if present, whether or not mitral valve repair was performed were identified as independent factors determining the prognosis (revascularization: hazard ratio = 0.121, P = 0.012; absence of MR: hazard ratio = 0.104, P = 0.050; mitral valve repair: hazard ratio = 0.018, P = 0.005). These results showed that revascularization should be conducted as actively as possible in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy; in addition, for those patients with mitral regurgitation, mitral valve repair should be conducted actively to relieve it.

Percutaneous cardiopulmonary support aids resuscitation from sustained ventricular tachycardia.

A 67-year-old man was transferred to hospital because of acute circulatory failure resulting from sustained left ventricular tachycardia (LVT) and dysfunction. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed severely impaired left ventricular contraction and dyskinesis of the apical wall. Neither anti-arrhythmic agents nor direct current cardioversion was effective; the patient was resuscitated by immediate use of percutaneous cardiopulmonary support and intraaortic balloon counterpulsation. Ventricular contraction returned to normal following restoration of normal sinus rhythm with amiodarone and cibenzoline. The pathogenesis of LVT accompanied by transient ventricular dyskinesis is discussed with regard to the efficient use of a mechanical circulatory support system in resuscitation.

A case of acute rheumatic fever accompanied by transient aortic regurgitation.

Though acute rheumatic fever (RF) is now rare in Japan, it continues to be an important disease condition that physicians should be prepared to diagnose and treat. We describe a patient with acute RF accompanied by transient aortic regurgitation (AR). The AR was detected only by echocardiography. There were no other indications, and it disappeared after treatment with prednisolone. The changes in cardiac valves in the early phase of RF have been the subject of only a few case studies. Echocardiography is quite valuable in the workup of patients with acute RF and should be performed even if there are no signs of cardiac involvement.

Trends over the last 20 years in the clinical background of young Japanese patients with coronary artery disease.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence, pathogenesis, and clinical background of coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients aged 40 years or less in Japan are not well understood. METHODS AND RESULTS: Temporal trends in the clinical background, including growth from childhood, of young patients with CAD over the last 20 years were examined. The study group comprised 38 patients who were 40 years of age or less (7 patients in 1980-84, phase I; 10 patients in 1985-89, phase II; 10 patients in 1990-94, phase III; 11 patients in 1995-99, phase IV). Among the classic coronary risk factors, obesity significantly increased in prevalence. An increase in patients with multiple risk factors was seen (0, 10%, 20%, and 36% in phases I, II, III, and IV, respectively). There was no significant change in the prevalence of familial hypercholesterolemia, sequelae of Kawasaki disease or vasospastic angina. All phase III and IV patients with multiple risk factors had moderate to severe obesity, and 83% had been overweight since childhood. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the number of young patients with CAD because of multiple risk factors has been increasing, and most of them have been overweight since childhood. Thus, for primary prevention it is essential to control cardiovascular risk factors in overweight children.