Long-term Survival Following Heart Transplantation for Chagas Versus Non-Chagas Cardiomyopathy: A Single-center Experience in Northeastern Brazil Over 2 Decades.

Data on post-heart transplant (HT) survival of patients with Chagas cardiomyopathy (CC) are scarce. We sought to evaluate post-HT survival in patients with CC as compared with other causes of heart failure across different eras of HT. Methods: We conducted a retrospective, cohort study of 376 adult HT recipients between October 1997 and November 2019. Participants were classified according to the etiology of heart failure as CC (N = 66), nonischemic cardiomyopathy (N = 214), and ischemic cardiomyopathy (N = 96), and according to the era of HT as early (1997-2009), recent (2010-2014), and current era (2015-2019). Results: After a mean follow-up of 5.0 y (0-20.5 y), post-HT survival rates at 1, 5, and 10 y were comparable between groups. One-y survival improved from 70% in the early eras to 80% in the current era (hazard ratio [HR], 0.63; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.41-0.97; P = 0.034). After adjustment for sex, age, and mechanical circulatory support, time-related improvement in survival was observed only in patients without CC (HR, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.32-0.91; P = 0.019) but not in those with CC (HR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.36-2.73; P = 0.98). Causes of death were similar between patients with CC and the other etiological subgroups. Conclusions: Posttransplant survival is comparable between patients with CC, nonischemic cardiomyopathy, and ischemic cardiomyopathy. Although survival has improved significantly over years for most HT recipients, it has remained unchanged for those with Chagas disease. These trends underscore the importance of scientific research, policy discussions and a collaborative registry of heart transplantation in Chagas cardiomyopathy.

Successful New Generation LAA Closure Device Implantation After Prior Incomplete Surgical LAA Ligation.

We present a case of percutaneous closure of a prior incomplete surgical left atrial appendage (LAA) ligation after a failed closure attempt using the first-generation Watchman device. The new generation Watchman FLX device (Boston Scientific) was implanted in this technically and anatomically challenging LAA patient using multimodality fusion imaging. (Level of Difficulty: Advanced.).

Aspiration thrombectomy in ST-Elevation myocardial infarction: Further insights from a network meta-analysis of randomized trials.

BACKGROUND: The initial enthusiasm for thrombectomy during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients has given way to restraint. There has been some limited interest whether it is beneficial in a few selected subgroups. Hence, we performed a network meta-analysis to compare conventional PCI (cPCI), Aspiration or manual thrombectomy (AT) and Mechanical thrombectomy (McT) for clarification. METHODS: Electronic databases were searched for randomized studies that compared AT, McT, or cPCI. A network meta-analysis was performed and odd's ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals was generated for major adverse cardiac events (MACE), mortality, myocardial infarction (MI), target vessel revascularization (TVR), stent thrombosis (ST), stroke, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), myocardial blush grade (MBG) and ST segment resolution (STR). RESULTS: A total of 43 randomized trials (n = 26,682) were included. The risk of MACE (OR 0.86 95% CI 0.73-1.00), Mortality (OR 0.85 95% CI 0.73-0.99), MI (OR 0.65, 95% CI: 0.44-0.95) and TVR (OR 0.86, 95% CI: 0.74-1.00) were lower with AT compared to cPCI. The risk of ST and stroke was no different with the use of adjunctive AT. MBG, STR, and LVEF improved with the use of AT while the infarct size was no different in the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Our comprehensive network meta-analysis suggests conflicting outcomes with AT. While Mortality, MACE, MI seem better, there is a suggestion that, Stroke and ST might be worse. Whether AT can still be pursued in any select cases should be further scrutinized.

Hinge point-based annular plane with abnormal aortic cusps in transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

A virtual aortic annular plane that is built using the three hinge points, known as the hinge point-based annular plane (HPAP), is routinely used during transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Abnormal aortic cusps (AAC) with unequal length and size influence the relationship of the HPAP to the aortic root axis significantly and pose challenges to valve deployment, leading to paravalvular leak and valve embolisation. Obtaining a centreline-based aortic annular plane in addition may help to understand valve deployment behaviour in AAC better.

Revisiting Femoral vs. Radial access-do vascular closure devices level the playing field?

Previous large randomized multicenter trials have shown superiority of radial to femoral access in reducing major bleeding, vascular complications, and in some cohorts, mortality Vascular closure devices improve time to hemostasis and ambulation, as well as patient comfort, but have not been shown to reduce major complications or mortality consistently in the high level evidence base. The combination of optimal femoral access and closure with a vascular closure device has the potential to narrow the gap between the radial and femoral approaches in high risk patients, but unfortunately this study was too limited to confirm either non-inferiority or equivalence.