Identification of Periprocedural Myocardial Infarction Using a High-Sensitivity Troponin I Assay in Patients Who Underwent Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation

Troponin as a predictor of outcomes in transcatheter aortic valve implantation: systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is emerging as a therapeutic gold standard in the management of aortic stenosis. However, post-procedural complications of this procedure are being increasingly recognised. We therefore performed this systematic review and meta-analysis on the prognostic value of elevated troponin prior to TAVI to predict risk of post-procedural complications.

METHODS

We searched Medline (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), and the Cochrane Library from inception until May 2022, and included studies on the association between elevated pre-procedural troponin with 30-day mortality, long-term mortality, and post-procedural myocardial injury (PPMI). We generated summary odds ratios (OR) and hazards ratios (HR) using random-effects meta-analysis and performed subgroup analyses to evaluate differences in troponin threshold selection. Inter-study heterogeneity was tested using the I² test.

RESULTS

We included 10 studies involving 4200 patients. Serum troponin elevation prior to TAVI was significantly associated with long-term mortality [HR = 2.09 (95% CI 1.30-3.36)], but not with 30-day mortality [OR 1.76 (95% CI 0.96-3.22)]. Subgroup analysis showed a trend towards increased effect size and statistical significance for 30-day mortality as troponin elevation was more narrowly defined. Two studies reported on PPMI and found no statistically significant mean difference between groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Raised serum troponin is associated with increased long-term mortality following TAVI. Further clarification on the optimal troponin threshold for risk identification is required. High-quality studies that utilise ROC analysis for threshold selection are warranted.

Myocardial Injury After Balloon Predilatation Versus Direct Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement: Insights From the DIRECTAVI Trial

Background Myocardial injury is associated with higher mortality after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and might be increased by prior balloon aortic valvuloplasty (BAV). We aimed to evaluate the impact of prior BAV versus direct prosthesis implantation on myocardial injury occurring after (TAVR) with balloon-expandable prostheses. Methods and Results The DIRECTAVI (Direct Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation) trial, an open-label randomized study, demonstrated noninferiority of TAVR without BAV (direct TAVR group) compared with systematic BAV (BAV group) with the Edwards SAPIEN 3 valve. High-sensitivity troponin was assessed before and the day after the procedure. Incidence of myocardial injury after the procedure (high-sensitivity troponin elevation >15× the upper reference limit [14 ng/L]) was the main end point. Impact of myocardial injury on 1-month adverse events (all-cause mortality, stroke, major bleeding, major vascular complications, transfusion, acute kidney injury, heart failure, pacemaker implantation, and aortic regurgitation) was evaluated. Preprocedure and postprocedure high-sensitivity troponin levels were available in 211 patients. The mean age of patients was 83 years (78-87 years), with 129 men (61.1%). Mean postprocedure high-sensitivity troponin was 124.9±81.4 ng/L in the direct TAVR group versus 170.4±127.7 ng/L in the BAV group (P=0.007). Myocardial injury occurred in 42 patients (19.9%), including 13 patients (12.2%) in the direct TAVR group and 29 (27.9%) in the BAV group (P=0.004). BAV increased by 2.8-fold (95% CI, 1.4-5.8) myocardial injury probability. Myocardial injury was associated with 1-month adverse events (P=0.03). Conclusions BAV increased the incidence and magnitude of myocardial injury after TAVR with new-generation balloon-expandable valves. Myocardial injury was associated with 1-month adverse events. These results argue in favor of direct SAPIEN 3 valve implantation. Registration URL: https://www.Clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT02729519.

Early changes in N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide levels after transcatheter aortic valve replacement and its impact on long-term mortality

BACKGROUND

N-terminal pro-hormone B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels correlate with higher peri-procedural mortality after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). The long-term prognostic value of NT-proBNP within the first days after TAVR, however, remains unclear. This study examined early changes in NT-proBNP prior to and within 6 days after TAVR, the diagnostic value of this biomarker regarding aortic regurgitation (AR), and its prognostic value regarding one-year mortality.

METHODS AND RESULTS

NT-proBNP concentrations were measured in 504 consecutive patients undergoing transapical (TA) or transfemoral (TF) TAVR before and directly after TAVR as well as 4 h and 1, 2, 3, and 6 days after TAVR. The follow-up period was 1 year. NT-proBNP was elevated in all patients at baseline (median 2141 ng/L [IQR 1021-5319 ng/L]). NT-proBNP changes in the first 6 days after TAVR showed significant differences depending on the approach, with a greater and more prolonged rise evident in TA-TAVR patients. NT-proBNP was an independent predictor of mortality in TA patients with AR, with an AUC of 0.794 (95% CI 0.663-0.925; P = 0.003) when measured on day 3 after TAVR. For TF patients with AR and reduced left ventricular systolic function, the AUC for prediction of mortality was 0.897 (95% CI 0.778-1.0; P = 0.004) on day 2.

CONCLUSIONS

The prognostic information of early post-procedural NT-proBNP concentrations is superior to pre-procedural values regarding all-cause mortality within 1 year. Post-procedural NT-proBNP must be interpreted in relation to the TAVR approach. NT-proBNP predicts mortality in TF-TAVR patients with AR and reduced left ventricular function.

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation without prior balloon valvuloplasty is associated with less pronounced markers of myocardial injury

BACKGROUND

Aortic valve stenosis is the most common valvulopathy in developed countries. Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is a therapeutic alternative in symptomatic patients at high or prohibitive perioperative risk. Predilatation by balloon aortic valvuloplasty (BAV) under rapid ventricular pacing (RVP) has been a routine part of TAVI. However, both RVP and BAV carry substantial risks and an increasing number of interventional centers are performing TAVI without predilatation (direct TAVI). A transient decrease of left ventricular function and elevated markers of myocardial injury after TAVI with predilatation were observed in previous studies. In this study, we investigated whether direct TAVI was associated with a similar increase in cardiac biomarkers and decrease in ejection fraction in a cohort of our patients.

METHODS

Consecutive patients undergoing TAVI without predilatation using a self-expanding system at a single center between April 2013 and December 2015 were followed up for one year and were retrospectively analyzed regarding mortality, safety and efficacy endpoints as well as common laboratory and echocardiographic parameters.

RESULTS

A total of 164 patients (83±6 years; 56% female) were included in the analysis. According to the Valve Academic Research Consortium 2 (VARC-2) criteria the technical success rate was 96.3% and 89.1% of patients remained free of a combined safety endpoint at 30 days. Mortality rates at 30 days and 1 year were 3.0% (N.=5) and 10.4% (N.=17), respectively. TAVI without predilatation was highly effective in lowering aortic valve peak velocity from 4.4±0.6 m/s before to 1.7±0.5 m/s (P<0.01), and mean pressure gradient across the valve from 48.7±15.1 mmHg to 8.3±4.5 mmHg (<0.05). Left ventricular function remained unaltered after the intervention (51±10% prior to TAVI and 51±9% post TAVI), whereas high sensitive troponin T (hs-TnT), a well-established marker for myocardial injury, increased significantly from 26 ng/L (interquartile range=18.00-44.00) to 119 ng/L (interquartile range=73.25-166.00, P<0.001) during this time. Notably, an increase in the plasma levels of hs-TnT >15 times the upper limit of normal was associated with mortality both one month and one year after TAVI.

CONCLUSIONS

TAVI without predilatation is feasible, safe and effective for aortic valve replacement in symptomatic patients with severe aortic stenosis who are at high perioperative risk. In contrast to a cohort of patients who underwent TAVI with predilatation previously published by another center, our patients did not suffer from transient impairment of left ventricular function. As a marker of myocardial injury, hs-TnT showed a less pronounced increase than reported previously. This might be a marker for a prognostic benefit as hs-TnT has been shown to be a strong predictor of outcome in patients undergoing TAVI. We conclude that direct TAVI is a less invasive option involving less myocardial stress.

Is Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement Better Than Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement in Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease? A Nationwide Inpatient Sample Analysis

BACKGROUND

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients are at increased risk of respiratory related complications after cardiac surgery. It is unclear whether transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) or surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) results in favorable outcomes among COPD patients.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Patients were identified from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database from 2011 to 2014. Patients with age ≥60, COPD, and either went transarterial TAVR or SAVR were included in the analysis. A 1:1 propensity-matched cohort was created to examine the outcomes. A matched pair of 1210 TAVR and 1208 SAVR patients was identified. Respiratory-related complications such as tracheostomy (0.8% versus 5.8%; odds ratio [OR], 0.14; P<0.001), acute respiratory failure (16.4% versus 23.7%; OR, 0.63; P=0.002), reintubation (6.5% versus 10.0%; OR, 0.49; P<0.001), and pneumonia (4.5% versus 10.1%; OR, 0.41; P<0.001) were significantly less frequent with TAVR versus SAVR. Use of noninvasive mechanical ventilation was similar between TAVR and SAVR (4.1% versus 4.8%; OR, 0.84; P=0.41). Non-respiratory-related complications, such as in-hospital mortality (3.3% versus 4.2%; OR, 0.64; P=0.035), bleeding requiring transfusion (9.9% versus 21.7%; OR, 0.38; P<0.001), acute kidney injury (17.7% versus 25.3%; OR, 0.63; P<0.001), and acute myocardial infarction (2.4% versus 8.4%; OR, 0.19; P<0.001), were significantly less frequent with TAVR than SAVR. Cost ($56 099 versus $63 146; P<0.001) and hospital stay (mean, 7.7 versus 13.0 days; P<0.001) were also more favorable with TAVR than SAVR.

CONCLUSIONS

TAVR portended significantly fewer respiratory-related complications compared with SAVR in COPD patients. TAVR may be a preferable mode of aortic valve replacement in COPD patients.

Can Blood Biomarkers Help Predicting Outcome in Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation?

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has become the method of choice for patients with severe aortic valve stenosis, who are ineligible or at high risk for surgery. In this high risk patient population, early and late mortality and rehospitalization rates after TAVI are still relatively high. In spite of recent improvements in procedural TAVI, and establishment of risk models for poor outcome, determining individual risk remains challenging. In this context, current data from several small studies strongly suggest that blood biomarkers of myocardial injury, cardiac mechanical stretch, inflammation, and hemostasis imbalance might play an important role by providing informations on patient risk at baseline, and postprocedural progression of patient clinical conditions from days up to years post-TAVI. Although the role of biomarkers for predicting survival post-TAVI remains to be validated in large randomized studies, implementing biomarkers in clinical practice might improve risk stratification, thereby further reducing TAVI-associated morbidity and mortality.