CHA2 DS2 -VASc score, a simple clinical tool for early prediction of no-reflow phenomenon in patients undergoing emergency percutaneous coronary revascularization.

Introduction: Slow flow/no reflow (SF/NR) phenomenon during emergency percutaneous revascularization is a feared complication associated with increased risk of adverse outcomes. CHA2 DS2 -VASc score has been proposed for the risk stratification but a very limited evidences are available regarding the accuracy of this system. Therefore, we conducted this study to assess the predictive value of CHA2 DS2 -VASc score for predicting SF/NR phenomenon during primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods: This analytical cross-sectional study included 596 consecutive patients undergoing PCI for STEMI at a tertiary care cardiac center of Karachi, Pakistan. Baseline -VASc sore was calculated and development of SF/NR phenomenon during primary PCI was recorded. Predictive value of the score was assessed through area under the curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristic curve analysis and sensitivity and specificity were computed. Logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the predictive strength of the score. Results: A total of 596 patients were included, mean age was 56.28±11.44 years, and 75.7%(451) were male. The slow/no reflow phenomenon during the procedure was observed in 36.6%(218) of the patients. CHA2 DS2 -VASc≥2 was observed in 50.2%(299) of the patients. The CHA2 DS2 -VASc score was significantly higher in SF/NR patients, 2.06±1.25 vs. 1.37±1.33; P<0.001. The AUC of CHA2 DS2 -VASc score was 0.652 [0.607-0.696], CHA2 DS2 -VASc≥2 had sensitivity and specificity of 65.6% [58.9% to 71.9%] and 58.3% [53.6% to 63.7%] respectively for predicting SF/NR. CHA2 DS2 -VASc≥2 was insignificant on multivariate with odds ratio of 1.48 [0.72 -3.04]; P=0.283. Conclusion: CHA2 DS2 -VASc risk stratification system has moderate discriminating power for the stratification of SF/NR phenomenon during primary PCI.

Safety and Feasibility of Same Day Discharge Strategy for Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

Background: The strategy for early discharge after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) could have substantial financial benefits, especially in low-middle income countries. However, there is a lack of local evidence on feasibility and safety of the strategy for early discharge. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the safety of early discharge after primary PCI in selected low-risk patients in the population of Karachi, Pakistan. Methods: In this study 600 consecutive low-risk patients who were discharged within 48 hours of primary PCI were put under observation for major adverse cardiac events (MACE) after 7 and 30 days of discharge respectively. Patients were further stratified into discharge groups of very early (≤ 24 hours) and early (24 to 48 hours). Results: The sample consisted of 81.8% (491) male patients with mean age of 54.89 ± 11.08 years. Killip class was I in 90% (540) of the patients. The majority of patients (84%) were discharged within 24 hours of the procedure. Loss to follow-up after rate at 7 and 30 days was 4% (24) and 4.3% (26) respectively. Cumulative MACE rate after 7 and 30 days was observed in 3.5% and 4.9%, all-cause mortality in 1.4% and 2.3%, cerebrovascular events in 0.9% and 1.4%, unplanned revascularization in 0.9% and 1.2%, re-infarction in 0.3% and 0.5%, unplanned re-hospitalization in 0.5% and 0.5%, and bleeding events in 0.5% and 0.5% of the patients respectively. Conclusion: It was observed that very early (≤ 24 hours) discharge after primary PCI for low-risk patients is a safe strategy subjected to careful pre-discharge risk assessment with minimal rate of MACE after 7-days as well as 30-days.

Radial or femoral access in primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI): Does the choice matters?

BACKGROUND: This study was conducted with the aim of providing a quantitative appraisal of clinical outcomes of trans-radial access for primary percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) in patients with ST-segment evaluation myocardial infarction (STEMI). METHODS: In this study, we compared two propensity-matched cohorts of patients who underwent primary PCI via trans-radial (TRA) and trans-femoral access (TFA) in a 1:1 ratio. The profile of two cohorts was matched for gender, age, and body mass index, diabetes, hypertension, family history, and smoking. The outcomes of primary PCI were compared for the two cohorts which included all-cause in-hospital mortality, heart failure, re-infarction, cardiogenic shock, bleeding, transfusion, cerebrovascular accident, and dialysis. RESULTS: This analysis was performed on a total of 2316 patients with 1158 patients each in the TRA and TFA group. We observed significantly lower rates of mortality, 0.8% (9) vs. 3.5% (41); p < 0.001 and bleeding, 0.5% (6) vs.1.6% (19); p = 0.009 with shorter hospital stay, 1.61 ± 1.39 vs. 1.98 ± 1.5 days, in trans-radial vs. trans-femoral. However, both fluoroscopic time and contrast volume were significantly higher in the TRA as compared to TFA group 15.57 ± 8.16 vs. 12.79 ± 7.82 min; p < 0.001 and 143.22 ± 45.33 vs. 133.78 ± 45.97; p < 0.001 respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with TFA access, TRA for primary PCI is safe for patients with STEMI, it was found to be associated with a significant reduction in in-hospital mortality and bleeding complications.

Ten years risk assessment of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease using Astro-CHARM and pooled cohort equation in a south Asian sub-population.

BACKGROUND: Atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases (ASCVD) are on the rise in low and middle-income countries attributed to modern sedentary lifestyle and dietary habits. This has led to the need of assessment of the burden of at-risk population so that prevention measures can be developed. The objective of this study was to assess ten years risk assessment of ASCVD using Astro-CHARM and Pooled Cohort Equation (PCE) in a South Asian sub-population. METHODS: A total of 386 residents of all six districts of Karachi with no ASCVD were enrolled in the study through an exponential non-discriminative referral snowball sampling technique. The inclusion criteria consisted of age 40 years or above and either gender. Study participants were enrolled after obtaining informed written consent and those study participants who were found to have either congenital heart disease or valvular heart diseases or ischemic heart disease were excluded from the study based on initial screening. For the calculation of 10 years risk of ACVD based on Astro-CHARM and PCE, the variables were obtained including medical history and coronary artery calcium and C-reactive protein measurements. RESULTS: Mean estimated 10-year risk of fatal or non-fatal myocardial infarction or stroke as per the Astro-CHARM was 13.98 ± 8.01%, while mean estimated 10-year risk of fatal or non-fatal myocardial infarction or stroke as per the PCE was 22.26 ± 14.01%. Based on Astro-CHARM, 11.14% of the study participants were labeled as having high risk, while PCE estimated 20.73% of study participants as having high risk of ASCVD. CONCLUSION: Despite the fact that our findings showed substantial differences in ten-year risk of ASCVD between Astro-CHARM and PCE, both calculators can be used to develop a new population and specific risk estimators for this South Asian sub-population. Our study provides the first step towards developing a risk assessment guided decision-making protocol for primary prevention of ASCVD in this population.

New-onset Atrial Fibrillation in Patients Presenting with Acute Myocardial Infarction.

Background Atrial fibrillation (AF) can be seen secondary to the complications after acute myocardial infarction (AMI), but it has a poor prognosis when occurs independently. These patients are prone to an increased risk of all in-hospital major cardiac complications and also at an increased risk of mortality. Therefore, it is important to quantify the burden of this aggravating complication in an otherwise lethal manifestation of acute coronary syndrome. The aim of this study was to find the frequency of AF in patients presenting with AMI and the factors associated with it. Methods We conducted this observational study on 216 patients who presented with AMI at the largest cardiac center of Karachi, Pakistan from July 2014 to January 2015 with AMI without a past history of AF. Patients underwent routine clinical assessment and laboratory investigations. Atrial fibrillation, detected on electrocardiographic assessment at the time of admission or during hospital stay without a prior history of persistent atrial flutter or paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, was classified as new-onset atrial fibrillation (AF). Results We selected a total of 216 patients, 117 (54.2%) male and mean age of 50.76 ± 6.00 years. Diabetes was found in 140 (64.8%), 164 (75.9%) were hypertensive, and 61 (28.2%) patients were smokers. ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) was diagnosed in 97 (44.9%) patients. The new onset of atrial fibrillation was found in 27 (12.5%) of the patients with AMI. Univariate analysis revealed a statistically significant association of new-onset AF with hypertension. Conclusion The new onset of atrial fibrillation was found in 12.5% of the patients presented with acute myocardial infarction. It is a significant complication in term of its frequency in AMI and it is more common in hypertensive patients.