Underweight and obesity are related to higher mortality in patients undergoing coronary angiography: The KARDIO invasive cardiology register study.

BACKGROUND: In patients with some cardiovascular disease conditions, slightly elevated body mass index (BMI) is associated with a lower mortality risk (termed "obesity paradox"). It is uncertain, however, if this obesity paradox exists in patients who have had invasive cardiology procedures. We evaluated the association between BMI and mortality in patients who underwent coronary angiography. METHODS: We utilised the KARDIO registry, which comprised data on demographics, prevalent diseases, risk factors, coronary angiographies, and interventions on 42,636 patients. BMI was categorised based on WHO cut-offs or transformed using P-splines. Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated for all-cause mortality. RESULTS: During a median follow-up of 4.9 years, 4688 all-cause deaths occurred. BMI was nonlinearly associated with mortality risk: compared to normal weight category (18.5-25 kg/m2 ), the age-adjusted HRs (95% CIs) for all-cause mortality were 1.90 (1.49, 2.43), 0.96 (0.92, 1.01), 1.04 (0.99, 1.09), 1.08 (0.96, 1.20), and 1.45 (1.22, 1.72) for underweight (<18.5 kg/m2 ), preobesity (25 to <30 kg/m2 ), obesity class I (30 to <35 kg/m2 ), obesity class II (35 to <40 kg/m2 ), and obesity class III (>40 kg/m2 ), respectively. The corresponding multivariable adjusted HRs (95% CIs) were 2.00 (1.55, 2.58), 0.92 (0.88, 0.97) 1.01 (0.95, 1.06), 1.10 (0.98, 1.23), and 1.49 (1.26, 1,78), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: In patients undergoing coronary angiography, underweight and obesity class III are associated with increased mortality risk, and the lowest mortality was observed in the preobesity class. It appears the obesity paradox may be present in patients who undergo invasive coronary procedures.

Exercise cardiac power and the risk of heart failure in men: A population-based follow-up study.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about exercise cardiac power (ECP), defined as the ratio of directly measured maximal oxygen uptake with peak systolic blood pressure during exercise, on heart failure (HF) risk. We examined the association of ECP and the risk of HF. METHODS: This was a population-based cohort study of 2351 men from eastern Finland. The average time to follow-up was 25 years. Participants participated at baseline in an exercise stress test. A total of 313 cases of HF occurred. RESULTS: Men with low ECP (<9.84 mL/mmHg, the lowest quartile) had a 2.37-fold (95% confidence interval (95%CI): 1.68-3.35, p < 0.0001) hazards ratio of HF as compared with men with high ECP (>13.92 mL/mmHg, the highest quartile), after adjusting for age. Low ECP was associated with a 1.96-fold risk (95%CI: 1.38-2.78, p < 0.001) of HF after additional adjustment for conventional risk factors. After further adjustment for left ventricular hypertrophy, the results hardly changed (hazards ratio = 1.87, 95%CI: 1.31-2.66, p < 0.001). One SD increase in ECP (3.16 mL/mmHg) was associated with a decreased risk of HF by 28% (95%CI: 17%-37%). CONCLUSION: ECP provides a noninvasive and easily available measure from cardiopulmonary exercise tests in predicting HF. However, ECP did not provide additional value over maximal oxygen uptake.

Impact of Post-Procedural Change in Left Ventricle Systolic Function on Survival after Percutaneous Edge-to-Edge Mitral Valve Repair.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate how the changes of left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF) between admission and discharge affected the long-term outcome in patients who underwent percutaneous edge-to-edge mitral valve repair for secondary mitral regurgitation. BACKGROUND: An acute impairment of LVEF after surgical repair of mitral regurgitation, known as afterload mismatch, has been associated with increased all-cause mortality. Afterload mismatch after percutaneous edge-to-edge mitral valve repair has been postulated to be a transient phenomenon. METHODS: This study is based on a single-center, retrospective, observational registry of patients who underwent percutaneous edge-to-edge mitral valve repair with the MitraClip (Abbot Vascular) system for the treatment of symptomatic, moderate-to-severe mitral regurgitation. We included data on 399 patients who underwent percutaneous edge-to-edge mitral valve repair for secondary mitral regurgitation. Expert echocardiographers assessed LVEF before the procedure and at discharge. The patients were divided into three groups according to the difference of periprocedural LVEF measurements: unchanged (n = 318), improved (n = 40), and decreased (n = 41) LVEF. RESULTS: The median follow-up time was 2.0 years. When adjusted for gender, NYHA class and estimated glomerular filtration rate, decreased postprocedural LVEF was associated with an increased risk of death (adjusted HR 2.05, 95% CI 1.26-3.34) and increased postprocedural LVEF with a reduced risk of death (adjusted HR 0.47, 95% CI 0.24-0.91) compared to unchanged LVEF. Conclusion: Among patients who underwent percutaneous edge-to-edge mitral valve repair, decreased postprocedural LVEF was associated with increased mortality, while improved LVEF was associated with lower mortality compared to unchanged LVEF.

Exercise heart rate reserve and recovery as risk factors for sudden cardiac death.

BACKGROUND: Little is known if heart rate responses during and after exercise test may be associated with the risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD). Our aim was to determine if exercise heart rate reserve and recovery, providing non-invasive indices, may predict SCD risk in general male population. METHODS: We evaluated the impact of delayed heart rate reserve and slow heart rate recovery and the risk of SCD in the Kuopio Ischemic Heart Disease prospective cohort study of randomly selected 1967 men aged 42-61 years at recruitment. Heart rate reserve was calculated as the difference between the maximal attained heart rate and resting heart rate, whereas heart rate recovery was defined as maximal heart rate minus the heart rate measured at 2 min of recovery, on a symptom-limited cardiopulmonary exercise testing. RESULTS: During a median follow-up interval of 25 years, 209 events of SCD occurred. The age and examination adjusted relative hazards of SCD were in the lowest third of heart rate reserve 3.86 (95% confidence interval (CI) 2.56-5.80, p < 0.001) and the lowest third of heart rate recovery 2.86 (95% CI 1.95-4.20, p < 0.001) as compared to men in the highest third of heart rate reserve and heart rate recovery, respectively. After adjusting for potential confounders, the respective relative hazards were 1.96 (95% CI 1.24-3.12) and 1.75 (95% CI 1.16-2.64). Each unit increment (1 beat/min) in heart rate reserve and heart rate recovery decreased the incidence of SCD by 1-2%. CONCLUSIONS: Delayed exercise heart rate reserve and slow heart rate recovery predicted the risk of SCD, suggesting that heart rate responses may be associated with an increased risk for SCD in general population.

Does the left circumflex coronary artery location impact on the success of chronic total occlusion recanalization? A single-center cohort study.

We sought to determine whether the chronic total occlusions (CTO) recanalization results differ between circumflex artery (CX) and other coronary arteries in our center. The study dataset encompassed 428 consecutive procedures. J-CTO score was highest in the right coronary artery (RCA) and lowest in CX lesions. After adjusting for the J-CTO score, age, body mass index, baseline creatinine, diabetes, dyslipidemia and hypertension the odds ratio for procedural success in CX compared to the other arteries was not statistically significant. We found no difference in success rates of recanalizing CTO in CX compared to other coronary arteries.

High Leisure-Time Physical Activity Is Associated With Reduced Risk of Sudden Cardiac Death Among Men With Low Cardiorespiratory Fitness.

BACKGROUND: We studied the independent and joint associations of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) with the risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD) among middle-aged men. METHODS: The participants were 2656 randomly selected men aged 42-60 years at baseline who were followed for 19 years. LTPA was assessed using a questionnaire modified from the Minnesota LTPA Questionnaire and CRF using a respiratory gas exchange analyzer during maximal exercise test. The participants were divided into 4 groups according to the level of LTPA and CRF dichotomized at the lowest tertiles. RESULTS: Men with low CRF had a 1.6 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1-2.3; P = 0.011) times higher risk of SCD than men with high CRF after adjustment for conventional risk factors. Men with low LTPA had a 1.4 (95% CI, 1.0-2.0; P = 0.032) times higher SCD risk than men with high LTPA after these adjustments. Men with low CRF and low LTPA had a 2.2 (95% CI, 1.4-3.3) times higher SCD risk than men with high CRF and high LTPA adjusting for conventional risk factors (P = 0.044 for interaction). CONCLUSIONS: It seems that low LTPA increases the risk of SCD particularly among men with low CRF but the level of LTPA does not modify the incidence of SCD among men with high CRF.

Cardiorespiratory fitness and exercise-induced ST segment depression in assessing the risk of sudden cardiac death in men.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate whether information on both cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and exercise-induced ST segment depression improves the prediction of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in men. METHODS: The study was based on a population sample of 2328 men aged 42-60 years, who were followed up for on average 19 years. CRF was assessed with maximal exercise test using respiratory gas analysis, expressed in metabolic equivalents (METs) and dichotomised at eight METs. Exercise-induced ST segment depression was defined as 1 mm ST segment depression in ECG. RESULTS: Altogether 165 SCDs occurred during the follow-up. Men with low CRF (<8 METs) and exercise-induced ST segment depression had 4.8-fold (95% CI 2.9 to 7.9) higher risk of SCD than men with high CRF and without exercise-induced ST segment depression (p=0.013 for interaction) after adjustment for other cardiovascular risk factors. Men with high CRF and exercise-induced ST segment depression did not have a statistically significantly higher risk of SCD (HR 1.9, 95% CI 0.9 to 3.8) than men with high CRF and without exercise-induced ST segment depression. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of low CRF and exercise-induced ST segment depression was associated with a markedly increased risk of SCD in men.