Jochen Cremer

2014 ESC/EACTS Guidelines on myocardial revascularization The Task Force on Myocardial Revascularization of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS) Developed with the special contribution of the European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions (EAPCI)

Authors/Task Force members: Stephan Windecker* (ESC Chairperson) (Switzerland), Philippe Kolh* (EACTS Chairperson) (Belgium), Fernando Alfonso (Spain), Jean-Philippe Collet (France), Jochen Cremer (Germany), Volkmar Falk (Switzerland), Gerasimos Filippatos (Greece), Christian Hamm (Germany), Stuart J. Head (The Netherlands), Peter Jüni (Switzerland), A. Pieter Kappetein (The Netherlands), Adnan Kastrati (Germany), Juhani Knuuti (Finland), Ulf Landmesser (Switzerland), Günther Laufer (Austria), Franz-Josef Neumann (Germany), Dimitrios J. Richter (Greece), Patrick Schauerte (Germany), Miguel Sousa Uva (Portugal), Giulio G. Stefanini (Switzerland), David Paul Taggart (UK), Lucia Torracca (Italy), Marco Valgimigli (Italy), William Wijns (Belgium), and Adam Witkowski (Poland).

2014 ESC/EACTS Guidelines on myocardial revascularization

Acute coronary syndromes Bare-metal stents Coronary artery bypass grafting Coronary artery disease Drug-eluting stents EuroSCORE Guidelines Heart Team Myocardial infarction Myocardial ischaemia Myocardial revascularization Medical therapy Percutaneous coronary intervention Recommendation Revascularisation Risk stratification Stents Stable angina Stable coronary artery disease ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction SYNTAX score

A Multicenter Trial of Remote Ischemic Preconditioning for Heart Surgery

BACKGROUND Remote ischemic preconditioning (RIPC) is reported to reduce biomarkers of ischemic and reperfusion injury in patients undergoing cardiac surgery, but uncertainty about clinical outcomes remains. METHODS We conducted a prospective, double-blind, multicenter, randomized, controlled trial involving adults who were scheduled for elective cardiac surgery requiring cardiopulmonary bypass under total anesthesia with intravenous propofol. The trial compared upper-limb RIPC with a sham intervention. The primary end point was a composite of death, myocardial infarction, stroke, or acute renal failure up to the time of hospital discharge. Secondary end points included the occurrence of any individual component of the primary end point by day 90. RESULTS A total of 1403 patients underwent randomization. The full analysis set comprised 1385 patients (692 in the RIPC group and 693 in the sham-RIPC group). There was no significant between-group difference in the rate of the composite primary end point (99 patients [14.3%] in the RIPC group and 101 [14.6%] in the sham-RIPC group, P=0.89) or of any of the individual components: death (9 patients [1.3%] and 4 [0.6%], respectively; P=0.21), myocardial infarction (47 [6.8%] and 63 [9.1%], P=0.12), stroke (14 [2.0%] and 15 [2.2%], P=0.79), and acute renal failure (42 [6.1%] and 35 [5.1%], P=0.45). The results were similar in the per-protocol analysis. No treatment effect was found in any subgroup analysis. No significant differences between the RIPC group and the sham-RIPC group were seen in the level of troponin release, the duration of mechanical ventilation, the length of stay in the intensive care unit or the hospital, new onset of atrial fibrillation, and the incidence of postoperative delirium. No RIPC-related adverse events were observed. CONCLUSIONS Upper-limb RIPC performed while patients were under propofol-induced anesthesia did not show a relevant benefit among patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery. (Funded by the German Research Foundation; RIPHeart ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01067703.).

Predictors of aneurysmal formation after surgical correction of aortic coarctation

OBJECTIVES We sought to identify the predictors of aneurysmal formation after surgical correction of aortic coarctation. BACKGROUND In 9% of patients, aneurysms develop late after corrective surgery of coarctation of the aorta, with a 36% mortality rate if left untreated. However, the predictors of postsurgical aneurysmal formation are unknown. METHODS Of 25 aortic aneurysms requiring corrective surgery 152 +/- 78 months after the initial coarctation repair, 8 were located in the ascending aorta (type A) and 17 at the site of previous repair (local type). Seventy-four patients without progression of the aortic diameter within 189 +/- 71 months after coarctation repair were used for categorical data analysis in an attempt to identify the predictors of postsurgical aneurysmal formation. RESULTS Advanced age at coarctation repair (p = 0.004) and patch graft technique (p < 0.0005) independently predicted local aneurysmal formation. Type A aneurysm was univariately associated with the presence of a bicuspid aortic valve (p = 0.02), advanced age at coarctation repair (p = 0.044) and a high preoperative peak systolic pressure gradient of 74 +/- 21 mm Hg (p = 0.041). Conversely, multivariate analysis confirmed only the presence of a bicuspid aortic valve (p = 0.015) as an independent predictor of type A aneurysm. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis revealed that 72% of patients with a postsurgical aneurysm had an operation at age 13.5 years or more, whereas 69% with no postsurgical aneurysm had an operation at a younger age. CONCLUSIONS Use of the patch graft technique and late correction of coarctation can predict aneurysmal formation at the site of coarctation repair, although patients with a bicuspid aortic valve may be at risk for an aneurysm developing in the ascending aorta, particularly after late repair of aortic coarctation with high preoperative pressure gradients.

Perioperative Results and Complications in 15,964 Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacements

BACKGROUND Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has evolved into a routine procedure with good outcomes in high-risk patients. OBJECTIVES TAVR complication rates were evaluated based on prospective data from the German Aortic Valve Registry (GARY). METHODS From 2011 to 2013, a total of 15,964 TAVR procedures were registered. We evaluated the total cohort for severe vital complications (SVCs), including the following: death on the day of intervention, conversion to sternotomy, low cardiac output that required mechanical support, aortic dissection, and annular rupture; technical complications of the procedures (TCOs), such as repositioning or retrieval of the valve prosthesis and embolization of the prosthesis; and other complications. RESULTS Mean patient age was 81 ± 6 years, 54% of the patients were women, the median logistic Euroscore I was 18.3, the German aortic valve score was 5.6, and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons score was 5.0. Overall in-hospital mortality was 5.2%, whereas SVCs occurred in 5.0% of the population. Independent predictors for SVCs were female sex, pre-operative New York Heart Association functional class IV, ejection fraction <30%, pre-operative intravenous inotropes, arterial vascular disease, and higher degree of calcifications. TCOs occurred in 4.7% of patients and decreased significantly from 2011 to 2013. An emergency sternotomy was performed in 1.3% of the patients; however, multivariate analysis did not identify any predictors for conversion to sternotomy. CONCLUSIONS The all-comers GARY registry revealed good outcomes after TAVR and a regression in complications. Survival of approximately 60% of patients who experienced SVCs or who required sternotomy underlines the need for heart team-led indication, intervention, and follow-up care of TAVR patients.

Revascularisation versus medical treatment in patients with stable coronary artery disease: Network meta-analysis

Objective To investigate whether revascularisation improves prognosis compared with medical treatment among patients with stable coronary artery disease. Design Bayesian network meta-analyses to combine direct within trial comparisons between treatments with indirect evidence from other trials while maintaining randomisation. Eligibility criteria for selecting studies A strategy of initial medical treatment compared with revascularisation by coronary artery bypass grafting or Food and Drug Administration approved techniques for percutaneous revascularization: balloon angioplasty, bare metal stent, early generation paclitaxel eluting stent, sirolimus eluting stent, and zotarolimus eluting (Endeavor) stent, and new generation everolimus eluting stent, and zotarolimus eluting (Resolute) stent among patients with stable coronary artery disease. Data sources Medline and Embase from 1980 to 2013 for randomised trials comparing medical treatment with revascularisation. Main outcome measure All cause mortality. Results 100 trials in 93 553 patients with 262 090 patient years of follow-up were included. Coronary artery bypass grafting was associated with a survival benefit (rate ratio 0.80, 95% credibility interval 0.70 to 0.91) compared with medical treatment. New generation drug eluting stents (everolimus: 0.75, 0.59 to 0.96; zotarolimus (Resolute): 0.65, 0.42 to 1.00) but not balloon angioplasty (0.85, 0.68 to 1.04), bare metal stents (0.92, 0.79 to 1.05), or early generation drug eluting stents (paclitaxel: 0.92, 0.75 to 1.12; sirolimus: 0.91, 0.75 to 1.10; zotarolimus (Endeavor): 0.88, 0.69 to 1.10) were associated with improved survival compared with medical treatment. Coronary artery bypass grafting reduced the risk of myocardial infarction compared with medical treatment (0.79, 0.63 to 0.99), and everolimus eluting stents showed a trend towards a reduced risk of myocardial infarction (0.75, 0.55 to 1.01). The risk of subsequent revascularisation was noticeably reduced by coronary artery bypass grafting (0.16, 0.13 to 0.20) followed by new generation drug eluting stents (zotarolimus (Resolute): 0.26, 0.17 to 0.40; everolimus: 0.27, 0.21 to 0.35), early generation drug eluting stents (zotarolimus (Endeavor): 0.37, 0.28 to 0.50; sirolimus: 0.29, 0.24 to 0.36; paclitaxel: 0.44, 0.35 to 0.54), and bare metal stents (0.69, 0.59 to 0.81) compared with medical treatment. Conclusion Among patients with stable coronary artery disease, coronary artery bypass grafting reduces the risk of death, myocardial infarction, and subsequent revascularisation compared with medical treatment. All stent based coronary revascularisation technologies reduce the need for revascularisation to a variable degree. Our results provide evidence for improved survival with new generation drug eluting stents but no other percutaneous revascularisation technology compared with medical treatment.

Human cytokine responses to coronary artery bypass grafting with and without cardiopulmonary bypass

BACKGROUND Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is associated with a systemic inflammatory response. This has been attributed to cytokine release caused by extracorporeal circulation and myocardial ischemia. This study compares the inflammatory response after CABG with cardiopulmonary bypass and after minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass grafting (MIDCABG) without cardiopulmonary bypass. METHODS Cytokine release and complement activation (interleukin-6 and interleukin-8, soluble tumor necrosis factor receptors 1 and 2, complement factor C3a, and C1 esterase inhibitor) were determined in 24 patients before and after CABG or MIDCABG. The maximum body temperature, chest drainage, and fluid balance were recorded for 24 hours after operation. RESULTS Release of interleukin-6, interleukin-8, and tumor necrosis factor receptors 1 and 2 was significantly higher (p < or = 0.005) in the CABG group than the MIDCABG group just after operation. After 24 hours, a significant increase in interleukin-6 was also found in the MIDCABG group (p = 0.001) compared with preoperative value. Body temperature and fluid balance were significantly higher after CABG (p < or = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass grafting represents a less traumatizing technique of surgical revascularization. The reduction in the inflammatory response may be advantageous for patients with a high degree of comorbidity.

The German Aortic Valve Registry: 1-year results from 13 680 patients with aortic valve disease †

OBJECTIVES The German Aortic Valve Registry (GARY) seeks to provide information on a real-world, all-comers basis for patients undergoing aortic valve interventions. This registry comprises patients undergoing the complete spectrum of transcutaneous and conventional surgical aortic valve interventions. The aim of this study was to use the GARY registry to evaluate conventional and catheter-based aortic valve interventions in several risk groups. METHODS A total of 13 860 consecutive patients undergoing intervention for aortic valve disease [conventional aortic valve replacement (AVR) or transvascular/transapical TAVR (TV-/TA-TAVR)] were enrolled in 78 German centres in 2011. Baseline, procedural and outcome data, including quality of life, were acquired up to 1 year post-intervention. Vital status at 1 year was known for 98.1% of patients. RESULTS The 1-year mortality rate was 6.7% for conventional AVR patients (n = 6523) and 11.0% for patients who underwent AVR with coronary artery bypass grafting (n = 3464). The 1-year mortality rate was 20.7 and 28.0% in TV- and TA-TAVR patients, respectively (n = 2695 and 1181). However, if patients were stratified into four risk groups by means of the EuroSCORE and the German AV Score, the highest risk cohorts showed the same mortality at 1 year with either therapy. More than 80% of patients in all groups were in the same or better state of health at 1 year post-intervention and were satisfied with the procedural outcome. CONCLUSIONS Conventional AVR surgery yields excellent results after 1 year in lower-risk patients. Catheter-based AVR is a good alternative in high-risk and elderly patients.

Severe obesity does not adversely affect perioperative mortality and morbidity in coronary artery bypass surgery.

OBJECTIVE Obese patients are usually thought to have an increased risk for complications in coronary artery bypass surgery. METHODS Therefore, the data of 500 consecutive patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting at our department in 1998 by use of cardiopulmonary bypass were analyzed. Severe obesity was defined as body mass index (BMI) > or = 30.0 kg/m(2). Obese patients (n=100; group O) were compared to the remaining 400 patients (group C). Both groups were comparable with respect to sex, history of prior myocardial infarction, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, previous stroke, duration of cardiopulmonary bypass, aortic cross-clamp time and number of distal anastomoses performed. Obese patients were slightly younger and diabetes and hypertension were more common in these patients. RESULTS Survival and potential complications including perioperative myocardial infarction, sternal wound infection, wound infection at the leg, renal failure, stroke, prolonged mechanical ventilation, pneumonia, reexploration for bleeding, and atrial arrhythmias were analyzed. No significant differences between obese and non-obese patients were detected. CONCLUSION Severe obesity does not necessarily adversely affect perioperative mortality and morbidity in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting in this study.

Different approaches for minimally invasive closure of atrial septal defects

BACKGROUND To improve the acceptance of cosmetic results after closure of atrial septal defects, anterior or lateral thoracotomies are preferred rather than median sternotomies. Along with the availability of minimally invasive techniques, a further reduction in incision length appeared feasible while preserving thoracic stability. METHODS Various minimally invasive approaches differing in the type of incision and mode of cannulation have been applied under conditions of normothermic ventricular fibrillation. In technique 1 (n = 5), a right parasternal mini-incision was combined with a central aortic and bicaval cannulation. Technique 2 (n = 2) was composed of an anterior submammary mini-incision with femoral arterial and central bicaval cannulation. To optimize the surgical access, the transincisional cannulation of the superior vena cava was replaced by a percutaneous cervical cannulation (technique 3, n = 17). RESULTS Effective atrial septal defect closure assessed by intraoperative echocardiography was achieved in all patients. Central neurologic complications were completely absent. Besides temporary atrial fibrillation in one case, no other cardiac complications occurred. There were no cases with complicated wound healing. CONCLUSIONS Along with modified cannulation techniques and intraoperative echocardiography, minimally invasive techniques can be safely applied for atrial septal defect closure. Submammary incisions were highly accepted and allowed for adequate surgical exposure.