ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: To investigate the safety and outcome of percutaneous coronary intervention for left main coronary artery disease in hospital without on-site cardiac surgery. METHODS: Between January 2007 and December 2010, all patients diagnosed with left main coronary artery disease and refused coronary artery bypass graft surgery in our hospital or a tertiary center, were enrolled. Data including clinical course, angiographic characteristics, and 1- and 3-years outcomes were recorded and analyzed. RESULTS: Seventy patients (mean age 73.4 ± 10.2 years, 47 male, 23 females) were treated with a mean SYNTAX score of 34.8 ± 12.6 and EuroSCORE of 6.7 ± 3.3. Thirty-two (45.7%) patients had stable angina, 35 (50.0%) had unstable angina/non ST-elevation myocardial infarction, and 3 (4.3%) had ST-elevation Myocardial infarction. Forty-three (61.4%) patients received a single-stent, 26 (37.1%) received two-stents, and 1 (1.4%) received balloon angioplasty. No procedure-related mortalities were noted and no emergency coronary artery bypass graft surgery was required. In the 3-year follow-up period, 2 (2.9%) patients had non-fetal myocardial infarction, 11 (15.7%) had left main target lesion revascularization. The major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events rates were 24.3% at 1 year and 37.1% at 3-years. The all-cause mortality rate was 41.4% (29 patients), including 18 (25.7%) cases of septic shock, 7 (10.0%) of sudden cardiac death, 2 (2.8%) of hypovolemic shock due to upper gastrointestinal bleeding, 1 (1.4%) of terminal stage malignancy, and 1 (1.4%) of suffocation at 3 years. CONCLUSIONS: Percutaneous coronary intervention for patients with left main coronary artery disease was found to be a safe and effective strategy in our hospital without on-site cardiac surgery. KEY WORDS: Incomplete revascularization; Left main coronary artery (LM); No cardiac surgery; Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Advanced age is associated with left ventricular (LV) remodeling and impaired diastole. The association among aging, mitral leaflet closure (EF slope), cardiac structures, and diastolic indices in an asymptomatic Taiwanese population is largely unknown. METHODS: We studied 8103 asymptomatic participants (49.5 ± 11.6 years, 38.2% women) from a health evaluation cohort (2004-2012) in a tertiary center in Taiwan. Echo-derived LV structure/function, and M-mode based EF slope (mm/s) and serum NT-proBNP level were obtained. The association between EF slope and the other clinical or echo-based parameters was investigated. RESULTS: Average values for EF slope among various age groups in the Taiwanese population were determined for both genders. Advanced age was associated with reductions in EF slope (adjusted estimate: - 0.35/per decade). Reduced EF slope was associated with older age, higher blood pressure and greater body mass index in multivariate models (all p < 0.05). Reduced EF slope was correlated with greater cardiac concentricity, abnormal E' and E/E' (AUROC: 0.74 and 0.77, respectively, both p < 0.05) and elevated NT-proBNP (Coef: 5.98 pg/mL, per - 10 mm/s EF slope, 95% CI: 7.82 to 4.17, p < 0.001). EF-slope also clearly discriminated individuals with abnormal estimated LV filling (E/E' categorized by < 8, ≥ 8 & < 15, ≥ 15, ANOVA p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: EF-slope reduction in the asymptomatic Taiwanese population was correlated with age, several unfavorable LV remodeling, and impaired diastolic function parameters, and EF-slope can be an effective clinical diagnostic tool for identifying poor E' and elevated LV filling pressure. In addition, our data provided reference values for EF-slope in various age groups.
