Faculty Bibliography

BACKGROUND:Use of a universal diagnostic catheter may decrease procedural time and catheter-exchange related spasm when compared with a dual-catheter strategy. The aim of this study was to identify preprocedural predictors of failure to complete a coronary angiogram with a universal catheter alone. METHODS:Consecutive patients (n = 782) who underwent a right transradial/transulnar coronary angiogram with a single operator were retrospectively reviewed. Multivariable predictors of failure to complete the procedure with a universal catheter alone were identified using logistic regression analysis and presented as odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS:Of the study population (n = 558), a total of 216 (38.7%) required exchange to a coronary-specific catheter (44.4% for right coronary artery alone, 25.5% for left coronary artery alone, 30.1% for both) and 342 (61.3%) underwent angiography with a universal catheter alone. Patients who required a catheter exchange were more likely to have the following characteristics compared with patients who underwent an angiogram with a universal catheter alone: age >75 years (27.3% vs 16.4%; P<.01), female sex (34.3% vs 23.1%; P<.01), diabetes mellitus (50.0% vs 38.3%; P<.01), hypertension (88.0% vs 74.6%; P<.001), and chronic kidney disease (29.2% vs 17.8%; P<.01). After multivariable adjustment, age ≫75 years (OR, 1.92; 95% CI, 1.21-3.04), female sex (OR, 1.94; 95% CI, 1.20-3.14), hypertension (OR, 2.08; 95% CI, 1.22-3.57), and chronic kidney disease (OR, 1.58; 95% CI, 1.01-2.46) predicted failure of a universal catheter alone to complete angiography. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:Consideration may be given to use an initial dual-catheter strategy if one or more of the following are present: elderly age, female sex, hypertension, and chronic kidney disease.

OBJECTIVES/OBJECTIVE:The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of peripheral artery disease (PAD) and its association with in-hospital outcomes after endovascular transcatheter aortic valve replacement (EV-TAVR). BACKGROUND:TAVR is an established treatment for patients at prohibitive, high, or intermediate surgical risk. PAD is a significant comorbidity in the determination of surgical risk. However, data on association of PAD with outcomes after EV-TAVR are limited. METHODS:Patients in the National Inpatient Sample who underwent EV-TAVR between January 1, 2012 and September 30, 2015 were evaluated. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. RESULTS:A total of 51,685 patients underwent EV-TAVR during the study period. Of these, 12,740 (24.6%) had a coexisting diagnosis of PAD. The adjusted odds for in-hospital mortality [OR 1.08 (95% CI 0.83-1.41)], permanent pacemaker implantation [OR 0.98 (0.85-1.14)], conversion to open aortic valve replacement [OR 1.05 (0.49-2.26)], or acute myocardial infarction [OR 1.31(0.99-1.71)] were not different in patients with versus without PAD. However, patients with PAD had greater adjusted odds of vascular complications [OR 1.80 (1.50-2.16)], major bleeding [OR 1.20 (1.09-1.34)], acute kidney injury (AKI) [OR 1.19 (1.05-1.36)], cardiac complications [aOR 1.21 (1.01-1.44)], and stroke [OR 1.39(1.10-1.75)] compared with patients without PAD. Length of stay (LOS) was significantly longer for patients with PAD [7.23 (0.14) days vs. 7.11 (0.1) days, p < 0.001]. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:Of patients undergoing EV-TAVR, ~25% have coexisting PAD. PAD was not associated with increased risk of in-hospital mortality but was associated with higher risk of vascular complications, major bleeding, AKI, stroke, cardiac complications, and longer LOS.

Aortic stenosis (AS) and regurgitation (AR) may be treated with surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR), transcatheter AVR (TAVR), or medical therapy (MT). Data are lacking regarding the usage of SAVR, TAVR, and MT for patients hospitalized with aortic valve disease and the characteristics of the patients and hospitals associated with each therapy. From the Nationwide Readmissions Database, we determined utilization trends for SAVR, TAVR, and MT in patients with aortic valve disease admitted from 2012 to 2016 for valve replacement, heart failure, unstable angina, non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction, or syncope. We also performed multinomial logistic regressions to investigate associations between patient and hospital characteristics and treatment. Among 366,909 patients hospitalized for aortic valve disease, there was a 48.1% annual increase from 2012 through 2016. Overall, 19.9%, 6.7%, and 73.4% of patients received SAVR, TAVR, and MT, respectively. SAVR decreased from 21.9% in 2012 to 18.5% in 2016, whereas TAVR increased from 2.6% to 12.5%, and MT decreased from 75.5% to 69.0%. Older age, female sex, greater severity of illness, more admission diagnoses, not-for-profit hospitals, large hospitals, and urban teaching hospitals were associated with greater use of TAVR. In multivariable analysis, likelihood of TAVR relative to SAVR increased 4.57-fold (95% confidence interval 4.21 to 4.97). TAVR has increased at the expense of both SAVR and MT, a novel finding. However, this increase in TAVR was distributed inequitably, with certain patients more likely to receive TAVR certain hospitals more likely to provide TAVR. With the expected expansion of indications, inequitable access to TAVR must be addressed.

BACKGROUND:inhibition prevents postprocedural thrombocytopenia is uncertain. METHODS: platelets/μL; n = 14), or without baseline platelet count (n = 4) were excluded. The primary outcome was proportion of patients who developed >20% decrease in platelet count from baseline to day 1 post-TAVR. RESULTS:inhibition developed thrombocytopenia on day 1 post-TAVR (25.5% vs. 36.4%, p = .1). CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:inhibition prior to TAVR were less likely to demonstrate a decrease in platelet count after TAVR. Prospective studies to further understand the clinical implication of these findings are warranted.

OBJECTIVES/OBJECTIVE:The aim of this study was to describe the rates and causes of unplanned readmissions at different time periods following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). BACKGROUND:The rates and causes of readmission at different time periods after PCI remain incompletely elucidated. METHODS:Patients undergoing PCI between 2010 and 2014 in the U.S. Nationwide Readmission Database were evaluated for the rates, causes, predictors, and costs of unplanned readmission between 0 and 7 days, 8 and 30 days, 31 and 90 days, and 91 and 180 days after index discharge. RESULTS:This analysis included 2,412,000 patients; 2.5% were readmitted between 0 and 7 days, 7.6% between 8 and 30 days, 8.9% between 31 and 90 days, and 8.0% between 91 and 180 days (cumulative rates 2.5%, 9.9%, 18.0%, and 24.8%, respectively). The majority of readmissions during each time period were due to noncardiac causes (53.1% to 59.6%). Nonspecific chest pain was the most common identifiable noncardiac cause for readmission during each time period (14.2% to 22.7% of noncardiac readmissions). Coronary artery disease including angina was the most common cardiac cause for readmission during each time period (37.4% to 39.3% of cardiac readmissions). The second most common cardiac cause for readmission was acute myocardial infarction between 0 and 7 days (27.6% of cardiac readmissions) and heart failure during all subsequent time periods (22.2% to 23.7% of cardiac readmissions). CONCLUSIONS:Approximately 25% of patients following PCI have unplanned readmissions within 6 months. Causes of readmission depend on the timing at which they are assessed, with noncardiovascular causes becoming more important at longer time points.

OBJECTIVES/OBJECTIVE:The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between pre-procedural left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) patterns and clinical outcomes after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). BACKGROUND:The association between pre-procedural LVH pattern and severity and clinical outcomes after TAVR is uncertain. METHODS:Patients (n = 31,199) across 422 sites who underwent TAVR from November 2011 through June 2016 as part of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons/American College of Cardiology TVT (Transcatheter Valve Therapies) Registry linked with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services database were evaluated by varying LVH patterns, according to sex-specific cutoffs for left ventricular mass index and relative wall thickness. The association between LVH pattern (concentric remodeling, concentric LVH, and eccentric LVH) and outcomes (rates of mortality, myocardial infarction [MI], stroke, new dialysis requirement) at 1-year follow-up were evaluated using multivariate hazard models. RESULTS:There were no significant associations between concentric remodeling (death: adjusted hazard ratio [HR]: 1.03; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.93 to 1.15; MI: HR: 1.05; 95% CI: 0.76 to 1.46; stroke: HR: 1.11; 95% CI: 0.89 to 1.39; new dialysis: HR: 0.86; 95% CI: 0.64 to 1.15), concentric LVH (death: HR: 1.04; 95% CI: 0.95 to 1.15; MI: HR: 1.12; 95% CI: 0.82 to 1.52; stroke: HR: 1.14; 95% CI: 0.92 to 1.40; new dialysis: HR: 1.17; 95% CI: 0.90 to 1.52), or eccentric LVH (death: HR: 0.98; 95% CI: 0.87 to 1.10; MI: HR: 1.07; 95% CI: 0.71 to 1.63; stroke: HR: 1.01; 95% CI: 0.78 to 1.32; new dialysis: HR: 1.25; 95% CI: 0.92 to 1.70) and outcomes at 1 year compared with patients without LVH. CONCLUSIONS:In a contemporary cohort of patients who underwent TAVR, pre-procedural LVH according to left ventricular mass index and relative wall thickness was not associated with adverse outcomes at 1-year follow-up. TAVR is likely to benefit patients with severe aortic stenosis regardless of the presence of LVH.

BACKGROUND:Renal disease is associated with poor prognosis despite guideline-directed cardiovascular therapy, and outcomes by sex in this population remain uncertain. METHODS AND RESULTS/RESULTS:Patients (n=5213) who underwent a MitraClip procedure in the National Cardiovascular Data Registry Transcatheter Valve Therapy registry were evaluated for the primary composite outcome of all-cause mortality, stroke, and new requirement for dialysis by creatinine clearance (CrCl). Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services-linked data were available in 63% of patients (n=3300). CrCl was <60 mL/min in 77% (n=4010) and <30 mL/min in 23% (n=1183) of the cohort. Rates of primary outcome were higher with lower CrCl (>60 mL/min, 1.4%; 30-<60 mL/min, 2.7%; <30 mL/min, 5.2%; dialysis, 7.8%; P<0.001), and all low CrCl groups were independently associated with the primary outcome (30-<60 mL/min: adjusted odds ratio, 2.32; 95% CI, 1.38-3.91; <30 mL/min: adjusted odds ratio, 4.44; 95% CI, 2.63-7.49; dialysis: adjusted hazards ratio, 4.52; 95% CI, 2.08-9.82) when compared with CrCl >60 mL/min. Rates of 1-year mortality were higher with lower CrCl (>60 mL/min, 13.2%; 30-<60 mL/min, 18.8%; <30 mL/min, 29.9%; dialysis, 32.3%; P<0.001), and all low CrCl groups were independently associated with 1-year mortality (30-<60 mL/min: adjusted hazards ratio, 1.50; 95% CI, 1.13-1.99; <30 mL/min: adjusted hazards ratio, 2.38; 95% CI, 1.78-3.20; adjusted hazards ratio: dialysis, 2.44; 95% CI, 1.66-3.57) when compared with CrCl >60 mL/min. CONCLUSIONS:The majority of patients who undergo MitraClip have renal disease. Preprocedural renal disease is associated with poor outcomes, particularly in stage 4 or 5 renal disease where 1-year mortality is observed in nearly one-third. Studies to determine how to further optimize outcomes in this population are warranted.

Poor dietary patterns are associated with coronary artery disease (CAD) and cardiovascular events. The aim of this study was to determine whether reported dietary patterns change after undergoing invasive coronary angiography. Participants without a history of coronary revascularization were prospectively enrolled before undergoing coronary angiography at a tertiary center between February 2015 and February 2017. Enrolled participants completed the Rate Your Plate (RYP) survey at baseline (before angiography), 1-month, and 6-month follow-ups. RYP scores range from 24 to 72 (higher scores indicate healthier dietary patterns) are presented as median (interquartile range), and are compared from baseline to follow-up using a nonparametric related-sample test. No dietary guidance was given outside of usual care. Of the 400 participants, 326 (82%) completed at least 1 follow-up survey with no differences in baseline characteristics of participants who had at least 1 versus no follow-up survey. The median RYP score significantly improved from baseline (53 [47 to 57]) to 1-month (58 [52 to 62]) and 6-month (59 [54 to 63]) follow-ups (p <0.001). Angiography demonstrated severe CAD in 125 (38%) and normal or nonobstructive CAD in 201 (62%) participants. RYP scores significantly improved over time in both groups (p <0.001), but the percent change in RYP score over time was greater in participants with versus without severe CAD (13.9% [5.8 to 22.5] vs 9.6% [4.8 to 19.1], p = 0.03). In conclusion, self-reported dietary patterns improved after invasive coronary angiography, particularly in the subset with CAD. Future studies to determine how best to utilize the periprocedural period to further improve dietary patterns in this population are warranted.

BACKGROUND:The FREEDOM trial demonstrated that for patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and multivessel coronary disease (MVD), coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is superior to percutaneous coronary intervention with drug-eluting stents (PCI-DES) in reducing the rate of major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events after a median follow-up of 3.8 years. It is not known, however, whether CABG confers a survival benefit after an extended follow-up period. OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the long-term survival of DM patients with MVD undergoing coronary revascularization in the FREEDOM trial. METHODS:The FREEDOM trial randomized 1,900 patients with DM and MVD to undergo either PCI with sirolimus or paclitaxel eluting stents or CABG on a background of optimal medical therapy. After completion of the trial, enrolling centers and patients were invited to participate in the FREEDOM Follow-On study. Survival was evaluated using Kaplan-Meier analysis, and Cox proportional hazards models were used for subgroup and multivariate analyses. RESULTS:Twenty-five centers (out of 140 original centers) agreed to participate in the FREEDOM Follow-On study and contributed a total of 943 patients (49.6% of the original cohort) with a median follow-up of 7.5 years (range, 0 to 13.2). Of the 1,900 patients, there were 314 deaths during the entire follow-up period (204 deaths in the original trial and 110 deaths in the FREEDOM Follow-On). The all-cause mortality rate was significantly higher in the PCI-DES group than in the CABG group (24.3% [159 deaths] vs. 18.3% [112 deaths]; hazard ratio[HR], 1.36; 95% confidence interval[CI], 1.07 to 1.74; p=0.01). Of the 943 patients with extended follow-up, all-cause mortality rate was 23.7% (99 deaths) in the PCI-DES group and 18.7% (72 deaths) in the CABG group (HR, 1.32; 95%CI, 0.97 to 1.78; p= 0.076). CONCLUSIONS:In patients with DM and MVD, coronary revascularization with CABG leads to lower all-cause mortality than with PCI-DES in long-term follow-up.

Transradial artery access for percutaneous coronary intervention is associated with lower bleeding and vascular complications than transfemoral artery access, especially in patients with acute coronary syndromes. A growing body of evidence supports adoption of transradial artery access to improve acute coronary syndrome-related outcomes, to improve healthcare quality, and to reduce cost. The purpose of this scientific statement is to propose and support a "radial-first" strategy in the United States for patients with acute coronary syndromes. This document also provides an update to previously published statements on transradial artery access technique and best practices, particularly as they relate to the management of patients with acute coronary syndromes.