Clinical characteristics and in-hospital outcomes in patients aged 80 years or over with cardiac troponin-positive acute myocardial infarction -J-MINUET study

Treatment strategies of acute myocardial infarction: updates on revascularization, pharmacological therapy, and beyond

Owing to recent advances in early reperfusion strategies, pharmacological therapy, standardized care, and the identification of vulnerable patient subsets, the prognosis of acute myocardial infarction has improved. However, there is still considerable room for improvement. This review article summarizes the latest evidence concerning clinical diagnosis and treatment of acute myocardial infarction.

New risk factors for early- and late-onset cardiac rupture in ST-elevation myocardial infarction patients after primary percutaneous coronary intervention

BACKGROUND

Cardiac rupture (CR) is a catastrophic complication of acute myocardial infarction. Primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI) reduces the incidence of CR. This study aimed to investigate the clinical risk factors and characteristics of CR after pPCI.

METHODS

This was a retrospective, case-control, multicenter study. We enrolled 2444 consecutive patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) who had undergone pPCI between 2009 and 2015; 33 patients experienced CR (1.35%): 19 were assigned as early CR (≤72 h) and 14 as late CR (>72 h). The 132 controls were randomly selected from the 2411 STEMI patients without CR, by matching institutions at a 1:4 ratio.

RESULTS

Multivariate logistic regression revealed that female sex, acute hyperglycemia, thrombocytopenia (platelets <15 × 10⁴/µL), and incomplete revascularization [post-PCI thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) <3] were independent risk factors for CR (p<0.05). Older age, female sex, and emergency surgical repair were strongly associated with in-hospital death, which occurred in 66.7% of CR patients (p<0.05). Univariate logistic regression adjusted for age and sex revealed that low systolic blood pressure, anterior infarction, acute hyperglycemia, Killip class >1, and post-PCI TIMI <3 were significantly associated with early CR, and that Killip class >1 and thrombocytopenia were strongly associated with late CR. Early CR occurred more frequently between 12:00 and 21:00 h, whereas the peak incidence of late CR was bimodal between 6:00-12:00 and 21:00-24:00 h.

CONCLUSIONS

In STEMI patients after pPCI, acute hyperglycemia and thrombocytopenia are new risk factors for early and late CR, respectively. Clinical risk factors and time of occurrence of early and late CR may differ in the PCI era.

Current Status and Effect of Outpatient Cardiac Rehabilitation After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Japan

Background: Although cardiac rehabilitation (CR) has been reported to be associated with better clinical outcomes in patients with cardiovascular diseases, there are few nationwide studies about CR participation by patients with coronary artery disease in Japan.

Methods and Results: We performed a nationwide retrospective cohort study using the National Database of Health Insurance Claims and Specific Health Checkups of Japan between April 2014 and March 2018. Patients were divided into 2 groups (acute coronary syndrome [ACS] and stable coronary artery disease [sCAD]), and the rates of participation in in- and outpatient CR after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were investigated. Propensity score-matched analysis was performed and the association between outpatient CR participation and all-cause mortality 3 months after PCI was examined. Overall, 616,664 patients (ACS, n=202,853; sCAD, n=413,811) were analyzed. The participation rates of CR increased annually. The participation rate was higher for inpatient than outpatient CR in both the ACS (52% vs. 9%, respectively) and sCAD (15% vs. 3%, respectively) groups. Prognosis was better for patients with than without outpatient CR in both the ACS (hazard ratio [HR] 0.52; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.47–0.59) and sCAD (HR 0.72; 95% CI 0.65–0.80) groups.

Conclusions: Outpatient CR was associated with a better prognosis in patients with ACS or sCAD. The participation rates of outpatient CR following PCI were extremely low in Japan.