Endovascular Intravascular Lithotripsy in the Treatment of Calcific Common Femoral Artery Disease: A Case Series With an 18-Month Follow-Up.

BACKGROUND: Intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) is a novel endovascular treatment for calcified common femoral artery disease (CFA). Data on midterm effectiveness for clinically driven target lesions revascularization (CD-TLR) is lacking. This study investigated CD-TLR during 18-month follow-up in patients requiring IVL for CFA disease treatment. METHODS: In a single-center retrospective cohort study, electronic medical record of patients undergoing IVL for CFA disease from January 2018 to March 2020 were reviewed. Primary outcome was CD-TLR estimated by Kaplan-Meier method during 18-month follow-up. Univariate logistic regression was used to compare differences in CD-TLR by the type of adjunct therapy used. RESULTS: Among 54 CFA lesions in 50 patients, mean age (SD) was 75(8) years, gender and race were predominantly male (74%, n = 37) and white (94%, n = 47), respectively. Rutherford class III claudication was most common (70%, n = 35) with mean ABI of 0.66 (0.26) and mean angiographic stenosis of 77% (13%). Adjunct use of drug-coated balloon (DCB) angioplasty was 83% (n = 45) and atherectomy was 39% (n = 21). Residual angiographic stenosis was <30% in all cases. Complications included dissection requiring stent placement (2%, n = 1). After 18-months, 18% (n = 9) died unrelated to procedural complications and 6% (n = 3) were lost to follow-up. 18-month cumulative freedom from CD-TLR was 80.6% (95% CI: 69.1%, 92%). Univariate logistic regression did not reveal a statistically significant difference in CD-TLR with type of adjunct therapy used (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: IVL with adjunct use of DCB and/or atherectomy is safe and effective in treatment of calcified CFA disease. Randomized studies are required to confirm these findings.

Eosinophilic Myocarditis in a Patient With Sickle Cell Disease.

A 23-year-old man with sickle cell disease treated with splenectomy and allogenic stem cell transplantation presented with recurrent chest pain, elevated cardiac enzymes, and unremarkable electrocardiography. His work-up revealed eosinophilia, raising concern for eosinophilic myocarditis. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging showed patchy late gadolinium enhancement of the left ventricular free wall, suggestive of myocarditis. He was treated with high-dose intravenous steroids followed by oral prednisone, with improvement in his symptoms and eosinophilia and a decrease in cardiac enhancement on follow-up imaging. (Level of Difficulty: Intermediate.).

Cardiac rehabilitation in women; comparison of enrollment, adherence and outcomes between heart failure and coronary artery disease.

BACKGROUND: There is paucity of data on cardiac rehabilitation (CR) enrollment and outcomes in women with heart failure (HF). METHODS: In this retrospective analysis, we compared enrollment, adherence and outcomes between women with HF versus coronary artery disease (CAD)-related indications referred to a university-affiliated CR program from June 2014-July 2018. A multivariate regression analysis was performed to adjust for imbalanced variables at baseline and baseline value of each outcome to compare change in outcomes between HF and CAD groups RESULTS: A total of 538 women (HF=63 vs CAD=475) were included in the study. At baseline, women with HF were younger, had lower attendance to CR intake and worse perceived health, higher AACVPR risk category and lower exercise capacity but had similar enrollment, weight and dieatry habits when compared to women with CAD. Adjusted analyses showed that almost all cardiac rehabilitation outcomes except for positive affect (anxiety, depression symptoms, negative affect, dietary habits, perceived physical and mental health summary scores, exercise duration and capacity) improved significantly from baseline and in a similar fashion in both groups. Weight loss was significantly greater for women with CAD versus those with HF (CAD: Δ -1.12 ± 2.23 kg versus HF: Δ -0.66 ± 2.78 kg, p = 0.03). CONCLUSION: Despite a lower attendance to CR intake, lower perceived physical health and higher baseline AACVPR risk in women with HF, they have similar CR enrollment, adherence and completion rates compared to women with CAD. Both groups showed significant but similar improvements from baseline in almost all cardiac rehabilitation outcomes. These findings should alert cardiology providers to help overcome obstacles for women with HF to attend CR intake.

Endovascular Revascularization of Superficial Femoral Artery Stent Occlusion by Combined Retrograde Access With Catheter-Directed Thrombolysis and Pharmaco-Mechanical Thrombectomy.

We report a case of a patient with history of peripheral arterial disease who presented to the hospital with critical limb ischemia. We performed endovascular revascularization of stent thrombosis in superficial femoral artery (SFA), by retrograde pedal access with wire exteriorization. This case highlights the utility of retrograde pedal access in failed antegrade approach of culprit lesion in SFA and the effectiveness of multimodal endovascular thrombectomy to restore blood flow in patients who are otherwise not suitable for surgical interventions.

Home-Based Cardiac Rehabilitation Alone and Hybrid With Center-Based Cardiac Rehabilitation in Heart Failure: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background Center-based cardiac rehabilitation (CBCR) has been shown to improve outcomes in patients with heart failure (HF). Home-based cardiac rehabilitation (HBCR) can be an alternative to increase access for patients who cannot participate in CBCR. Hybrid cardiac rehabilitation (CR) combines short-term CBCR with HBCR, potentially allowing both flexibility and rigor. However, recent data comparing these initiatives have not been synthesized. Methods and Results We performed a meta-analysis to compare functional capacity and health-related quality of life (hr-QOL) outcomes in HF for (1) HBCR and usual care, (2) hybrid CR and usual care, and (3) HBCR and CBCR. A systematic search in 5 standard databases for randomized controlled trials was performed through January 31, 2019. Summary estimates were pooled using fixed- or random-effects (when I2>50%) meta-analyses. Standardized mean differences (95% CI) were used for distinct hr-QOL tools. We identified 31 randomized controlled trials with a total of 1791 HF participants. Among 18 studies that compared HBCR and usual care, participants in HBCR had improvement of peak oxygen uptake (2.39 mL/kg per minute; 95% CI, 0.28-4.49) and hr-QOL (16 studies; standardized mean difference: 0.38; 95% CI, 0.19-0.57). Nine RCTs that compared hybrid CR with usual care showed that hybrid CR had greater improvements in peak oxygen uptake (9.72 mL/kg per minute; 95% CI, 5.12-14.33) but not in hr-QOL (2 studies; standardized mean difference: 0.67; 95% CI, -0.20 to 1.54). Five studies comparing HBCR with CBCR showed similar improvements in functional capacity (0.0 mL/kg per minute; 95% CI, -1.93 to 1.92) and hr-QOL (4 studies; standardized mean difference: 0.11; 95% CI, -0.12 to 0.34). Conclusions HBCR and hybrid CR significantly improved functional capacity, but only HBCR improved hr-QOL over usual care. However, both are potential alternatives for patients who are not suitable for CBCR.

Efficacy and safety of adjunctive drug-coated balloon therapy in endovascular treatment of common femoral artery disease.

BACKGROUND: Surgical endarterectomy with or without patch angioplasty has been considered the gold standard for treatment of symptomatic common femoral artery (CFA) disease. Surgical risks include wound infection, hematoma and lymph leak in approximately 17% of patients. Endovascular therapy has less procedure-related morbidity and mortality. Endovascular approaches achieve patency rates of 60% to 90% at 1 and 2 years utilizing atherectomy and balloon angioplasty. CFA stenting has been limited due to concerns of stent kinking, thrombosis and restenosis. Combined directional atherectomy with drug-coated balloon to treat CFA disease in patients with Rutherford II/III patients has been studied recently. We sought to study the safety and outcomes of adjunct drug-coated balloon (DCB) therapy in symptomatic CFA disease patients, including critical limb ischemia (Rutherford IV), after achieving procedural success. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the additive efficacy of drug coated balloon in treating CFA disease. METHODS: Using retrospective single center data, we analyzed the outcomes of patients who underwent CFA interventions. In this non-randomized study, all patients from December 2010 to December 2014 with CFA disease underwent atherectomy (orbital, plaque excision or both) with adjunctive scoring balloon angioplasty (Ath/PTA). After December 2014, patients treated with combination atherectomy and DCB, (Ath/DCB), underwent final drug delivery to the vessel wall with drug-coated balloon. Distal embolic protection devices were used in the majority of patients. Primary efficacy endpoint was 1-year primary patency and freedom from clinically driven target lesion revascularization (CD-TLR). Patency of vessels was assessed at 12-month interval using duplex ultrasound. RESULTS: Seventy de novo common femoral artery stenotic lesions were treated in both groups. Mean age was 69 in (Ath/PTA) group and 72 in Ath/DCB group. Patients in each group had similar risk factor profiles including diabetes mellitus, hypertension, smoking, coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, prior coronary revascularization, congestive heart failure, cerebrovascular accidents and chronic kidney disease. The Ath/DCB group had more advanced disease presentation by Rutherford classification (intermittent claudication in 61% and critical limb ischemia in 39% versus intermittent claudication in 76% and chronic limb ischemia in 24%) when compared with the Ath/PTA group. Primary efficacy endpoint was met in 85% and 94% (p = 0.26) in the Ath/PTA and Ath/DCB groups respectively. All patients had run-off angiography at the end of procedure to ensure patency. CONCLUSION: Adjunctive drug-coated balloon therapy does not increase the primary patency rate when compared with atherectomy and scoring balloon angioplasty alone at 1-year in common femoral artery disease treatment.

Comparison of phase 2 cardiac rehabilitation outcomes between patients after transcatheter versus surgical aortic valve replacement.

Background Referral rates and outcomes of cardiac rehabilitation have not been evaluated in patients with transcatheter aortic valve replacement or compared with surgical aortic valve replacement. Method A retrospective cohort study was conducted in 488 patients who underwent transcatheter aortic valve replacement ( n = 199) and surgical aortic valve replacement ( n = 289) from a university-based statewide transcatheter aortic valve replacement/surgical aortic valve replacement program during 2015-2017. Cardiac rehabilitation consisted of supervised exercise, diet education, and stress and depression management. We compared changes from baseline in exercise duration and intensity during cardiac rehabilitation sessions, quality-of-life (36-Item Short-Form Health Survey), and psychosocial measures (anxiety, depression, mood, social support, and diet) between transcatheter aortic valve replacement and surgical aortic valve replacement patients using t-test and chi-square analyses. Results Of 488 patients, cardiac rehabilitation referral rates were similar at 41% (transcatheter aortic valve replacement 81/199 versus surgical aortic valve replacement 117/289), but enrollment rates were lower in transcatheter aortic valve replacement (27/199, 14%) versus surgical aortic valve replacement (102/289, 35%, p < 0.01). Among eligible patients, cardiac rehabilitation completion rates were lower in transcatheter aortic valve replacement (12%) than surgical aortic valve replacement (32%). Exercise intensity during cardiac rehabilitation improved in both groups in a similar fashion (transcatheter aortic valve replacement 1.03 ± 1.09 versus surgical aortic valve replacement 1.34 ± 1.15 metabolic equivalents), but increase in exercise duration was higher in transcatheter aortic valve replacement patients versus surgical aortic valve replacement patients (14.52 ± 6.42 versus 10.67 ± 8.38 min, p = 0.02). Improvement in physical composite score was higher in surgical aortic valve replacement versus transcatheter aortic valve replacement (8.72 ± 7.87 versus 2.36 ± 7.6, p = 0.02) while improvement in mental composite score was higher in transcatheter aortic valve replacement (8.19 ± 8.50) versus surgical aortic valve replacement (1.18 ± 7.23, p = 0.02). There was no significant difference between the two groups in improvement in psychosocial measures. Conclusion Cardiac rehabilitation enrollment was low in transcatheter aortic valve replacement patients versus surgical aortic valve replacement patients despite similar referral rates. Improvement in functional and quality-of-life performance was achieved in both transcatheter aortic valve replacement and surgical aortic valve replacement. Future studies should address obstacles for enrollment of transcatheter aortic valve replacement patients.