Cardiology

Hernandez-Montfort, J., Sinha, S.S., Thayer, K.L., Whitehead, E.H., Pahuja, M., Garan, A.R., Mahr, C., Haywood, J.L., Harwani, N.M., Schaeffer, A., Wencker, D., Kanwar, M., Vorovich, E., Abraham, J., Burkhoff, D. and Kapur, N.K. (2021). “Clinical Outcomes Associated With Acute Mechanical Circulatory Support Utilization in Heart Failure Related Cardiogenic Shock.” Circ Heart Fail 14(5): e007924.

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BACKGROUND: Cardiogenic shock occurring in the setting of advanced heart failure (HF-CS) is increasingly common. However, recent studies have focused almost exclusively on acute myocardial infarction-related CS. We sought to define clinical, hemodynamic, metabolic, and treatment parameters associated with clinical outcomes among patients with HF-CS, using data from the Cardiogenic Shock Working Group registry. METHODS: Patients with HF-CS were identified from the multicenter Cardiogenic Shock Working Group registry and divided into 3 outcome categories assessed at hospital discharge: mortality, heart replacement therapy (HRT: durable ventricular assist device or orthotopic heart transplant), or native heart survival. Clinical characteristics, hemodynamic, laboratory parameters, drug therapies, acute mechanical circulatory support device (AMCS) utilization, and Society of Cardiovascular Angiography and Intervention stages were compared across the 3 outcome cohorts. RESULTS: Of the 712 patients with HF-CS identified, 180 (25.3%) died during their index admission, 277 (38.9%) underwent HRT (durable ventricular assist device or orthotopic heart transplant), and 255 (35.8%) experienced native heart survival without HRT. Patients who died had the highest right atrial pressure and heart rate and the lowest mean arterial pressure of the 3 outcome groups (P<0.01 for all). Biventricular and isolated left ventricular congestion were common among patients who died or underwent HRT, respectively. Lactate, blood urea nitrogen, serum creatinine, and aspartate aminotransferase were highest in patients with HF-CS experiencing in-hospital death. Intraaortic balloon pump was the most commonly used AMCS device in the overall cohort and among patients receiving HRT. Patients receiving >1 AMCS device had the highest in-hospital mortality rate irrespective of the number of vasoactive drugs used. Mortality increased with deteriorating Society of Cardiovascular Angiography and Intervention stages (stage B: 0%, stage C: 10.7%, stage D: 29.4%, stage E: 54.5%, 1-way ANOVA=<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with HF-CS experiencing in-hospital mortality had a high prevalence of biventricular congestion and markers of end-organ hypoperfusion. Substantial heterogeneity exists with use of AMCS in HF-CS with intraaortic balloon pump being the most common device used and high rates of in-hospital mortality after exposure to >1 AMCS device.

Sheth, M.A., Widmer, R.J. and Dandapantula, H.K. (2021). “Pathobiology and evolving therapies of coronary artery vasospasm.” Proc (Bayl Univ Med Cent) 34(3): 352-360.

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Coronary artery vasospasm is a known cause of chest pain and requires a high level of clinical suspicion for diagnosis. It also remains in the differential diagnosis for patients presenting with type 2 myocardial infarction. There are few randomized controlled trials for guideline-based prevention and treatment for coronary artery vasospasm. In this article, we review updated concepts in coronary artery vasospasm. Specifically, our aim is to provide current evidence of pathophysiology, identify the risk factors, propose a diagnostic algorithm, review available evidence of evolving therapies, and identify patients who would benefit from automatic implantable cardioverter defibrillators.

Tromp, J., Claggett, B.L., Liu, J., Jackson, A.M., Jhund, P.S., Køber, L., Widimský, J., Boytsov, S.A., Chopra, V.K., Anand, I.S., Ge, J., Chen, C.H., Maggioni, A.P., Martinez, F., Packer, M., Pfeffer, M.A., Pieske, B., Redfield, M.M., Rouleau, J.L., Van Veldhuisen, D.J., Zannad, F., Zile, M.R., Rizkala, A.R., Inubushi-Molessa, A., Lefkowitz, M.P., Shi, V.C., McMurray, J.J.V., Solomon, S.D. and Lam, C.S.P. (2021). “Global Differences in Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction: The PARAGON-HF Trial.” Circ Heart Fail 14(4): e007901.

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BACKGROUND: Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is a global public health problem with important regional differences. We investigated these differences in the PARAGON-HF trial (Prospective Comparison of Angiotensin Receptor Neprilysin Inhibitor With Angiotensin Receptor Blocker Global Outcomes in HFpEF), the largest and most inclusive global HFpEF trial. METHODS: We studied differences in clinical characteristics, outcomes, and treatment effects of sacubitril/valsartan in 4796 patients with HFpEF from the PARAGON-HF trial, grouped according to geographic region. RESULTS: Regional differences in patient characteristics and comorbidities were observed: patients from Western Europe were oldest (mean 75±7 years) with the highest prevalence of atrial fibrillation/flutter (36%); Central/Eastern European patients were youngest (mean 71±8 years) with the highest prevalence of coronary artery disease (50%); North American patients had the highest prevalence of obesity (65%) and diabetes (49%); Latin American patients were younger (73±9 years) and had a high prevalence of obesity (53%); and Asia-Pacific patients had a high prevalence of diabetes (44%), despite a low prevalence of obesity (26%). Rates of the primary composite end point of total hospitalizations for HF and death from cardiovascular causes were lower in patients from Central Europe (9 per 100 patient-years) and highest in patients from North America (28 per 100 patient-years), which was primarily driven by a greater number of total hospitalizations for HF. The effect of treatment with sacubitril-valsartan was not modified by region (interaction P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with HFpEF recruited worldwide in PARAGON-HF, there were important regional differences in clinical characteristics and outcomes, which may have implications for the design of future clinical trials. Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT01920711.

Shen, L., Jhund, P.S., Anand, I.S., Bhatt, A.S., Desai, A.S., Maggioni, A.P., Martinez, F.A., Pfeffer, M.A., Rizkala, A.R., Rouleau, J.L., Swedberg, K., Vaduganathan, M., Vardeny, O., van Veldhuisen, D.J., Zannad, F., Zile, M.R., Packer, M., Solomon, S.D. and McMurray, J.J.V. (2021). “Incidence and Outcomes of Pneumonia in Patients With Heart Failure.” J Am Coll Cardiol 77(16): 1961-1973.

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BACKGROUND: The incidence of pneumonia and subsequent outcomes has not been compared in patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) and preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to examine the rate and impact of pneumonia in the PARADIGM-HF (Prospective Comparison of Angiotensin Receptor-Neprilysin Inhibitor With Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitor to Determine Impact on Global Mortality and Morbidity in Heart Failure) and PARAGON-HF (Prospective Comparison of ARNI with ARB Global Outcomes in Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction) trials. METHODS: The authors analyzed the incidence of investigator-reported pneumonia and the rates of HF hospitalization, cardiovascular death, and all-cause death before and after the occurrence of pneumonia, and estimated risk after the first occurrence of pneumonia in unadjusted and adjusted analyses (the latter including N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide). RESULTS: In PARADIGM-HF, 528 patients (6.3%) developed pneumonia after randomization, giving an incidence rate of 29 (95% CI: 27 to 32) per 1,000 patient-years. In PARAGON-HF, 510 patients (10.6%) developed pneumonia, giving an incidence rate of 39 (95% CI: 36 to 42) per 1,000 patient-years. The subsequent risk of all trial outcomes was elevated after the occurrence of pneumonia. In PARADIGM-HF, the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for the risk of death from any cause was 4.34 (95% CI: 3.73 to 5.05). The corresponding adjusted HR in PARAGON-HF was 3.76 (95% CI: 3.09 to 4.58). CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of pneumonia was high in patients with HF, especially HFpEF, at around 3 times the expected rate. A first episode of pneumonia was associated with 4-fold higher mortality. (Prospective Comparison of Angiotensin Receptor-Neprilysin Inhibitor With Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitor to Determine Impact on Global Mortality and Morbidity in Heart Failure [PARADIGM-HF], NCT01035255; Prospective Comparison of ARNI [Angiotensin Receptor-Neprilysin Inhibitor] With ARB [Angiotensin Receptor Blocker] Global Outcomes in Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction [PARAGON-HF], NCT01920711).

Hara, H., Ono, M., Kawashima, H., Kogame, N., Mack, M.J., Holmes, D.R., Morice, M.C., Davierwala, P.M., Mohr, F.W., Thuijs, D., Head, S.J., Kappetein, A.P., Onuma, Y. and Serruys, P.W. (2021). “Impact of stent length and diameter on 10-year mortality in the SYNTAXES trial.” Catheter Cardiovasc Interv.

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OBJECTIVES: We investigated the impact of total stent length (TSL) and average nominal stent diameter (ASD) on 10-year mortality after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in the SYNTAXES trial. BACKGROUND: TSL and ASD in patients treated with PCI are associated with major adverse cardiovascular events. However, the treatment effect of PCI with extensive and/or small stenting as compared with coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) for complex coronary artery disease has not been fully evaluated. METHODS: Impacts on mortality of extensive stenting defined as TSL >100 mm and small stenting as ASD <3 mm were analyzed in 893 PCI patients and were compared to 865 CABG patients. RESULTS: TSL as a continuous variable was significantly associated with 10-year mortality (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 1.05 [1.01-1.09] per 10 mm increase). PCI patients with extensive stenting had a higher 10 year mortality than CABG patients (adjusted HR, 1.97 [1.41-2.74]) or not- extensive stenting PCI (adjusted HR, 1.94 [1.36-2.77]). Although ASD did not have a significant association with 10 year mortality (adjusted HR, 0.97 [0.85-1.11] per 0.25 mm increase), PCI with small stents was associated with a higher 10 year mortality, compared to CABG (adjusted HR, 1.66 [1.23-2.26]) and PCI performed with large stents (adjusted HR, 1.74 [1.19-2.53]). Patients treated with not-extensive and large stents had similar mortality rates (24.0 versus 23.8%) as those treated with CABG. CONCLUSIONS: Extensive and small stenting were associated with higher 10 year mortality, compared with CABG. When patients have to be treated with extensive or small stenting, revascularization with CABG should be preferred.