The prognostic importance of the Naples prognostic score for in-hospital mortality in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND: The Naples prognostic score (NPS) is an effective inflammatory and nutritional scoring system widely applied as a prognostic factor in various cancers. However, the prognostic significance of NPS is unknown in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). We aimed to analyze the prognostic value of the NPS in-hospital mortality in patients with STEMI. METHODS: The study consisted of 3828 patients diagnosed with STEMI who underwent primer percutaneous coronary intervention. As the primary outcome, in-hospital mortality was defined as all-cause deaths during hospitalization. The included patients were categorized into three groups based on NPS (group 1:NPS = 0,1,2; group 2:NPS = 3; group 3:NPS = 4). RESULTS: Increased NPS was associated with higher in-hospital mortality rates( P  < 0.001). In the multivariable logistic regression analysis, the relationship between NPS and in-hospital mortality continued after adjustment for age, male sex, diabetes, hypertension, Killip score, SBP, heart rate, left ventricular ejection fraction, myocardial infarction type and postprocedural no-reflow. A strong positive association was found between in-hospital mortality and NPS by multivariable logistic regression analysis [NPS 0-1-2 as a reference, OR = 1.73 (95% CI, 1.04-2.90) for NPS 3, OR = 2.83 (95% CI, 1.76-4.54) for NPS 4]. CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrates that the NPS could independently predict in-hospital mortality in STEMI. Prospective studies will be necessary to confirm the performance, clinical applicability and practicality of the NPS for in-hospital mortality in STEMI.

A new marker for the prediction of contrast induced-acute kidney injury following primary percutaneous coronary intervention: logarithm of haemoglobin-albumin product.

BACKGROUND: Contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) is a disorder that adversely affects the prognosis of STEMI. The study aimed to assess the predictive value of a new marker, logarithm of haemoglobin and albumin product (LHAP) on the risk of CI-AKI development after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (p-pci). METHOD: We retrospectively enrolled 3057 patients with ST-elevation acute myocardial infarction who were treated with p-PCI. The primary outcome was CI-AKI, defined as >25% or >0.5 mg/dl increase of baseline creatinine values during post-procedural 48 h. RESULTS: First, a baseline model was produced to determine the predictors of CI-AKI, then haemoglobin, albumin and LHAP were included in the base model and the performances of all models were compared. The predictive accuracy (Likelihood ratio χ2 and R2) and discrimination (ROC-AUC) of the model including LHAP were significantly higher than that of models including both albumin and Hgb. LHAP best cut-off value for the development of CI-AKI was 9.26 (sensitivity 68% and specificity 66%). CONCLUSION: LHAP values were the most important predictor of CI-AKI, followed by creatinine value and Killip class. LHAP values are significantly associated with CI-AKI after p-PCI.

Serum Albumin to Creatinine Ratio and Short-Term Clinical Outcomes in Patients With ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction.

There is a lack of evidence regarding the short-term predictive value of serum albumin to creatinine ratio (sACR) in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). This study aims to investigate the relationship between sACR and short-term outcomes in these patients. We retrospectively enrolled 3057 patients with STEMI who underwent primary percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) (median age was 58 years, and 74.3% were male). In-hospital mortality occurred in 114 (3.7%) patients. Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) was reported in 381 (12.4%) patients. During a 30-day follow-up, stent thrombosis (ST) occurred in 28 (.9%) patients and 30-day death in 147 (4.8%) patients. Multivariable logistic regression analysis reported that sACR was inversely associated with 30-day mortality (adjusted odds ratio (aOR): .51, 95% confidence interval (CI) .31-.82, P < .001). The sACR was also inversely associated with in-hospital mortality (aOR: .71, 95% CI .56-.90, P = .009), CIN (aOR: .60, 95% CI .52-.68, P < .001), congestive heart failure (CHF) (aOR: .64, 95% CI .47-.87, P = .007), and ST (aOR .61, 95% CI .41-.92, P = .001) at 30 days. Our findings suggest that sACR is inversely associated with short-term clinical outcomes in patients with STEMI after PCI.

The Rate of Epistaxis Incidence in New-Generation Anticoagulants and Perioperative Approach in Otorhinolaryngological Practices.

Nose bleeding is a common situation seen in otorhinolaryngological practices. One of the greatest risk factors in nose bleeding is the use of anticoagulant medicine. With the medicine developed in recent years, the risk of nose bleeding due to the frequent use of anticoagulant and antiagregant is gradually increasing.The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of especially new-generation anticoagulants on nose bleeding. In addition, the use and complications of new-generation anticoagulants and antiagregants have been compiled in light of information obtained from the literature.Three hundred forty patients whose follow-up is conducted by the cardiology department and who use oral antithrombocytic medicine have been included in the study. It has been determined that 15% of these patients use new-generation oral anticoagulants (Rivaroksaban, apiksaban, dabigatran, danaparoid) and the other patients are treated with conventional antithrombocytic treatment (Aspirin, Warfarin, Enoksaparin sodium). The rate of nose bleeding in patients who use classical anticoagulants has been observed to be 28%. In 30 of these patients who had nose bleeding, while cauterization and buffering by otorhinolaryngology specialists, major intervention has not been necessary for any of the patients. While bleeding has been observed in 26% of the patients who use new-generation anticoagulants, bleeding that required operational intervention has taken place in 2 patients. Bleedings have been stopped surgically through a large number of cauterization and buffering.While the new-generation anticoagulants cause lower rate of bleeding, it has been observed that controlling these bleedings is more difficult.

A real world data of dabigatran etexilate: multicenter registry of oral anticoagulants in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common cardiac arrhythmia. Dabigatran etixalate (DE) is one of the new oral anticoagulant drugs being used in nonvalvular AF (NVAF). There is no adequate real world data in different populations about DE. The aim of this registry was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of DE Consecutive NVAF patients treated with warfarin or both DE doses were enrolled during 18 months study period. The patients were re-evaluated at regular 6-month intervals during the follow-up period. During the follow-up period outcomes were documented according to RELY methodology A total of 555 patients were analyzed. There was no significant difference in ischemic stroke rates (p = 0.73), death rates (p = 0.15) and MI rates (p = 0.56) between groups. The rate of major bleeding was significantly higher in warfarin and dabigatran 150 mg group than dabigatran 110 mg (p < 0.001). Intracranial bleeding rate and relative risk were significantly lower in dabigatran 110 mg group than warfarin group (p = 0.004). Dyspepsia was significantly higher in both DE doses than warfarin (p = 0.004) Both DE doses are as effective as warfarin in reducing stroke rates in NVAF patients, without increasing MI rates. Intracranial bleeding rates are significantly lower in warfarin than both doses of DE and gastrointestinal bleeding risk increases with increased DE doses.

Comparison of early and late clinical outcomes in patients >= 80 versus <80 years of age after successful primary angioplasty for ST segment elevation myocardial infarction.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to compare the efficacy of primary percutaneous coronary intervention (p-PCI) in patients >=80 versus <80 years of age with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). STUDY DESIGN: We retrospectively enrolled 2213 patients with acute STEMI. The patients were prospectively followed up for a median of 42 months. Early and late clinical outcomes were compared according to age. RESULTS: One-hundred and seventy-nine (8.1%) of the 2213 patients were aged >=80 years. Post-procedural TIMI grade 3 flow was significantly less frequent in the age >=80 years patients (82.1% vs. 91.1%, p<0.001). Rates of mortality (14.5% vs. 3.4%, p<0.001), heart failure (20.7% vs. 10.5%, p<0.001), major hemorrhage (9.5% vs. 3.3%, p<0.001), secondary VT/VF (10.1% vs. 4.2%, p=0.002) and atrial fibrillation (12.8% vs. 4.3%, p<0.001) during the early hospitalization period were significantly higher in the age >=80 years patient group. Overall rates of mortality (40% vs. 9.7%, p<0.001) and total stroke (5.6% vs. 1.1%, p=0.005) at long-term follow-up were also higher in the age >=80 years patient group. However, there was no difference between the two groups with respect to the reinfarction/revascularization rates. Analysis, using the Cox proportional hazards model, revealed that age >=80 to was an independent predictor of long-term mortality (hazard ratio 2.17, 95% CI 1.23-4.17, p=0.02). CONCLUSION: Age is an independent predictor of mortality after p-PCI for STEMI. Although it seems to improve early outcomes, the efficacy of p-PCI at long-term follow-up is limited in elderly patients.

Relation of the severity of contrast induced nephropathy to SYNTAX score and long term prognosis in patients treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention.

BACKGROUND: SYNTAX score (SXscore) has been developed to assess the severity and complexity of coronary artery disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether baseline SXscore was associated with contrast induced nephropathy (CIN) after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (p-PCI) in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Secondarily we aimed to investigate the relation of the severity of CIN to long term prognosis. METHODS: We retrospectively enrolled 1893 patients with STEMI treated by p-PCI. We prospectively followed up the patients for a mean duration of 45 months. The patients were grouped according to the development of no nephropathy (grade 0, n: 1634), mild nephropathy (grade 1, n: 153) or severe nephropathy (grade 2, n: 106). RESULTS: SXscore was significantly higher (19.4±5.9 vs 15.6±4.8, p<0.001) in patients with CIN (grades 1 and 2) compared to those without CIN. SXscore was higher in patients with grade 2 CIN compared to those with grade 1 CIN (18.5±5.7 vs 20.7±5.9, p<0.001). In the multivariate analysis, SXscore was identified as an independent predictor of CIN (for one unit increment, OR: 1.06, 95% CI: 1.01-1.14, p=0.006). At long-term follow-up, death (p<0.001), stroke (p=0.006), reinfarction (p=0.024) and permanent HD requirement (p<0.001) were most frequent in grade 2 nephropathy group. HD was associated with very high in-hospital (60%) and long-term (83.3%) mortality rates. CONCLUSIONS: SXscore is an independent predictor of development and severity of CIN after p-PCI. CIN is associated with poor prognosis during both early and late postinfarction period.

In-hospital prognostic value of hemoglobin levels on admission in patients with acute ST segment elevation myocardial infarction undergoing primary angioplasty.

PURPOSE: Anemia is a common comorbidity in patients presenting with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). The aim of this study was to investigate the in-hospital prognostic value of admission hemoglobin (Hb) levels in patients with acute STEMI undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (p-PCI). METHODS: This is a retrospective study of 1,625 patients with STEMI stratified by quartiles of admission Hb concentration (Q1 ≤12.5 g/dl, Q2 12.6-13.8 g/dl, Q3 13.9-15.0 g/dl, Q4 ≥15.1 g/dl). Main outcome measures were in-hospital rates of all cause mortality, re-infarction, target vessel revascularization, stroke, heart failure (HF) and bleeding complications. RESULTS: The incidences of in-hospital mortality according to quartiles from Q1 to Q4 were 8.6, 3.9, 2.4 and 2.6%, respectively (p < 0.001). The incidences of major hemorrhage and HF were significantly higher in Q1, compared to the other quartiles (7.4, 1.9, 3.1, 2.8%, p < 0.001; 16.3, 8.5, 7.7, 9.8%, p < 0.001, respectively). Multiple logistic-regression analysis showed that low admission Hb level (Q1) is an independent and a potent predictor for in-hospital mortality [unadjusted odds ratio (OR): 3.84, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.78-7.82; p < 0.001]. CONCLUSION: Lower concentrations of Hb on admission are associated with higher rates of in-hospital mortality, heart failure and major bleeding after p-PCI.

In-hospital prognostic value of admission plasma B-type natriuretic peptide levels in patients undergoing primary angioplasty for acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction.

OBJECTIVES: We assessed in-hospital prognostic value of admission plasma B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels in patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (p-PCI) for acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). STUDY DESIGN: In a retrospective design, we evaluated 992 patients (801 males, 191 females; mean age 56 ± 12 years) treated with p-PCI for STEMI. The patients were divided into two groups according to the admission BNP levels, taking the cut-off value of BNP as 100 pg/ml; i.e, ≥ 100 pg/ml (n=334, 33.7%) and <100 pg/ml (n=658, 66.3%). Postprocedural angiographic and clinical in-hospital results were recorded. RESULTS: No-reflow (24% vs. 9%), heart failure (32.3% vs. 5.5%) and death (15.6% vs. 1.7%) were significantly more common in patients with BNP ≥ 100 pg/ml (p<0.001). In multivariate analysis, elevated baseline BNP level was identified as an independent predictor of no-reflow (OR=1.83; 95% CI 1.22-2.74, p=0.003), acute heart failure (OR=2.67; 95% CI 1.55-4.58, p<0.001), and in-hospital mortality (OR=3.28; 95% CI 1.51-7.14, p=0.003). In receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, the area under the curve and sensitivity/specificity of the cut-off value of BNP (100 pg/ml) for prediction of clinical endpoints were 0.741 and 58.6%/70.3% for no-reflow, 0.822 and 75%/73.3% for heart failure, and 0.833 and 82.5%/69.4% for death, respectively (p<0.001 for all). CONCLUSION: Elevated admission BNP level is an independent predictor of angiographic no-reflow, acute heart failure, and mortality in STEMI patients during in-hospital period, suggesting that it might be incorporated into traditional risk scoring systems to improve early risk stratification.

The relationship of serum erythropoietin level with coronary collateral grade.

BACKGROUND: Erythropoietin has been shown to induce neovascularization and protect against ischemic vascular injury. We investigated whether a higher serum erythropoietin (EPO) level is related to better coronary collateral vessel grade. METHODS: Ninety-nine patients with stable angina pectoris who have at least 1 coronary stenosis of equal to or greater than 70% at coronary angiography were prospectively enrolled. Serum EPO and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels were studied. Coronary collateral degree was graded according to the Rentrop method. Patients with grade 2-3 collateral degree were included in the good collateral group and formed Group I. The patients with grade 0-1 collateral degree were included in the poor collateral group and formed Group II. RESULTS: The serum EPO level was significantly higher in the good collateral group (17.3 ± 9.3 mU/mL vs 11.7 ± 5.0 mU/mL; P < 0.001). There was also a positive correlation between serum EPO level and Rentrop score (r = 0.39; P < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, serum EPO level (odds ratio [OR] 1.336; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.120-1.593; P = 0.001), oxygen saturation (OR 0.638; 95% CI, 0.422-0.963; P = 0.033) and presence of chronic total occlusion (CTO) (OR 26.7; 95% CI, 3.874-184.6; P = 0.001) were independently related to well-developed coronary collaterals. CONCLUSIONS: Higher serum EPO level is related to better coronary collateral development. Erythropoietin may have a positive effect on the development of collaterals and may provide a new agent for the treatment strategies to enhance coronary collateral vessel development.

Primary angioplasty in a high-volume tertiary center in Turkey: in-hospital clinical outcomes of 1625 patients.

OBJECTIVES: We evaluated in-hospital results of primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in a high-volume tertiary center. STUDY DESIGN: We retrospectively evaluated 1625 patients (1323 males, 302 females; mean age 56.0 ± 11.6 years) who underwent primary PCI for acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction between January 2006 and April 2008. All coronary angiography procedures were performed using the femoral artery route. In-hospital clinical and angiographic results were recorded. RESULTS: On admission, 23% of the patients had diabetes mellitus, 49.6% had anterior myocardial infarction, and 4.9% had cardiogenic shock. The mean duration of pain was 171.2 ± 121.2 minutes, and the mean door-to-balloon time was 31.6 ± 7.2 minutes. Infarct-related artery was the left anterior descending artery in 49.7%, multivessel disease was present in 40.9%, TIMI 2/3 flow was present in 23.6%, and high-grade thrombus was observed in 66.8%. Primary PCI involved balloon dilatation (5.7%) and stent implantation (94.3%). The incidence of angiographic no-reflow was 11.9%. The mean hospital stay was 5.2 ± 3.3 days. All-cause mortality occurred in 71 patients (4.4%). Other in-hospital events were reinfarction (1.4%), target vessel revascularization (1.9%), hemorrhagic/ischemic stroke (0.6%), stent thrombosis (1.2%), major bleeding (3.8%), blood transfusion (4.8%), heart failure (10.5%), atrial fibrillation (4%), and ventricular tachycardia (3.9%). CONCLUSION: Primary PCI is an effective method in achieving complete revascularization of the infarct-related artery. Successful in-hospital results not only depend on the experience and equipment of the center, but also on how rapidly reperfusion is achieved.

Impact of chronic pre-treatment of statins on the level of systemic inflammation and myocardial perfusion in patients undergoing primary angioplasty.

Statins have many favorable pleiotropic effects beyond their lipid-lowering properties. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of long-term statin pretreatment on the level of systemic inflammation and myocardial perfusion in patients with acute myocardial infarctions. This was a retrospective study of 1,617 patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarctions who underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention <12 hours after the onset of symptoms. Angiographic no-reflow was defined as postprocedural Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) flow grade ≤2. Long-term statin pretreatment was significantly less common in the no-reflow group (6.2% vs 21%, p <0.001). The serum lipid profiles of the groups were similar (p >0.05 for all parameters). Baseline C-reactive protein levels (10 ± 8.2 vs 15 ± 14 mg/L, p <0.001) and the frequency of angiographic no-reflow (3.9% vs 14%, p <0.001) were significantly lower, and myocardial blush grade 3 was more common (50% vs 40%, p = 0.006) in the statin pretreatment group (n = 306). Moreover, the frequency of complete ST-segment resolution (>70%) (70% vs 59%, p <0.001) and the left ventricular ejection fraction were higher (49 ± 7.5% vs 46 ± 8.3%, p <0.001) and peak creatine kinase-MB was lower (186 ± 134 vs 241 ± 187 IU/L, p <0.001) in the statin-treated group. In conclusion, long-term statin pretreatment is associated with lower C-reactive protein levels on admission and better myocardial perfusion after primary percutaneous coronary intervention, leading to lower enzymatic infarct area and a more preserved left ventricular ejection fraction. This is a group effect independent of lipid-lowering properties.

Prognostic significance of left ventricular systolic dyssynchrony in patients with nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy.

OBJECTIVES: Left ventricular (LV) dyssynchrony parameters are still being investigated to guide and optimize treatment in heart failure. We investigated the prognostic importance of LV systolic dyssynchrony in nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) using tissue Doppler echocardiography. STUDY DESIGN: The study included 62 patients (39 males, 23 females; mean age 40 years; range 9 to 77 years) with nonischemic DCM. All the patients were examined by electrocardiography, echocardiography including tissue Doppler imaging (TDI), and angiography. The patients were evaluated in two groups depending on the intraventricular delay (IVD) of 65 msec (group 2, 52 patients). The primary endpoint was defined as overall mortality during a mean follow-up period of 1,253+/-177 days (range 943 to 1583 days). RESULTS: Group 2 patients had a significantly longer mean IVD (129+/-68 msec vs. 57.5+/-8.7 msec; p=0.013), higher rate of left bundle branch block (30.8% vs. 10%; p=0.05), longer QRS duration (145+/-29 msec vs. 129+/-23 msec; p=0.02), and higher mortality (55.8% vs. 10%; p<0.0001). Sudden cardiac death was seen in one patient in group 1, compared to 12 patients in group 2. All the remaining deaths (n=17) occurred in group 2. In ROC analysis, the cutoff level for IVD was 65 msec for predicting clinical endpoint (specificity 72%, sensitivity 46%). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed a significantly lower survival in group 2 (p=0.045). In multivariate analysis, admission IVD was the only significant independent predictor of mortality (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Our results showed that increased IVD was associated with increased risk for death in patients with nonischemic DCM, independent from the QRS width and LV ejection fraction. These patients might be considered earlier for cardiac resynchronization therapy.

The utility of fragmented QRS complexes to predict significant intraventricular dyssynchrony in nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy patients with a narrow QRS interval.

BACKGROUND: Fragmented QRS complexes in the electrocardiograms (ECGs) of patients with coronary artery disease are associated with adverse cardiac events. However, there are limited data on its predictive usefulness in patients with nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy. Left ventricular dyssynchrony is common in heart failure patients who have wide QRS intervals, but its frequency in patients with narrow QRS intervals is uncertain. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the relationship between fragmented QRS complexes and intraventricular dyssynchrony in patients with nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy in sinus rhythm. METHODS: Sixty nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy patients with sinus rhythm and narrow QRS intervals were recruited. Forty patients had a fragmented QRS in their basal ECG, and 20 patients did not have a fragmented QRS. Patients were analyzed for correlation between fragmented QRS complexes and intraventricular dyssynchrony. RESULTS: The maximal difference in time to the peak myocardial systolic velocity between any two left ventricular segments (Max-ASE Sys), and maximal difference between Max-ASE Sys and the mean value of all segments (Max-ASE to Mean Sys) were significantly higher in patients with fragmented QRS complexes (P=0.001 and P=0.003, respectively). Seventy-two per cent of the patients with fragmented QRS complexes had significant left ventricular dyssynchrony; 15% of patients without fragmented QRS complexes had significant left ventricular dyssynchrony (P<0.0001). The presence of fragmented QRS complexes in leads corresponding to the specific ventricular segment in basal ECG was found to detect intraventricular dyssynchrony with 90.6% sensitivity (negative predictive value of 85%). CONCLUSION: Fragmentation in the resting ECG is associated with significant intraventricular dyssynchrony in patients with nonischemic cardiomyopathy, narrow QRS and sinus rhythm. Fragmentation in ECG might be useful in identifying patients who could benefit from cardiac resynchronization therapy.

Reliability of ultrasonography in detecting flow mediated dilation.

The reproducibility, interobserver and intraobserver variability of brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD) has previously been reported. However, no study has compared the brachial artery FMD, detected by ultrasonography, simultaneously with reference imaging technique. The aim of this study was to assess the precision and accuracy of ultrasonography in detecting FMD compared to angiography. The study population consisted of 40 patients (13 females, mean age 56 +/- 8 years) who underwent elective diagnostic coronary angiography. The ultrasonographic FMD (USFMD) measurements have been performed according to established standards with the subjects laying on the angiography table. Selective left brachial angiography was performed while ultrasonographic measurements of the brachial artery were obtained at baseline and during reactive hyperemia. To assess precision, USFMD was compared with angiographic FMD (AGFMD) by linear regression. The accuracy of the ultrasonographic measurement in comparison to the angiographic measurement was assessed by the Bland and Altman analysis. The mean +/- SD of the testing USFMD and AGFMD measurements were 14.1 +/- 7.3 and 14.7 +/- 7.8%, respectively. Linear regression indicated a high correlation (r = 0.93, P < 0.0001) between ultrasonographic and angiographic measures, with a standard error of estimate of 2.7%. Agreement between measurements was reasonable (95% of limits of agreement, -5.481 to 4,674%). Ultrasonography seems to be reliable technique in detecting FMD.

Dystrophic calcification of the aneurysmatic left ventricular apex.

Pathologic calcium deposition may be observed in the valve leaflets, valvular annulus, pericardial scar areas in chronic constructive pericarditis, and myocardial tissue. A direct x-ray may reveal the area of calcification in any of these tissues. The most common cause of myocardial calcification is myocardial infarction (MI) in which calcium accumulates in the infarcted tissue during myocardial healing process. The authors present a case of diffuse myocardial calcification located in the left ventricular apical aneurysm in a patient who had an MI 24 years ago, together with a diagnostic and therapeutic approach.

Papillary muscle dyssynchrony as a cause of functional mitral regurgitation in non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy patients with narrow QRS complexes.

OBJECTIVE: Mitral regurgitation (MR) increases mortality in dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). We investigated the prevalence of functional MR in non-ischemic DCM patients with narrow QRS intervals and its association with papillary muscle dyssynchrony. METHODS: Ninety-three patients were enrolled consecutively in this cross-sectional study. Patients were evaluated for the presence of intraventricular (DYS Sep-Lat Sys) and papillary muscle (DYS Inter PAP Sys) systolic dyssynchrony using tissue Doppler echocardiographic imaging (TDI). Two-dimensional and Doppler echocardiography were used for quantification of MR. Statistical analyses were performed using unpaired t test, Mann-Whitney U test, correlation and logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: Thirty-seven patients (39%) had significant DYS Sep-Lat Sys and 25 patients (26%) had DYS Inter PAP Sys. Patients with DYS Inter PAP Sys had lower basal septum systolic (p=0.007) and late diastolic velocities (p=0.049), greater MR volume (p=0.01), effective regurgitant orifice (ERO) (p=0.01), and E/A ratios (p=0.03) than the patients without DYS Inter PAP Sys. Fifty-five patients with narrow QRS intervals were also evaluated for DYS Inter PAP Sys. Patients with DYS Inter PAP Sys and narrow QRS had lower basal septum TDI peak systolic velocities (p=0.038), higher MR volume (p=0.03) and ERO (p=0.03). Logistic regression analysis revealed that NYHA Class III-IV (OR=6.4, 95% CI: 1.1-37.1, p=0.038) and DYS Inter PAP Sys (OR=9.5, 95% CI: 1.17-75.78, p=0.034) were the independent predictors of functional MR >20 ml. CONCLUSION: Papillary muscle systolic dyssynchrony is common and correlated with functional MR in non-ischemic DCM patients with sinus rhythm and narrow QRS. Papillary muscle systolic dyssynchrony may help predict patients who will benefit from cardiac resynchronization therapy.