Rapid Exclusion of COVID Infection With the Artificial Intelligence Electrocardiogram.

OBJECTIVE: To rapidly exclude severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection using artificial intelligence applied to the electrocardiogram (ECG). METHODS: A global, volunteer consortium from 4 continents identified patients with ECGs obtained around the time of polymerase chain reaction-confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis and age- and sex-matched controls from the same sites. Clinical characteristics, polymerase chain reaction results, and raw electrocardiographic data were collected. A convolutional neural network was trained using 26,153 ECGs (33.2% COVID positive), validated with 3826 ECGs (33.3% positive), and tested on 7870 ECGs not included in other sets (32.7% positive). Performance under different prevalence values was tested by adding control ECGs from a single high-volume site. RESULTS: The area under the curve for detection of acute COVID-19 infection in the test group was 0.767 (95% CI, 0.756 to 0.778; sensitivity, 98%; specificity, 10%; positive predictive value, 37%; negative predictive value, 91%). To more accurately reflect a real-world population, 50,905 normal controls were added to adjust the COVID prevalence to approximately 5% (2657/58,555), resulting in an area under the curve of 0.780 (95% CI, 0.771 to 0.790) with a specificity of 12.1% and a negative predictive value of 99.2%. CONCLUSION: Infection with SARS-CoV-2 results in electrocardiographic changes that permit the artificial intelligence-enhanced ECG to be used as a rapid screening test with a high negative predictive value (99.2%). This may permit the development of electrocardiography-based tools to rapidly screen individuals for pandemic control.

Transradial access for coronary diagnostic and interventional procedures: Consensus statement and recommendations for India: Advancing Complex CoronariES Sciences through TransRADIAL intervention in India - ACCESS RADIAL™: Clinical consensus recommendations in collaboration with Cardiological Society of India (CSI).

Radial access for cardiac catheterization and intervention in India has been growing steadily over the last decade with favorable clinical outcomes. However, its usage by interventional cardiologists varies greatly among Indian operators and hospitals due to large geographic disparities in health care delivery systems and practice patterns. It also remains unclear whether the advantages, as well as limitations of transradial (TR) intervention (as reported in the western literature), are applicable to developing countries like India or not. An evidence-based review involving various facets of radial procedure for cardiac catheterization, including practical, patient-related and technical issues was conducted by an expert committee that formed a part of Advancing Complex CoronariES Sciences through TransRADIAL intervention (ACCESS RADIAL™) Advisory Board. Emerging challenges in redefining TR management based on evidence supporting practices were discussed to formulate these final recommendations through consensus.

Medical Management and Diagnostic Testing among Stable Angina Patients in India: The STable Angina obseRvational (STAR) Registry.

OBJECTIVE: To study the practice pattern in the management of patients with stable angina (SA) in India. METHODS: The Stable Angina obseRvational Registry (STAR) prospectively enrolled patients provisionally diagnosed with SA by non-interventional practicing internists in India. Patients were followed for 3 months after enrollment to assess medical treatment, diagnostic management, and interventional treatment of coronary artery disease (CAD). At the study conclusion, a statistical analysis retrospectively categorized patients not at risk of CAD by the Morise-Jalisi scale though this was not part of the study protocol. RESULTS: Between January and May 2012, 2079 patients were enrolled at 131 centres. Mean age was 57 ± 11 years, 62% were men, and 40% had a history of diabetes. Over 90% of patients completed follow-up visit, >85% received statins and antiplatelet medications, >70% received beta blockers, and >60% received angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers. Diagnostic testing rates were low: 93% for electrocardiogram, 44% echocardiogram, 42% chest radiography, 12% stress test, and 8% underwent noninvasive CT or invasive coronary angiography, of which, 86% had abnormal results. After the study, the Morise-Jalisi probability of CAD was intermediate in 42% and high in 51% of patients. Only 3.4% of all patients had coronary revascularization. CONCLUSIONS: In a large cohort of Indian patients with SA, disease severity and probability of CAD were high. Clinicians used evidence-based care for medical management, but underutilized diagnostic testing. Patients with SA in India need to be risk-stratified for probability and severity of CAD and, if indicated, receive additional diagnostic testing.

Postoperative Takotsubo cardiomyopathy.

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy also known as transient apical ballooning syndrome or stress induced reversible cardiomyopathy is an increasingly reported syndrome generally characterized by transient systolic dysfunction of the apical and/or mid segment of the left ventricle. It is frequently precipitated by severe stress and clinically mimics an acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction, with angiographically normal coronary arteries. A high index of suspicion is needed to diagnose this syndrome. We describe a patient who developed Takotsubo cardiomyopathy in the post-operative period following vaginal hysterectomy.

Predictors of outcome in patients undergoing PCI. Results of the RIVIERA study.

BACKGROUND: Limited information is available about clinical outcomes following routine percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in the current era. This study aimed to identify predictors of adverse clinical or angiographic complications following PCI in patients from many different countries. METHODS: RIVIERA is a multinational, prospective, observational study in patients undergoing elective or primary PCI. Consecutive patients (n=7962) were enrolled in 144 hospitals from 23 countries in four different continents. Primary outcome was death or myocardial infarction (MI). The mean age of the patients was 59 years and 77% were men; 92% of patients underwent elective and 8% primary PCI. RESULTS: The rate of in-hospital outcomes was low: death 0.3%, MI 1%, any bleeding 3.4%. Angiographic complications occurred in 8.7% of patients, mainly coronary dissection (3.7%) and no reflow (2%). After multivariable analysis, the strongest independent predictors of death or MI were clinical presentation with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome or ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction and administration of a glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa inhibitor. Radial access, thienopyridine pretreatment and anticoagulation with enoxaparin were associated with a lower risk of death or MI. Female gender, PCI of coronary artery bypass graft, administration of a GP IIb/IIIa inhibitor and combined use of enoxaparin and unfractionated heparin were significantly associated with more bleeding. Radial access was the only variable associated with less bleeding. CONCLUSIONS: Routine PCI appears to be a relatively safe revascularization procedure. Many of the variables identified as predictors of adverse cardiac outcomes confirm results obtained in recent randomized PCI trials and are modifiable, suggesting that further improvements can be made.