Safety of six-month dual antiplatelet therapy after second-generation drug-eluting stent implantation: OPTIMA-C Randomised Clinical Trial and OCT Substudy.

AIMS: There are few randomised studies concerning the optimal duration of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) for patients who receive a second-generation drug-eluting stent (DES). This trial aimed to investigate the safety of six-month compared with 12-month DAPT maintenance after second-generation DES implantation. METHODS AND RESULTS: A prospective, randomised, multicentre trial was performed at 10 medical centres. The 1,368 patients included in the study received a biolimus-eluting stent (BES) or a zotarolimus-eluting stent (ZES). The primary outcome measured was the composite of major adverse cardiac events (MACE), including cardiac death, myocardial infarction (MI), or ischaemia-driven target lesion revascularisation at the 12-month follow-up. The secondary outcome was the percentage of uncovered struts at six months in 60 patients (30 ZES, 30 BES) using optical coherence tomography (OCT) assessment. Each patient was randomly assigned to six-month (n=684) or 12-month DAPT (n=684). Major adverse cardiac events at 12 months occurred in eight patients (1.2%) in the six-month DAPT group and in four patients (0.6%) in the 12-month DAPT group (risk difference 0.6%; 95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.4-1.6%; p=0.24). The upper 95% CI limit was lower than the pre-specified limit of 4% non-inferiority (p for non-inferiority <0.05). The percentage of uncovered struts was 3.16±4.30% at six months in 60 stents of 60 patients. CONCLUSIONS: After second-generation DES implantation, six-month DAPT was not inferior to 12-month DAPT in terms of MACE occurrence over the 12-month follow-up period. OCT examination revealed favourable stent strut coverage at six months after stent implantation.

Role of dyssynchrony on functional mitral regurgitation in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy: a comparison study with geometric parameters of mitral apparatus.

BACKGROUND: Functional mitral regurgitation (FMR) occurs commonly in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). This study was conducted to explore the role of left ventricular (LV) dyssynchrony in developing FMR in patients with DCM in comparison with geometric parameters of the mitral apparatus. METHODS: Twenty patients without FMR and 33 patients with FMR [effective regurgitant orifice area (ERO) = 0.17 ± 0.10 cm(2)] were enrolled. MR severity was estimated with ERO area. Dyssynchrony indices (DI) were measured using the standard deviations of time to peak myocardial systolic velocity between eight segments. Using real time 3D echocardiography, mitral valve tenting area (MVTa), anterior (APMD) and posterior papillary muscle distances (PPMD), LV sphericity, and tethering angle of anterior (Aα) and posterior leaflets (Pα) were estimated. All geometrical measurements were corrected (c) by the height of each patient. RESULTS: The patient with FMR had significantly higher cDI, cMVTa, cAPMD and cPPMD, LV sphericity, Aα, and Pα than the patients without FMR (all p < 0.05). With multiple logistic regression analysis, cMVTa (p = 0.017) found to be strongest predictor of FMR development. In patients with FMR, cMVTa (r = 0.868), cAPMD (r = 0.801), cPPMD (r = 0.742), Aα (r = 0.454), LV sphericity (r = 0.452), and DI (r = 0.410) showed significant correlation with ERO. On multivariate regression analysis, cMVTa and cAPMD (p < 0.001, p = 0.022, respectively) remained the strongest determinants of the degree of ERO and cAPMD (p < 0.001) remained the strongest determinant of the degree of cMVTa. CONCLUSION: Displacement of anterior papillary muscle and consequent mitral valve tenting seem to play a major role in developing FMR in DCM, while LV dyssynchrony seems to have no significant role.

A case of variant angina developing transient collateral circulation during vasospasm.

Variant angina is characterized by spontaneous episodes of angina, usually occurring in the morning and having ST segment elevation on the electrocardiogram. However, in the case presented here, vasospasm and angina was shown by ergonovine without ST elevation. The patient was a 60-year-old man who presented with a 2-year history of frequent chest pain. There were no abnormalities in coronary angiography. When ergonovine (100 µg) was injected, total occlusion of the proximal right coronary artery was seen, without ST elevation at the electrocardiogram. The cause was collateral from left anterior descending artery to distal right coronary artery at the left coronary angiography. Therefore, in a patient with variant angina without ST elevation, a transient collateral circulation during vasospasm should be considered.