Prevalence of atrial fibrillation on a 24-hour Holter in adult Indians.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) prevalence in Indian adults who completed 24-Hour Holter monitoring. METHODS: A total of 23,847 patients (36.9 % women) were analyzed for AF duration using a software algorithm. RESULTS: AF was diagnosed in 4153 (17.4 %) patients with a median AF duration of 13 min and 55 s. CONCLUSION: AF prevalence was high and largely untreated. The short duration of AF episodes indicates a low likelihood of detection during clinical visits, highlighting its potential underestimation in Indian healthcare.

Hypertension in Young Adults in India: Perspectives and Therapeutic Options amongst Clinician's in a Cross Sectional Observational Study.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of hypertension in the young adult population is rising in India. Increased arterial stiffness due to RAAS activation and increased sympathetic overactivity due to stress have been implicated as primary factors for the same. This study was aimed to understand the Indian clinician's perspective on approach to management of hypertension in young adults. METHODS: A cross sectional observational survey using a structured questionnaire was conducted online with 2287clinicians (cardiologists, diabetologists, consultant physicians and family physicians). RESULTS: The prevalence of hypertension was 10-30% as per opinion of 64.8% clinicians. The top three risk factors for hypertension in young were perceived to be smoking, mental stress and obesity. Around 57.4% respondents opined that both increased heart rate and systolic blood pressure were markers of sympathetic overactivity. More than 60% respondents across specialities preferred ARBs to treat hypertension in young adults. Amongst the ARBs, telmisartan was the preferred ARB by >80% respondents. Metoprolol was the preferred beta blocker by almost 64% respondents. The objective of selection of beta-blocker by majority of clinicians due to sympathetic overactivity. Telmisartan and Metoprolol single pill combination achieved the BP goal in 40-60% of patients as reported by 41.3% of the physicians. The combination therapy was well tolerated in young hypertensive patients. CONCLUSIONS: Initiation of an early and appropriate antihypertensive treatment in young population may lower the burden of cardiovascular disease in this population. ARBs and beta -blockers were the preferred class of anti-hypertensive drugs in the cohort of young hypertensive patients .

Role and Relevance of Blood Pressure Variability in Hypertension Related Co-morbidities.

Despite maintaining mean blood pressure at optimal levels, cardiovascular complications still occur in hypertensive patients. Blood pressure variability (BPV) has been implicated as a prominent factor responsible for incurring this additional risk. In this review we attempted to generate a consensus on the importance of BPV in the hypertension management and to evaluate different therapeutic options available to reduce BPV. Panel comprising of 11 leading experts from India in different areas of clinical practice (including nephrology, diabetes and endocrinology, cardiology, and critical care medicine) was convened. The board reviewed up to date literature on BPV, shared personal experiences from their clinical practice, and debated their opinions on the significance of BPV in hypertension management and also on various therapeutic options available to control it. The reviewers agreed that BPV is frequently observed in hypertensive individuals and it is a critical factor in hypertension management. Blood pressure variability can be measured by ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, home blood pressure monitoring, and office blood pressure monitoring. Members concurred that variations in blood pressure that are 10 standard deviations above the mean blood pressure should be considered as pathologically significant and such variations should be reduced using pharmacological therapies. The board opined that Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers,Calcium Channel Blockers etc such as Olmesartan, Nifedipine can be used to reduce BPV. As a way forward, the panel recommends to bridge the evidence gap that establishes a possible direct relationship between BPV and cardiovascular complications. Blood pressure variability has paramount role in the current hypertension management scenario. To reduce disease burden and increase quality of life of hypertensive individuals, physicians should consider lowering BPV along with physiological BP levels.

Successful Sealing of Elli's Type 3 Coronary Artery Perforation with Cyanoacrylate Glue.

Coronary artery perforation (CAP) is a rare (0.43%) but scary complication of percutaneous coronary intervention with its associated morbidity and even mortality at times.It needs to be treated urgently either by percutaneous means or by open heart surgery, as the situation demands. In this report we are discussing a left anterior descending coronary (LAD) artery perforation sealed successfully using cyanoacrylate glue.

Successful Balloon Pulmonary Valvotomy (BPV) of Severe Calcific Pulmonary Stenosis Presenting in an Octogenarian.

Severe pulmonary stenosis presents early in life; late presentation is rare. Very late presentation like in our case is rarest of rare. Likewise calcification of pulmonary valve is rare. We describe here, one such case in an eighty-one year old female who astonishingly not only tolerated severe form of pulmonary stenosis but had also gone through three full term pregnancy, successfully without any untoward effect!

A prospective, multi-centric, observational registry to evaluate performance of Excel™ DES in 'real world, all comers' patient population.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to assess the safety and efficacy of a biodegradable polymer-coated Rapamycin-Eluting Stent (Excel) used in conjunction with six-month dual antiplatelet therapy in daily practice. BACKGROUND: The polymeric material of cardiac stents has been reported to adversely affect the safety profile of the drug-eluting stents and is also suspected to cause serious long-term complications. It has been proposed that the biodegradable polymer coatings may reduce such late-stage adverse effects. METHODS: This is a prospective, multi-center registry of 654 patients from across 9 cardiology centers in India, who were enrolled and exclusively treated with Excel stents between February 2008 and May 2010. The recommended antiplatelet regimen included clopidogrel and aspirin for 6 months period, followed by lifelong aspirin therapy. RESULTS: The study population included 46.94% diabetics, 24.31% smokers, 48.93% hypertensives and 14.98% hyperlipidemics. The cumulative rates of major adverse cardiac events were 0.153% at discharge and 1.38% at 12 months. The mean percentage of stenosis was 88.24 ± 9.17% No events occurred between 6 and 12 months. CONCLUSIONS: This multi-center registry study on "real world, all comers" has, thus, showed that EXCEL™ stent which is PLA-coated biodegradable Rapamycin-Eluting Stent exhibited high efficacy and safety profile in treatment of patients undergoing PCI as evidenced by significantly lower rates of MACE and no case of stent thrombosis. There was no event even after DAPT was discontinued after 6 months.

Experience with BioMatrix BES and other DES in all-comers setting: a retrospective overview.

New generation DES are effectively used in all spectrum of coronary artery diseases (CAD) and are replacing earlier DES and BMS. Biolimus A9™-eluting stent is a new generation DES containing the anti-proliferative drug biolimus A9™ incorporating a biodegradable abluminal coating that leaves a polymer-free stent after drug release enhancing strut coverage while preventing neointimal hyperplasia. A retrospective data analysis was done in patients treated with DES, with a major share of Biolimus A9™ (BA9™) drug-eluting stents (DES) at Bombay Hospital, Mumbai. A total of 158 patients with 219 lesions were treated with DES, comprising Biolimus A9-eluting stent and others and the major adverse cardiac events (MACE) rate and stent thrombosis (ST) at 1, 6, 12 months and 24 months were analyzed. Mace rate was 3.16% for average follow-up of 19 months. There were 3 cases of ST (2 of acute and 1 of subacute onset) and one non-cardiac death reported during this time. This retrospective data demonstrates good one- and two-year clinical safety and efficacy of DES, especially of BioMatrix stents in real world setting.

Spontaneous acute stanford type B thoracic aortic dissection treated successfully with endovascular stent graft.

Aortic dissection is a rare entity with an incidence estimated to be 5-30 cases per million people per year. It is more common in patients with hypertension, connective tissue disorders, congenital aortic stenosis or bicuspid aortic valve, and in those with first-degree relatives with history of thoracic dissections. Spontaneous dissections are rare. We describe one such case who was treated successfully with a endovascular stent graft without any local or systemic complication.