The presbycardia phenotype: Cardiac remodeling and valvular degeneration in nonagenarians.

BACKGROUND: Nonagenarians (NON) are a growing segment of the population and have a high prevalence of cardiac disease. Many findings encountered on their echocardiograms are also found in younger individuals with valvular or myocardial disease. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to describe this distinct echocardiographic phenotype. METHODS: We identified our study population by querying our echo database to identify unique septuagenarians (SEPT) and nonagenarians (NON) who underwent a transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE) from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2014. Exclusion criteria were LVEF < 50%, any akinetic wall segment, aortic stenosis, moderate-severe AR and/or severe MR, coronary revascularization within 60 days of study echo, and prior valve surgery. RESULTS: The mean age of SEPT was 73.0 ± 2.0 and NON was 92.0 ± 2.1 (P < 0.001). There was no gender difference between groups. NON had significantly smaller LV end-diastolic diameters than SEPT (41.6 ± 5.7 mm vs 48.0 ± 7.0 mm, P < 0.001). NON had a greater relative wall thickness (0.51 ± 0.10 vs 0.40 ± 0.08, P < 0.001) and more frequently had concentric remodeling or hypertrophy. NON had higher E/Ea ratios and estimated LA pressures (P < 0.01). 48% of NON had moderate-severe mitral annular calcification compared to 25.0% of SEPT (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Herein, we provide the first comprehensive echocardiographic description of 'presbycardia'; concentric LVH, asymmetric septal hypertrophy, mitral and aortic valve calcification, and increased epicardial fat thickness. This pattern of findings may be increasingly seen as the population ages.

Prognosis of patients with secondary mitral regurgitation and reduced ejection fraction.

Objective: The impact of the severity of secondary mitral regurgitation (MR) on the risk of death and heart failure (HF) hospitalisations in patients with reduced left ventricular (LV) systolic function is poorly defined. The study sought to identify the incremental risk of secondary MR in patients with reduced LV systolic function. Methods: We studied 615 consecutive patients with LV ejection fraction ≤35% by transthoracic echocardiography at a single medical centre. Patients were divided into three groups of no MR, mild, or moderate to severe MR. The median follow-up was 2.9 years. The primary endpoint was a composite of death or HF hospitalisations. Results: Compared with patients with no MR, the risk of death or HF hospitalisations was higher for mild MR (HR 1.7, P=0.003) and moderate to severe MR (HR 2.7, P<0.001). The risk was also higher for the component endpoints of HF hospitalisations (mild MR: HR 2.3, P=0.001; moderate to severe MR: HR 3.5, P<0.001) and death (mild MR: HR 1.6, P=0.033; moderate to severe MR: HR 2.6, P<0.001). After adjustment for other covariates, MR was no longer significantly associated with death or HF hospitalisations, or death alone, but remained significantly associated with HF hospitalisations (mild MR: HR 1.7, P=0.028; moderate to severe MR: HR 2.2, P=0.002). Conclusions: In patients with reduced LV systolic function, secondary MR is associated with an increased risk of HF hospitalisations but not death.

Neoatherosclerosis in Very Late Stenosis of Bare Metal Stent by Optical Coherence Tomography.

Bare metal stents (BMS) continue to be widely used in patients with coronary artery disease undergoing percutaneous revascularization. Progressive luminal renarrowing has been reported late after BMS implantation resulting in a significant rate of stent failure events. We present a case of very late BMS failure due to in-stent restenosis where optical coherence tomography (OCT) was used to demonstrate neoatherosclerosis as the underlying mechanism. We provide a brief review of neoatherosclerosis and showcase salient features on OCT evaluation.

Use of orbital atherectomy in acute myocardial infarction via the transradial approach.

Severe coronary artery calcifications pose an ongoing challenge when performing percutaneous coronary interventions, resulting in an increased likelihood of procedural complications. Orbital atherectomy (OA) has emerged as a promising technology that helps improve outcomes in this complex patient population. Its safety and efficacy are yet to be demonstrated in the setting of acute myocardial infarction. We present a case of a patient with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) evaluated with emergent transradial coronary angiography. The culprit lesion was a severely stenotic, heavily calcified, segment of the right coronary artery. The use of OA facilitated lesion expansion and implantation of a drug-eluting stent. Although OA should be considered as contraindicated for the management of soft-ruptured plaque, which accounts for the majority of STEMI presentations, it may be well applied to the small subset of patients with calcified nodule pathology, even in the acute setting.