Marco Ancona

Predictors of cardiac death in patients with coronary chronic total occlusion not revascularized by PCI

BACKGROUND Limited data are available on clinical outcome of patients with previously failed or not attempted chronic total occlusion (CTO) recanalization by percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The aim of the study is to determine prevalence and predictors of cardiac death in patients with CTO not revascularized by PCI. METHODS Double-center study analyzing data of 1.345 consecutive patients with at least one CTO between 1998 and 2008. Of these, 847 patients were successfully revascularized (Revascularized group) and 498 patients were not revascularized (Not revascularized group) either due to failure of CTO-PCI (n=337) or because no attempt was made (n=161). RESULTS At 4-year clinical follow-up, Not revascularized patients had a significantly higher rate of cardiac mortality (8.5% vs. 2.5%, p<0.0001) and sudden cardiac death (2.7% vs. 0.5%, p=0.001) compared to those Revascularized. The separate adjusted Cox-model analysis made for Not revascularized patients showed the most significant independent predictors of cardiac death were: chronic renal failure [HR (CI), 6.0 (2.66-13.80)], low-LVEF [5.7 (2.84-11.58)], insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) 4.6 [(1.96-10.97)]. In the Revascularized group, the presence of 3-vessel disease was the only significant independent predictor of cardiac death [4.4 (1.40-13.70)]. CONCLUSIONS CTO patients Not revascularized had a significant higher rate of cardiac mortality and sudden cardiac death compared to those Revascularized. Within Not revascularized patients, the presence of low-LVEF, or CRF or IDDM was associated with an incidence of cardiac death at least 4 times higher than those without the same risk factors.

Impact of functional tricuspid regurgitation on heart failure and death in patients with functional mitral regurgitation and left ventricular dysfunction

The prognostic role of tricuspid regurgitation (TR) associated with organic left‐sided valvular heart disease is well known. However, no data are available regarding the prognostic value of functional TR (FTR) in patients with functional mitral regurgitation (FMR) and left ventricular (LV) dysfunction. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prognostic role of FTR for occurrence of heart failure (HF) and mortality in patients with FMR.

Percutaneous Direct Annuloplasty With Cardioband to Treat Recurrent Mitral Regurgitation After MitraClip Implantation.

A 74-year-old man was referred for worsening symptoms of left-sided heart failure (New York Heart Association functional class III) 1 year after undergoing an edge-to-edge repair with 2 MitraClips (Abbott Vascular, Santa Clara, California) for functional mitral regurgitation (FMR) at another

Tricuspid annuloplasty versus a conservative approach in patients with functional tricuspid regurgitation undergoing left-sided heart valve surgery: A study-level meta-analysis

BACKGROUND Tricuspid valve (TV) repair at the time of left-sided valve surgery is indicated in patients with either severe functional tricuspid regurgitation (TR) or mild-to-moderate TR with coexistent tricuspid annular dilation or right heart failure. We assessed the benefits of a concomitant TV repair strategy during left-sided surgical valve interventions, focusing on mortality and echocardiographic TR-related outcomes. METHODS A meta-analysis was performed of studies reporting outcomes of patients who underwent left-sided (mitral and/or aortic) valve surgery with or without concomitant TV repair. Primary endpoints were all-cause and cardiac-related mortality; secondary endpoints were the presence of more-than-moderate TR, TR progression, and TR severity grade. All endpoints were evaluated at the longest available follow-up. RESULTS Fifteen studies were included for a total of 2840 patients. TV repair at the time of left-sided valve surgery was associated with a significantly lower risk of cardiac-related mortality (odds ratio [OR] 0.38; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.25-0.58; p<0.001), with a trend towards a lower risk of all-cause mortality (OR 0.57; 95% CI: 0.32-1.05; p=0.07) at a mean weighted follow-up of 6years. The presence of more-than-moderate TR (OR 0.19; 95% CI: 0.12-0.30; p<0.001), TR progression (OR 0.03; 95% CI: 0.01-0.05; p<0.001), and TR grade (standardized mean difference -1.11; 95% CI: -1.57 to -0.65; p<0.001) were significantly lower in the TV repair group at a mean weighted follow-up of 4.7years. CONCLUSIONS A concomitant TV repair strategy during left-sided valve surgery is associated with a reduction in cardiac-related mortality and improved echocardiographic TR outcomes at follow-up.

Safety and efficacy of rotational atherectomy for the treatment of undilatable underexpanded stents implanted in calcific lesions

Coronary stent underexpansion is a known risk factor for in‐stent restenosis and stent thrombosis. There are limited options once noncompliant balloons have failed to achieve optimal stent expansion. Excimer Laser Coronary Angioplasty with contrast medium injection is one possibility, but not readily available. Rotational atherectomy is an alternative, and has been described in case reports, but concerns exist regarding safety.

Percutaneous Transcatheter Treatment for Tricuspid Bioprosthesis Failure

To report procedural and 30‐day outcomes following percutaneous transcatheter valve‐in‐valve (VIV) implantation for tricuspid bioprosthesis failure, with a new generation balloon‐expandable transcatheter aortic valve implantation prosthesis.

Clinical outcomes following bifurcation double‐stenting with bioresorbable scaffolds

To investigate outcomes following bifurcation double‐stenting utilizing a bioresorbable scaffold (BRS) in the main branch (MB) and either a BRS or metallic drug‐eluting stent (DES) in the side branch (SB).

Percutaneous bicuspidalization of the tricuspid valve using the MitraClip system

An 84-year-old man with cardial senile amyloidosis and severe tricuspid regurgitation was referred for right sided heart failure symptoms. The patient was scheduled for a percutaneous treatment due to the prohibitive risk of surgery. Two MitraClips were implanted using a transjugular approach with successful echocardiographic and clinical results. This case shows the rational of the procedural with a bicuspidalization of the valve demonstrated at the three dimensional transesophageal echocardiography.

A propensity score matched comparative study between paclitaxel-coated balloon and everolimus-eluting stents for the treatment of small coronary vessels

To compare the long‐term clinical outcomes of paclitaxel drug‐coated‐balloons (DCB) and everolimus‐eluting‐stents (EES) following the treatment of de novo small vessel coronary artery disease.

Impact of post-procedural hyperglycemia on acute kidney injury after transcatheter aortic valve implantation

BACKGROUND Post-operative hyperglycemia, in individuals with and without diabetes, has been identified as a predictor of acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients following cardiac surgery. Whether or not this is also true for patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is unknown. OBJECTIVES To evaluate whether post-procedural glucose levels are associated with AKI after TAVI. METHODS AND RESULTS A total of 422 consecutive patients undergoing transfemoral TAVI were included in the analysis. For each patient, plasma glucose levels were assessed at hospital admission, 4h after the procedure and daily during hospitalization. Post-procedural hyperglycemia was defined as 2 consecutive blood glucose readings ≥150mg/dL in the 72-hour period following TAVI. AKI was defined according to the VARC consensus report regarding standardized endpoint definitions. Overall, 137 (32.5%) patients developed post-procedural hyperglycemia and 138 (33%) patients developed AKI. Hyperglycemia was associated with a 2-fold higher incidence of AKI than in patients without hyperglycemia (48% vs. 25%, p<0.001). In-hospital mortality was higher in patients with hyperglycemia than in those without hyperglycemia (9.6% vs. 1.8%, p<0.001). In-hospital mortality rate was also higher in patients who developed AKI (12.7% vs. 2.7%, p<0.001). Patients with acute hyperglycemia that developed AKI had the highest in-hospital and long-term mortality rate (15% and 38%). Post-procedural hyperglycemia was an independent predictor of AKI. CONCLUSIONS Post-procedural hyperglycemia is associated with a higher incidence of AKI and mortality after TAVI. Randomized controlled trials are needed to determine whether meticulous post-procedural glycemic control following TAVI impacts upon clinical outcomes.