Drug-coated balloon strategy following orbital atherectomy for calcified coronary artery compared with drug-eluting stent: One-year outcomes and optical coherence tomography assessment.

BACKGROUND: Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for calcified coronary artery remains challenging in the drug-eluting stent (DES) era. While recent studies reported the efficacy of orbital atherectomy (OA) combined with DES for calcified lesion, the effectiveness of drug-coated balloon (DCB) following OA has not been fully elucidated. METHODS: Between June 2018 and June 2021, 135 patients who received PCI for calcified de novo coronary lesions with OA were enrolled and divided into two groups; OA followed by DCB (n = 43) if the target lesion achieved acceptable preparation, or second- or third-generation DESs (n = 92) if the target lesion showed suboptimal preparation between June 2018 and June 2021. All patients underwent PCI with optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging. The primary endpoint was 1-year major adverse cardiac event (MACE), that was a composite of cardiac death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, or target lesion revascularization. RESULTS: Mean age was 73 years and 82% was male. In OCT analysis, maximum calcium plaque was thicker (median: 1050 µm [interquartile range (IQR): 945-1175 µm] vs. 960 µm [808-1100 µm], p = 0.017), calcification arc tended to larger (median: 265° [IQR: 209-360°] vs. 222° [162-305°], p = 0.058) in patients with DCB than in DES, and the postprocedure minimum lumen area was smaller in DCB compared with minimum stent area in DES (median: 3.83 mm2 [IQR: 3.30-4.52 mm2 ] vs. 4.86 mm2 [4.05-5.82 mm2 ], p < 0.001). However, 1 year MACE free rate was not significantly different between 2 groups (90.3% in DCB vs. 96.6% in DES, log-rank p = 0.136). In the subgroup analysis of 14 patients who underwent follow-up OCT imaging, late lumen area loss was lower in patients with DCB than DES, despite lower lesion expansion rate in DCB than DES. CONCLUSIONS: In calcified coronary artery disease, DCB alone strategy (if acceptable lesion preparation was performed with OA) was feasible compared with DES following OA with respect to 1-year clinical outcomes. Our finding indicated using DCB with OA might be reduce late lumen area loss for severe calcified lesion.

Case Report: Importance of MRI Examination in the Diagnosis and Evaluation of COVID-19 mRNA Vaccination Induced Myocarditis: Our Experience and Literature Review.

Acute myocarditis is a rare but serious complication associated with mRNA-based coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination. In this article, four COVID-19 mRNA vaccination induced myocarditis cases managed at our tertiary Medical Center have been discussed. Three patients had typical myocarditis. One patient suffered from atrioventricular block and heart failure, which required more intensive treatment, but eventually improved. Additionally, a review of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features related to the diagnosis of myocarditis showed that COVID-19 mRNA vaccine-associated myocarditis tend to have more late-gadolinium enhancement (LGE) accumulation in the inferior lateral wall direction. According to a report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the diagnosis of COVID-19 mRNA vaccine-associated myocarditis is based on clinical symptoms, altered myocardial enzymes, cardiac MRI finding, or histopathology. Cardiac MRI is relatively less invasive than myocardial biopsy and plays an important role in the diagnosis of myocarditis. This review may aid in the diagnosis of COVID-19 mRNA vaccine-associated myocarditis.

The impact of lesion complexity on predicting mortality of coronary artery disease patients after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

INTRODUCTION: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most frequent cause of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Nevertheless, there have been limited studies focusing on the impact of lesion complexity on resuscitated CAD patients. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the association between coronary lesion complexity and the mortality of CAD patients after OHCA. METHODS: From pooled database of two centers, which comprised 706 successfully resuscitated OHCA patients, 172 patients undergoing coronary angiography were retrospectively investigated. A total of 148 patients exhibited coronary stenosis on angiogram and were included in the final analysis. Baseline characteristics, pre-and post-hospital care, general status after resuscitation and angiographical findings were compared between the patients who deceased within 30 days and those who survived and the predictors of 30-day mortality were determined. RESULTS: Ninety-four patients (63.5%) survived at 30 days. Bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) (Odds ratio (OR) 0.36; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.14-0.96; P = 0.041), revascularization of coronary stenosis (OR 0.15; 95% CI 0.19-0.86; P < 0.001), GRACE risk score (OR 1.04; 95% CI 1.02-1.05; P < 0.001) and SYNTAX score (OR 1.07; 95% CI 1.01-1.13; P = 0.025) were independent predictors of 30-day mortality. As multiple predictors such as bystander CPR, GRACE score and SYNTAX score were combined, the 30-day mortality gradually deteriorated. CONCLUSIONS: In addition to bystander CPR, GRACE score and revascularization, SYNTAX score independently predicted 30-day mortality of CAD patients after OHCA.

Optimal single procedure strategy of pulmonary vein isolation with cryoballoon or radiofrequency and non-pulmonary vein triggers ablation for non-paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.

Background: Limited data exist on pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) using cryoballoon (CB) or radiofrequency (RF) ablation and additional non-pulmonary vein trigger ablation for non-paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (non-PAF). We aimed to assess the outcomes of first-stage catheter ablation for non-PAF patients. Methods: Initial PVI was performed on 734 non-PAF patients (age: 64 ± 10 years; male: 584 (80%)) between September 2014 and June 2018 [315 (43%), CB ablation; 419 (57%), RF catheter]. A logistic regression model was used to match 257 pairs (514 patients) according to the propensity scores (CB or RF group). After PVI, additional non-PV trigger ablation was performed if induced by isoproterenol. We analysed the clinical outcomes of both groups. Results: The mean procedural time was significantly shorter in the CB group (125 [range, 89-165] min) than in the RF group (190 [160-224] min; P < 0.001). The 1-year Kaplan-Meier event rate revealed similar atrial fibrillation-free survival rates between the two groups (CB: 77.9%, RF: 82.3%; log-rank P = 0.111). The additional ablation percentage for non-PV foci (CB: 39%, RF: 41%; P = 0.653) and complication incidence (CB: 5%, RF: 4%; P = 0.670) were also similar. Conclusions: In non-PAF patients, the combination strategy of PVI using CB or RF ablation and non-PV trigger ablation achieved comparable outcomes.

Effectiveness and Safety of Direct Oral Anticoagulants vs. Warfarin and Recurrence After Discontinuation in Patients With Acute Venous Thromboembolism in the Real World.

BACKGROUND: The efficacy of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) compared with warfarin for the treatment of venous thromboembolism (VTE), and the recurrence of VTE after discontinuation of anticoagulation therapy in research are limited.Methods and Results: This retrospective study enrolled 893 patients with acute VTE between 2011 and 2019. The cohort was divided into the transient risk, unprovoked, continued cancer treatment, and cancer remission groups. The following were compared between DOACs and warfarin: composite outcome of all-cause death, VTE recurrence, bleeding and composite outcome of VTE-related death, recurrence and bleeding. In the continued cancer treatment group, more bleeding was seen in warfarin-treated patients than in patients treated with DOACs (53.2% vs. 31.2%, [P=0.048]). In addition, composite outcome of VTE-related death and recurrence after discontinuation of anticoagulation therapy (n=369) was evaluated. The continued cancer treatment group (multivariate analysis: HR: 3.62, 95% CI: 1.84-7.12, P<0.005) and bleeding-related discontinuation of therapy (HR: 2.60, 95% CI: 1.32-5.13, P=0.006) were independent predictors of the event after discontinuation of anticoagulation therapy. VTE recurrence after discontinuation of anticoagulation therapy in the cancer remission group was 1.6% and a statistically similar occurrence was found in the transient risk group (12.4%) (P=0.754). CONCLUSIONS: DOACs may decrease bleeding incidence in patients continuing to receive cancer treatment. In patients with bleeding-related discontinuation of anticoagulation therapy, VTE recurrence may increase. Discontinuation of anticoagulant therapy might be a treatment option in patients who have completed their cancer treatment.

Impact of the sinus node recovery time after termination of atrial fibrillation during catheter ablation on clinical outcomes in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation.

BACKGROUND: Although long sinus arrest is occasionally observed during atrial fibrillation (AF) catheter ablation when the fibrillation was terminated, its meaning and prognosis have not yet been clearly elucidated. We hypothesized that sinus node recovery time (SNRT) after termination of AF (time from termination of AF to the earliest sinus node activation) could reflect the extent of atrial remodeling, influencing the formation of non-pulmonary vein (non-PV) triggers and post-ablation outcomes. METHOD: The participants were 157 consecutive patients with persistent AF (male: 77.1%, age: 63.3±11.2 years) who underwent catheter ablation. We recorded SNRT after terminating AF by radiofrequency delivery or electrical cardioversion during the first ablation and evaluated the relationships between SNRT and atrial tachyarrhythmia recurrence and between SNRT and non-PV triggers after repeat ablation. RESULTS: Forty-five patients (28.7%) experienced recurrence of atrial tachyarrhythmias. Patients with recurrence had longer SNRTs (1738 ms vs. 1394 ms, p = 0.012). In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, only SNRT ≥2128ms was a significant independent predictor of clinical AF recurrence (hazard ratio 7.48; 95% confidence interval 2.94-19.00; P<0.001). Kaplan-Meier estimator showed that the recurrence-free rate was significantly lower if ≥ 2128ms (log-rank, p<0.001). Thirty-five patients (77.8%) underwent a second ablation. Although there was no difference in the rate of pulmonary vein reconnections (78.6% vs. 71.4%, p = 0.712), non-PV triggers were observed more frequently in the longer SNRT group (57.1% vs. 14.3%, p = 0.012). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with a prolonged SNRT had a higher prevalence of AF recurrence after the first ablation and higher inducibility of non-PV triggers. Measuring SNRT might be used for the stratification of patients with persistent AF.

Multiple mycotic aneurysms with infective endocarditis: A case report.

Mycotic aneurysms are sometimes seen in patients with infective endocarditis. We report a case of infective endocarditis with multiple mycotic aneurysms. Although antibiotics were effective, mycotic aneurysms appeared in the cerebral, hepatic, and gastroepiploic arteries. A 55-year-old man presented with mitral valve endocarditis due to Streptococcus oralis. Surgical treatment was deferred because of cerebral hemorrhage. After antibiotic initiation, his fever and C-reactive protein levels declined, and blood culture was negative. However, he experienced repeated cerebral hemorrhage and the number of cerebral mycotic aneurysms increased. Additionally, his spleen ruptured and the number of mycotic aneurysms in the hepatic and gastroepiploic arteries increased. After embolization for mycotic aneurysm and mitral valve replacement, no mycotic aneurysms appeared. Regardless of whether laboratory data improve or not, multiple mycotic aneurysms sometimes appear, and cardiac surgery for infection control should be considered in the early phase.

Geriatric nutritional risk index as a predictor of arrhythmia recurrence after catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The nutritional risk of patients who undergo atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation varies. Its impact on the recurrence after ablation is unclear. We sought to evaluate the relationship between the nutritional risk and arrhythmia recurrence in patients who undergo AF ablation. METHODS AND RESULTS: We enrolled 538 patients (median 67 years, 69.9% male) who underwent their first AF ablation. Their nutritional risk was evaluated using the pre-procedural geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI), and the patients were classified into two groups: No-nutritional risk (GNRI â‰§ 98) and Nutritional risk (GNRI < 98). The primary endpoint was a recurrence of an arrhythmia, and its relationship to the nutritional risk was evaluated. We used propensity-score matching to adjust for differences between patients with a GNRI-based nutritional risk and those without a nutritional risk. A nutritional risk was found in 10.6% of the patients, whereas the remaining 89.4% had no-nutritional risk. During a mean follow-up of 422 days, 91 patients experienced arrhythmia recurrences. The patients with a nutritional risk had a significantly higher arrhythmia recurrence rate both in the entire study cohort (Log-rank p = 0.001) and propensity-matched cohort (Log-rank p = 0.006). In a Cox proportional hazard analysis, the nutritional risk independently predicted arrhythmia recurrences in the entire study cohort (hazard ratio [HR]: 3.91, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.84-8.35, p < 0.001) and propensity-matched cohort (HR: 6.49, 95% CI: 1.42-29.8, p = 0.016). CONCLUSION: A pre-procedural malnutrition risk was significantly associated with increased arrhythmia recurrences in patients who underwent AF ablation.

Catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation in patients with congestive heart failure.

BACKGROUND: We evaluated the 1-year success rate of maintaining sinus rhythm after catheter ablation (CA) for atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with or without congestive heart failure (CHF). METHODS: In this single-centre retrospective matched-pair cohort study of 3,018 AF patients who underwent initial CA between January 2012 and June 2018, 227 pairs with (CHF group) or without CHF (control group) were matched using propensity scores. In the CHF group, 108 patients were assigned to the arrhythmia-induced cardiomyopathy (AIC) group whose left ventricular systolic dysfunction was explained only by lasting AF or atrial tachycardia; the remaining 119 had organic heart diseases (non-AIC group). We evaluated the 1-year AF-free survival and changes in clinical findings before and after CA. RESULTS: The CHF and control groups showed similar AF-free survival; however, AIC patients had significantly better survival than non-AIC patients. AF recurrence was significantly related to CHF re-hospitalisation, which was significantly more frequent in the non-AIC group than in the AIC group. The clinical outcomes of left atrial dilation, brain natriuretic peptide level, and left ventricular ejection function improved significantly before and after CA in both groups. The degree of improvement was significantly better in the AIC group than in the non-AIC group. CONCLUSIONS: The 1-year success rate was not significantly different between the CHF and control groups. The 1-year success rate in the AIC group was similar to that in the AIC-control group and was better than that in the non-AIC group. CHF clinical outcomes were improved significantly.

Prediction of premature ventricular complex origins using artificial intelligence-enabled algorithms.

Background: Catheter ablation is a standard therapy for frequent premature ventricular complex (PVCs). Predicting their origin from a 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) is crucial but it requires specialized knowledge and experience. Objective: The objective of the present study was to develop and evaluate machine learning algorithms that predicted PVC origins from an ECG. Methods: We developed the algorithms utilizing a support vector machine (SVM) and a convolutional neural network (CNN). The training, validating, and testing data consisted of 116 PVCs from 111 patients who underwent catheter ablation. The ECG signals were labeled with the PVC origin, which was confirmed using a 3-dimensional electroanatomical mapping system. We classified the origins into 4 groups: right or left, outflow tract, or other sites. We trained and evaluated the model performance. The testing datasets were also evaluated by board-certified electrophysiologists and an existing classification algorithm. We also developed binary classification models that predicted whether the origin was on the right or left side of the heart. Results: The weighted accuracies of the 4-class classification were as follows: SVM 0.85, CNN 0.80, electrophysiologists 0.73, and existing algorithm 0.86. The precision, recall, and F1 in the machine learning models marked better than physicians and comparable to the existing algorithm. The SVM model scored among the best accuracy in the binary classification (the accuracies were 0.94, 0.87, 0.79, and 0.90, respectively). Conclusion: Artificial intelligence-enabled algorithms that predict the origin of PVCs achieved superior accuracy compared to the electrophysiologists and comparable accuracy to the existing algorithm.

Association between the locations of non-pulmonary vein triggers and ablation outcomes in repeat procedures after cryoballoon ablation of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.

PURPOSE: We examined the characteristics of non-pulmonary vein (PV) triggers in repeat ablation after cryoballoon ablation for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF). METHODS: This study evaluated 119 patients undergoing a second ablation procedure for recurrent atrial tachyarrhythmia (ATA) after cryoballoon PV isolation (CB-PVI) for PAF. RESULTS: Fifty-three of 119 (45%) patients had PV reconnection. All reconnected PVs were isolated. No non-PV triggers were elicited in 42/119 (35%) patients (NNPV group). In 77/119 (65%) patients, 139 isoproterenol-induced non-PV triggers, including 45 triggers that initiated AF, were identified. Non-PV triggers initiating AF were observed at the superior vena cava (SVC), left atrial posterior wall (LAPW) including the PV antra, interatrial septum, right atrium, left atrial appendage/mitral anulus, and coronary sinus in 14 (12%), 10 (8%), 8 (7%), 7 (6%), 4 (3%), and 2 (2%) patients, respectively. Non-PV triggers originated from only the SVC and/or LAPW including the PV antra, and the SVC and/or LAPW was isolated in 18/119 (15%) patients (SVC/LAPW group). Non-PV triggers originating from other sites were focally ablated in 59/119 (50%) patients (OS group). During a median 461 days of follow-up, 39/42 (93%), 17/18 (94%), and 38/59 (64%) patients in the NNPV, SVC/LAPW, and OS groups, respectively, remained ATA recurrence-free. The recurrence rate was higher in the OS group than in the NNPV (P = 0.005) or SVC/LAPW groups (P = 0.042). CONCLUSIONS: Over half of patients had non-PV triggers at subsequent ablation after CB-PVI. Non-PV triggers from the SVC/LAPW can be eliminated more successfully than triggers from other sites.

Cryoballoon versus radiofrequency ablation for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation in hemodialysis patients.

INTRODUCTION: Little evidence exists regarding cryoballoon ablation (CBA) of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) in hemodialysis (HD) patients. We compared CBA and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of PAF in HD patients, referring to CBA of PAF in non-HD patients. METHODS AND RESULTS: This historical cohort study examined 88 patients who underwent catheter ablation of PAF, including 21 HD patients with a second-generation 28-mm cryoballoon (CB-HD group), 17 HD patients with a non-force-sensing radiofrequency catheter (RF-HD group), and 50 non-HD patients with a cryoballoon (CB-non-HD group). Pulmonary vein (PV) isolation alone aside from cavotricuspid isthmus ablation was performed in 14 (67%) in the CB-HD group, 12 (71%) in the RF-HD group, and 36 (72%) in the CB-non-HD group (P = 0.95), without isoproterenol-induced non-PV triggers. Non-PV trigger ablation was added to the other patients. The Kaplan-Meier estimated 1-year freedom from atrial tachyarrhythmia recurrence without antiarrhythmic drugs after a single procedure was 76%, 59%, and, 92% in the CB-HD, RF-HD, and CB-non-HD groups, respectively (P = 0.002). The mean procedure time was shorter in the CB-HD group than in the RF-HD group (127 vs. 199 min; P < 0.001). In the second procedure, the median number of reconnected pulmonary veins was 0.5 in the CB-HD group versus 2.0 in the RF-HD group (P = 0.17). CONCLUSION: For PAF in HD patients, CBA showed a comparable single-procedure efficacy to that of RFA with a short procedure time. CBA may be a reasonable initial procedure for HD patients suffering from symptomatic PAF.

The Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score predicts mortality and neurological outcome in patients with post-cardiac arrest syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Patients experiencing out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) and subsequent post-cardiac arrest syndrome are often compromised by multi-organ failure. The Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score has been used to predict clinical outcome of patients requiring intensive care for multi-organ failure. Thus, the assessment of SOFA score is recommended as a criterion for sepsis. Although post-cardiac arrest patients frequently develop sepsis-like status in ICU, there are limited reports evaluating the SOFA score in post-cardiac arrest patients. We investigated the predictive value of the SOFA score in survival and neurological outcomes in patients with post-cardiac arrest syndrome. METHODS: A total of 231 cardiovascular arrest patients achieving return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) were finally extracted from the institutional consecutive database comprised of 1218 OHCA patients transferred to the institution between January 2015 and July 2018. The SOFA score was calculated on admission and after 48h. Predictors of survival and neurological outcome defined as having cerebral-performance-category (CPC) 1 or 2 at 30 days were determined. RESULTS: SOFA score was lower in survived patients (5.0 vs 10.0, p<0.001) and those with favorable neurological outcome (5.0 vs 8.0, p<0.001) as compared with the counterparts. The SOFA score on admission was an independent predictor of survival (OR 0.68, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.59-0.78; p<0.001) and favorable neurological performance (OR 0.79; 95% CI 0.69-0.90; p<0.001) at 30 days. Furthermore, a change in SOFA score (48-0h) was predictive of favorable 30-day neurological outcome (OR 0.71, 95% CI 0.60-0.85; p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Evaluation of the SOFA score in the ICU is useful to predict survival and neurological outcome in post-cardiac arrest patients.

Successful Percutaneous Coronary Intervention for Atherosclerotic Coronary Lesion with Anomalous Origin of the Right Coronary Artery.

Congenital coronary artery anomalies, including anomalous origin of a coronary artery, can manifest as life-threatening conditions, such as myocardial infarction or arrhythmia, and may even lead to sudden death associated with specific congenital anatomical features. Such arteries can also develop atherosclerotic lesions. This report describes the case of a 75-year-old man who was admitted to our hospital due to exertional dyspnea. The right coronary artery was found to originate from the left coronary sinus and exhibit tight stenosis due to atherosclerosis, causing effort angina pectoris. This case highlights the fact that coronary artery anomalies can cause angina pectoris via both atherosclerotic and nonatherosclerotic effects, and successful revascularization was achieved noninvasively via percutaneous coronary angioplasty.