João Luiz Fernandes Petriz

Prognostic Value of CT Angiography in Patients With Inconclusive Functional Stress Tests

OBJECTIVES We attempted to determine the prognostic value of coronary computed tomographic angiography (CTA) in patients with inconclusive functional stress tests. BACKGROUND Patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) and inconclusive noninvasive cardiac stress tests represent a frequent management challenge. METHODS We examined 529 consecutive patients with suspected CAD and prior inconclusive functional stress tests. All patients underwent a coronary CTA scan using a 64-slice multidetector row scanner. CAD severity by coronary CTA was categorized as: 1) no evidence of CAD; 2) nonobstructive coronary plaques (< 30%); 3) mild stenosis (30% to 49%); 4) moderate stenosis (50% to 69%); and 5) severe stenosis (≥ 70%). Patients were also categorized according to a modified Duke prognostic CAD index. Survival analyses were performed using Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for baseline risk factors and coronary artery calcium score. The primary outcome of the study was the combined endpoint of all-cause mortality and nonfatal myocardial infarction. RESULTS Among patients with inconclusive stress tests, the large majority (69%) did not demonstrate significant CAD by coronary CTA. During a mean follow-up of 30.1 ± 11.1 months, there were 20 (3.8%) deaths and 17 (3.2%) nonfatal myocardial infarctions. Multivariable Cox regression analysis revealed that the presence of increasing degrees of obstructive CAD by CTA was an independent predictor of adverse events (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.66 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.23 to 2.23], p = 0.001). Indeed, the presence of ≥ 50% coronary stenosis was associated with an increased risk of events (HR: 3.15 [95% CI: 1.26 to 7.89], p = 0.01). Likewise, the Duke prognostic CAD index was also found to be an independent predictor of events (HR: 1.54 [95% CI: 1.20 to 1.97], p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Among patients with inconclusive functional stress tests, the noninvasive assessment of CAD severity by coronary CTA has been shown to provide incremental prognostic information beyond the evaluation of traditional risk factors and coronary artery calcium score.

Desfechos clínicos aos 30 dias do registro brasileiro das síndromes coronárias agudas (ACCEPT)

BACKGROUND There are few registries documenting clinical practice in Brazilian patients with acute coronary syndrome. OBJECTIVES Demography description, occurrence of major clinical adverse events and comparative analysis in patients submitted or not to an invasive strategy (coronary angiography and myocardial revascularization) in a Brazilian multicenter registry of acute coronary syndrome. METHODS The ACCEPT/SBC registry prospectively collected data on acute coronary syndrome patients from 47 Brazilian hospitals. The current analysis reports the occurrence of major clinical outcomes and according to the performance or not of a procedure for myocardial revascularization at the end of 30 day follow-up. RESULTS Between August 2010 and December 2011, 2.485 patients were enrolled in this registry. Of these, 31.6% had unstable angina, 34.9% and 33.4% had acute coronary syndrome without and with ST-segment elevation. At 30 days, the performance of a myocardial revascularization procedure was progressively higher according to the severity of clinical presentation (38.7% vs. 53.6% vs. 77.7%, p < 0.001). Cardiac mortality among those submitted or not to myocardial revascularization procedure was 1.0% vs. 2.3% (p = 0.268), 1.9% vs. 4.2% (p = 0.070) and 2.0% vs. 8.1% (p < 0.001), in those with unstable angina, acute coronary syndrome without and with ST-segment elevation, respectively. CONCLUSIONS The prescription of a myocardial revascularization procedure was progressively more frequent according to the severity of clinical presentation; for those treated during acute coronary syndrome without and with ST-segment elevation, there was a trend and significant decrease in mortality rate at 30 day of follow-up, respectively.

Quantificação da massa infartada do ventrículo esquerdo pela ressonância magnética cardíaca: comparação entre a planimetria e o método de escore visual semi-quantitativo

Results The infarcted areas in all 77 patients were detected by use of cardiac delayed contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance ima- ging. The size of the infarction measured by planimetry was similar to that obtained with the scoring method, with a mean difference between measurements of only 1.03% of the left ventricular mass. Inter- (0.41%) and intraobserver (0.34%) va- riabilities indicated an excellent reproducibility of the scoring method. Infarcted mass showed a good correlation with ejection fraction and indexed end-diastolic and end-systolic volumes, r=-0.76, r=0.63, and r=0.67, respectively.

CLINICAL PREDICTORS OF MAJOR CLINICAL EVENTS 30-DAYS AFTER AN ACUTE CORONARY SYNDROME: INSIGHTS FROM BRAZILIAN CARDIOVASCULAR REGISTRY ACCEPT

Acute coronary syndromes (ACS) gathered a major role in the triggering of clinical events (MACE) worldwide. Reinforcing the identification of the targets that require intervention is recommended. ACCEPT (Acute Coronary Care Evaluation of Clinical Practice) is a nationwide registry sponsored by the

Assessment of Myocardial Infarction by Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Long-Term Mortality

Background Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging provides detailed anatomical information on infarction. However, few studies have investigated the association of these data with mortality after acute myocardial infarction. Objective To study the association between data regarding infarct size and anatomy, as obtained from cardiac magnetic resonance imaging after acute myocardial infarction, and long-term mortality. Methods A total of 1959 reports of “infarct size” were identified in 7119 cardiac magnetic resonance imaging studies, of which 420 had clinical and laboratory confirmation of previous myocardial infarction. The variables studied were the classic risk factors – left ventricular ejection fraction, categorized ventricular function, and location of acute myocardial infarction. Infarct size and acute myocardial infarction extent and transmurality were analyzed alone and together, using the variable named “MET-AMI”. The statistical analysis was carried out using the elastic net regularization, with the Cox model and survival trees. Results The mean age was 62.3 ± 12 years, and 77.3% were males. During the mean follow-up of 6.4 ± 2.9 years, there were 76 deaths (18.1%). Serum creatinine, diabetes mellitus and previous myocardial infarction were independently associated with mortality. Age was the main explanatory factor. The cardiac magnetic resonance imaging variables independently associated with mortality were transmurality of acute myocardial infarction (p = 0.047), ventricular dysfunction (p = 0.0005) and infarcted size (p = 0.0005); the latter was the main explanatory variable for ischemic heart disease death. The MET-AMI variable was the most strongly associated with risk of ischemic heart disease death (HR: 16.04; 95%CI: 2.64-97.5; p = 0.003). Conclusion The anatomical data of infarction, obtained from cardiac magnetic resonance imaging after acute myocardial infarction, were independently associated with long-term mortality, especially for ischemic heart disease death.

New horizons for approach of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction

In the past decades, there was a reduction in mortality from ST segment elevation acute myocardial infarction (STEMI) associated with a set of actions combining technological advances and public policies. However, its characteristic of a time-dependent disease is still responsible for a high number of cases of sudden death and the consequences of late or inefficient reperfusion are related to heart failure and increased morbidity and mortality. From this point of view, three different aspects were reviewed: the impact of ventricular arrhythmias in prehospital care; the influence of Von Willebrand factor and the role of microparticles in the diagnosis of the disease.