Heart Failure and Cardiorenal Syndrome: A Narrative Review on Pathophysiology, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Regimens-From a Cardiologist's View.

In cardiorenal syndrome (CRS), heart failure and renal failure are pathophysiologically closely intertwined by the reciprocal relationship between cardiac and renal injury. Type 1 CRS is most common and associated with acute heart failure. A preexistent chronic kidney disease (CKD) is common and contributes to acute kidney injury (AKI) in CRS type 1 patients (acute cardiorenal syndrome). The remaining CRS types are found in patients with chronic heart failure (type 2), acute and chronic kidney diseases (types 3 and 4), and systemic diseases that affect both the heart and the kidney (type 5). Establishing the diagnosis of CRS requires various tools based on the type of CRS, including non-invasive imaging modalities such as TTE, CT, and MRI, adjuvant volume measurement techniques, invasive hemodynamic monitoring, and biomarkers. Albuminuria and Cystatin C (CysC) are biomarkers of glomerular filtration and integrity in CRS and have a prognostic impact. Comprehensive "all-in-one" magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) approaches, including cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) combined with functional MRI of the kidneys and with brain MRI are proposed for CRS. Hospitalizations due to CRS and mortality are high. Timely diagnosis and initiation of effective adequate therapy, as well as multidisciplinary care, are pertinent for the improvement of quality of life and survival. In addition to the standard pharmacological heart failure medication, including SGLT2 inhibitors (SGLT2i), renal aspects must be strongly considered in the context of CRS, including control of the volume overload (diuretics) with special caution on diuretic resistance. Devices involved in the improvement of myocardial function (e.g., cardiac resynchronization treatment in left bundle branch block, mechanical circulatory support in advanced heart failure) have also shown beneficial effects on renal function.

Clinical Course of Dual-Chamber Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator Recipients followed by Cardiac Remote Monitoring: Insights from the LION Registry.

Patients receiving dual-chamber implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (DR-ICD) therapy are at risk of developing atrial arrhythmia because of the increased rate of ventricular pacing and the progression of heart failure. Remote monitoring (RM) may identify the patients at highest risk of adverse events such as atrial arrhythmias. A total of 283 patients with 91,632 remote transmissions during a 15-month follow-up (FU) period enrolled in the LION registry were analysed. The parameters retrieved included the pacing mode, lower rate limit, percentage of atrial (%AP) and ventricular pacing (%VP), and percentage of atrial arrhythmia burden (%AB). In 92.7% of patients, the devices were initially programmed in DDD(R) or DDI(R), with changes of the pacing mode in 19.3% only. The lower rate limit remained stable in 80.4% of patients. At the first transmission, 8.7% of patients suffered from RM-detected atrial arrhythmia, which reached 36% during FU. The %AP was not associated with increased AB (p = 0.67), but the %VP was different in patients developing RM-detected atrial arrhythmia (26.9% vs. 13.7%, p < 0.00001). The %VP increased in 105 patients (significance level of α = 0.05), and 11 patients crossed the border of 50% VP. The LION substudy supports the concept of using RM in a real-world DR-ICD population. Remote monitoring of DR-ICDs allows for the quantification of the course of the pacing parameters and AB. Based on these observations, device parameters can be adjusted and optimized.

Thrombus aspiration in non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction - 12-month clinical outcome of the randomised TATORT-NSTEMI trial.

BACKGROUND: In the randomised TATORT-NSTEMI trial routine thrombus aspiration in comparison with standard percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) did not reduce the primary endpoint of microvascular obstruction assessed by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging in patients with non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI). So far, no data on long-term outcome of head-to-head comparisons between both treatment strategies in NSTEMI patients have been reported. METHODS: The prospective, controlled, multicentre, randomised, open-label TATORT-NSTEMI trial assigned patients with NSTEMI and thrombus-containing lesions to aspiration thrombectomy plus PCI ( n=221) or standard PCI only ( n=219). The primary endpoint of the current analysis was the occurrence of major adverse cardiac events defined as the composite of death, myocardial reinfarction, target vessel revascularisation, and new congestive heart failure at 12-month follow-up. In addition, functional outcome and quality of life were assessed. RESULTS: At one year, major adverse cardiac events occurred in 19 patients in the thrombectomy arm and 29 patients in the standard PCI group (8.7% vs. 13.4%, relative risk 0.63, 95% confidence interval 0.35-1.12, p=0.11). The individual components of the combined endpoint such as death ( p=0.20), myocardial reinfarction ( p=0.73), target vessel revascularisation ( p=0.42), and congestive heart failure ( p=0.18) were similar in both groups. Functional outcome and quality of life did not differ significantly between both groups (Canadian Cardiovascular Society class: p=0.68, New York Heart Association class: p=0.70 and EuroQol5D score: p=0.96). Post-hoc analyses revealed consistent results with regard to the occurrence of major adverse cardiac events across a wide range of subgroups (all p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In this first randomised trial on thrombectomy in NSTEMI patients, routine thrombus aspiration before PCI did not improve clinical outcome at 12-month follow-up.

Effect of aspiration thrombectomy on microvascular obstruction in NSTEMI patients: the TATORT-NSTEMI trial.

BACKGROUND: Aspiration thrombectomy in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction is recommended by current guidelines based on several randomized trials. There are no trials assessing thrombectomy in non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) patients. OBJECTIVES: The TATORT-NSTEMI (Thrombus Aspiration in Thrombus Containing Culprit Lesions in Non-ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction) trial sought to assess the effect of aspiration thrombectomy on microvascular injury in patients with NSTEMI compared with standard percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). METHODS: This prospective, controlled, multicenter study randomized 440 patients to adjunctive thrombectomy (n = 221) compared with conventional PCI (n = 219) in NSTEMI patients with thrombus-containing lesions. The primary endpoint of the extent of microvascular obstruction (MO) in the percentage of left ventricular mass (%LV) was assessed by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging within 4 days. Secondary endpoints included infarct size, myocardial salvage index, and angiographic parameters including myocardial blush grade and Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction flow grade. The combined clinical endpoint consisted of death, reinfarction, target vessel revascularization, and new congestive heart failure within 6 months. RESULTS: The primary endpoint of MO was not different between the thrombectomy and the standard PCI group with 2.0%LV (interquartile range [IQR]: 0.8 to 4.1) versus 1.4%LV (IQR: 0.7 to 2.6) (p = 0.17). Similarly, no significant differences were observed for infarct size (8.6%LV; IQR: 4.0 to 14.7 vs. 7.4%LV; IQR: 4.1 to 13.1; p = 0.46), myocardial salvage index (63.3; IQR: 35.4 to 87.2 vs. 65.6; IQR: 46.9 to 82.6; p = 0.45), or angiographic parameters such as blush grade (p = 0.63) and Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction flow grade (p = 0.66). Clinical follow-up at 6 months revealed no differences in the combined clinical endpoints (p = 0.22). CONCLUSIONS: Aspiration thrombectomy in conjunction with PCI in NSTEMI with a thrombus-containing lesion does not lead to a reduction in MO. (Thrombus Aspiration in Thrombus Containing Culprit Lesions in Non-ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction [TATORT-NSTEMI]; NCT01612312).

Incidence of adverse cardiac events 5 years after polymer-free sirolimus eluting stent implantation: Results from the prospective Bad Berka Yukon Choice™ registry.

OBJECTIVES: Drug-eluting stents (DES) constitute a major achievement in preventing re-stenosis, concerns remain regarding the increased inflammatory responses associated with the polymers used. This analysis focuses on outcomes in patients receiving the polymer-free sirolimus-eluting stent system YUKON-Choice (Yukon-DES, Translumina, Germany). METHODS: From 01/2006-09/2008 all patients receiving Yukon-DES (≥2.5 mm diameter) were prospectively enrolled in our registry. The primary endpoint was long-term major adverse cardiac events (MACE). RESULTS: 701 patients were included in our registry. Mean age was 65.7 ± 10 years (73% male gender, 35.5% diabetes, and 32.2% acute coronary syndrome). 76% of the lesions were of Type B2/C. Lesion length was 24.6 ± 5.2 mm and mean stent diameter was 2.8 ± 0.4 mm. A total of 511 pts (72%) underwent 6-months angiographic follow-up, target vessel revascularization was noted in 23.5%. At 5 years clinical outcomes were: cardiac death 5.8%; myocardial infarction 3.4%; and TVR 24.6%. The incidence of MACE differed significantly between "on-label" and "off-label" indications (14.8% vs. 40.8% MACE; P < 0.001). Incidence of definitive/probable stent thrombosis (ST) was 1.14% (8/701); very late (>1 year) ST occurred in 0.29%. CONCLUSION: Our data suggests that the implantation of the sirolimus-coated polymer-free YUKON-DES is safe and feasible with a very low incidence of ST in this real world patient cohort with high percentage of diabetes and small vessels.

Thrombus Aspiration in ThrOmbus containing culpRiT lesions in Non-ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (TATORT-NSTEMI): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Current guidelines recommend thrombus aspiration in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI); however, there are insufficient data to unequivocally support thrombectomy in patients with non-STEMI (NSTEMI). METHODS/DESIGN: The TATORT-NSTEMI (Thrombus Aspiration in ThrOmbus containing culpRiT lesions in Non-ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction) trial is a prospective, controlled, multicenter, randomized, open-label trial enrolling 460 patients. The hypothesis is that, against a background of early revascularization, adjunctive thrombectomy leads to less microvascular obstruction (MO) compared with conventional percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) alone, as assessed by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) in patients with NSTEMI. Patients will be randomized in a 1:1 fashion to one of the two treatment arms. The primary endpoint is the extent of late MO assessed by CMR. Secondary endpoints include early MO, infarct size, and myocardial salvage assessed by CMR as well as enzymatic infarct size and angiographic parameters, such as thrombolysis in myocardial infarction flow post-PCI and myocardial blush grade. Furthermore, clinical endpoints including death, myocardial re-infarction, target vessel revascularization, and new congestive heart failure will be recorded at 6 and 12 months. Safety will be assessed by the incidence of bleeding and stroke. SUMMARY: The TATORT-NSTEMI trial has been designed to test the hypothesis that thrombectomy will improve myocardial perfusion in patients with NSTEMI and relevant thrombus burden in the culprit vessel reperfused by early PCI. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial is registered under http://www.clinicaltrials.gov: NCT01612312.

Atypical Bland-White-Garland syndrome: a 58-year-old woman with stenosis of the pulmonary origin of the left coronary artery.

UNLABELLED: The anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the main pulmonary trunk (also known as Bland-White-Garland syndrome) is a rare congenital malformation that occurs in 0.4% of patients with cardiac anomalies. We present an adult case (a 58-year-old woman) of atypical Bland-White-Garland syndrome. The patient displayed a stenosis at the ostium of the anomalous origin of the left coronary artery and an aortopulmonary fistula. Using conventional angiography, it was not possible to differentiate between an anomalous origin of the pulmonary coronary artery and total stenosis of the left main coronary artery in combination with a pulmonary fistula. However, transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) succeeded in making this differential diagnosis. CONCLUSION: If there is subtotal or total occlusion, TEE can be used for detection of coronary vessel morphology, particularly in cases of coronary anomalies.