Background: The feasibility and safety of left bundle branch pacing (LBBP) in patients with conduction diseases following prosthetic valves (PVs) have not been well described. Methods: Permanent LBBP was attempted in patients with PVs. Procedural success and intracardiac electrical measurements were recorded at implant. Pacing threshold, complications, and echocardiographic data were assessed at implant and follow-up visit. Results: Twenty-two consecutive patients with atrioventricular (AV) conduction disturbances (10 with AV nodal block and 12 with infranodal block) underwent LBBP. The PVs included aortic valve replacement (AVR) in six patients, mitral valve repair or replacement (MVR) with tricuspid valve ring (TVR) in four patients, AVR with TVR in one patient, AVR with MVR plus TVR in three patients, transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) in five patients, and MVR alone in three patients. LBBP succeeded in 20 of 22 (90.9%) patients. LBB potential was observed in 15 of 22 (68.2%) patients, including 10 of 15 (66.7%) patients with AVR/TAVR and five of seven (71.4%) patients without AVR/TAVR. AVR and TVR served as good anatomic landmarks for facilitating the LBBP. The final sites of LBBP were 17.9 ± 1.4 mm inferior to the AVR and 23.0 ± 3.2 mm distal and septal to the TVR. The paced QRS duration was 124.5 ± 13.8 ms, while the baseline QRS duration was 120.0 ± 32.5 ms ( P = 0.346). Pacing threshold and R-wave amplitude at implant were 0.60 ± 0.16 V at 0.5 ms and 11.9 ± 5.5 mV and remained stable at the mean follow-up of 16.1 ± 10.8 months. No significant exacerbation of tricuspid valve regurgitation was observed compared to baseline. Conclusion: Permanent LBBP could be feasibly and safely obtained in the majority of patients with PVs. The location of the PV might serve as a landmark for guiding the final site of the LBBP. Stable pacing parameters were observed during the follow-up.
Elevated blood pressure (BP) is reportedly associated with an increased risk of atrial fibrillation (AF). However, the association between cumulative BP exposure in midlife and incident AF in mid-to-late life remains unclear.
Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is a primarily diastolic dysfunction disease for which there is no effective treatment. Cardiac myosin binding protein-C (MyBPC3) is a thick f...
Cardiac MRI biventricular global longitudinal peak strain and extracellular volume fraction provided incremental value for predicting sustained ventricular arrhythmias beyond arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) risk score alone in patients with ARVC.
Abstract Background Various risk scores have been proven to predict outcomes in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). However, few of them were validated and compared the difference of the prediction of infection during hospitalization in such patients. Aim We aimed to validate and compare the discriminatory value of different risk scores for predicting infection. Methods Patients who were diagnosed with STEMI treated with PCI were enrolled from January 2010 to May 2018. The six risk scores included the Age, Serum Creatinine (SCr), or Glomerular Filtration Rate, and Ejection Fraction (ACEF or AGEF) score, Canada Acute Coronary Syndrome Risk Score (CACS score), CHADS2 score, Global Registry for Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) score and Mehran score. The primary end point was infection during hospitalization. The secondary endpoint was major adverse clinical events including all cause death, stroke and any bleeding. The prognostic accuracy of the six scores was assessed using the c statistic for discrimination and the Hosmer-Lemeshow test for calibration. Results A total of 2260 eligible patients were enrolled (62.32±12.36 year, 81.3% of males). A significant gradient of risk with respect to infection and in hospital major adverse clinical events (MACE) was observed with increasing all six risk scores. Other than the CHADS2 score (AUC: 0.682; 95% CI, 0.652–0.712), other five risk scores showed the good discrimination for predicting infection, with the GRACE score being the best (AUC: 0.791; 95% CI, 0.765–0.817). In addition, all risk scores showed best calibration for infection, but good calibration for CACS risk score (calibration slope: 0.77, 95% CI: 0.18–1.35) (Figure 1). Furthermore, each score showed a best discrimination for in hospital MACE, with AUCs ranging from 0.761 to 0.786, other than CACS risk score and CHADS2 risk score with AUC of 0.700 and 0.696, respectively. All risk scores showed best calibration for in hospital MACE. Conclusions In patients with STEMI undergoing PCI, these risk scores (ACEF, AGEF, CACS, GRACE and Mehran) showed good discrimination and calibration to predict infection and MACE. The CACS score was recommended for clinical use as its clinical variables were simple and practical. Figure 1 Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: Public Institution(s). Main funding source(s): National Science Foundation for Young Scientists of China
Abstract Background The association between baseline hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels before the percutaneous coronary intervention and bleeding is unclear in patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome. Purpose To investigate the association between baseline HbA1c levels before the percutaneous coronary intervention and bleeding in patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome. Methods This observational cohort study enrolled 6,283 consecutive patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome, from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2014. Based on baseline HbA1c levels, the patients were divided into the HbA1c <7% group (n=4,740) and the HbA1c ≥7% group (n=1,543). The primary outcomes are major bleeding events (BARC grades 3–5) and all-cause death during follow-up. Results Of the patients who were enrolled, 4,705 (74.9%) were male and 2,143 (34.1%) had a history of diabetes mellitus, with a mean (SD) age of 64.13 (10.32) years. Median follow-up duration was 3.21 years. Compared with HbA1c <7% patients, the risk of major bleeding events and all-cause was both higher in HbA1c ≥7% patients (major bleeding: adjusted hazard ratio, 1.62; 95% confidence interval, 1.04–2.53; P=0.032; all-cause death: adjusted hazard ratio, 1.26; 95% confidence interval, 1.03–1.55; P=0.027). The result of the subgroups analyses was consistent with the primary analyses. Conclusions Higher baseline HbA1c levels before percutaneous coronary intervention was associated with an increase in bleeding risk in non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome patients. This study suggests that the HbA1c levels should be taken into account for the prolonged antithrombotic strategies of non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome patients. Figure 1. Kaplan-Meier Analysis for Outcomes Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: Other. Main funding source(s): Science and Technology Planning Project of Guangzhou City (201707010002)
Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) accounts for approximately 50% of all cases of heart failure, but there is no effective treatment of this disease. Cardiac myosin binding protein-C (MyBPC3) is a thick filament protein that is thought to slow cross-bridge cycling by inhibiting acto-myosin interaction. When phosphorylated, MyBPC3 releases its inhibition thereby accelerating cross-bridge cycling. Thus, we hypothesize that MyBPC3 phosphorylation enhances heart’s ability to relax (lusitropy). To test this idea, we expressed wild type MyBPC3(tWT), non-phosphorylatable MyBPC3(t3SA), and constitutively phosphorylated mimetic MyBPC3(t3SD) onto MyBPC3(-/-) mouse background. We used echocardiography, voluntary running, and measurements of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) for comparison. MyBPC3(t3SA) and MyBPC3(t3SD) hearts had similar ejection fraction as MyBPC3(tWT) hearts. MyBPC3(t3SA) hearts show depressed diastolic function revealed by slower myocardial tissue Doppler relaxation velocity at the mitral valve annulus (Ea) and an increased mitral blood flow/myocardium relaxation ratio (E/Ea). In contrast, MyBPC3(t3SD) hearts exhibited enhanced lusitropy with increased Ea and smaller E/Ea. Moreover, the findings of shorter 7-day average voluntary running distances, increased lung/body weight ratios, and increased BNP levels indicated heart failure in MyBPC3(t3SA) mice. Conversely, MyBPC3(t3SD) mice did not show signs of heart failure. Since cardiac function in MyBPC3(t3SA) mice resembles HFpEF and MyBPC3(t3SD) mice exhibit enhanced lusitropy, we conclude that phosphorylation of MyBPC3 is crucial for normal diastolic function.