Faculty Bibliography

PURPOSE OF REVIEW/OBJECTIVE:As the number of surgical and transcatheter valve replacements continue to increase in the aging population, so does the incidence of paravalvular leak (PVL). Given its impact on morbidity and mortality, this article will focus on the epidemiology, clinical presentation, diagnostic assessment, and available treatments for PVL. RECENT FINDINGS/RESULTS:Despite being performed on inoperable and typically higher risk patients, short-term complication rates of transcatheter PVL closure appear relatively low (< 10%). When indirectly compared with surgical PVL closure, long-term mortality, reoperation rates and degree of symptom improvement are similar. Nonetheless, current transcatheter closure devices are off-label and repurposed from other indications. Further development of percutaneous closure devices is an essential next step in order to improve and optimize outcomes. In patients with surgical and especially transcatheter-replaced heart valves, clinicians need to maintain vigilance for the presence of PVL, particularly in those with new-onset heart failure or hemolysis. Multimodality imaging is essential to detect and quantify PVL. Echocardiography (both transthoracic and transesophageal) is the backbone of diagnosis and quantification, and cardiac computed tomography and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging play an important role in defect characterization and in periprocedural planning. For those patients who are unable to undergo surgery, transcatheter PVL closure is an appropriate next step in management as it has similar outcomes to surgical intervention when performed in a center of expertise.

Anomalous origin of a coronary artery from the opposite sinus of Valsalva is a rare congenital anomaly. The prevalence of familial clustering of coronary artery anomalies is unknown. Here we describe the case of a father and son, both of whom presented with major adverse cardiac events due to Anomalous origin of a coronary artery from the opposite sinus of Valsalva and both had right coronary artery arising from the left coronary cusp with an interarterial course.

Patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AF) have an elevated stroke risk that is 2-7 times greater than in those without AF. Intravenous unfractionated heparin (UFH) is commonly used for hospitalized patients with atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter (AFL) to prevent stroke. Dosing strategies exist for intravenous anticoagulation in patients with acute coronary syndromes and venous thromboembolic diseases, but there are no data to guide providers on a dosing strategy for intravenous anticoagulation in patients with AF/AFL. 996 hospitalized patients with AF/AFL on UFH were evaluated. Bolus dosing and initial infusion rates of UFH were recorded along with rates of stroke, thromboemobolic events, and bleeding events as defined by the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis criteria. Among 226 patients included in the analysis, 76 bleeding events occurred. Using linear regression analysis, initial rates of heparin infusion ranging from 9.7 to 11.8 units/kilogram/hour (U/kg/h) resulted in activated partial thromboplastin times that were within therapeutic range. The median initial infusion rate in patients with bleeding was 13.3 U/kg/h, while in those without bleeding it was 11.4 U/kg/h; p = 0.012. An initial infusion rate >11.0 U/kg/h yielded an OR 1.95 (1.06-3.59); p = 0.03 for any bleeding event. Using IV heparin boluses neither increased the probability of attaining a therapeutic aPTT (56.1 vs 56.3 %; p = 0.99) nor did it significantly increase bleeding events in the study (35.7 vs 31.3 %; p = 0.48). The results suggest that higher initial rates of heparin are associated with increased bleeding risk. From this dataset, initial heparin infusion rates of 9.7-11.0 U/kg/h without a bolus can result in therapeutic levels of anticoagulation in hospitalized patients with AF/AFL without increasing the risk of bleeding.

Aims: We sought to describe the incidence, predictors, and impact of adverse neurological events (NE) in a non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes (NSTEACS) population undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), or medical therapy (MT). Methods and results: 13,819 patients with moderate and high-risk NSTEACS were enrolled in the prospective ACUITY trial. Angiography was performed within 72 hours of presentation, after which 7,789 patients (56.4%) underwent PCI, 1,539 (11.1%) underwent CABG, and 4,491 (32.5%) received MT. The rate of NE (stroke or transient ischaemic attack) at 30 days and one year and its relationship to adverse ischaemic events, including death, were assessed. Thirty-day rates of NE were 1.1% with CABG, 0.3% with PCI, and 0.5% with MT (p<0.001). One-year rates of NE were 1.1% with CABG, 0.3% with PCI, and 0.6% with MT (p<0.001). Independent predictors of NE at 30 days and one year included age, renal insufficiency, baseline troponin elevation, and initial treatment with CABG. The occurrence of NE was a strong independent predictor of death at 30 days and one year (HR 4.07, 95% CI [1.49, 11.11], p=0.006, and HR 4.25, 95% CI [2.37, 7.62], p<0.001, respectively). Conclusions: In the large-scale ACUITY trial, CABG was associated with a higher risk of NE at 30 days and one year compared to PCI and MT. The occurrence of NE in patients with NSTEACS was strongly associated with increased early and late mortality. Clinical Trials.gov Identifier NCT00093158.