Temporal and geographical trends in women operators of electrophysiology procedures in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Cardiac electrophysiology (EP) has few women physicians. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine temporal and geographical trends in the proportion of women EP operators in the United States. METHODS: We extracted data from the Medicare Provider Utilization and Payment Database from 2013 to 2019 using procedure codes for atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation, supraventricular tachycardia/atrial flutter (SVT/AFL) ablation, and cardiac device implantation. The Medicare Provider Utilization and Payment Database excludes operators who perform ≤10 procedures annually for a given individual procedure code. The proportion of women operators was compared across the 7-year period. RESULTS: On average annually between 2013 and 2019, 5% (n = 187) of the 3524 EP operators were women. Procedure-specific analyses demonstrated a similarly low proportion of women EP operators across each procedure type. Despite a 137% increase in the total number of AF ablationists over the 7-year period, the proportion of women remained unchanged (P = .3966). The number of SVT/AFL ablationists and device operators remained constant over time as did the proportion of women operators (P = .9709 and .3583, respectively). In 2019, 10 states (20%) had no women EP operators who performed >10 of any given EP procedure annually, 20 states (39%) had no women who performed >10 of either AF or SVT/AFL ablation procedures annually, and 10 states (20%) had no women device operators who performed >10 of any given type of device implantation annually. CONCLUSION: Women EP operators remain underrepresented, and the proportion of women is stagnant even in areas of major clinical growth such as AF ablation. One-fifth of states had no women operators who performed >10 of any given EP procedure annually.

New-Onset Atrial Fibrillation in Patients Hospitalized With COVID-19: Results From the American Heart Association COVID-19 Cardiovascular Registry.

BACKGROUND: New-onset atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 has been reported and associated with poor clinical outcomes. We aimed to understand the incidence of and outcomes associated with new-onset AF in a diverse and representative US cohort of patients hospitalized with COVID-19. METHODS: We used data from the American Heart Association COVID-19 Cardiovascular Disease Registry. Patients were stratified by the presence versus absence of new-onset AF. The primary and secondary outcomes were in-hospital mortality and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE; cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, stroke, cardiogenic shock, and heart failure). The association of new-onset AF and the primary and secondary outcomes was evaluated using Cox proportional-hazards models for the primary time to event analyses. RESULTS: Of the first 30 999 patients from 120 institutions across the United States hospitalized with COVID-19, 27 851 had no history of AF. One thousand five hundred seventeen (5.4%) developed new-onset AF during their index hospitalization. New-onset AF was associated with higher rates of death (45.2% versus 11.9%) and MACE (23.8% versus 6.5%). The unadjusted hazard ratio for mortality was 1.99 (95% CI, 1.81-2.18) and for MACE was 2.23 (95% CI, 1.98-2.53) for patients with versus without new-onset AF. After adjusting for demographics, clinical comorbidities, and severity of disease, the associations with death (hazard ratio, 1.10 [95% CI, 0.99-1.23]) fully attenuated and MACE (hazard ratio, 1.31 [95% CI, 1.14-1.50]) partially attenuated. CONCLUSIONS: New-onset AF was common (5.4%) among patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Almost half of patients with new-onset AF died during their index hospitalization. After multivariable adjustment for comorbidities and disease severity, new-onset AF was not statistically significantly associated with death, suggesting that new-onset AF in these patients may primarily be a marker of other adverse clinical factors rather than an independent driver of mortality. Causality between the MACE composites and AF needs to be further evaluated.

Thick Heart, Wide QRS, Broad Differential.

Routine electrocardiogram in a middle-aged man with left ventricular hypertrophy showed sinus rhythm, a short PR interval, and delta wave, confirming ventricular pre-excitation. Pre-excitation was fixed after a premature atrial complex and in atrial fibrillation, features diagnostic of a fasciculo-ventricular pathway. Genetic testing confirmed a diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. (Level of Difficulty: Intermediate.).

Using Machine-Learning for Prediction of the Response to Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy: The SMART-AV Study.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to apply machine learning (ML) to develop a prediction model for short-term cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) response to identifying CRT candidates for early multidisciplinary CRT heart failure (HF) care. BACKGROUND: Multidisciplinary optimization of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) delivery can improve long-term CRT outcomes but requires substantial staff resources. METHODS: Participants from the SMART-AV (SmartDelay-Determined AV Optimization: Comparison of AV Optimization Methods Used in Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy [CRT]) trial (n = 741; age: 66 ± 11 years; 33% female; 100% New York Heart Association HF functional class III-IV; 100% ejection fraction ≤35%) were randomly split into training/testing (80%; n = 593) and validation (20%; n = 148) samples. Baseline clinical, electrocardiographic, echocardiographic, and biomarker characteristics, and left ventricular (LV) lead position (43 variables) were included in 8 ML models (random forests, convolutional neural network, lasso, adaptive lasso, plugin lasso, elastic net, ridge, and logistic regression). A composite of freedom from death and HF hospitalization and a >15% reduction in LV end-systolic volume index at 6 months after CRT was the end point. RESULTS: The primary end point was met by 337 patients (45.5%). The adaptive lasso model was the most more accurate (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve: 0.759; 95% CI: 0.678-0.840), well calibrated, and parsimonious (19 predictors; nearly half potentially modifiable). Participants in the 5th quintile compared with those in the 1st quintile of the prediction model had 14-fold higher odds of composite CRT response (odds ratio: 14.0; 95% CI: 8.0-14.4). The model predicted CRT response with 70% accuracy, 70% sensitivity, and 70% specificity, and should be further validated in prospective studies. CONCLUSIONS: ML predicts short-term CRT response and thus may help with CRT procedure and early post-CRT care planning. (SmartDelay-Determined AV Optimization: A Comparison of AV Optimization Methods Used in Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy [CRT] [SMART-AV]; NCT00677014).

Appropriate and inappropriate shocks in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy patients with subcutaneous implantable cardioverter-defibrillators: An international multicenter study.

BACKGROUND: Subcutaneous implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (S-ICDs) are attractive for preventing sudden cardiac death in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) as they mitigate risks of transvenous leads in young patients. However, S-ICDs may be associated with increased inappropriate shock (IAS) in HCM patients. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess the incidence and predictors of appropriate shock and IAS in a contemporary HCM S-ICD cohort. METHODS: We collected electrocardiographic and clinical data from HCM patients who underwent S-ICD implantation at 4 centers. Etiologies of all S-ICD shocks were adjudicated. We used Firth penalized logistic regression to derive adjusted odds ratios (aORs) for predictors of IAS. RESULTS: Eighty-eight HCM patients received S-ICDs (81 for primary and 7 for secondary prevention) with a mean follow-up of 2.7 years. Five patients (5.7%) had 9 IAS episodes (3.8 IAS per 100 patient-years) most often because of sinus tachycardia and/or T-wave oversensing. Independent predictors of IAS were higher 12-lead electrocardiographic R-wave amplitude (aOR 2.55 per 1 mV; 95% confidence interval 1.15-6.38) and abnormal T-wave inversions (aOR 0.16; 95% confidence interval 0.02-0.97). There were 2 appropriate shocks in 7 secondary prevention patients and none in 81 primary prevention patients, despite 96% meeting Enhanced American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association criteria and the mean European HCM Risk-SCD score predicting 5.7% 5-year risk. No patients had sudden death or untreated sustained ventricular arrhythmias. CONCLUSION: In this multicenter HCM S-ICD study, IAS were rare and appropriate shocks confined to secondary prevention patients. The R-wave amplitude increased IAS risk, whereas T-wave inversions were protective. HCM primary prevention implantable cardioverter-defibrillator guidelines overestimated the risk of appropriate shocks in our cohort.

Bringing Critical Race Praxis Into the Study of Electrophysiological Substrate of Sudden Cardiac Death: The ARIC Study.

Background Race is an established risk factor for sudden cardiac death (SCD). We sought to determine whether the association of electrophysiological substrate with SCD varies between black and white individuals. Methods and Results Participants from the ARIC (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities) study with analyzable ECGs (n=14 408; age, 54±6 years; 74% white) were included. Electrophysiological substrate was characterized by ECG metrics. Two competing outcomes were adjudicated: SCD and non-SCD. Interaction of ECG metrics with race was studied in Cox proportional hazards and Fine-Gray competing risk models, adjusted for prevalent cardiovascular disease, risk factors, and incident nonfatal cardiovascular disease. At the baseline visit, adjusted for age, sex, and study center, blacks had larger spatial ventricular gradient magnitude (0.30 mV; 95% CI, 0.25-0.34 mV), sum absolute QRST integral (18.4 mV*ms; 95% CI, 13.7-23.0 mV*ms), and Cornell voltage (0.30 mV; 95% CI, 0.25-0.35 mV) than whites. Over a median follow-up of 24.4 years, SCD incidence was higher in blacks (2.86 per 1000 person-years; 95% CI, 2.50-3.28 per 1000 person-years) than whites (1.37 per 1000 person-years; 95% CI, 1.22-1.53 per 1000 person-years). Blacks with hypertension had the highest rate of SCD: 4.26 (95% CI, 3.66-4.96) per 1000 person-years. Race did not modify an association of ECG variables with SCD, except QRS-T angle. Spatial QRS-T angle was associated with SCD in whites (hazard ratio, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.25-1.53) and hypertension-free blacks (hazard ratio, 1.52; 95% CI, 1.09-2.12), but not in blacks with hypertension (hazard ratio, 1.15; 95% CI, 0.99-1.32) (P-interaction=0.004). Conclusions Race did not modify associations of electrophysiological substrate with SCD and non-SCD. Electrophysiological substrate does not explain racial disparities in SCD rate.

Does Sex Modify an Association of Electrophysiological Substrate with Sudden Cardiac Death? The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study.

BACKGROUND­: Sex is a well-recognized risk factor for sudden cardiac death (SCD). We hypothesized that sex modifies the association of electrophysiological (EP) substrate with SCD. METHODS­: Participants from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study with analyzable ECGs (n=14,725; age, 54.2±5.8 yrs; 55% female, 74% white) were included. EP substrate was characterized by heart rate, QRS, QTc, Cornell voltage, spatial ventricular gradient (SVG), and sum absolute QRST integral (SAI QRST) ECG metrics. Two competing outcomes were adjudicated SCD and nonSCD. Interaction of ECG metrics with sex was studied in Cox proportional hazards and Fine-Gray competing risk models. Model 1 was adjusted for prevalent cardiovascular disease (CVD) and risk factors. Time-updated model 2 was additionally adjusted for incident non-fatal CVD. Relative hazard ratio (RHR) and relative sub-hazard ratio (RSHR) with a 95% confidence interval for SCD and nonSCD risk for women relative to men was calculated. Model 1 was adjusted for prevalent CVD and risk factors. Time-updated model 2 was additionally adjusted for incident non-fatal CVD. RESULTS­: Over a median follow-up of 24.4 years, there were 530 SCDs (incidence 1.72 (1.58-1.88)/1000 person-years). Women as compared to men experienced a greater risk of SCD associated with Cornell voltage (RHR 1.18(1.06-1.32); P=0.003), SAI QRST (RHR 1.16(1.04-1.30); P=0.007), and SVG magnitude (RHR 1.24(1.05-1.45); P=0.009), independently from incident CVD. CONCLUSION­: In women, the global EP substrate is associated with up to 24% greater risk of SCD than in men, suggesting differences in underlying mechanisms and the need for sex-specific SCD risk stratification.

Identification and Management of Intermediate Risk Patients in the Chest Pain Unit.

OBJECTIVE: We examined low risk (LR) patients admitted to our chest pain unit (CPU) with negative cardiac injury markers, normal electrocardiogram, and clinical stability. We hypothesized that there is a sub-group of intermediate risk (IR) patients within the larger LR population. METHODS: Criteria for IR were the aforementioned 3 indicators of LR and ≥1 of the following: (1) known coronary artery disease (CAD), (2) men ≥45 yo, women ≥55 yo, and (3) ≥3 cardiac risk factors. We compared patient characteristics, use of pre-discharge testing (PDT), and major adverse cardiac events (MACE). RESULTS: IR patients numbered 371, whereas LR patients totaled 70. IR patients were older (61 vs 46 years), more had known CAD (28 vs. 0%), had a higher median number of risk factors (2 vs. 1) and were less likely to be women (49 vs. 81%), all P < 0.0001. IR patients received a greater median number of tests compared with LR patients (1 vs. 0, P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Among the IR group, 16 patients (4%) had a cardiac event at the index CPU visit, 2 (0.5%) experienced MACE at 30-day follow-up, and 2 (0.5%) had MACE at 6 months follow-up. No LR patients had MACE at any point in the study. Thus, the majority of CPU patients are IR, have more risk factors than LR group, and are more likely to receive PDT. IR patients were managed safely in a CPU, while maintaining low rates of MACE post-discharge.

Hemodialysis Procedure-Associated Autonomic Imbalance and Cardiac Arrhythmias: Insights From Continuous 14-Day ECG Monitoring.

Background In patients with end-stage kidney disease, sudden cardiac death is more frequent after a long interdialytic interval, within 6 hours after the end of a hemodialysis session. We hypothesized that the occurrence of paroxysmal arrhythmias is associated with changes in heart rate and heart rate variability in different phases of hemodialysis. Methods and Results We conducted a prospective ancillary study of the Predictors of Arrhythmic and Cardiovascular Risk in End Stage Renal Disease cohort. Continuous ECG monitoring was performed using an ECG patch, and short-term heart rate variability was measured for 3 minutes every hour (by root mean square of the successive normal-to-normal intervals, spectral analysis, Poincaré plot, and entropy), up to 300 hours. Out of enrolled participants (n=28; age 54±13 years; 57% men; 96% black; 33% with a history of cardiovascular disease; left ventricular ejection fraction 70±9%), arrhythmias were detected in 13 (46%). Nonsustained ventricular tachycardia occurred more frequently during/posthemodialysis than pre-/between hemodialysis (63% versus 37%, P=0.015). In adjusted for cardiovascular disease time-series analysis, nonsustained ventricular tachycardia was preceded by a sudden heart rate increase (by 11.2 [95% CI 10.1-12.3] beats per minute; P<0.0001). During every-other-day dialysis, root mean square of the successive normal-to-normal intervals had a significant circadian pattern (Mesor 10.6 [ 95% CI 0.9-11.2] ms; amplitude 1.5 [95% CI 1.0-3.1] ms; peak at 02:01 [95% CI 20:22-03:16] am; P<0.0001), which was replaced by a steady worsening on the second day without dialysis (root mean square of the successive normal-to-normal intervals -1.41 [95% CI -1.67 to -1.15] ms/24 h; P<0.0001). Conclusions Sudden increase in heart rate during/posthemodialysis is associated with nonsustained ventricular tachycardia. Every-other-day hemodialysis preserves circadian rhythm, but a second day without dialysis is characterized by parasympathetic withdrawal.