Coronary artery disease and left ventricular function in mitral stenosis

The Prevalence and Predictors of Atherosclerotic Coronary Artery Disease in Rheumatic and Non-rheumatic Valvular Heart Disease Patients

OBJECTIVES

The paradox of concurrent coronary artery disease (CAD) among patients with rheumatic and non-rheumatic valvular heart disease (RVHD; non-RVHD) is unclear. We aimed to evaluate the impact of the RVHD and non-RVHD on the prevalence of CAD and various risk factors, assess the number of diseased coronaries, clinical profile and the possible predictors of CAD in these patients, which may clarify the paradox and provide an insight for the prevention of CAD.

METHODS

The records of 106 valvular heart disease patients who had undergone valve replacement surgery at the King Faisal Cardiac Centre from January 2014 to October 2019 were evaluated. The clinical data and established risk factors were compared and logistic regression analyses were performed to identify plausible predictors of CAD.

RESULTS

Transthoracic echocardiographic diagnosis of 106 patients confirmed, 43 had RVHD (56.4 ± 8 years), of whom six (13.9%) had CAD with the highest mitral valve regurgitation (p < 0.01), and 63 had non-RVHD (60.0 ± 12 years). Of these, 31 patients showed the highest CAD (49.2%). Single- and triple-vessel disease was most common in RVHD and non-RVHD patients with concurrent CAD (33.3%; 41.9%, respectively), while non-RVHD patients also had quadruple vessel disease. The mean age of the RVHD and non-RVHD patients with coexisting CAD was significantly higher (66.7 ± 5; 66.7 ± 8 years) than those without CAD (46.1 ± 12.0; 54.7 ± 20, respectively). RVHD patients showed a significantly lower prevalence of diabetes, dyslipidaemia, hypertension, inflammatory cells, hepatorenal function markers, ejection fraction, and regional wall motion abnormality compared to RVHD patients with coexisting CAD (p < 0.01). Bivariate analysis indicated white blood cells, monocytes, neutrophils, gamma-glutamyl-transferase (GGT), bilirubin and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) to be significantly lower in RVHD patients. Predictors of high risk of CAD were BUN and hyperlipidaemia for RVHD and BUN, creatinine and GGT for non-RVHD patients.

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of CAD in Saudi RVHD patients was significantly lower than in the Western countries, whereas non-RVHD was higher. The low prevalence may partly be attributed to age, reduced mitral regurgitation, and low frequency of risk and inflammatory factors.

Coronary artery disease in patients undergoing cardiac surgery for non-coronary lesions in a tertiary care centre

Background

The objective of the present study was to determine the prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients undergoing surgery for various valvular as well as non-valvular cardiac pathologies.

Methods

Patients with various valvular and non-valvular pathologies were selected. All patients with age ≥40 years and an indication for open heart surgery underwent pre-operative coronary angiogram and were included in the study.

Results

The mean age was 51.5 ± 9.02 years. 178 (59.3%) patients were males and 122 (40.7%) patients were females. Out of 300 patients, 270 (90%) patients had valvular heart disease (VHD) and 30 (10%) patients had non-valvular heart disease. Rheumatic heart disease (RHD), mitral valve prolapse (MVP), degenerative aortic valve disease (DAVD) and bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) was present in 161 (53.7%), 17 (5.7%), 60 (20%) and 32 (10.7%) patients respectively. Overall, 26 (8.7%) patients were found to have significant CAD. CAD was significantly more common in patients with VHD as compared to patients with other etiologies (1 patient, 3.3%, p < 0.05). In the valvular group, DAVD patients had maximum prevalence of CAD (14 patients, 23.4%, p < 0.05). In the group with CAD, the presence of variables such as age >60 years, male sex, typical angina, HT, dyslipidemia and smoking were significantly greater as compared to those with normal coronaries.

Conclusion

The overall prevalence of CAD among patients undergoing non-coronary cardiac surgery is 8.7%. Coronary artery disease is relatively uncommon in patients with rheumatic VHD (4.9%), while its prevalence is highest in DAVD (23.4%).

Prevalence of coronary artery disease in patients with valvular heart disease

To evaluate the usefulness of preoperatie coronary angiography in patients undergoing preoperative investigation because of valvular heart disease, we performed coronary angiography in a consecutive series of 329 patients. The prevalence of significant coronary artery disease was 32%. Asymptomatic coronary artery disease was present in 13%. Angina pectoris proved to be a poor predictor of coronary artery disease in aortic valve disease. In mitral valve disease, however, the specificity was high. A cost-benefit calculation was carried out in order to assess what advantage routine coronary angiography might have. According to this, coronary angiography should be performed in all patients suffering from valvular heart disease with angina pectoris, whereas it can be omitted in younger patients without angina. A cut-off point of 60 years seems appropriate for aortic valve disease and 65 years for mitral valve disease.

Amounts of coronary arterial narrowing by atherosclerotic plaques in clinically isolated mitral valve stenosis: analysis of 76 necropsy patients older than 30 years

Although several studies have described the status of the coronary arteries by angiography in patients with mitral stenosis (MS), few necropsy studies of the coronary arteries in these patients are available. The present report describes in detail the amounts of narrowing by atherosclerotic plaque of the 4 major epicardial coronary arteries in 76 necropsy patients, aged 31 to 79 years (mean 53) with clinically isolated MS (with or without associated mitral regurgitation but without aortic valve dysfunction). Of the 76 patients, greater than or equal to 1 major coronary artery was narrowed greater than 75% in cross-sectional area (XSA) in 38 (50%) and in 10 of the 38 patients greater than or equal to 1 major coronary artery was totally occluded or nearly so (greater than 95% XSA narrowing). A higher percent of the 29 men had significant (greater than 75% XSA) coronary narrowing than did the 47 women (62 vs 44%) and the men had more major coronary arteries significantly narrowed compared with the women (31 of 116 arteries [27%] vs 33 of 188 arteries [18%]). The 4 major coronary arteries in the 76 patients were divided into 5-mm segments and examined histologically: of the 3,124 segments (41 per patient), 620 segments (20%) were narrowed 0 to 25% in XSA, 1,826 (58%) were narrowed 26 to 50%, 470 (15%) were narrowed 51 to 75%, 188 (6%) were narrowed 76 to 95%, and 20 segments (1%) were narrowed 96 to 100% in XSA. The percent of segments narrowed greater than 75% in XSA was 9% in the men and 5% in the women.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Frequency of angiographically significant coronary arterial narrowing in mitral stenosis

Ninety-six consecutive patients older than 40 years with severe mitral stenosis were retrospectively analyzed to determine the relation of angina pectoris (AP) and coexistent coronary artery disease (CAD). Of the 96 patients, 27 (28%) had angiographically significant CAD, 10 (37%) with AP and 17 (63%) without AP. Of the 96 patients, 21 had AP, 10 (48%) with angiographically significant CAD and 11 (52%) without (CAD). Of 75 patients without AP, 17 (23%) had angiographically significant CAD AP had a specificity of 84% and a sensitivity of 37% in its ability to detect significant CAD. The pulmonary artery systolic, diastolic and mean pressures and the pulmonary vascular resistance did not differ between patients with and those without AP (p greater than 0.05). It is concluded that coexistent CAD is commonly found in patients older than age 40 with severe MS, and is usually clinically silent.

Association of coronary artery disease and valvular heart disease in Chile

This study analyzes the prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD) among patients with rheumatic valvular heart disease (VHD) in Chile. Coronary angiography was performed in all patients referred to cardiac catheterization with VHD who were over age 50 years and who had angina or ECG signs of ischemia. A total of 100 patients entered the study. Significant CAD (greater than 50% obstruction) was found in 14% of the cases: 7% in patients with mitral valve disease (MVD), 18% in aortic valve disease (AVD), and 21% in combined mitral and aortic valve disease (MAVD). Angina was present in 14% of the patients with MVD, 63% with AVD, and 53% with MAVD. Only 57% of patients with CAD had angina pectoris; 20% with angina had CAD. Hemodynamic parameters and left ventricular ejection fraction were not correlated with the presence or absence of CAD. We conclude that in patients with valvular heart disease, the incidence of CAD is lower in Chile than previously reported in the English literature. We confirmed the fact that angina is often not associated with CAD, and that CAD is often present in the absence of angina.

Coronary arteriography in isolated aortic and mitral valve disease

Coronary arteriographic findings in 200 patients with isolated aortic and mitral valve disease were reviewed to examine the relationship between obstructive (greater than 50% diameter stenosis) coronary artery disease (CAD) and angina pectoris (AP). Of 100 patients with aortic valve disease, 30 had CAD of whom 20 gave a history of AP. Thirty-two of 52 patients (61%) with AP did not have CAD and 10 of 48 (21%) had CAD without AP. CAD was evenly distributed among patients with aortic stenosis, incompetence and mixed aortic valve disease. CAD was found in 23 of 100 patients with mitral valve disease. Sixteen of 32 patients with mitral incompetence had CAD of whom four had AP. Seven of 68 patients with mitral stenosis or mixed mitral valve disease had CAD. AP was noted by four of these seven patients but by none of the 61 with normal coronary arteriograms (p less than 0.0001). Asymptomatic CAD was more common among patients with mitral incompetence (12/28 vs 3/64 p less than 0.005). AP was an unreliable marker for CAD in aortic valve disease or mitral incompetence. Conversely, CAD was uncommon without AP in mitral stenosis or mixed mitral valve disease. Coronary arteriography seems indicated in the pre-operative assessment of patients aged greater than or equal to 40 years with aortic valve disease or mitral incompetence. Its value is limited in patients with mitral stenosis or mixed mitral valve disease without AP.

Coronary atherosclerosis in mitral stenosis

Eighty-two patients with mitral stenosis underwent cardiac catheterization with coronary angiography. Twenty-one patients (26 percent) had coronary artery disease. Characteristics of the mitral valve area, cardiac output, pulmonary artery pressure, pulmonary vascular resistance, left ventricular end-diastolic pressure, left ventricular ejection fraction, and atypical chest pain did not correlate with findings of angina pectoris or of coronary artery disease; however, there was correlation with sex, age, and angina. Coronary artery disease occurred only after the age of 40 years and was more frequent in males with angina. Coronary artery disease could not be ruled out in patients with mitral stenosis, especially those over age 40, without coronary arteriography.

Incidence of coronary artery disease in patients with valvular heart disease

The case notes, cardiac catheterisation data, and coronary arteriograms of 239 patients investigated for valvular heart disease during a five year period were reviewed. Angina present in 13 of 95 patients with isolated mitral valve disease, 43 of 90 patients with isolated aortic valve disease, and 18 of 54 patients with combined mitral and aortic valve disease. Significant coronary artery disease was present in 85 per cent of patients with mitral valve disease and angina, but in only 33 per cent of patients with aortic valve disease and angina. Patients with no chest pain still had a high incidence of coronary artery disease, significant coronary obstruction being present in 22 per cent with mitral valve disease, 22 per cent with aortic valve disease, and 11 per cent with combine mitral and aortic valve disease. Several possible clinical markers of coronary artery disease were examined but none was found to be of practical help. There was, however, a significant inverse relation between severity of coronary artery disease and severity of valve disease in patients with aortic valve disease. Asymptomatic coronary artery disease is not uncommon in patients with valvular heart disease and if it is policy to perform coronary artery bypass grafting in such patients, routine coronary arteriography must be part of the preoperative investigation.

Left ventricular function in severe pure mitral stenosis as seen at the Kenyatta National Hospital

Twenty-one consecutive Black African patients with severe pure mitral stenosis were evaluated hemodynamically. It was found that advanced mitral stenosis presents itself in Kenya at a very young age (22.9 +/- 9.6 years, mean +/- S.D.), with all but three patients under thirty. Left ventricular angiography demonstrated significant impairment of left ventricular function with 50% of patients having abnormally low valves (mean ejection fraction 0.50 +/- 0.11). This diminished ejection fraction was related primarily to diffuse hypokinesia and an increased endsystolic volume. There was a significant deterioration of ejection fraction with increasing age which could not be correlated to increased severity of mitral stenosis or pulmonary hypertension. It is proposed that the diffuseness of the myocardial involvement and its progression with age in a young population without coronary artery disease represents the resolution of the acute inflammatory process of rheumatic fever in diffuse fibrosis of the myocardium and/or an occlusive vasculitis.

Coronary atherosclerosis in subjects with mitral stenosis

The coronary arteries were examined in 60 specimens from patients with mitral stenosis. In three, localized obstruction was nonatherosclerotic in nature (in one, arterial dysplasia; in two, embolic). In 18 of the remaining 57 cases (31.5%), significantly obstructive atherosclerosis in one or more segments of the coronary arterial system was found. This represented 46% of the males and 27% of the females. The incidence of involvement of three or more arteries by significantly obstructive atherosclerosis was 39%, while in a cited series of subjects with angina pectoris three or more vessels were involved in 79% of the cases. It may be concluded that, on the average, the distribution of lesions in patients with mitral stenosis and significant coronary atherosclerosis is less wide than in subjects with clinical coronary disease.

Quantitative angiographic analysis of the left ventricle in patients with isolated rheumatic mitral stenosis

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