The Effect of Sex on Door-to-Balloon Time in Patients Presenting With ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction and Referred for Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: A Systematic Review.

Timely reperfusion using primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI) is the cornerstone of acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) management. We conducted a systematic review to examine the effect of sex on door-to-balloon (D2B) time and symptom-to-balloon (S2B) time. We observed longer D2B times and S2B times in female patients presenting with STEMI and referred for pPCI when compared to male patients. Future work is required to try and elucidate and mitigate sex-based front-line treatment delays for female STEMI patients.

Femoral plaque burden by ultrasound is a better indicator of significant coronary artery disease over ankle brachial index.

The ankle-brachial index is a commonly used tool for identifying peripheral artery disease for cardiovascular risk stratification. An abnormal ankle-brachial index occurs only following extensive peripheral atherosclerosis occlusion, and thus has poor sensitivity for coronary atherosclerosis. There is a critical need for the development of tools that can detect risk prior to advanced stages of atherosclerosis. We sought to determine the sensitivity of femoral ultrasound for coronary artery disease. In this prospective, cross-sectional study, participants (n = 124) underwent ankle-brachial index measurement and femoral ultrasound for assessment of intima-media thickness, maximal plaque height, and total plaque area following coronary angiography. Receiver operating characteristic areas under the curve were plotted for identifying significant coronary artery disease (≥ 50% stenosis). Logistic regression was utilized to evaluate associations. 64% of participants had significant, angiography-confirmed coronary artery disease. Femoral ultrasound plaque area yielded the highest area under the curve for detecting significant coronary disease (area under the curve = 0.731). In contrast, an abnormal ankle-brachial index (≤ 0.90) produced an area under the curve of 0.568. Femoral ultrasound had a higher sensitivity (85%) than the ankle-brachial index (25%) for ruling out significant coronary artery disease. Both ankle-brachial index and femoral ultrasound have similar capacity to detect peripheral artery disease. Femoral ultrasound has a significantly greater discriminatory power than ankle-brachial index to detect clinically significant coronary artery disease. Ultrasound-captured femoral plaque burden directly delineates the extent of peripheral arterial disease and is better at ruling out significant coronary atherosclerosis than the ankle-brachial index.

The Effect of Transcatheter Mitral Valve Repair on Short-Term Mortality in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease - A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Transcatheter Mitral Valve Repair (TMVr) offers clinically significant benefit to select symptomatic patients with severe mitral regurgitation (MR). We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials and observational studies to identify the effect of pre-procedural Chronic Kidney disease (CKD) on short-term mortality in TMVr. We found CKD is a predictor of 30-day mortality in patients undergoing TMVr. Specifically, a GFR < 30 mL/min conveys a significant increase in 30-day mortality. This is significant for patient selection, prognostication, as well as identifies an area of need for further research. SUMMARY FOR ANNOTATED TABLE OF CONTENTS: A systematic review and meta-analysis looking at short-term mortality in patients undergoing Transcatheter Mitral Valve Repair with chronic kidney disease. Findings show severe renal disease is associated with increased 30-day mortality.

Combined Femoral and Carotid Plaque Burden Identifies Obstructive Coronary Artery Disease in Women.

BACKGROUND: It remains difficult to assess cardiovascular risk in symptomatic women. The development of femoral plaque precedes adverse cardiovascular events. However, associations of femoral plaque burden with coronary artery disease (CAD) severity and extent are unknown. The aim of this study was to determine sex-specific plaque quantification markers by vascular ultrasound for identifying significant, obstructive CAD. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 500 participants (34% women) underwent carotid and femoral ultrasound following coronary angiography. Maximal plaque height and total plaque area were quantified. Logistic regression was used to determine associations of plaque burden with significant, obstructive CAD (≥50% stenosis), when adjusted for age and cardiac risk factors. CAD prediction was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic areas under the curve (AUCs). RESULTS: Two hundred thirty-one men (70%) and 78 women (46%) had significant CAD. A combined assessment of femoral bifurcation and carotid maximal plaque height was the most accurate identifier of CAD in men (AUC = 0.773, cutoff ≥ 2.7 mm, 87% sensitivity, 53% specificity) but a poorer indicator of CAD in women (AUC = 0.659, P < .01). In contrast, the strongest identification of CAD in women was achieved by a combined analysis of common femoral and carotid total plaque area (AUC = 0.764, cutoff ≥ 42.0 mm2, 86% sensitivity, 53% specificity). At this value, more than half of women with false-positive stress test results were correctly identified as having no significant CAD. CONCLUSION: Combined femoral and carotid plaque burden assessments effectively ruled out significant disease in both sexes. Vascular ultrasound may have particular value for cardiovascular risk stratification in women, in whom traditional screening tools are less effective.

2018 Canadian Cardiovascular Society/Canadian Association of Interventional Cardiology Focused Update of the Guidelines for the Use of Antiplatelet Therapy.

Antiplatelet therapy (APT) has become an important tool in the treatment and prevention of atherosclerotic events, particularly those associated with coronary artery disease. A large evidence base has evolved regarding the relationship between APT prescription in various clinical contexts and risk/benefit relationships. The Guidelines Committee of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society and Canadian Association of Interventional Cardiology publishes regular updates of its recommendations, taking into consideration the most recent clinical evidence. The present update to the 2011 and 2013 Canadian Cardiovascular Society APT guidelines incorporates new evidence on how to optimize APT use, particularly in situations in which few to no data were previously available. The recommendations update focuses on the following primary topics: (1) the duration of dual APT (DAPT) in patients who undergo percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for acute coronary syndrome and non-acute coronary syndrome indications; (2) management of DAPT in patients who undergo noncardiac surgery; (3) management of DAPT in patients who undergo elective and semiurgent coronary artery bypass graft surgery; (4) when and how to switch between different oral antiplatelet therapies; and (5) management of antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapy in patients who undergo PCI. For PCI patients, we specifically analyze the particular considerations in patients with atrial fibrillation, mechanical or bioprosthetic valves (including transcatheter aortic valve replacement), venous thromboembolic disease, and established left ventricular thrombus or possible left ventricular thrombus with reduced ejection fraction after ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. In addition to specific recommendations, we provide values and preferences and practical tips to aid the practicing clinician in the day to day use of these important agents.

Impact of a structured referral algorithm on the ability to monitor adherence to appropriate use criteria for transthoracic echocardiography.

BACKGROUND: Many free-form-text referral requisitions for transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) provide insufficient information to adequately evaluate their adherence to Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC). We developed a structured referral requisition algorithm based on requisition deficiencies identified retrospectively in a derivation cohort of 1303 TTE referrals and evaluated the performance of the algorithm in a consecutive series of cardiology outpatient referrals. METHODS: The validation cohort comprised 286 consecutive TTE outpatient cardiology referrals over a 2-week period. The relevant AUC indication was identified from information extracted from the free-form-text requisition. The structured referral algorithm was applied prospectively to the same cohort using information from the free-form-text requisition, electronic medical record and ordering clinicians. Referrals were classified as appropriate, uncertain, non-adherent (inappropriate) or unclassifiable based on the American College of Cardiology Foundation 2011 AUC. RESULTS: Only 28.7 % of free-form-text requisitions provided adequate information to identify the relevant AUC indication, as compared to 94.4 % of referrals using the structured referral algorithm (p < 0.001). The structured algorithm improved identification in the AUC categories of general evaluation of cardiac structure/function (100 % vs. 43.0 %, p < 0.001); valvular function (100 % vs. 23.0 %, p < 0.001); hypertension, heart failure or cardiomyopathy (100 % vs. 20.3 %, p < 0.001); and adult congenital heart disease (100 % vs. 0 %, p < 0.001). By applying the algorithm, the number of identifiable non-adherent studies increased from 2.6 to 10.4 % (p <0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Use of a structured TTE referral algorithm, as opposed to a free-form-text requisition, allowed the vast majority of referrals to be monitored for AUC adherence and facilitated the identification of potentially inappropriate referrals.

Usefulness of the Agatston score = 0 to exclude ischemic cardiomyopathy in patients with heart failure.

Quantification of coronary artery calcium has prognostic value and is commonly used in asymptomatic patients. Routine clinical use of coronary artery calcium in other populations remains uncertain. We sought to understand the potential application of the Agatston score in patients with heart failure (HF). For this purpose, 3 populations were identified: (1) patients with an Agatston score equal to 0, (2) patients with high-risk coronary artery disease (CAD) defined as 3-vessel, left main, or 2-vessel disease involving the proximal left anterior descending coronary artery, and (3) patients with HF symptoms and left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction <50%. Excluding patients with HF or LV dysfunction, 738 patients (mean age 52 ± 10 years, 43% men) had an Agatston score equal to 0. Of these, 18 (2%) had obstructive CAD (diameter stenosis ≥50%), 8 (1%) had diameter stenoses ≥70%, and none had high-risk CAD. The 74 patients with high-risk CAD without LV dysfunction had high Agatston scores (mean 895 ± 734, median 716, range 50 to 3,210). In total 153 patients with a history of HF and abnormal ejection fraction were identified. All 13 patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy had Agatston scores >0, whereas 46 of 140 patients (30.1%) with nonischemic causes had an Agatston score equal to 0. An Agatston score equal to 0 identified nonischemic causes with a specificity of 100% (confidence interval 90 to 100) and positive predictive value of 100% (confidence interval 90 to 100). Agatston score equal to 0 had incremental value to pretest probability for CAD. In conclusion, an Agatston score equal to 0 confers a very low likelihood of obstructive CAD, appears to rule out high-risk CAD, and thus may be used to rule out ischemic cardiomyopathy in patients with HF.

Effects of mitral valve surgery on myocardial energetics in patients with severe mitral regurgitation.

BACKGROUND: Hemodynamically significant mitral regurgitation (MR) may alter left ventricular (LV) myocardial energy requirements. The effects of MR and subsequent corrective mitral valve (MV) surgery on myocardial energetics are not well understood. A better understanding of myocardial energetics and the LV responses to changes in preload and afterload may assist with the understanding of mitral regurgitation and its effect on the LV. We sought to determine the effects of MV surgery on forward stroke work, myocardial oxidative metabolism, and myocardial efficiency. METHODS AND RESULTS: Prospectively enrolled patients with chronic, severe, nonischemic mitral regurgitation underwent echocardiography, radionuclide angiography, and C-11 acetate positron emission tomography to measure LV volumes, ejection fraction, and oxidative metabolism before and 1 year after MV surgery. Forward and total stroke work corrected for oxidative metabolism was used to estimate efficiency using the work metabolic index. Fourteen patients (age, 59+/- 8 years) with myxomatous MV were enrolled. One year after MV surgery, there was a reduction in LV end-diastolic and end-systolic volumes (231+/-86 to 131+/-21 mL; P<0.01 and 98+/-53 to 55+/-17 mL; P<0.01). Forward stroke volume increased (58.1+/-15.0 to 75.5+/-23 mL; P<0.01), LV ejection fraction was preserved without a significant change in oxidative metabolism. Forward work metabolic index improved (4.99+/-1.32 x 10(6) to 6.59+/-2.45 x 10(6) mm Hg x mL/m(2); P=0.02). This was not at the expense of total work metabolic index, which was preserved. CONCLUSIONS: MV surgery has a beneficial effect on forward stroke volume and forward work metabolic index without adverse effects on oxidative metabolism or total work metabolic index.