Meta-Analysis of the Safety and Efficacy of Direct Oral Anticoagulants for the Treatment of Left Ventricular Thrombus.

BACKGROUND: Literature on the preferred anticoagulant for treating left ventricular thrombus (LVT) is lacking. Thus, our objective was to compare the efficacy of DOACs versus warfarin in treating LVT. METHODS: Databases were searched for RCTs and adjusted observational studies that compared DOAC versus warfarin through March 2024. The primary efficacy outcomes of interest were LVT resolution, systemic embolism, composite of stroke, and TIA. The primary safety outcomes encompassed all-cause mortality and bleeding events. RESULTS: Our meta-analysis including 31 studies demonstrated that DOAC use was associated with higher odds of thrombus resolution (OR: 1.08, 95% CI: 0.86-1.31, p: 0.46). A statistically significant reduction in the risk of stroke/TIA was observed in the DOAC group versus the warfarin group (OR: 0.65, 95% CI: 0.48-0.89, p: 0.007). Furthermore, statistically significant reduced risks of all-cause mortality (OR: 0.68, 95% CI: 0.47-0.98, p: 0.04) and bleeding events (OR: 0.70, 95% CI: 0.55-0.89, p: 0.004) were observed with DOAC use as compared to warfarin use. CONCLUSION: Compared to VKAs, DOACs are noninferior as the anticoagulant of choice for LVT treatment. However, further studies are warranted to confirm these findings.

Blood group is a long-term cardiovascular risk factor after carotid endarterectomy.

BACKGROUND: ABO blood group system has been clinically related to an increased incidence of cardiovascular diseases. Preliminary data relating Rhesus (Rh) factor and these outcomes also have been published. Our aim was to analyse the impact of blood group on the short and long-term outcomes after carotid endarterectomy (CEA). MATERIALS AND METHODS: From 2012 to 2019, patients from a referral centre who underwent CEA for atherosclerotic carotid stenosis were prospectively followed. Our primary outcomes were long-term major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) and all-cause mortality. Secondary outcomes were perioperative complications and myocardial injury after non-cardiac surgery (MINS). Median follow-up was 50 months (interquartile range 21-69). Time-to-event analysis was used to determine the effect of ABO and Rh groups in long-term outcomes. RESULTS: One hundred and eighty-four patients were included, with a mean age of 70.1 ± 9.1 years. Eighteen (25.7%) patients with O type and 48 (42.1%) patients with non-O type presented coronary artery disease (odds ratio [OR]: 2.313, 5-95% confidence interval (CI) 1.245-4.297, p = .008). Patients Rh+ presented significantly more congestive heart failure, 23 (14.7%), p = .03. The incidence of MACE in the long-term was higher in non-O patients (adjusted hazard ratio: 2.034; CI: 1.032-4.010, p = .040). Rh- patients, presented a higher incidence of perioperative MINS. However, there was no statistically significant association with long-term risk of MACE. CONCLUSION: The incidence of MACE in long-term analysis was higher in non-O blood type and 30-day MINS was significantly more common amongst Rh- patients. The benefit from a more complete preoperative cardiac study in these patients should be performed.

Shifting the Paradigm: How Stress Hyperglycemia Alters the Landscape of Heart Failure Management.

Background Acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) significantly contributes to global morbidity. Stress hyperglycemia (SHGL), although commonly observed in non-diabetic ADHF patients, remains underexplored. This study investigates the predictive value of SHGL for major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) and its impact on coronary intervention outcomes. Methods In this prospective observational study at a tertiary care center, 650 non-diabetic ADHF patients admitted for coronary intervention between April 2021 and April 2022 were assessed. SHGL was defined by random blood sugar levels >140 mg/dl. We monitored the incidence of MACEs, including cardiac death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, and heart failure rehospitalization, alongside the success rates of coronary revascularizations over 12 months. Results SHGL was present in 54% of patients (n=352) and was significantly associated with increased MACEs (p<0.001), higher rehospitalization rates (p<0.01), and lower success in revascularization (p<0.05). Using logistic regression, SHGL, age >65, and prior heart failure hospitalization were identified as independent predictors of MACEs. Statistical analyses were performed using two-tailed Mann-Whitney U tests, with significance levels set at p<0.05 for noteworthy findings and p<0.01 or p<0.001 for highly significant findings. Conclusions SHGL significantly impacts coronary intervention outcomes and the future prognosis of heart failure in non-diabetic ADHF patients, identifying it as a critical, modifiable risk factor. These findings advocate integrating SHGL management into ADHF care, emphasizing the need for further research to develop standardized treatment protocols. Proper management of SHGL could potentially improve patient outcomes, highlighting the importance of metabolic control in heart failure management.

Gupta Perioperative Risk for Myocardial Infarction or Cardiac Arrest score is a long-term cardiovascular risk predictor after aortoiliac revascularization.

INTRODUCTION: Gupta Perioperative Risk for Myocardial Infarction or Cardiac Arrest (MICA) is a validated self-explanatory score applied in cardiac or non-cardiac surgeries. This study aims to assess the predictive value of the MICA score for cardiovascular events after aortoiliac revascularization. METHODS: This prospective cohort underwent elective aortoiliac revascularization between 2013 and 2021. Patients' demographic, clinical characteristics and outcomes were registered. The patients were divided into two groups according to the MICA score using optimal binning. Survival analysis to test for time-dependent variables and multivariate Cox regression analysis for independent predictors were performed. RESULTS: This study included 130 patients with a median follow-up of 55 months. Preoperative MICA score was ≥ 6.5 in 41 patients. MICA ≥ 6.5 presented a statistically significant association with long-term occurrence of acute heart failure (HR=1.695, 95% CI 1.208-2.379, p=0.002), major adverse cardiovascular events (HR=1.222, 95% CI 1.086-1.376, p<0.001) and all-cause mortality (HR=1.256, 95% CI 1.107-1.425, p<0.001). Multivariable Cox regression confirmed MICA as a significant independent predictor of long-term major adverse cardiovascular events (aHR=1.145 95%CI 1.010-1.298, p=0.034) and all-cause mortality (aHR=1.172 95%CI 1.026-1.339, p=0.020). CONCLUSION: The MICA score is a quick, easy-to-obtain, predictive tool in identifying patients with a higher risk of post-aortoiliac revascularization cardiovascular events, such as acute heart failure, major adverse cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality. Additional research for validation of the MICA score in the context of aortoiliac revascularization and specific interventions are necessary.

Longitudinal change of serum exosomal miR-186-5p estimates major adverse cardiac events in acute myocardial infarction patients receiving percutaneous coronary intervention.

Objective: Our recently published study discovers that exosomal microRNA (miR)-186-5p promotes vascular smooth muscle cell viability and invasion to facilitate atherosclerosis. This research aimed to explore the prognostic implication of serum exosomal miR-186-5p in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients receiving percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods: One hundred and fifty AMI patients receiving PCI and 50 healthy controls (HCs) were screened. Serum exosomal miR-186-5p was detected by reverse transcriptase-quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay in AMI patients at admission and after PCI, as well as in HCs after enrollment. Major adverse cardiac events (MACE) were recorded during follow-up in AMI patients receiving PCI. Results: Serum exosomal miR-186-5p was raised in AMI patients vs. HCs (P < 0.001). Besides, serum exosomal miR-186-5p was positively linked to body mass index (P = 0.048), serum creatinine (P = 0.021), total cholesterol (P = 0.029), and C-reactive protein (P = 0.018); while it was reversely linked with estimated glomerular filtration rate (P = 0.023) in AMI patients. Interestingly, serum exosomal miR-186-5p was correlated with the diagnosis of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (P = 0.034). Notably, serum exosomal miR-186-5p was decreased after PCI vs. at admission (P < 0.001). The 6-, 12-, 18-, and 24-month accumulating MACE rates were 4.5%, 8.9%, 14.8%, and 14.8% in AMI patients. Furthermore, serum exosomal miR-186-5p ≥3.39 (maximum value in HCs) after PCI (P = 0.021) and its decrement percentage

HEART + score: integrating carotid ultrasound to chest pain assessment in the emergency department.

OBJECTIVES: The HEART score is a clinical decision tool that stratifies patients into categories of low, moderate, and high-risk of major adverse cardiac events in the emergency department (ED) but cannot identify underlying cardiovascular disease in patients without prior history. The presence of atherosclerosis can easily be detected at the bedside using carotid ultrasound. Plaque quantification is well established, and plaque composition can be assessed using ultrasound grayscale pixel distribution analysis. This study aimed to determine whether carotid plaque burden and/or composition correlated with risk of events and could improve the sensitivity of the HEART score in risk stratifying ED patients with chest pain. METHODS: The HEART score was calculated based on history, electrocardiogram, age, risk factors, and initial troponin in patients presenting to the ED with chest pain (n = 321). Focused carotid ultrasound was performed, and maximum plaque height and total plaque area were used to determine plaque burden (quantity). Plaque composition (% blood, fat, muscle, fibrous, calcium-like tissue) was assessed by pixel distribution analysis. RESULTS: Carotid plaque height and area increased with HEART score (p < 0.0001). Carotid plaque % fibrous and % calcium also increased with HEART score. The HEART score had a higher area under the curve (AUC = 0.84) in predicting 30-day events compared to the plaque variables alone (AUCs < 0.70). Integrating plaque quantity into the HEART score slightly increased test sensitivity (62-69%) for 30-day events and reclassified 11 moderate-risk participants to high-risk (score 7-10). CONCLUSION: Plaque burden with advanced composition features (fibrous and calcium) was associated with increased HEART score. Integrating plaque assessment into the HEART score identified subclinical atherosclerosis in moderate-risk patients.

RéSUMé: OBJECTIFS: Le score HEART est un outil de décision clinique qui stratifie les patients en catégories de risque faible, modéré et élevé d'événements cardiaques indésirables majeurs à l'urgence (ED), mais ne peut pas identifier les maladies cardiovasculaires sous-jacentes chez les patients sans antécédents. La présence d'athérosclérose peut facilement être détectée au chevet du patient à l'aide de l'échographie carotide. La quantification de la plaque est bien établie et la composition de la plaque peut être évaluée à l'aide d'une analyse échographique de la distribution des pixels en niveaux de gris. Cette étude visait à déterminer si la charge et/ou la composition de la plaque carotidienne étaient corrélées avec le risque d'événements et pouvaient améliorer la sensibilité du score HEART chez les patients souffrant de douleurs thoraciques stratifiés. MéTHODES: Le score HEART a été calculé sur la base des antécédents, de l'électrocardiogramme, de l'âge, des facteurs de risque et de la troponine initiale chez les patients présentant une douleur thoracique à l'urgence (n = 321). L'échographie carotidienne focalisée a été effectuée, et la hauteur maximale de la plaque et la surface totale de la plaque ont été utilisées pour déterminer la charge de plaque (quantité). La composition de la plaque (% de sang, de graisse, de muscle, de tissu fibreux, de type calcique) a été évaluée par analyse de la distribution des pixels. RéSULTATS: La hauteur et la surface de la plaque carotide ont augmenté avec le score HEART (p<0,0001). Le pourcentage de plaque carotide fibreuse et le pourcentage de calcium ont également augmenté avec le score HEART. Le score HEART avait une zone plus élevée sous la courbe (ASC = 0,84) pour prédire les événements de 30 jours par rapport aux seules variables de la plaque (CCU < 0,70). L'intégration de la quantité de plaque dans le score HEART a légèrement augmenté la sensibilité au test (62 % à 69 %) pour les événements de 30 jours et a reclassé 11 participants à risque modéré à risque élevé (score de 7 à 10). CONCLUSION: La charge de plaque avec des caractéristiques de composition avancées (fibreuse et calcique) était associée à une augmentation du score HEART. Intégrer l'évaluation de la plaque dans le score HEART a identifié l'athérosclérose subclinique chez les patients à risque modéré.

Long-term outcomes of titanium-nitride-oxide coated stents and drug-eluting stents in acute coronary syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: In severe cases of coronary artery disease, percutaneous coronary intervention provide promising results. The stent used could be a drug-eluting stent (DES) or a titanium-nitride-oxide coated stent (TiNOS). AIM: To compare the 5-year effectiveness and safety of the two stent types. METHODS: The following systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted in accordance with the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis guidelines, and PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and Cochrane Central were searched from inception till August 2023. Primary outcomes were major adverse cardiac events (MACE), cardiac death, myocardial infarction (MI), cardiac death or MI, and ischemia-driven total lesion revascularization (ID-TLR). RESULTS: Four randomized controlled trials (RCT), which analyzed a sum total of 3045 patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) after a median follow-up time of 5 years were included. Though statistically insignificant, an increase in the ID-TLR was observed in patients receiving TiNOSs vs DESs. In addition, MI, cardiac death and MI, and definite stent thrombosis (DST) were significantly decreased in the TiNOS arm. Baseline analysis revealed no significant results with meta-regression presenting non-ST elevated MI (NSTEMI) as a statistically significant covariate in the outcome of MACE. CONCLUSION: TiNOS was found to be superior to DES in terms of MI, cardiac death or MI, and DST outcomes, however, the effect of the two stent types on ID-TLR and MACE was not significant. A greater number of studies are required to establish an accurate comparison of patient outcomes in TiNOS and DES.

Risk of major adverse cardiovascular events in rural vs urban settings among patients with erectile dysfunction: a propensity-weighted retrospective cohort study of 430 621 men.

BACKGROUND: The relationship between erectile dysfunction (ED) and cardiovascular (CV) events has been postulated, with ED being characterized as a potential harbinger of CV disease. Location of residence is another important consideration, as the impact of rural residence has been associated with worse health outcomes. AIM: To investigate whether men from rural settings with ED are associated with a higher risk of major adverse CV events (MACEs). METHODS: A propensity-weighted retrospective cohort study was conducted with provincial health administrative databases. ED was defined as having at least 2 ED prescriptions filled within 1 year. MACE was defined as the first hospitalization for an episode of acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, or stroke that resulted in a hospital visit >24 hours. We classified study groups into ED urban, ED rural, no ED urban, and no ED rural. A multiple logistic regression model was used to determine the propensity score. Stabilized inverse propensity treatment weighting was then applied to the propensity score. OUTCOMES: A Cox proportional hazard model was used to examine our primary outcome of time to a MACE. RESULTS: The median time to a MACE was 2731, 2635, 2441, and 2508 days for ED urban (n = 32 341), ED rural (n = 18 025), no ED rural (n = 146 358), and no ED urban (n = 233 897), respectively. The cohort with ED had a higher proportion of a MACE at 8.94% (n = 4503), as opposed to 4.58% (n = 17 416) for the group without ED. As compared with no ED urban, no ED rural was associated with higher risks of a MACE in stabilized time-varying comodels based on inverse probability treatment weighting (hazard ratio, 1.06-1.08). ED rural was associated with significantly higher risks of a MACE vs no ED rural, with the strength of the effect estimates increasing over time (hazard ratio, 1.10-1.74). CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Findings highlight the need for physicians treating patients with ED to address CV risk factors for primary and secondary prevention of CV diseases. STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS: This is the most extensive retrospective study demonstrating that ED is an independent risk factor for MACE. Due to limitations in data, we were unable to assess certain comorbidities, including obesity and smoking. CONCLUSIONS: Our study confirms that ED is an independent risk factor for MACE. Rural men had a higher risk of MACE, with an even higher risk among those who reside rurally and are diagnosed with ED.

Predictors of major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events after percutaneous coronary intervention in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

AIM: We systematically reviewed and meta-analyzed the predictors of major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACE/MACCE) in older adults who underwent PCI. METHODS: Three databases, PubMed, Embase, and Scopus, were searched for observational studies considering the out-of-hospital MACE/MACCE in adults ≥ 60 years old with coronary artery disease (acute or chronic) who underwent PCI. Studies were eligible if they had determined at least two statistically significant predictors of MACE/MACCE by multivariable analysis. We used the QUIPS tool to evaluate the risk of bias in the studies. Random-effects meta-analysis was utilized to pool the hazard ratios (HRs) of the most reported predictors. RESULTS: A total of 34 studies were included in the review. Older age (HR = 1.04, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.03-1.06, P-value < 0.001), diabetes (HR = 1.36, 95% CI: 1.22-1.53, P < 0.001), history of myocardial infarction (MI) (HR = 1.88, 95% CI: 1.37-2.57, P < 0.001), ST-elevation MI (STEMI) at presentation (HR = 1.72, 95% CI: 1.37-2.18, P < 0.001), reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (HR = 2.01, 95% CI: 1.52-2.65, P < 0.001), successful PCI (HR = 0.35, 95% CI: 0.27-0.47, P < 0.001), eGFR (HR = 0.99, 95% CI: 0.97-1.00; P-value = 0.04) and left main coronary artery (LMCA) disease (HR = 2.07, 95% CI: 1.52-2.84, P < 0.001) were identified as predictors of MACE. CONCLUSION: We identified older age, diabetes, history of MI, STEMI presentation, lower LVEF, and LMCA disease increased the risk of MACE/MACCE after PCI in older adults. Meanwhile, higher eGFR and successful PCI predicted lower adverse events risk. Future studies should focus on a more robust methodology and a precise definition of MACE. REGISTRATION: PROSPERO (CRD42023480332).

Prognostic value of left ventricular mechanical dyssynchrony indices derived from gated myocardial perfusion SPECT in coronary artery disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: Left ventricular mechanical dyssynchrony (LVMD) is an important prognostic factor in coronary artery disease. A growing body of evidence indicates that LVMD parameters derived from phase analysis of gated myocardial SPECT may allow risk stratification for future cardiac events. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis on the prognostic value of LVMD on gated SPECT in patients with coronary artery disease. METHODS: PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane library were searched until August 25, 2022, for studies reporting the prognostic value of LVMD on gated SPECT for outcomes of all-cause death, cardiac death, or major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE) in patients with coronary artery disease. Hazard ratios (HRs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were meta-analytically pooled using a random-effects model. RESULTS: Nine studies (26,750 patients) were included in a qualitative synthesis. Among the SPECT LVMD parameters used in various studies, high phase standard deviation, phase bandwidth, and phase entropy were widely evaluated and reported to be associated with high rates of all-cause death, cardiac death, or MACE. For five studies (23,973 patients) in the quantitative synthesis, the pooled HR of LVMD for predicting MACE was 2.81 (95% CI 2.03-3.88). Studies using combined phase parameters to define LVMD showed higher HRs than a study using phase entropy (p = 0.0180). CONCLUSION: LVMD from gated myocardial SPECT is a significant prognostic factor for coronary artery disease. Phase analysis of gated SPECT may be useful for accurate risk stratification and could be applied for clinical decision-making in such patients.

JAK-Inhibitors - A Story of Success and Adverse Events.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic, chronic, immune-mediated inflammatory condition. Treatments options encompass conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (csDMARDs), biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) like tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors (TNFis) and targeted synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (tsDMARDs) including Janus Kinase inhibitors (JAKinibs). Orally administered JAKinibs have demonstrated comparable or, in specific cases, superior efficacy compared to bDMARDs in inflammatory conditions. However, the escalating clinical utilization has been accompanied by the emergence of serious adverse effects, including major adverse cardiac events (MACE), malignancies and venous thrombotic episodes (VTE), leading to regulatory restrictions imposed by health authorities in both the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

Predicting major adverse cardiovascular events after orthotopic liver transplantation using a supervised machine learning model: A cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Liver transplant (LT) patients have become older and sicker. The rate of post-LT major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) has increased, and this in turn raises 30-d post-LT mortality. Noninvasive cardiac stress testing loses accuracy when applied to pre-LT cirrhotic patients. AIM: To assess the feasibility and accuracy of a machine learning model used to predict post-LT MACE in a regional cohort. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study involved 575 LT patients from a Southern Brazilian academic center. We developed a predictive model for post-LT MACE (defined as a composite outcome of stroke, new-onset heart failure, severe arrhythmia, and myocardial infarction) using the extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) machine learning model. We addressed missing data (below 20%) for relevant variables using the k-nearest neighbor imputation method, calculating the mean from the ten nearest neighbors for each case. The modeling dataset included 83 features, encompassing patient and laboratory data, cirrhosis complications, and pre-LT cardiac assessments. Model performance was assessed using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC). We also employed Shapley additive explanations (SHAP) to interpret feature impacts. The dataset was split into training (75%) and testing (25%) sets. Calibration was evaluated using the Brier score. We followed Transparent Reporting of a Multivariable Prediction Model for Individual Prognosis or Diagnosis guidelines for reporting. Scikit-learn and SHAP in Python 3 were used for all analyses. The supplementary material includes code for model development and a user-friendly online MACE prediction calculator. RESULTS: Of the 537 included patients, 23 (4.46%) developed in-hospital MACE, with a mean age at transplantation of 52.9 years. The majority, 66.1%, were male. The XGBoost model achieved an impressive AUROC of 0.89 during the training stage. This model exhibited accuracy, precision, recall, and F1-score values of 0.84, 0.85, 0.80, and 0.79, respectively. Calibration, as assessed by the Brier score, indicated excellent model calibration with a score of 0.07. Furthermore, SHAP values highlighted the significance of certain variables in predicting postoperative MACE, with negative noninvasive cardiac stress testing, use of nonselective beta-blockers, direct bilirubin levels, blood type O, and dynamic alterations on myocardial perfusion scintigraphy being the most influential factors at the cohort-wide level. These results highlight the predictive capability of our XGBoost model in assessing the risk of post-LT MACE, making it a valuable tool for clinical practice. CONCLUSION: Our study successfully assessed the feasibility and accuracy of the XGBoost machine learning model in predicting post-LT MACE, using both cardiovascular and hepatic variables. The model demonstrated impressive performance, aligning with literature findings, and exhibited excellent calibration. Notably, our cautious approach to prevent overfitting and data leakage suggests the stability of results when applied to prospective data, reinforcing the model's value as a reliable tool for predicting post-LT MACE in clinical practice.

Association between the haemoglobin glycation index (HGI) and clinical outcomes in patients with acute decompensated heart failure.

BACKGROUND: A growing number of studies show that people with similar blood glucose levels have different levels of glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c), and relying only on HbA1c may lead to clinical decision-making errors. The haemoglobin glycation index (HGI) quantifies the difference in HbA1c among individuals and is strongly linked to the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, the connection between this phenomenon and the poor outcomes of patients with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) is currently unknown. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This retrospective, single-centre-based cohort study included 1531 hospitalized patients with ADHF from September 2010 to January 2020. The HGI is calculated from the difference between the observed and predicted HbA1c values [predicted HbA1c = 0.024 × fasting plasma glucose (FPG) (mg/dL)+3.1]. The endpoints examined in the study included all-cause death, cardiovascular (CV) death, and major adverse cardiac events (MACE). We fitted multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazard models to investigate the association between the HGI and clinical outcomes. RESULTS: During the five-year follow-up, 427 (27.9%) patients died from all causes, 232 (15.6%) from CV death, and 848 (55.4%) from MACE. The restricted cubic spline analysis also showed that the cumulative risk of all-cause and CV deaths decreased linearly with increasing HGI. According to multivariate Cox proportional hazard models, the highest tertile of the HGI was associated with a lower incidence of all-cause and cardiovascular deaths [all-cause death, adjusted hazard ratio (HR): 0.720, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.563-0.921, p = 0.009; CV death, adjusted HR: 0.619, 95% CI: 0.445-0.861, p = 0.004]. A 1% increase in the HGI was associated with a 12.5% reduction in the risk of all-cause death and a 20.8% reduction in the risk of CV death. CONCLUSIONS: A high HGI was directly associated with a reduction in all-cause and CV deaths but was not associated with MACE. These findings may be helpful in the management of patients with ADHF.

Recent studies have demonstrated that significant discrepancies between HbA1c and actual blood glucose levels may lead to clinical decision-making errors.The inconsistency of previous research results suggests that the HGI may have different predictive ability in populations with different diseases.

Interaction of AI-Enabled Quantitative Coronary Plaque Volumes on Coronary CT Angiography, FFRCT, and Clinical Outcomes: A Retrospective Analysis of the ADVANCE Registry.

BACKGROUND: Luminal stenosis, computed tomography-derived fractional-flow reserve (FFRCT), and high-risk plaque features on coronary computed tomography angiography are all known to be associated with adverse clinical outcomes. The interactions between these variables, patient outcomes, and quantitative plaque volumes have not been previously described. METHODS: Patients with coronary computed tomography angiography (n=4430) and one-year outcome data from the international ADVANCE (Assessing Diagnostic Value of Noninvasive FFRCT in Coronary Care) registry underwent artificial intelligence-enabled quantitative coronary plaque analysis. Optimal cutoffs for coronary total plaque volume and each plaque subtype were derived using receiver-operator characteristic curve analysis. The resulting plaque volumes were adjusted for age, sex, hypertension, smoking status, type 2 diabetes, hyperlipidemia, luminal stenosis, distal FFRCT, and translesional delta-FFRCT. Median plaque volumes and optimal cutoffs for these adjusted variables were compared with major adverse cardiac events, late revascularization, a composite of the two, and cardiovascular death and myocardial infarction. RESULTS: At one year, 55 patients (1.2%) had experienced major adverse cardiac events, and 123 (2.8%) had undergone late revascularization (>90 days). Following adjustment for age, sex, risk factors, stenosis, and FFRCT, total plaque volume above the receiver-operator characteristic curve-derived optimal cutoff (total plaque volume >564 mm3) was associated with the major adverse cardiac event/late revascularization composite (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.515 [95% CI, 1.093-2.099]; P=0.0126), and both components. Total percent atheroma volume greater than the optimal cutoff was associated with both major adverse cardiac event/late revascularization (total percent atheroma volume >24.4%; hazard ratio, 2.046 [95% CI, 1.474-2.839]; P<0.0001) and cardiovascular death/myocardial infarction (total percent atheroma volume >37.17%, hazard ratio, 4.53 [95% CI, 1.943-10.576]; P=0.0005). Calcified, noncalcified, and low-attenuation percentage atheroma volumes above the optimal cutoff were associated with all adverse outcomes, although this relationship was not maintained for cardiovascular death/myocardial infarction in analyses stratified by median plaque volumes. CONCLUSIONS: Analysis of the ADVANCE registry using artificial intelligence-enabled quantitative plaque analysis shows that total plaque volume is associated with one-year adverse clinical events, with incremental predictive value over luminal stenosis or abnormal physiology by FFRCT. REGISTRATION: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT02499679.

Racial disparities in chronic total occlusion percutaneous coronary interventions: insights from the PROGRESS-CTO registry.

OBJECTIVES: There is limited data on race and outcomes of chronic total occlusion (CTO) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The authors sought to evaluate CTO PCI techniques and outcomes in different racial groups. METHODS: We examined the baseline characteristics and procedural outcomes of 11 806 CTO PCIs performed at 44 US and non-US centers between 2012 and March 2023. In-hospital major adverse cardiac events (MACE) included death, myocardial infarction, repeat target-vessel revascularization, pericardiocentesis, cardiac surgery, and stroke prior to discharge. RESULTS: The most common racial group was White (84.5%), followed by Black (5.7%), "Other" (3.9%), Hispanic (2.9%), Asian (2.4%), and Native American (0.7%). There were significant differences in the baseline characteristics between different racial groups. When compared with non-White patients, the retrograde approach and antegrade dissection re-entry were more likely to be the successful crossing strategies in White patients without any significant differences in technical success (86.4% vs 86.4%; P = .93), procedural success (84.8% vs 85.0%; P = .79), and in-hospital MACE (2.0% vs 1.5%; P = .15) between the 2 groups. The technical success rate was significantly higher in the "Other" racial group (91.0% vs 86.4% in White, 86.9% in Asian, 84.5% in Black, 84.5% in Hispanic, and 83.3% in Native American; P = .03) without any significant differences in procedural success or in-hospital MACE rates between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: Despite differences in baseline characteristics and procedural techniques, the procedural success and in-hospital MACE of CTO PCI were not significantly different between most racial groups.

Ticagrelor monotherapy after a short course of dual antiplatelet therapy with ticagrelor plus aspirin following percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with versus without diabetes mellitus: a meta-analysis of randomized trials.

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one among the major causes of mortality all round the globe. Several anti-platelet regimens have been proposed following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). In this analysis, we aimed to show the adverse clinical outcomes associated with ticagrelor monotherapy after a short course of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) with ticagrelor and aspirin following PCI in patients with versus without diabetes mellitus (DM). METHODS: Electronic databases were searched by four authors from September to November 2023. Cardiovascular outcomes and bleeding events were the endpoints of this analysis. Revman 5.4 software was used to conduct this meta-analysis. Risk ratio (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to represent the results which were generated. RESULTS: Three studies with a total number of 22,574 participants enrolled from years 2013 to 2019 were included in this analysis. Results of this analysis showed that DM was associated with significantly higher risks of major adverse cardiovascular events (RR: 1.73, 95% CI: 1.49 - 2.00; P = 0.00001), all-cause mortality (RR: 2.15, 95% CI: 1.73 - 2.66; P = 0.00001), cardiac death (RR: 2.82, 95% CI: 1.42 - 5.60; P = 0.003), stroke (RR: 1.78, 95% CI: 1.16 - 2.74; P = 0.009), myocardial infarction (RR: 1.63, 95% CI: 1.17 - 2.26; P = 0.004) and stent thrombosis (RR: 1.74, 95% CI: 1.03 - 2.94; P = 0.04) when compared to patients without DM. However, thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) defined minor and major bleedings, bleeding defined according to the academic research consortium (BARC) type 3c (RR: 1.31, 95% CI: 0.14 - 11.90; P = 0.81) and BARC type 2, 3 or 5 (RR: 1.17, 95% CI: 0.85 - 1.62; P = 0.34) were not significantly different. CONCLUSION: In patients who were treated with ticagrelor monotherapy after a short course of DAPT with ticagrelor and aspirin, DM was an independent risk factor for the significantly increased adverse cardiovascular outcomes. However, TIMI and BARC defined bleeding events were not significantly different in patients with versus without DM.

Artificial intelligence of arterial Doppler waveforms to predict major adverse outcomes among patients with diabetes mellitus.

OBJECTIVE: Patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) are at increased risk for peripheral artery disease (PAD) and its complications. Arterial calcification and non-compressibility may limit test interpretation in this population. Developing tools capable of identifying PAD and predicting major adverse cardiac event (MACE) and limb event (MALE) outcomes among patients with DM would be clinically useful. Deep neural network analysis of resting Doppler arterial waveforms was used to detect PAD among patients with DM and to identify those at greatest risk for major adverse outcome events. METHODS: Consecutive patients with DM undergoing lower limb arterial testing (April 1, 2015-December 30, 2020) were randomly allocated to training, validation, and testing subsets (60%, 20%, and 20%). Deep neural networks were trained on resting posterior tibial arterial Doppler waveforms to predict all-cause mortality, MACE, and MALE at 5 years using quartiles based on the distribution of the prediction score. RESULTS: Among 11,384 total patients, 4211 patients with DM met study criteria (mean age, 68.6 ± 11.9 years; 32.0% female). After allocating the training and validation subsets, the final test subset included 856 patients. During follow-up, there were 262 deaths, 319 MACE, and 99 MALE. Patients in the upper quartile of prediction based on deep neural network analysis of the posterior tibial artery waveform provided independent prediction of death (hazard ratio [HR], 3.58; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.31-5.56), MACE (HR, 2.06; 95% CI, 1.49-2.91), and MALE (HR, 13.50; 95% CI, 5.83-31.27). CONCLUSIONS: An artificial intelligence enabled analysis of a resting Doppler arterial waveform permits identification of major adverse outcomes including all-cause mortality, MACE, and MALE among patients with DM.

Heterogeneous Effects of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure in Non-Sleepy Obstructive Sleep Apnea on Cardiovascular Disease Outcomes: Post Hoc Machine Learning Analysis of the ISAACC Trial (ECSACT Study).

Rationale: Randomized controlled trials of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy for cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention among patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have been largely neutral. However, given that OSA is a heterogeneous disease, there may be unidentified subgroups demonstrating differential treatment effects. Objectives: We sought to apply a novel data-drive approach to identify nonsleepy OSA subgroups with heterogeneous effects of CPAP on CVD outcomes within the Impact of Sleep Apnea Syndrome in the Evolution of Acute Coronary Syndrome (ISAACC) study. Methods: Participants were randomly partitioned into two datasets. One for training (70%) our machine-learning model and a second (30%) for validation of significant findings. Model-based recursive partitioning was applied to identify subgroups with heterogeneous treatment effects. Survival analysis was conducted to compare treatment (CPAP vs. usual care [UC]) outcomes within subgroups. Results: A total of 1,224 nonsleepy OSA participants were included. Of 55 features entered into our model, only two appeared in the final model (i.e., average OSA event duration and hypercholesterolemia). Among participants at or below the model-derived average event duration threshold (19.5 s), CPAP was protective for a composite of CVD events (training hazard ratio [HR], 0.46; P = 0.002). For those with longer event duration (>19.5 s), an additional split occurred by hypercholesterolemia status. Among participants with longer event duration and hypercholesterolemia, CPAP resulted in more CVD events compared with UC (training HR, 2.24; P = 0.011). The point estimate for this harmful signal was also replicated in the testing dataset (HR, 1.83; P = 0.118). Conclusions: We discovered subgroups of nonsleepy OSA participants within the ISAACC study with heterogeneous effects of CPAP. Among the training dataset, those with longer OSA event duration and hypercholesterolemia had nearly 2.5 times more CVD events with CPAP compared with UC, whereas those with shorter OSA event duration had roughly half the rate of CVD events if randomized to CPAP.

Risk assessment for mortality in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention: A retrospective cohort study.

Background and Aims: Primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is the treatment of choice in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients. This study aims to evaluate predictors of in-hospital and long-term mortality among patients with STEMI undergoing primary PCI. Methods: In this registry-based study, we retrospectively analyzed patients with STEMI undergoing primary PCI enrolled in the primary angioplasty registry of Sina Hospital. Independent predictors of in-hospital and long-term mortality were determined using multivariate logistic regression and Cox regression analyses, respectively. Results: A total of 1123 consecutive patients with STEMI were entered into the study. The mean age was 59.37 ± 12.15 years old, and women constituted 17.1% of the study population. The in-hospital mortality rate was 5.0%. Multivariate analyses revealed that older age (odds ratio [OR]: 1.06, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.02-1.10), lower ejection fraction (OR: 0.97, 95% CI: 0.92-0.99), lower mean arterial pressure (OR: 0.95, 95% CI: 0.93-0.98), and higher white blood cells (OR: 1.17, 95% CI: 1.06-1.29) as independent risk predictors for in-hospital mortality. Also, 875 patients were followed for a median time of 21.8 months. Multivariate Cox regression demonstrated older age (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.04, 95% CI: 1.02-1.06), lower mean arterial pressure (HR = 0.98, 95% CI: 0.97-1.00), and higher blood urea (HR = 1.01, 95% CI: 1.00-1.02) as independent predictors of long-term mortality. Conclusion: We found that older age and lower mean arterial pressure were significantly associated with the increased risk of in-hospital and long-term mortality in STEMI patients undergoing primary PCI. Our results indicate a necessity for more precise care and monitoring during hospitalization for such high-risk patients.