Differing relationship between hypercholesterolemia and a bicuspid aortic valve according to the presence of aortic valve stenosis or aortic valve regurgitation.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the difference in hyperlipidemia between patients with bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) and those with a normal aortic valve (NAV), and to compare aortic valve stenosis (AS), with aortic valve regurgitation (AR). METHODS: Among 32 patients with BAV and 142 patients with NAV who underwent aortic valve replacement, 81 patients had AR and 91 patients had AS. The preoperative clinical characteristics were compared between the BAV and NAV patients. Patients with replacement of the ascending aorta were included, and those who underwent combined valvular surgery, coronary artery bypass grafting, or statin treatment were excluded. RESULTS: The proportions of females patients (p = 0.42), patients with diabetes (p = 0.26) and patients on dialysis (p = 0.69) were similar in the two groups. Mean age was significantly lower, the mean diameter of the ascending aorta was significantly larger, and the rate of surgical intervention for the ascending aorta was significantly higher in the BAV group than in the NAV group (all p < 0.0001). The mean levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) (p < 0.0001) and total cholesterol (TC) (p = 0.0003) were significantly higher in the BAV group than in the NAV group, in the analysis of only patients with AS, whereas these levels did not differ significantly between the groups, when only patients with AR were considered. CONCLUSION: BAV with AS is associated with hypercholesterolemia. However, BAV with AR was not associated with hypercholesterolemia.

A case of high-output heart failure caused by a femoral arteriovenous fistula after endovenous laser ablation treatment of the saphenous vein.

Endovenous laser ablation treatment has become the less invasive therapeutic choice for the treatment of superficial venous insufficiency and varicose veins. A 64-year-old woman presented at our hospital with varicose veins and prior endovenous laser ablation treatment. The patient had high-output heart failure caused by a right femoral arteriovenous fistula. She was treated medically and underwent an open repair of the right superficial femoral artery and the right femoral vein with complete resolution of the arteriovenous fistula and heart failure. Here, we have reviewed the literature and discussed possible causes of the complication of arteriovenous fistula after endovenous laser ablation treatment.

A multicenter randomized comparison of paclitaxel-coated balloon catheter with conventional balloon angioplasty in patients with bare-metal stent restenosis and drug-eluting stent restenosis.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of paclitaxel-coated balloon (PCB) for the treatment of the bare-metal stent restenosis (BMS-ISR) and drug-eluting stent restenosis (DES-ISR). METHODS: This study was a prospective, multicenter, randomized (2:1) trial conducted in 208 patients with 213 in-stent restenosis lesions (BMS-ISR: 123 lesions, DES-ISR: 90 lesions) at 13 centers in Japan. Patients were randomly assigned to a PCB group (137 patients with 142 lesions) or a conventional balloon angioplasty (BA) group (71 patients with 71 lesions). The primary end point was target vessel failure at 6-month follow-up. RESULTS: Clinical and angiographic follow-up 6 months after intervention was performed in 207 patients (99.5%) with 208 lesions (97.7%). Target vessel failure was noted in 6.6% of the PCB group and 31.0% of the BA group (P < .001). Recurrent restenosis occurred in 4.3% of the PCB group and 31.9% of the BA group (P < .001). Late lumen loss was lower in the PCB group than in the BA group (0.11 ± 0.33 mm vs 0.49 ± 0.50 mm, P < .001). In PCB-treated lesions, recurrent restenosis occurred in 1.1% of patients with BMS-ISR and in 9.1% of patients with DES-ISR (P = .04). Late lumen loss was lower in patients with BMS-ISR than in patients with DES-ISR (0.05 ± 0.28 mm vs 0.18 ± 0.38 mm, P = .03). CONCLUSIONS: This randomized clinical study suggested that PCB provided much better clinical and angiographic outcomes than did conventional BA in patients with BMS-ISR and DES-ISR. Drug-eluting stent restenosis was associated with poorer outcomes compared with BMS-ISR after treatment with PCB.

Computerized 2-lead resting ECG analysis for the detection of relevant coronary artery stenosis in comparison with angiographic findings.

To assess the sensitivity and specificity of a new computer-enhanced resting electrocardiographic analysis device for the detection of coronary stenosis, 189 patients (aged 61.3+/-12.9 years, 57 women) scheduled for coronary angiography from 4 Asian centers were included in an observational study. Angiographic results were independently classified for hemodynamically relevant stenosis by 2 angiographers. The device calculated a severity score from 0 to 20. The score was significantly higher for patients with coronary stenosis (5.4+/-1.8 vs 1.7+/-2.1). The study device (cutoff 4.0) identified 73 of 77 patients with stenosis (sensitivity 94.8%, specificity 86.6%). Adjusted positive and negative predictive values were 78.4% and 97.1%, respectively (receiver operating characteristic area under the curve, 0.914 [95% confidence interval, 0.868-0.961]). Subgroup analysis showed no significant influence of sex, age, previous revascularization procedures, or participating center. The new computer-enhanced, resting electrocardiographic analysis device appears to identify patients with relevant coronary stenosis with high sensitivity and specificity.