Nikola Pavlović

Coronary artery stent fracture with aneurysm formation and in-stent restenosis

Coronary stent fracture is a relatively rare but potentially serious complication of coronary artery stenting. It has been recognised as a cause of in-stent restenosis as well as acute stent thrombosis. Most fractures occur in stents after aggressive post-dilatation, stents implanted in tortuous and calcified lesions, and after cardiac trauma [M.S. Lee, D. Jurewitz, J. Aragon, J. Forrester, R.R. Makkar, S. Kar Stent fracture associated with drug-eluting stents: clinical characteristics and implications. Catheter Cardiovasc Interv. Feb 15 2007;69(3):387-394.,Makaryus AN, Lefkowitz L, Lee AD, Coronary artery stent fracture. Int J Cardiovasc Imaging. Jun 2007;23(3):305-309. Electronic publication 2006 Sep 28.,E.S. Brilakis, C. Maniu, M. Wahl, G. Barsness (2004) Unstable angina due to stent fracture J Invasive Cardiol 16(9):545.,G. Sianos, S. HOfma, J.M. Ligthart et al. Stent fracture and restenosis in the drug eluting stent era. Catheter cardiovasc Interv 2004; 61(1):111-116.]. We report on a case of delayed stent fracture that gradually lead to in-stent restenosis (distal part), significant fragment displacement with the formation of a coronary artery aneurysm that was unsuitable for percutaneous intervention.

Incidence and predictors of asymptomatic atrial fibrillation in patients older than 70 years with complete atrioventricular block and dual chamber pacemaker implantation

Aim To evaluate predictors of asymptomatic atrial fibrillation in patients older than 70 years with complete atrioventricular (AV) block, normal left ventricular systolic function, and implanted dual chamber (DDD) pacemaker. Methods Hundred and eighty six patients with complete AV block were admitted over one year to the Sisters of Mercy University Hospital. The study recruited patients older than 70 years, with no history of atrial fibrillation, heart failure, or reduced left ventricular systolic function. All the patients were implanted with the same pacemaker. Out of 103 patients who were eligible for the study, 81 (78%) were evaluated. Follow-up time ranged from 12 to 33 months (average±standard deviation 23 ± 5 months). Primary end-point was asymptomatic atrial fibrillation occurrence recorded by the pacemaker. Atrial fibrillation occurrence was defined as atrial high rate episodes (AHRE) lasting >5 minutes. Binary logistic regression was used to identify the predictors of development of asymptomatic atrial fibrillation. Results The 81 patients were stratified into two groups depending on the presence of AHRE lasting >5 minutes (group 1 had AHRE>5 minutes and group 2 AHRE<5 minutes). AHRE lasting >5 minutes were detected in 49 (60%) patients after 3 months and in 53 (65%) patients after 18 moths. After 3 months, only hypertension (odds ratio [OR], 17.63; P = 0.020) was identified as a predictor of asymptomatic atrial fibrillation. After 18 months, hypertension (OR, 14.0; P = 0.036), P wave duration >100 ms in 12 lead ECG (OR, 16.5; P = 0.001), and intracardial atrial electrogram signal amplitude >4 mV (OR, 4.27; P = 0.045) were identified as predictors of atrial fibrillation. Conclusion In our study population, hypertension was the most robust and constant predictor of asymptomatic atrial fibrillation after 3 months, while P wave duration >100 ms in 12-lead ECG and intracardial atrial signal amplitude were predictors after 18 months.

Coronary artery stent fracture with in-stent restenosis and aneurysm formation: Diagnosis and successful treatment with graft stent implantation

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Electrophysiological predictors of propafenone efficacy in prevention of atrioventricular nodal re-entrant and atrioventricular re-entrant tachycardia

Aim To assess the efficacy of propafenone in prevention of atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT) and orthodromic atrioventricular tachycardia (AVRT) based on the clinical results of arrhythmia recurrence and find the electrophysiological predictor of propafenone effectiveness. Methods This retrospective study included 44 participants in a 12-month period, who were divided in two groups: group A – in which propafenone caused complete ventriculo-atrial block and group B – in which propafenone did not cause complete ventriculo-atrial block. Results Group A had significantly lower incidence of tachycardia than group B (95% vs 70.8%, P = 0.038), and complete ventriculo-atrial block predicted the efficacy of propafenone oral therapy in the prevention of tachycardia (sensitivity 87.5%, specificity 52.8%, positive predictive value 95%, negative predictive value 29.2%). Patients with AVNRT in group B who did not experience the recurrences of tachycardia had significantly shorter echo zone before intravenous administration of propafenone than the patients who experienced episodes of sustained tachycardia (median 40 ms [range 15-60 ms] vs 79 ms [range 50-180 ms], P = 0.008). Conclusion In patients with non-inducible tachycardia, complete ventriculo-atrial block can be used as an electrophysiological predictor of the efficacy of propafenone oral therapy in the prevention of tachycardia. In patients with non-inducible AVNRT, but without complete ventriculo-atrial block, propafenone was more effective in patients with shorter echo zone of tachycardia.

Left anterior descending coronary artery dissection during ventricular tachycardia ablation – case report

Abstract Fascicular left ventricular tachycardia (VT) is the second most frequent idiopathic left VT in the setting of a structurally normal heart. Catheter ablation is curative in most patients with low complication rates. We report a case of ostial left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) occlusion during fascicular ventricular tachycardia ablation. Dissection was the most likely cause of LAD obstruction. To the authors’ best knowledge, this is the first case reporting selective LAD dissection during electrophysiology study with no left main coronary artery (LMCA) affection.

Rationale and design of the EU-CERT-ICD prospective study: comparative effectiveness of prophylactic ICD implantation: Effectiveness of primary prophylactic ICD implantation

The clinical effectiveness of primary prevention implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) therapy is under debate. The EUropean Comparative Effectiveness Research to Assess the Use of Primary ProphylacTic Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators (EU‐CERT‐ICD) aims to assess its current clinical value.

Croatian National Data and Comparison with European Practice: Data from the Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy Survey II Multicenter Registry

Aims The Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT) Survey II was conducted between October 2015 and December 2016 and included data from 11088 CRT implantations from 42 countries. The surveys aim was to report on current European CRT practice. The aim of this study was to compare the Croatian national CRT practice with the European data. Methods Five centres from Croatia recruited consecutive patients, in a 15-month period, who underwent CRT implantation, primary or an upgrade. Data were collected prospectively by using online database. Results A total of 115 patients were included in Croatia, which is 33.2% of all CRT implants in Croatia during the study period (total n=346). Median age of the study population was 67 (61–73) years, and 21.2% were women. Primary heart failure (HF) aetiology was nonischemic in 61.1% of patients, and HF with wide QRS was the most common indication for the implantation (73.5%). 80% of patients had complete left bundle branch block, and over two-third had QRS ≥150 ms. Device-related adverse events were recorded in 4.3% of patients. When compared with European countries, Croatian patients were significantly younger (67 vs. 70 years, p=0.012), had similar rate of comorbidities with the exception of higher prevalence of hypertension. Croatian patients significantly more often received CRT-pacemaker when compared with European population (58.3 vs. 29.9%, OR 3.27, 95%CI 2.25–4.74, p < 0.001). Conclusion Our data indicate strict selection of patients among HF population and adherence to guidelines with exception of higher proportion of CRT-pacemaker implantation. This is likely to be influenced by healthcare organization and reimbursement issues in Croatia.

An uncommon case of spontaneous conversion from AV re-entry tachycardia to AV nodal re-entry tachycardia in a patient with dual tachycardia

We report the case of a 46-year old patient in whom an electrophysiology study (EP) was performed due to paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia documented in 12-lead ECG. During the EP study, supraventricular tachycardia was induced easily and it corresponded to orthodromic AV reentry tachycardia (AVRT) using a concealed left free wall accessory pathway. However, during the study AVRT spontaneously and repeatedly converted to the typical slow-fast AV node reentry tachycardia (AVNRT). Both accessory and AV nodal slow pathways were ablated, due to the finding that both AVRT and AVNRT were independently inducible during the EP study.