Nanofibrous vildagliptin-eluting stents enhance re-endothelialization and reduce neointimal formation in diabetes: in vitro and in vivo

BACKGROUND

The high lifetime risk of vascular disease is one of the important issues that plague patients with diabetes mellitus. Systemic oral vildagliptin administration favors endothelial recovery and inhibits smooth muscle cell (SMC) proliferation. However, the localized release of vildagliptin in the diabetic vessel damage has seldom been investigated.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

In this work, nanofiber-eluting stents that loaded with vildagliptin, a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 enzyme (DPP-4) inhibitor, was fabricated to treat diabetic vascular disease. To prepare nanofibers, the poly (D,L)-lactide-co-glycolide (PLGA) and vildagliptin were mixed using hexafluoroisopropanol and electrospinning process. In vitro and in vivo release rates of the vildagliptin were characterized using high-performance liquid chromatography.

RESULTS

Effective vildagliptin concentrations were delivered for more than 28 days from the nanofibrous membranes coating on the surface of the stents in vitro and in vivo. The vildagliptin-eluting PLGA membranes greatly accelerated the recovery of diabetic endothelia and reduced SMC hyperplasia. The type I collagen content of the diabetic vascular intimal area that was treated by vildagliptin-eluting stents was lower than that of the non-vildagliptin-eluting group.

CONCLUSION

The experimental results revealed that stenting with vildagliptin-eluting PLGA membranes could potentially promote healing for diabetic arterial diseases.

Risk of cardiac arrhythmias in patients with chronic hepatitis B and C infections - A 13-year nationwide population-based study

BACKGROUND

Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is associated with higher risk of cardiovascular events than chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV). We aimed to investigate whether there is higher risk of arrhythmia in HCV infection.

METHODS

Electronic medical records from National Health Institute Research Database during 2000-2012 were retrieved for patients with HBV or HCV. Patients with missing information, aged <18 years, diagnosed with HBV or HCV before year 2000, concomitant HBV and HCV, coagulopathy or organ transplant, history of arrhythmia, device implantation, congenital heart disease, rheumatic heart disease, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, thyroid disease, alcohol or drug abuse, valvular heart disease, or follow-up <6 months were excluded. Primary outcomes were cardiac arrhythmias and all-cause mortality.

RESULTS

After 1:1 propensity score matching, 5480 patients with HBV and 5480 patients with HCV were included for study. During a mean follow-up of 6.5 years, the risk of all-cause mortality was higher in the HCV patients than in HBV patients [hazard ratio (HR) 1.35, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.16-1.58]. There was also a trend toward higher incidence of atrial fibrillation (HR 1.25, 95% 0.98-1.59, p=0.070) and a significantly higher incidence of sick sinus syndrome (HR 1.77, 95% CI 1.07-2.91) in HCV patients. In addition, among patients with all-cause mortality, arrhythmia death was significantly higher with chronic HCV infection.

CONCLUSIONS

In patients with chronic viral hepatitis, patients with HCV were associated with significantly increased risks of sick sinus syndrome, and all-cause mortality compared to patients with HBV.

Serum irisin levels are associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes in patients with acute myocardial infarction

Irisin, a recently identified myokine, regulates mitochondrial function and energy expenditure. The concentration of irisin is significantly altered after ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). We hypothesized that serum irisin concentration is associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes after myocardial infarction. Serum irisin concentrations were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 399 patients 28d after the onset of STEMI in a prospective single-center cohort study. We assessed the association between irisin concentrations and adverse cardiovascular events during a 3-year follow-up. The excess risks of cardiovascular mortality, stroke, heart failure, and revascularization were predominantly seen among those with the highest concentrations of irisin, with concentrations higher than 75th percentile of the overall distribution had a ~4-fold increase in risk (hazard ratio=3.96, 95% confidence interval 1.55 to 10.11, P<0.01). Our findings showed that serum concentrations of irisin are elevated in post-STEMI patients with increased risk for adverse cardiovascular events. Novel therapies targeting irisin may represent a new direction in the treatment of STEMI.

Promoting vascular healing using nanofibrous ticagrelor-eluting stents

Objective

The current treatment of atherosclerotic coronary heart disease with limus-eluting stents can lead to incomplete endothelialization and substantial impairment of arterial healing relative to treatment with bare-metal stents. The sustained and local delivery of ticagrelor, a reversibly binding P2Y12 receptor inhibitor, using hybrid biodegradable nanofibers/stents, was developed to reduce neointimal formation and endothelial dysfunction.

Methods

In this investigation, a solution of ticagrelor, poly(D,L)-lactide-co-glycolide, and hexafluoro isopropanol was electrospun to fabricate ticagrelor-eluting nanofibrous drug-eluting stents. The in vitro and in vivo ticagrelor concentrations were measured using a high-performance liquid chromatography assay. The effectiveness of ticagrelor-eluting stents was examined relative to that of sirolimus-eluting stents.

Results

Adequate ticagrelor levels were detected for four weeks in vitro. Less HES5-positive labeling was found near the ticagrelor-eluting stented vessels (0.33±0.12) than close to the sirolimus-eluting stented vessels (0.57±0.15) (p<0.05). Four weeks after deployment, the ticagrelor-eluting stent also exhibited an up-regulated local expression of SOD1 in the stenting area (p<0.001). The ticagrelor-eluting stent substantially preserved endothelial function and re-endothelialization, minimized inflammatory responses, and inhibited neointimal hyperplasia.

Conclusion

Ticagrelor-eluting stents may provide an alternative route for treating patients at a high risk of bleeding to preserve endothelial recovery and to reduce smooth muscle proliferation.

Complete and incomplete revascularization in non-ST segment myocardial infarction with multivessel disease: long-term outcomes of first- and second-generation drug-eluting stents

The therapeutic effects of reperfusion strategies with complete revascularization (CR) or incomplete revascularization (IR) in non-ST segment myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) patients with multivessel disease (MVD) are controversial. In such patients, whether utilization of different generations of drug-eluting stents (DES) for IR or CR affect long-term major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) is unknown. This study included 702 NSTEMI patients with MVD who received first-generation (1G) or second-generation (2G) DES. In multivariable analysis, chronic kidney disease, chronic total, 1G DES and IR were independent predictors of long-term MACE. In patients receiving 1G DES, no significant differences of MACE were observed between the IR and CR groups (39.1% vs. 36.2%, p = 0.854). However, in patients receiving 2G DES, significantly fewer MACE were observed in the CR group than in the IR group (3.7% vs. 10.2%, p = 0.002). Compared with patients receiving 1G DES for IR, those receiving 2G DES for IR and CR exhibited significantly lower risk of MACE (59% and 83% lower, respectively). CR could not provide clinical benefits over IR in NSTEMI patients with MVD receiving 1G DES. However, in patients receiving 2G DES, compared with IR, CR was associated with a lower risk of long-term MACE, which was mainly caused by low rates of non-TLR and any revascularization.

Outcomes of patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and acute myocardial infarction: a propensity score-matched, 15-year nationwide population-based study in Asia

OBJECTIVES

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) entails thickening of the myocardium and an increased risk of ischaemia. However, the prognosis of patients with HCM with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is incompletely understood.

METHODS

Medical information was retrieved from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database in 1997-2011. The exclusion criteria were patients <18 years old, and history of AMI, coronary intervention, aortic valve disease, disease of the pericardium, heart surgery, device implantation, venous thromboembolism, cardiac transplant, congenital heart disease and end-stage renal disease on dialysis. Patients with HCM with AMI were compared with propensity score (PS)-matched patients with AMI without HCM. The primary endpoints were in-hospital and 1-year cardiovascular events.

RESULTS

In total, 201 166 patients were admitted for AMI. There were 177 058 patients with new-onset AMI, 257 with HCM and 176 801 without HCM after exclusion criteria. Using 1:4 PS matching, the study population consisted of patients with AMI, 257 with HCM and 1028 without HCM. Patients with AMI with HCM received significantly less coronary intervention (OR=0.46; 95% CI 0.32 to 0.65; p<0.001), coronary intervention with stenting (OR=0.33; 95% CI 0.20 to 0.57; p<0.001) and coronary artery bypass graft surgery (OR=0.22; 95% CI 0.05 to 0.90; p=0.036), and fewer episodes of shock (OR=0.64; 95% CI 0.48 to 0.86; p=0.003) and in-hospital death (OR=0.46; 95% CI 0.30 to 0.70; p<0.001), compared with patients with AMI without HCM. Specifically, for patients with HCM with AMI, AMI occurred predominantly (82.5%) in the form of ischaemia without requiring coronary stenting. Patients with AMI with HCM had significantly better survival than patients without HCM (HR=0.66; 95% CI 0.51 to 0.85; p=0.001) during the 1-year follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first PS-matched study to compare the prognosis of patients with AMI with and without HCM. Compared with patients with AMI without HCM, patients with HCM had significantly better in-hospital and within 1-year outcomes.

Excessive irisin increases oxidative stress and apoptosis in murine heart

Irisin is an exercise-related myokine. The abundance of irisin is associated with many diseases, such as myocardial infarction, chronic kidney disease, metabolic syndrome, obesity, and diabetes mellitus. In cardiomyocytes, irisin modulates the mitochondrial thermogenesis, regulates ischemic responses, and affects calcium signaling. Previous studies suggested that irisin increases cardiomyoblast mitochondrial functions and protects ischemic and reperfusion injury in ex vivo murine heart. In human, clinical studies have shown that acute myocardial infarction patients with more elevated serum irisin abundances are associated with increased major adverse cardiovascular events. However, the mechanisms responsible for this discrepancy between in myocardial infarction patients and ex vivo murine heart is unclear. Based on the clinical observations, we hypothesized that excessive irisin might lead to mitochondrial dysfunctions and cardiomyocyte damages. Our data showed that overexpression of irisin in mice with the adenovirus resulted in enhanced mitochondrial respiration with a higher oxygen consumption rate. Enhanced irisin expression in heart and irisin treatment in cardiomyocytes increased reactive oxygen species production. Furthermore, irisin treatment in cardiomyocytes enhanced the apoptosis and the cleaved caspase 9 levels in hypoxic condition. Pathway analysis in the murine heart with the overexpression of irisin showed that angiopoietin-Tie2, IL-8, IL-13, TGF-β, and thrombopoietin signaling were affected by irisin. Collectively, these results supported that excessive irisin causes mitochondrial overdrive with a higher reactive oxygen species production, which results in increased apoptosis of cardiomyocytes in a hypoxic environment.

Comparison of the Acute and Long-Term Outcomes of Patients With Multivessel Coronary Artery Disease After Angiographic Complete and Incomplete Revascularization With Drug-Eluting Stents

BACKGROUND

Data regarding the long-term outcomes of a large patient population with multivessel coronary artery disease (MV-CAD) after complete revascularization (CR) and incomplete revascularization (IR) with drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation are controversial. The objective of this study was to evaluate differences between the clinical outcomes of CR and IR in such patients.Methods and Results:A total of 1,502 patients with MV-CAD who received DES between April 2005 and August 2016 were enrolled in this study after propensity score matching. The CR group had 751 patients with 1,368 stents implanted in 1,215 lesions, and the IR group had 751 patients with 1,077 stents implanted in 948 lesions. The CR group had a similar rate of in-hospital major adverse cardiovascular events to the IR group (1.9% vs. 1.6%, P=0.844). Follow-up angiography at 9 months showed no significant difference between the 2 groups for restenosis. The CR group had a higher cardiovascular event-free survival rate than the IR group during a mean follow-up period of 71±62 months (81.8% vs. 72.0%, P<0.001). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis also showed better results in the CR group than in the IR group.

CONCLUSIONS

Angiographic CR was associated with more favorable long-term cardiovascular outcomes than angiographic IR in patients with MV-CAD after DES implantation.

Novel bifurcation stents coated with bioabsorbable nanofibers with extended and controlled release of rosuvastatin and paclitaxel

A novel bifurcation stent coated with bioabsorbable nanofibers that deliver the extended and controlled release of rosuvastatin and paclitaxel was developed. Bioabsorbable bifurcation stents, consisting of a double-slit tubular main body and two spiral branches, were manufactured. Bi-layered poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanofibers that contained rosuvastatin and paclitaxel were used for treating the stents. Various properties of the fabricated stents, including compression strengths, collapse pressure, water contact angle and flow properties within a circulation model, were quantified. In vitro nanofibrous elution chromatography assays from the drug-loading bifurcation stents were carried out for the release patterns of pharmaceuticals. The effectiveness of eluted rosuvastatin and paclitaxel in inhibiting the adhesion of platelets as well as the proliferation of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) were studied, respectively. The experimental results suggest that bioabsorbable nanofibrous bifurcation stents released high concentrations of rosuvastatin and paclitaxel for 27 and 70 days, respectively. The eluted drugs of rosuvastatin and paclitaxel effectively reduced adherent platelets and the proliferation of SMCs. The developed bioabsorbable nanofibrous bifurcation stents herein may provide a promising means of treating cardiovascular bifurcation lesions.

Comparison of very long-term clinical and angiographic outcomes of bare metal stent implants between patients with and without type 2 diabetes

BACKGROUND

Data on a large patient population regarding very long-term outcomes after bare metal stent (BMS) implantation in diabetic patients are lacking. The aim of this study was to evaluate the very long-term (8-17 years) clinical and 6-month angiographic outcomes of BMS implantations in patients with and without type 2 diabetes.

METHODS AND RESULTS

A total of 2391 patients (579 with and 1812 without diabetes) who received BMS implantations between November 1995 and May 2004 were enrolled from the Cardiovascular Atherosclerosis and Percutaneous TrAnsluminal INterventions (CAPTAIN) registry into this study. During a mean follow-up period of 152±53months, the diabetic patients had higher rates of all-cause mortality (28% vs. 15%, p<0.001), re-infarction (6% vs. 5%, p=0.284), target lesion revascularization (13% vs. 10%, p=0.049), and a lower cardiovascular event-free survival rate (42% vs. 56%, p<0.001) compared to the patients without diabetes. The diabetic patients also had a higher restenosis rate (26% vs. 18%, p<0.001) at 6-month angiographic follow-up. The multivariate analysis of risk factors for cardiac event-free survival included age (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.011; p=0.001), hypertension (HR: 1.168; p=0.011), diabetes mellitus (HR: 1.353; p<0.001), pre-existing coronary artery disease (HR: 1.341; p<0.001), and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (HR: 0.992; p=0.002) (Table 7). The Kaplan-Meier analysis showed a significant difference in cardiovascular event-free survival rate between the two groups (p<0.001).

CONCLUSION

The clinical and angiographic outcomes of diabetic patients with BMS implantations were worse than those of patients without diabetes after a very long-term follow-up period.

Predictors of subsequent myocardial infarction, stroke, and death in stable post-myocardial infarction patients: A nationwide cohort study

BACKGROUND

This study investigated the predictors of subsequent cardiovascular events in stable post-myocardial infarction patients in Taiwan.

METHODS

A total of 11,183 patients were recruited who had survived one year post-myocardial infarction without subsequent events of recurrent myocardial infarction or stroke from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. Their composite cardiovascular event rates were identified.

RESULTS

The composite cardiovascular events rate in three year follow-up in the post-myocardial infarction population was 13.8%. Corresponding event rates were 5.8% recurrent myocardial infarction, 5.0% stroke, and 5.2% death. Independent factors associated with a higher risk of ischemic events or death included heart failure (hazard ratio (HR)=1.19), hypertension (HR=1.16), age (65-75 vs <65 years: HR=1.29; 75-85 vs <65 years: HR=1.50; >85 vs <65 years: HR=1.70), diabetes (HR=1.33), prior stroke (HR=1.24), chronic kidney disease (HR=1.4), atrial fibrillation (HR=1.27), and underutilization of guideline-based medication (HR=1.73). Composite risk for myocardial infarction, stroke and death increased progressively from 4.9% in patients with zero risk factor to 100.0% in patients with eight risk factors.

CONCLUSIONS

For acute myocardial infarction patients surviving one year without subsequent events of recurrent myocardial infarction or stroke, the risk of cardiovascular events remained high. Eight predictors identified patients at increased risk for subsequent cardiovascular events within the next three years. These results suggest an unmet need, particularly in patients with additional risk factors.

Biodegradable Cable-Tie Rapamycin-eluting Stents

"Cable-tie" type biodegradable stents with drug-eluting nanofiber were developed to treat rabbit denuded arteries in this study. Biodegradable stents were fabricated using poly-L-lactide film following being cut and rolled into a cable-tie type stent. Additionally, drug-eluting biodegradable nanofiber tubes were electrospun from a solution containing poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid), rapamycin, and hexafluoroisopropanol, and then mounted onto the stents. The fabricated rapamycin-eluting cable-tie stents exhibited excellent mechanical properties on evaluation of compression test and collapse pressure, and less than 8% weight loss following being immersed in phosphate-buffered saline for 16 weeks. Furthermore, the biodegradable stents delivered high rapamycin concentrations for over 4 weeks and achieved substantial reductions in intimal hyperplasia associated with elevated heme oxygenase-1 and calponin level on the denuded rabbit arteries during 6 months of follow-up. The drug-eluting cable-tie type stents developed in this study might have high potential impacts for the local drug delivery to treat various vascular diseases.

Therapeutic potential of pro-angiogenic BPC157 is associated with VEGFR2 activation and up-regulation

BPC 157, a pentadecapeptide with extensive healing effects, has recently been suggested to contribute to angiogenesis. However, the underlying mechanism is not yet clear. The present study aimed to explore the potential therapeutic effect and pro-angiogenic mechanism of BPC 157. As demonstrated by the chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay and endothelial tube formation assay, BPC 157 could increase the vessel density both in vivo and in vitro, respectively. BPC 157 could also accelerate the recovery of blood flow in the ischemic muscle of the rat hind limb as detected by laser Doppler scanning, indicating the promotion of angiogenesis. Histological analysis of the hind limb muscle confirmed the increased number of vessels and the enhanced vascular expression of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2) in rat with BPC 157 treatment. In vitro study using human vascular endothelial cells further confirmed the increased mRNA and protein expressions of VEGFR2 but not VEGF-A by BPC 157. In addition, BPC 157 could promote VEGFR2 internalization in vascular endothelial cells which was blocked in the presence of dynasore, an inhibitor of endocytosis. BPC 157 time dependently activated the VEGFR2-Akt-eNOS signaling pathway which could also be suppressed by dynasore. The increase of endothelial tube formation induced by BPC 157 was also inhibited by dynasore. This study demonstrates the pro-angiogenic effects of BPC 157 that is associated with the increased expression, internalization of VEGFR2, and the activation of VEGFR2-Akt-eNOS signaling pathway. BPC 157 promotes angiogenesis in CAM assay and tube formation assay. BPC 157 accelerates the blood flow recovery and vessel number in rats with hind limb ischemia. BPC 157 up-regulates VEGFR2 expression in rats with hind limb ischemia and endothelial cell culture. BPC 157 promotes VEGFR2 internalization in association with VEGFR2-Akt-eNOS activation.

KEY MESSAGE

BPC 157 promotes angiogenesis in CAM assay and tube formation assay. BPC 157 accelerates the blood flow recovery and vessel number in rats with hind limb ischemia. BPC 157 up-regulates VEGFR2 expression in rats with hind limb ischemia and endothelial cell culture. BPC 157 promotes VEGFR2 internalization in association with VEGFR2-Akt-eNOS activation.

Impact of Homocysteine Level on Long-term Cardiovascular Outcomes in Patients after Coronary Artery Stenting

Aim: The prognostic value of homocysteine (HCY) in patients with coronary artery diseases (CAD) is still controversial. The objective of this study was to investigate whether elevated HCY level at admission predict long-term outcomes in patients after percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) with coronary artery stenting.

Methods: From the institutional registry of Cardiovascular Atherosclerosis and Percutaneous TrAnsluminal INterventions (CAPTAIN), we enrolled a total of 1,307 patients with documented CAD undergone PCI with bare metal stents from July 2003 to December 2014. They were divided into two groups according to the fasting plasma HCY levels before catheterization: group I (883 patients, < 12 µmol/L) and group II (424 patients, ≥ 12 µmol/L). The primary endpoint was occurrence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE), including cardiac death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, stroke, target lesion revascularization, new lesion stenting, and requiring bypass surgery.

Results: After a mean follow-up period of 58 ± 41 months, the group II patients had a higher MACE rate (33.3% vs. 25.6%, p = 0.005). The main differences between two groups were cardiac death (8.0% vs. 3.4%, p = 0.001) and new lesion stenting (13.6% vs. 9.5%, p = 0.034). The risks of long-term MACE remained significantly higher in patients with elevated HCY level (≥ 12 µmol/L) after adjusting for clinical variables, with a hazard ratio of 1.29 (95% CI, 1.02–1.64, p = 0.036).

Conclusions: Elevated HCY level (≥ 12 µmol/L) was independently associated with increased risk of long-term cardiovascular events in patients after coronary artery bare metal stents implantations. Thus, hyperhomocysteinemia may remain a useful prognostic marker for the risk assessment in clinical care of CAD patients.

Identification of Location Specific Feature Points in a Cardiac Cycle Using a Novel Seismocardiogram Spectrum System

Seismocardiogram (SCG) or mechanocardiography is a noninvasive cardiac diagnostic method; however, previous studies used only a single sensor to detect cardiac mechanical activities that will not be able to identify location-specific feature points in a cardiac cycle corresponding to the four valvular auscultation locations. In this study, a multichannel SCG spectrum measurement system was proposed and examined for cardiac activity monitoring to overcome problems like, position dependency, time delay, and signal attenuation, occurring in traditional single-channel SCG systems. ECG and multichannel SCG signals were simultaneously recorded in 25 healthy subjects. Cardiac echocardiography was conducted at the same time. SCG traces were analyzed and compared with echocardiographic images for feature point identification. Fifteen feature points were identified in the corresponding SCG traces. Among them, six feature points, including left ventricular lateral wall contraction peak velocity, septal wall contraction peak velocity, transaortic peak flow, transpulmonary peak flow, transmitral ventricular relaxation flow, and transmitral atrial contraction flow were identified. These new feature points were not observed in previous studies because the single-channel SCG could not detect the location-specific signals from other locations due to time delay and signal attenuation. As the results, the multichannel SCG spectrum measurement system can record the corresponding cardiac mechanical activities with location-specific SCG signals and six new feature points were identified with the system. This new modality may help clinical diagnoses of valvular heart diseases and heart failure in the future.

Vessel Size and Long-Term Outcomes After Limus-Based Drug-Eluting Stent Implantation Focusing on Medium- and Small-Diameter Vessels

Introduction:

This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of limus-based drug-eluting stent (DES) implanted in medium or small coronary vessels during a very long-term follow-up period.

Methods:

A total of 2383 patients treated with 2916 limus-based DES between April 2003 and March 2015 were evaluated. The enrolled patients were stratified into 3 groups according to the reference vessel diameter: group A: ≤2.5 mm; group B: 2.51 to 3.00 mm; group C: 3.01 to 3.50 mm.

Results:

Group A had a significantly higher loss index and binary restenosis rate than the other 2 groups at 9 months of angiographic follow-up. Group A also had a significantly higher rate of target lesion revascularization and a lower rate of major adverse cardiovascular event–free survival than the other 2 groups after a follow-up period of 68 ± 59 months. The long-term cardiovascular event–free survival curves based on a Cox regression model showed large vessel size, and second-generation DES had better outcomes.

Conclusion:

An inverse relationship between vessel size (≤3.5 mm) and clinical outcomes was noted in patients who received limus-based DES implantation.

Acute Type A Aortic Dissection Presenting as ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction Referred for Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

BACKGROUND

When acute aortic dissection is complicated with acute myocardial infarction, the diagnosis of dissection can be problematic. In these cases, patients might be treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and suffer acatastrophic outcome. However, there are few reports or algorithm to facilitate the accurate management of this clinical situation.

METHODS

We evaluated 385 consecutive patients who underwent primary PCI arising from an initial diagnosis of STEMI at our hospitalbetween January 2006 and March 2011. Clinical characteristics, coronary angiographic findings, and outcomes were obtained from medical charts and databases.

RESULTS

Five patients (1.3%) with STEMI secondary to aortic dissection were identified. All patients (100%) had sudden-onset of chest pain and a history of hypertension without diabetes or hyperlipidemia. An increased resistance while advancing the diagnostic catheter was reported by the operators in 3 of 5 patients (60%). Aortography performed by manual contrast-medium injection showed the discrepancy in the diameter between the aortic root and the ascending aorta in 4 patients (100%), and ascending aortic intimal flap dissections were noted in 3 patients (75%). Alternating appearance and disappearance of the coronary artery ostium was observed in 2 patients, and bedside echocardiography showed intimal flap extension inall 4 patients (100%) who underwent this examination. The mortality rate at 30days was 40%.

CONCLUSIONS

We construct an algorithm that incorporated factors including careful history evaluation, bedside echocardiography, resistance encountered while advancing a catheter, and findings of aortography performed with manual injection,which could b evaluable for this clinical situation.

Clinical Outcomes of Drug-Eluting Stents vs. Bare-Metal Stents in Acute Myocardial Infarction Patients Under Dialysis - A Nationwide Cohort Study

BACKGROUND

Data on the cardiovascular (CV) outcomes of drug-eluting stents (DES) vs. bare-metal stents (BMS) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) under dialysis are limited.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We analyzed the data from 42,592 AMI patients in the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2011. A total of 984 AMI patients under dialysis were selected as the study cohort. We evaluated the clinical outcomes by comparing 492 subjects who had DES to 492 matched subjects who had BMS. The primary composite outcomes, which included recurrent MI, coronary revascularization and CV death, were significantly lower in the DES group than in the BMS group (41.7% vs. 47.6%, hazard ratio (HR), 0.77; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.63-0.92, P=0.005) after mean 1.2 years. The patients who received DES had a lower risk of recurrent MI (HR, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.45-0.90), CV death (HR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.56-0.98) and all-cause mortality (HR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.61-0.89) than those who used BMS, but a similar risk of major bleeding (HR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.69-1.42, P=0.952) and ischemic stroke (HR, 1.15; 95% CI, 0.66-2.01, P=0.631).

CONCLUSIONS

Among AMI patients on dialysis undergoing percutaneous coronary interventions, DES implantation significantly reduced the risk of recurrent MI, CV death and all-cause mortality compared with BMS implantation.

Prognostic Impact of 9-Month High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein Levels on Long-Term Clinical Outcomes and In-Stent Restenosis in Patients at 9 Months after Drug-Eluting Stent Implantation

Introduction

The level of 9-month high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) in predicting cardiovascular outcomes is scanty in patients at 9 months after receiving drug-eluting stent (DES) implantations. This study aims to evaluate the relationship between 9-month follow-up hsCRP levels and long-term clinical outcomes in patients at 9 months after receiving DES.

Methods

A total of 1,763 patients who received 9-month follow-up angiography were enrolled and grouped according to hsCRP level 9 months after the DES implantation: group I (718 patients, hsCRP<1.0 mg/L), group II (639 patients, 1.0≦hsCRP≦3.0 mg/L), and group III (406 patients, hsCRP>3.0 mg/L).

Results

Group III patients had a lower cardiovascular event-free survival rate than group I or II patients during a follow-up of 64±45 months (64.5% vs. 71.6% vs. 72.8%, respectively, p = 0.012). Multivariate analysis showed that a follow-up hsCRP level <3.0 mg/L was an independent predictor of a major adverse cardiovascular event (cardiac death, reinfarction, target lesion revascularization, stenting in a new lesion, or coronary bypass surgery). Group III patients had a higher restenosis rate (11.3% vs. 5.8% vs. 6.6%, respectively, p = 0.002) and loss index (0.21±0.32 vs. 0.16±0.24 vs. 0.18±0.28, respectively, p = 0.001) than group I or II patients in 9-month follow-up angiography.

Conclusions

A high 9-month follow-up hsCRP level is an independent predictor of long-term clinical cardiovascular outcomes in patients at 9 months after DES implantation. It is also associated with a higher restenosis rate, larger late loss and loss index at 9 months after DES implantation.

HAS-BLED score predicts risk of in-hospital major bleeding in patients with acute non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction

BACKGROUND

The role of the Hypertension, Abnormal renal/liver function, Stroke, Bleeding history or predisposition, Labile international normalized ratio, Elderly, Drugs or alcohol use (HAS-BLED) score in the prediction of in-hospital bleeding in non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) patients receiving dual anti-platelet therapy plus heparin was unknown. In this study, we compared the HAS-BLED score with the Can Rapid Risk stratification of Unstable angina patients Suppress ADverse outcomes with Early implementation of the ACC/AHA guidelines (CRUSADE) and Acute Catheterization and Urgent Intervention Triage strategY and the Harmonizing Outcomes with RevascularIZatiON and Stents in acute myocardial infarction (ACUITY-HORIZONS) bleeding risk scores for in-hospital major bleeding risk stratification in NSTEMI patients.

METHODS

A real world population of 617 NSTEMI patients receiving dual anti-platelet plus heparin as initial therapy were enrolled. CRUSADE, ACUITY-HORIZONS and HAS-BLED risk scores were calculated for each patient.

RESULTS

This cohort had a 6.5% incidence of in-hospital major bleeding. For the prediction of in-hospital major bleeding, the discriminations between CRUSADE, ACUITY-HORIZONS and HAS-BLED were good (C-statistic 0.81, 0.82 and 0.80, respectively). There was no significant difference between these three risk scores (HAS-BLED vs. CRUSADE: z=-0.08, p=0.27; HAS-BLED vs. ACUITY-HORIZONS: z=-0.06, p=0.26; CRUSADE vs. ACUITY-HORIZONS: z=-0.15, p=0.28).

CONCLUSION

The CRUSADE, ACUITY-HORIZONS and HAS-BLED scores were useful tools for risk stratification of in-hospital major bleeding in NSTEMI patients. The HAS-BLED score had a simpler calculation and a similar accuracy for risk assessment as the other two scores evaluated.