Sutureless Valve in Bicuspid Aortic Stenosis: Modified Technique and Midterm Outcome.

BACKGROUND: The sutureless valve has gained popularity for degenerative aortic valve stenosis but not congenital bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) due to anatomical challenges. We reviewed our modified implant techniques for patients with BAV. METHODS: From June 2015 to June 2019, 66 patients with aortic valve stenosis were treated with the Perceval sutureless valve, 20 of whom had BAV. The demographics, type of BAV (the Sievers classification), and associated pathologies, surgical outcomes, and midterm hemodynamics were recorded. RESULTS: The median age was 64 (range: 49-81) years and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons score was 2.186 (range: 0.407-6.384). Annular plication was performed in 9 (75%) of 12 type 0 and 3 (37.5%) of 8 type I, with implanted valve sizes of M, L, and XL in 6, 10, 4 cases, respectively. Three patients, all type 0 in the initial learning periods, required intraoperative redeployment due to malposition of the valve. The final implant was successful in all without conversion to traditional prosthesis. The median extubation time was 4 hours and the durations of intensive care unit and hospital stay were 1 and 6 days. At a median follow-up of 46 (23-72) months, there was one late mortality due to hemorrhagic stroke sequel. The last echo revealed none had more than mild paravalvular leakage and the mean transvalvular pressure gradient remained stable at 9.70 (range: 6.94-15.0) mm Hg. CONCLUSION: The sutureless valve can achieve satisfactory outcomes in BAV without paravalvular leakage and excellent hemodynamics. It may serve as the benchmark for transcatheter aortic valve implantation in this unique population.

Efficacy of portable sleep monitoring device in diagnosing central sleep apnea in patients with congestive heart failure.

Introduction: Central sleep apnea (CSA) is a common and serious comorbidity mainly occurring in patients with heart failure (HF), which tends to be underdiagnosed and has not been widely studied. Overnight polysomnography (PSG) is the gold standard for diagnosing CSA; however, the time and expense of the procedure limit its applicability. Portable monitoring (PM) devices are convenient and easy to use; however, they have not been widely studied as to their effectiveness in detecting CSA in patients with HF. In the current study, we examined the diagnostic value of PM as a screening tool to identify instances of CSA among patients with HF. Methods: A total of 22 patients under stable heart failure conditions with an ejection fraction of <50% were enrolled. All patients underwent PM and overnight PSG within a narrow time frame. The measurements of the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), hypopnea index (HI), central apnea index (CAI), and obstructive apnea index (OAI) obtained from PSG, automatic scoring, and manual scoring of PM were recorded. The results obtained from PSG and those from PM (automatic and manual scoring) were compared to assess the accuracy of PM. Results: Among the patients, CSA in 11 patients was found by PSG. The AHI measurements performed using manual scoring of PM showed a significant correlation with those performed using PSG (r = 0.69; P = 0.01). Nonetheless, mean AHI measurements showed statistically significant differences between PSG and automatic scoring of PM (40.0 vs. 23.7 events/hour, respectively; P < 0.001), as well as between automatic and manual scoring of PM (23.7 vs. 29.5 events/hour; P < 0.001). Central sleep apnea was detected by PM; however, the results were easily misread as obstructive apnea, particularly in automatic scoring. Conclusion: PM devices could be used to identify instances of central sleep apnea among patients with HF. The results from PM were well-correlated with standard PSG results, and manual scoring was preferable to automated scoring.

Dialysis Mode and Associated Outcomes in Patients With End-Stage Renal Disease and Atrial Fibrillation: A 14-Year Nationwide Cohort Study.

Background Benefits of patients with end-stage renal disease and atrial fibrillation undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD) or hemodialysis are unknown. Methods and Results Patients undergoing dialysis were retrieved from Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database during 2001 to 2013 and separated into PD or hemodialysis. Primary outcomes were ischemic stroke/systemic embolism, major bleeding, and intracranial hemorrhage (ICH). An inverse probability of treatment weighting based on propensity score was used to reduce the confounding. The risk of outcomes between PD and hemodialysis was compared using Cox proportional hazard model for fatal outcomes or Fine and Gray subdistribution hazard model which considered death a competing risk, respectively. A total of 7916 patients with end-stage renal disease with atrial fibrillation undergoing PD or hemodialysis during 2001 to 2013 were identified. After exclusion criteria, 363 patients receiving PD and 5302 patients receiving hemodialysis were analyzed. At 1-year follow-up, the risk of ICH was significantly lower in the PD group compared with the hemodialysis group (0.2% versus 0.9%; subdistribution hazard ratio [SHR], 0.31; 95% CI, 0.17-0.57). At 3-year follow-up, the risks of major bleeding and ICH were significantly lower in the PD group compared with the hemodialysis group (major bleeding: 1.8% versus 3.2%; SHR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.53-0.87; ICH: 0.5% versus 2%; SHR, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.21-0.48). At 5-year follow-up, ischemic stroke/systemic embolism, major bleeding, and ICH were significantly lower in the PD group compared with the hemodialysis group (ischemic stroke/systemic embolism: 12.4% versus 17.7%, SHR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.79-0.96; major bleeding: 2.6% versus 4.1%; SHR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.64-0.97; ICH: 0.5% versus 2.6%; SHR, 0.25; 95% CI, 0.17-0.37). Conclusions In patients with end-stage renal disease and atrial fibrillation, dialytic modalities by PD or hemodialysis impacted these patients differently. There were overall reduced ischemic stroke/systemic embolism, major bleeding, and ICH at 5-year follow-up in patients undergoing PD compared with hemodialysis.

Sport disciplines and cardiac remodeling in elite university athletes competing in 2017 Taipei Summer Universiade.

Cardiac remodeling is common in the athletes. Little data is available regarding the cardiac remodeling on the recently proposed 4 sport disciplines among the elite university athletes.A total of 7639 athletes participated in the 2017 Taipei Summer Universiade. Cardiac evaluation via history, ECG, and echocardiography were performed in 826 athletes who signed up for Check Up Your Heart. Athletes were grouped into one of 4 sport disciplines Skill, Power, Mixed, and Endurance.After excluding 66 participants with missing demographic data, 13 missing echocardiographic data, and 24 inadequate echocardiographic images, a total number of 723 university athletes (mean age 23 ±â€Š3 years, 419 males) from 99 countries engaging in 25 different sporting events were analyzed. Electrocardiograms showed that Endurance group had a slower heart rate and higher percentage of left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy (39%). Echocardiograms showed there were significant differences in LV mass index (P < .001), LV geometry (P < .001), left atrial (LA) dilatation (P = .026), right ventricular (RV) dilatation (P < .001), right atrial (RA) dilatation (P < .0001), and tricuspid annular plane systolic excurse (P = .006). LV ejection fraction, LV strain, RV strain, and LV diastolic function showed no difference in 4 sport disciplines.Eccentric LV hypertrophy was the most common type of cardiac remodeling in the university athletes participated in 2017 Taipei Summer Universiade. Adaptive changes in chamber size were more commonly seen in Endurance sport. RA dilatation was the most sensitive to hemodynamic demand, followed by RV dilatation, LA dilatation, and LV dilatation.

Surgical outcomes analysis in patients with uncomplicated acute type A aortic dissection: a 13-year institutional experience.

This retrospective study aimed to clarify the short-term and mid-term outcomes of and prognostic factors for patients who underwent surgical repair for uncomplicated acute type A aortic dissection (ATAAD). Between January 2007 and June 2019, 603 consecutive patients underwent ATAAD repair at our institution. According to patients' preoperative presentations and imaging studies, uncomplicated ATAAD was found in 276 (45.8%) patients by excluding preoperative complicated factors. Patients with uncomplicated ATAAD were classified into the survivor (n = 243) and non-survivor (n = 33) groups. Clinical features, surgical information, and postoperative complications were compared. Three-year survival and freedom from reoperation rates for survivors were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier actuarial method. The in-hospital surgical mortality rate of uncomplicated ATAAD patients was 11.9%. The non-survivor group had a higher rate of postoperative malperfusion-related complications, and a multivariate analysis revealed that repeat surgery, retrograde cerebral perfusion, and intraoperative extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support were predictors of in-hospital mortality. In the survivor group, 3-year cumulative survival and freedom from aortic reoperation rates were 89.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 84.8-92.9%) and 83.1% (95% CI 76.8-87.7%), respectively. In conclusion, uncomplicated and complicated ATAAD rates were similar; the short-term and mid-term surgical outcomes in patients with uncomplicated ATAAD were generally acceptable.

Surgical results in acute type A aortic dissection with preoperative cardiopulmonary resuscitation: Survival and neurological outcome.

BACKGROUND: Acute type A aortic dissection (ATAAD) is a life-threatening disease that requires emergent surgical intervention. This retrospective study aimed to clarify the individual characteristics, short-term and mid-term outcomes, and prognostic factors of patients who underwent surgical repair of ATAAD with preoperative cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). METHODS: Between January 2007 and January 2020, 656 consecutive patients underwent ATAAD repair at our institution; 22 (3.4%) of these patients underwent CPR prior to surgery. Patients who underwent preoperative CPR were classified as the survivor group (n = 9) and non-survivor group (n = 13), according to whether they survived to hospital discharge. Clinical features, surgical information, and postoperative complications were analyzed and compared. Three-year cumulative survival rates and cerebral performance categories (CPC) scores are presented. RESULTS: In patients undergoing CPR prior to ATAAD surgery, the in-hospital mortality rate was 59.1%. A total of 72.7% of patients underwent concomitant surgical resuscitation procedures during CPR such as emergent subxiphoid pericardiotomy and/or emergent cardiopulmonary bypass. The survivor group had a higher rate of return of spontaneous heartbeat (ROSB) compared to the non-survivor group (100% versus 53.8%; P = 0.017). The 3-year cumulative survival rates were 35.1% (95% confidence interval [CI], 27.6%-42.6%) and 85.7% (95% CI, 81.9%-88.8%) for overall patients and for survivors, respectively. As for the neurological outcome, 77.8% (7/9) of patients had full cerebral performance (CPC-1) at the 3-month follow-up examination after discharge. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with ATAAD undergoing preoperative CPR, especially those without ROSB after CPR, are at high risk for in-hospital mortality. However, the short-term and mid-term outcomes, including the cerebral performance after discharge and 3-year survival rate, are promising for patients who survived to discharge.

Surgical rescues for critical hemopericardium complicated by acute type A aortic dissection: Emergent subxiphoid pericardiotomy or cardiopulmonary bypass first?

BACKGROUND: Hemopericardium is a common and hazardous complication of acute type A aortic dissection (ATAAD). This retrospective study aimed to clarify the short-term and mid-term outcomes in patients who underwent surgical rescues for hemopericardium complicated by ATAAD. METHODS: Between January 2007 and March 2019, 586 consecutive patients underwent ATAAD repair at our institution. According to preoperative computed tomography, hemopericardium was found in 191 patients (32.6%), 150 were stabilized with medical treatment, and 41 underwent surgical rescues for critical hemodynamics. The 41 patients were classified into groups according to their rescue procedures: emergent subxiphoid pericardiotomy (E-SXP group, n = 26, 63.4%) or emergent cardiopulmonary bypass (E-CPB group, n = 15, 36.6%). Clinical features, surgical information, postoperative complications, and 3-year survival were analyzed and compared. RESULTS: Demographics, comorbidities and aortic repair procedures were generally homogenous between the two groups, except for sex. The average systolic blood pressure was 62.4 ± 13.3 mmHg and 67.1 ± 13.1 mmHg in the E-SXP and E-CPB groups, respectively. A total of 29.3% of patients underwent cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) before surgical rescues. The in-hospital mortality was similar (30.8% versus 33.3%, P = 0.865) in the two groups. Multivariate analysis revealed that preoperative CPR was an in-hospital predictor of mortality. For patients who survived to discharge, 3-year cumulative survival rates were 87.8% ± 8.1% and 60.0% ± 19.7% in the E-SXP and E-CPB groups, respectively (P = 0.170). CONCLUSIONS: Patients who underwent surgical rescues for ATAAD-complicated hemopericardium are at a high risk of in-hospital mortality. The two rescue procedures revealed similar short-term and mid-term outcomes.

Elderly versus non-elderly patients undergoing surgery for left-sided native valve infective endocarditis: A 10-year institutional experience.

This retrospective study aimed to clarify the short- and mid-term outcomes of elderly patients who underwent surgery to treat left-sided native valve infective endocarditis (LSNIE). Between July 2005 and September 2015, 179 patients underwent surgical treatment for active LSNIE at a single institution. Patients were classified into two groups: ≥65 years (elderly group) and <65 years (non-elderly group). Clinical features, surgical information, postoperative complications, and three-year survival rates were compared. The average ages were 74.2 ± 6.4 and 45.2 ± 12.6 years in the elderly and non-elderly groups, respectively. The elderly group had a higher predicted mortality rate and a lower incidence of preoperative septic emboli-related complications. Echocardiographic assessments of infected valves were generally homogenous between the groups. The elderly patients had a higher in-hospital mortality rate than the non-elderly patients (26.3% vs. 5.7%, P = 0.001). For patients who survived to discharge, the three-year cumulative survival rates were 75.0% ± 8.2% and 81.2% ± 3.4% in the elderly and non-elderly groups, respectively (P = 0.484). In conclusion, elderly patients are at a higher risk of in-hospital mortality after surgery for LSNIE. However, once elderly patients are stabilized by surgical treatment and survive to discharge, the mid-term outcomes are promising.

A Novel Approach for Predicting Atrial Fibrillation Recurrence After Ablation Using Deep Convolutional Neural Networks by Assessing Left Atrial Curved M-Mode Speckle-Tracking Images.

Aims: Curved M-mode images of global strain (GS) and strain rate (GSR) provide sufficiently detailed spatiotemporal information of deformation mechanics. This study investigated whether a deep convolutional neural network (CNN) could accurately classify these images in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) who underwent radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) with different outcomes. Methods and Results: We retrospectively evaluated 606 consecutive patients who underwent RFCA for drug-refractory AF. Patients were divided into AF-free (n = 443) and AF-recurrent (n = 163) groups. Transthoracic echocardiography was performed within 24 h after RFCA. Left atrial curved M-mode speckle-tracking images were acquired from randomly selected 163 patients in AF-free group and 163 patients in AF-recurrent group as the dataset for deep CNN modeling. We used the ReLu activation function and repeatedly performed CNN model for 32 times to evaluate the stability of hyperparameters. Logistic regression models with the left atrial dimension, emptying fraction, and peak systolic GS as predictor variables were used for comparisons. Images from the apical 2-chamber (2-C) and 4-chamber (4-C) views had distinct features, leading to different CNN performance between settings; of them, the "4-C GS+4-C GSR" setting provided the highest performance index values. All four predictor variables used for logistic regression modeling were significant; however, none of them, individually or in any combined form, could outperform the optimal CNN model. Conclusion: The novel approach using deep CNNs for learning features of left atrial curved M-mode speckle-tracking images seems to be optimal for classifying outcome status after AF ablation.

Clinical outcomes of peripartum cardiomyopathy: a 15-year nationwide population-based study in Asia.

Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is the development of heart failure during late pregnancy to months postpartum with potential fatal outcome. However, the disease is not well-studied in Asia.We aimed to investigate the epidemiology and clinical outcomes of PPCM in Taiwan.Electronic medical records were retrieved from Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database from 1997 to 2011. Patients with PPCM were separated into 3 groups based on the timing of diagnosis. Early: PPCM diagnosed first to ninth month of pregnancy. Traditional: PPCM diagnosed last month of pregnancy till fifth month post-delivery. Late: PPCM diagnosed sixth to twelfth month post-delivery. Primary outcomes defined as cardiac death, all-cause mortality, and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) within 1 year.A total of 3,506,081 deliveries during 1997 to 2011 were retrieved and 925 patients with PPCM were identified. Overall incidence of PPCM was 1:3,790 during the 15 years. Early, Traditional, and Late group each had 88, 742, and 95 patients. Cardiac death occurred in 31 patients, all-cause mortality in 72 patients, and MACE in 65 patients. Late group had 2- to 3-fold event rates in cardiac death, all-cause mortality, and MACE compared with Early and Traditional groups. Cumulative incidence showed significant differences for cardiac death (P = .0011), all-cause mortality (P = .0031), and MACE (P = .0014) among 3 groups. Multivariate Cox model showed Late group had significantly worse outcomes after adjusted for clinical variables compared with 2 other groups.Our study is the largest national cohort among Asian countries that showed timing of diagnosis of PPCM had different outcomes. Late diagnosis portended significantly increased morbidity and mortality, even after adjusted for clinical variables.

Comparison of very long-term clinical and angiographic outcomes of bare metal stent implants between patients with and without type 2 diabetes.

BACKGROUND: Data on a large patient population regarding very long-term outcomes after bare metal stent (BMS) implantation in diabetic patients are lacking. The aim of this study was to evaluate the very long-term (8-17 years) clinical and 6-month angiographic outcomes of BMS implantations in patients with and without type 2 diabetes. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 2391 patients (579 with and 1812 without diabetes) who received BMS implantations between November 1995 and May 2004 were enrolled from the Cardiovascular Atherosclerosis and Percutaneous TrAnsluminal INterventions (CAPTAIN) registry into this study. During a mean follow-up period of 152±53months, the diabetic patients had higher rates of all-cause mortality (28% vs. 15%, p<0.001), re-infarction (6% vs. 5%, p=0.284), target lesion revascularization (13% vs. 10%, p=0.049), and a lower cardiovascular event-free survival rate (42% vs. 56%, p<0.001) compared to the patients without diabetes. The diabetic patients also had a higher restenosis rate (26% vs. 18%, p<0.001) at 6-month angiographic follow-up. The multivariate analysis of risk factors for cardiac event-free survival included age (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.011; p=0.001), hypertension (HR: 1.168; p=0.011), diabetes mellitus (HR: 1.353; p<0.001), pre-existing coronary artery disease (HR: 1.341; p<0.001), and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (HR: 0.992; p=0.002) (Table 7). The Kaplan-Meier analysis showed a significant difference in cardiovascular event-free survival rate between the two groups (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: The clinical and angiographic outcomes of diabetic patients with BMS implantations were worse than those of patients without diabetes after a very long-term follow-up period.

Comparison of clinical outcomes in peripartum cardiomyopathy and age-matched dilated cardiomyopathy: A 15-year nationwide population-based study in Asia.

Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM), often classified as a form of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), is the myocardial dysfunction that occurs in late pregnancy and through the first few postpartum months.The aim of this study is to investigate the differences in the clinical outcomes of PPCM and DCM.Electronic medical records from 1997 to 2011 were retrieved from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. Patients with PPCM were compared with age- and clinical characteristics-matched patients with DCM. Primary outcomes were 1- and 3-year heart failure (HF) readmission, cardiac death, all-cause mortality, and major adverse cardiovascular events. Secondary outcomes were myocardial infarction, new onset of dialysis, heart transplant, and cerebrovascular accident. Follow-up period was divided into "within the first year" and "after the first year."A total of 527,979 patients (253,166 females) were hospitalized with a principal diagnosis of HF during 1997 to 2011 period. After excluding patients aged <18 and >50 years, patients with other forms of HF, and those with a history of cerebrovascular accidents or coronary artery disease, 797 patients with PPCM and 1267 patients with DCM were evaluated. Propensity score matching yielded 391 patients in each group. Patients with DCM had a significantly worse prognosis compared to those with PPCM for all primary and secondary outcomes at the 1- and 3-year follow-ups. After 1 year, the HF readmission rate did not significantly differ between the 2 diseases, suggesting that HF medications should be aggressively instituted in patients with PPCM.This is the first study to directly compare the clinical outcomes between age-matched patients with PPCM and DCM. Patients with PPCM had a significantly better prognosis across all cardiovascular endpoints compared to patients with DCM.

Contrasting effects of HMR1098 on arrhythmogenicity in a Langendorff-perfused phase-2 myocardial infarction rabbit model.

BACKGROUND: The stability of dynamic factors has been reported to play a role in the antiarrhythmic actions of adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-sensitive potassium channel (KATP) opener in phase-2 myocardial infarction (MI) hearts. In the situation of the downregulation of KATP, the effects of KATP blocker (HMR1098) on the dynamic factors and electrophysiological changes during phase-2 MI remain unclear. METHODS: Dual voltage and intracellular Ca(2+) (Cai) optical mapping was performed in nine Langendorff-perfused hearts 4-5 hours after coronary artery ligation and five control hearts. Electrophysiology studies, including action potential duration (APD) restitution, conduction velocity (CV), inducibility of ventricular fibrillation (VF), VF dominant frequency, APD and Cai alternans, and Cai decay, were performed. The same protocol was repeated in the presence of HMR1098 (10 µm) after the baseline studies. RESULTS: HMR1098 significantly prolonged APD and effective refractory period to prevent sustained VF in five of nine MI hearts and two of five control hearts compared to none at baseline in both groups. On the other hand, HMR1098 steepened APD restitution slope to enhance spatially concordant alternans in both groups. In the phase-2 MI group, HMR1098 steepened CV restitution slope and enhanced spatially discordant alternans (SDA), which might account for a decreased pacing threshold of VF induction during HMR1098 infusion in phase-2 MI hearts. CONCLUSIONS: In phase-2 MI hearts, HMR1098 has contrasting effects on arrhythmogenesis, suppressing reentry and VF persistence but facilitating VF inducibility. The mechanism is the intensified induction of SDA because of the steepened APD and CV restitution slopes.