Orlando Santana

The pleiotropic effects of the hydroxy-methyl-glutaryl-CoA reductase inhibitors in cardiovascular disease: a comprehensive review.

The hydroxy-methyl-glutaryl-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins) are used extensively in the treatment of hyperlipidemia, and in the long-term prevention of coronary artery disease and stroke. They have also demonstrated a benefit in a variety of other cardiovascular disease processes. These secondary actions are known as pleiotropic effects. An updated discussion on the pleiotropy of statins is provided, and emphasizes the importance of randomized, placebo-controlled trials to further elucidate the potential benefits of these non-lipid-lowering actions in the treatment of cardiovascular disease.

Outcomes of Minimally Invasive Valve Surgery Versus Median Sternotomy in Patients Age 75 Years or Greater

BACKGROUND Advanced age is a major predictor of poor outcome in patients undergoing valve surgery. We hypothesized that elderly patients who underwent minimally invasive valve surgery for aortic or mitral valve disease would do better when compared with those undergoing the standard median sternotomy. METHODS We retrospectively reviewed 2,107 consecutive heart operations at our institution and identified 203 patients, age 75 years or greater, who underwent isolated mitral or aortic valve surgery. Outcomes of those who had minimally invasive valve surgery through a right minithoracotomy were compared with those who had a median sternotomy. RESULTS Of the 203 patients, 119 (59%) underwent a minimally invasive approach, while 84 (41%) had a median sternotomy. The median postoperative length of stay was 7 days (interquartile range [IQR] 6 to 10) versus 12 days (IQR 9 to 20), p less than 0.001, and intensive care unit length of stay was 52 hours (IQR 44 to 93) versus 119 hours (IQR 57 to 193), p less than 0.001 for minimally invasive and median sternotomy, respectively. In-hospital mortality was 2 (1.7%) versus 8 (9.5%, p=0.01 and composite postoperative morbidity and mortality occurred in 25 (21%) versus 38 (45.2%), p less than 0.001, in minimally invasive versus median sternotomy, respectively. The difference was driven by the following: a lower incidence of acute renal failure, 1 (0.8%) versus 14 (16.7%), p<0.001; prolonged intubation 23 (19.3%) versus 32 (38.1%), p=0.003; wound infections 1 (0.8%) versus 5 (6%), p=0.034; and death. CONCLUSIONS Minimally invasive surgery for isolated valve lesions in elderly patients yields a lower morbidity and mortality when compared with median sternotomy and should be considered when such individuals require valve surgery.

Outcomes of minimally invasive valve surgery versus standard sternotomy in obese patients undergoing isolated valve surgery.

BACKGROUND We hypothesize that composite in-hospital surgical complications are lower in obese patients who undergo minimally invasive valve surgery for aortic and (or) mitral valve disease, when compared with the standard median sternotomy approach. METHODS We retrospectively reviewed 2,288 heart operations done at our institution between January 3, 2005 and January 10, 2010, and identified 160 consecutive obese patients, defined as patients with a body mass index of greater than 30 kg/m(2), who underwent isolated mitral and (or) aortic valve surgery. The outcomes of those who had minimally invasive valve surgery were compared with a matched control group who had valve surgery through a median sternotomy approach. RESULTS Of the 160 patients, 64 underwent the minimally invasive approach and 96 had a median sternotomy. The mean age was 69.4 ± 11 years for the minimally invasive group, and 64.7 ± 11.5 for the median sternotomy group (p = 0.015). Composite postoperative complications occurred in 15 (23.49%) versus 49 (51.0%) patients (p = 0.034) in the minimally invasive group versus median sternotomy, respectively. The difference was driven by a lower incidence of acute renal failure (0 vs 6 patients [6.25%], p = 0.041), prolonged intubation (12 [18.7%] vs 33 [34.3%], p = 0.049), reintubation (3 [4.68%] vs 15 [15.6%], p = 0.032), deep wound infections (0 vs 4 [4.1%], p = 0.098), and death (0 vs 8 [8.3%], p = 0.041), respectively. All patients in the minimally invasive group were alive at 30 days. CONCLUSIONS Minimally invasive surgery for isolated valve lesions in obese patients has a lower morbidity and mortality when compared with the standard median sternotomy approach.

Comorbidities Frequency in Takotsubo Syndrome: An International Collaborative Systematic Review Including 1109 Patients

BACKGROUND To identify predisposing factors that can result in the onset of takotsubo syndrome, we performed an international, collaborative systematic review focusing on clinical characteristics and comorbidities of patients with takotsubo syndrome. METHODS We searched and reviewed cited references up to August 2013 to identify relevant studies. Corresponding authors of selected studies were contacted and asked to provide additional quantitative details. Data from each study were extracted by 2 independent reviewers. The cumulative prevalence of presenting features and comorbidities was assessed. Nineteen studies whose authors sent the requested information were included in the systematic review, with a total of 1109 patients (951 women; mean age, 59-76 years). Evaluation of risk factors showed that obesity was present in 17% of patients (range, 2%-48%), hypertension in 54% (range, 27%-83%), dyslipidemia in 32% (range, 7%-59%), diabetes in 17% (range, 4%-34%), and smoking in 22% (range, 6%-49%). Emotional stressors preceded takotsubo syndrome in 39% of patients and physical stressors in 35%. The most common comorbidities were psychological disorders (24%; range, 0-49%), pulmonary diseases (15%; range, 0-22%), and malignancies (10%; range, 4%-29%). Other common associated disorders were neurologic diseases (7%; range, 0-22%), chronic kidney disease (7%; range, 2%-27%), and thyroid diseases (6%; range, 0-37%). CONCLUSIONS Patients with takotsubo syndrome have a relevant prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and associated comorbidities. Such of associations needs to be evaluated in further studies.

Staged percutaneous coronary intervention and minimally invasive valve surgery: Results of a hybrid approach to concomitant coronary and valvular disease

BACKGROUND We compared a hybrid approach combining staged percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and minimally invasive valve surgery with concurrent valve surgery plus bypass via a median sternotomy approach. METHODS We retrospectively evaluated 65 consecutive patients with coronary disease and surgical valvular heart disease who underwent planned PCI followed within 60 days by minimally invasive valve surgery, and we compared them with 52 matched control patients who underwent conventional bypass grafting and valve surgery. RESULTS There were no in-hospital deaths in the hybrid group, compared with 2 (3.8%) observed in the matched group (P = .11). Death, renal failure, or stroke occurred in 1 (1.5%) in the hybrid group versus 15 (28.8%) in the conventional group (P = .001). The median number of days between PCI and surgery was 24 (interquartile range, 2.5-37). At surgery, 23 hybrid patients were receiving both aspirin and clopidogrel;, 18, clopidogrel alone; 4, aspirin alone; and 22 stopped the antiplatelet agents 5 days before the operation. Intensive care unit hours and total hospital length of stay, including PCI stay for the hybrid group, were less in the hybrid group (P = .001 for both comparisons). In the hybrid group, average blood use was 1.6 ± 1.6 U per patient versus 1.9 ± 2.4 U per patient with conventional surgery (P = .35. There were no reoperations for postoperative bleeding in the hybrid group compared with 2 (3.8%) in the conventional group (P = .43). CONCLUSIONS Staged PCI with minimally invasive valve surgery may offer an alternative to coronary bypass grafting with concurrent valve surgery and should be tested prospectively.

Pleiotropic effects of the HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors

The HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins) are used extensively in the treatment of hyperlipidemia. They have also demonstrated a benefit in a variety of other disease processes. These secondary actions are known as pleiotropic effects. Our paper serves as a focused and updated discussion on the pleiotropy of statins and emphasizes the importance of randomized placebo-controlled trials to further elucidate this interesting phenomenon.

Outcomes of Right Minithoracotomy Mitral Valve Surgery in Patients With Previous Sternotomy

BACKGROUND We evaluated the outcomes of patients with a history of previous sternotomy who underwent minimally invasive mitral valve surgery through a right minithoracotomy approach. METHODS We reviewed all the isolated mitral valve operations performed at our institution between January 1, 2005, and October 8, 2010, and selected for analysis only patients who had had a prior sternotomy. The outcome of patients who underwent a minimally invasive approach was compared with that of patients whose mitral surgery was performed through a standard median sternotomy. RESULTS There were 88 patients with prior sternotomy, with 59 having minimally invasive surgery and 29 undergoing a repeat median sternotomy. Significant baseline differences (minimally invasive versus sternotomy, respectively) included the number of male patients (76% versus 45%, p=0.003), prior coronary artery bypass graft surgery (71% versus 45%, p=0.02), prior valve surgery (47% versus 72%, p=0.03), congestive heart failure (46% versus 76%, p=0.008), and diabetes mellitus (34% versus 10%, p=0.02). The in-hospital mortality and composite postoperative complications were 3% versus 14% (p=0.07) and 29% versus 66% (p=0.001) for the minimally invasive versus the median sternotomy group, respectively. The intensive care unit stay and hospital length of stay were 48 hours (interquartile range [IQR], 41 to 90) versus 118 hours (IQR, 67 to 167; p<0.001), and 8 days (IQR, 6 to 12) versus 13 days (IQR, 9 to 18; p=0.001), for the minimally invasive and median sternotomy groups, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Minimally invasive mitral valve surgery in patients who have had a prior sternotomy is associated with improved postoperative outcomes and reduced resource utilization, when compared with a median sternotomy approach.

The pleiotropic effects and therapeutic potential of the hydroxy-methyl-glutaryl-CoA reductase inhibitors in malignancies: A comprehensive review

The hydroxy-methyl-glutaryl-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins) are used extensively in the treatment of hyperlipidemia. They have also demonstrated a benefit in a variety of other disease processes via actions known as pleiotropic effects. Our paper serves as a focused review of pre-clinical investigations and published clinical data regarding the pleiotropic effects of statins in malignancies and emphasizes the importance of randomized, placebo-controlled trials to further elucidate this interesting phenomenon.

Usefulness of the troponin-ejection fraction product to differentiate stress cardiomyopathy from ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction.

The presentation of stress cardiomyopathy (SC) with nonobstructive coronary artery disease mimics that of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) due to coronary occlusion. No single parameter has been successful in differentiating the 2 entities. We thus sought to develop a noninvasive clinical tool to discriminate between these 2 conditions. We retrospectively reviewed 59 consecutive cases of SC at our institution from July 2005 through June 2011 and compared those with 60 consecutives cases of angiographically confirmed STEMI treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention in the same period. All patients underwent acute echocardiography, and the peak troponin I level was determined. The troponin-ejection fraction product (TEFP) was derived by multiplying the peak troponin I level and the echocardiographically derived left ventricular ejection fraction. Comparing the SC and STEMI groups, the mean left ventricular ejection fraction at the time of presentation was 30 ± 9% versus 44 ± 11%, respectively (p <0.001), and the peak troponin I was 7.6 ± 18 versus 102.2 ± 110.3 ng/dl, respectively (p <0.001). The mean TEFP was thus 182 ± 380 and 4,088 ± 4,244 for the SC and STEMI groups, respectively (p <0.001). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that a TEFP value ≥250 had a sensitivity of 95%, a specificity of 87%, a negative predictive value of 94%, a positive predictive value of 88%, and an overall accuracy of 91% to differentiate a true STEMI from SC (C-statistic 0.91 ± 0.02, p <0.001). In conclusion, for patients not undergoing emergent angiography, the TEFP may be used with high accuracy to differentiate SC with nonobstructive coronary artery disease from true STEMI due to coronary occlusion.

The pleiotropic effects of the hydroxy-methyl-glutaryl-CoA reductase inhibitors in rheumatologic disorders: a comprehensive review

The hydroxy-methyl-glutaryl-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins) are used extensively in the treatment for hyperlipidemia. They have also demonstrated a benefit in a variety of other disease processes, including a wide range of rheumatologic disorders. These secondary actions are known as pleiotropic effects. Our paper serves as a focused and updated discussion on the pleiotropic effects of statins in rheumatologic disorders and emphasizes the importance of randomized, placebo-controlled trials to further elucidate this interesting phenomenon.