Percutaneous Left Atrial Appendage Closure Is a Reasonable Option for Patients With Atrial Fibrillation at High Risk for Cerebrovascular Events

Background—

Percutaneous left atrial appendage (LAA) closure is an emerging option for patients with atrial fibrillation at high risk for cerebrovascular events. The multicenter FLAAC registry (French Nationwide Observational LAA Closure Registry) was established to assess LAA closure outcomes in everyday practice.

Methods and Results—

Four hundred thirty-six patients referred from April 2013 to September 2015 to 33 French interventional cardiology centers for percutaneous LAA closure were included prospectively in the FLAAC registry. Mean age was 75.4±0.4 years. The stroke risk was high (mean CHA 2 DS 2 –VASc score, 4.5±0.1) and most patients had experienced clinically significant bleeding (HAS-BLED score, 3.1±0.05). The device used was Amplatzer LAA occluder in 58% and the Watchman device in 42% of the patients. The procedural success rate was 98.4%. Median postprocedure follow-up was 12.0 (11.8–12.0) months and a single patient was lost to follow-up. During the periprocedural and subsequent follow-up period, procedure-related severe adverse events occurred in 21 (4.9%) and 10 (2.3%) patients, respectively. One-year cumulative incidences of ischemic stroke and cerebral hemorrhage were 2.9% (1.6–5.0) and 1.5% (0.7–3.2), respectively. Overall, 1-year mortality was 9.3% (6.9–12.5) with 7 of the 39 deaths related or possibly related to the device or procedure.

Conclusions—

This nationwide prospective registry shows that, in the French population, LAA closure is mainly used in patients with high comorbidity rates and a poor prognosis. LAA closure in such patients seems reasonable to decrease the stroke rate. The overall health status of these patients should be taken into account during the preprocedural evaluation process.

Clinical Trial Registration—

URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier: NCT02252861.

Long-term follow-up of asymptomatic Brugada patients with inducible ventricular fibrillation under hydroquinidine

AIMS

To evaluate the long-term efficacy and safety of an electrophysiologically guided therapy, based on a strategy of treatment using hydroquinidine (HQ) among asymptomatic Brugada patients with inducible ventricular fibrillation (VF).

METHODS AND RESULTS

In two French reference centres, consecutive asymptomatic type 1 Brugada patients with inducible VF were treated with HQ (600 mg/day, targeting a therapeutic range between 3 and 6 µmol/L) and enroled in a specific follow-up (mean 6.6 ± 3 years), including a second programmed ventricular stimulation (PVS) under HQ. An implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) was eventually implanted in patients inducible under HQ, or during follow-up in case of HQ intolerance, as well as occurrence of arrhythmic events. From a total of 397 Brugada patients, 44 were enroled (47 ± 10 years, 95% male). Of these, 34 (77%) were no more inducible (Group PVS-), and were maintained under HQ alone during a mean follow-up of 6.2 ± 3 years. In this group, an ICD was eventually implanted in four patients (12%), with occurrence of appropriate ICD therapies in one. Among the 10 other patients (22%), who remained inducible and received ICD (Group PVS+), none of them received appropriate therapy during a mean follow-up of 7.7 ± 2 years. The overall annual rate of arrhythmic events was 1.04% (95% confidence interval 0.00-2.21), without any significant difference according to the result of PVS under HQ. One-third of patients experienced device-related complications.

CONCLUSION

Our long-term follow-up results emphasize that the rate of arrhythmic events among asymptomatic Brugada patients with inducible VF remains low over time. Our results also suggest that residual inducibility under HQ is of limited value to predict events during follow-up.

Cardiovascular implantable electronic devices: patient education, information and ethical issues

Cardiovascular implantable electronic devices (CIED) are implanted increasingly frequently. CIEDs are indicated for the treatment of bradycardia, tachycardia and heart failure and therefore improve quality of life and life expectancy. CIED can treat ventricular arrhythmias that would be fatal without immediate care. However, CIEDs raise several patient education, medico-legal, and ethical questions that will be addressed in this article. Information is a patient's right, and necessary for informed consent. When implanting a CIED, the patient must be educated about the need for the device, the function of the device, any restrictions that apply postimplant, and postimplant follow-up methods and schedules. This transfer of information to the patient makes the patient responsible. The occupational physician can determine whether a patient wearing a CIED is able to work. Under current French law, patients are not prohibited from working while wearing a CIED. However, access to certain job categories remains limited, such as jobs involving mechanical stress to the chest, exposure to electromagnetic fields, or jobs requiring permanent vigilance. Pacemakers and defibrillators are medical treatments and are subject to the same ethical and clinical considerations as any other treatment. However, stopping a pacemaker or a defibrillator raises different ethical issues. Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator shocks can be considered to be equivalent to resuscitation efforts and can be interpreted as being unreasonable in an end-of-life patient. Pacing is painless and it is unlikely to unnecessarily prolong the life of a patient with a terminal disease. Patients with a CIED should live as normally as possible, but must also be informed about the constraints related to the device and must inform each caregiver about the presence of the device. The forensic and ethical implications must be assessed in relation to current legislation.

Normal pulmonary veins anatomy is associated with better AF-free survival after cryoablation as compared to atypical anatomy with common left pulmonary vein

BACKGROUND

Pulmonary vein cryoablation (PVC) is a new approach in the treatment of recurrent atrial fibrillation (AF). Computed tomography (CT) can be used to evaluate the left atrium anatomy and PVs dimensions to facilitate the procedure. In radiofrequency procedures, some anatomic variants such as common left (CLPV) or right (CRPV) PV were reported as factors associated with technical procedure difficulties and potential long-term complications. We hypothesized that the absence of CLPV as determined by CT would predict better AF-free survival after PVC.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We included 118 consecutive patients (mean age 56 ± 10 years; 77% males) with drug refractory paroxysmal (72%)/persistent (28%) AF, with more than 6 months follow-up, who underwent PVC. On CT scanning images performed within 1 month prior to ablation, we evaluated PV anatomic patterns: presence of CLPV or CRPV. Each patient was evaluated by 24-hour Holter monitoring within 1 and 3 months and all patients were periodically evaluated at 1, 3, and 6 months, and every 6 months thereafter. Patients were asked to record their 12-lead electrocardiogram whenever they experienced symptoms suggestive of AF. Recurrence was defined as AF that lasted at least 30 seconds. CLPV was present in 30 (25%) patients and no patients with CRPV were identified. At the end of the 13 months follow-up, patients with normal PVs had significantly better AF-free survival compared to patients with CLPV (67% vs 50%, P = 0.02). The difference was present in patients with paroxysmal AF (P = 0.008) but not in patients with persistent AF (P = 0.92).

CONCLUSION

In patients undergoing cryoballoon PV isolation for AF, the presence of normal PVs pattern is associated with better AF-free survival as compared to atypical PV anatomy with CLPV, particularly in patients with paroxysmal AF.

Sudden death caused by aortic dissection in a patient with polycystic kidney disease

A 43-year-old man presented at the emergency medical unit with chest pain. The results of a clinical examination were normal, apart from sternum pain (without radiation) on palpation. The patient had no respiratory problems and the pain was relieved by paracetamol. The electrocardiogram, laboratory tests and chest X-ray were normal. However, the man was found dead the next morning. In the autopsy, we noted the presence of haemopericardium, aortic dissection (starting from the vessel's origin and extended to the aortic arch and on through the diaphragm), polycystic kidney disease and liver cysts. In adult autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) patients, the main causes of death are ruptured intracerebral aneurysms, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, valvular heart disease and ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms. Aortic dissection is considered to be rare cause of sudden death in ADPKD sufferers. ADPKD can have serious consequences for the vascular system. The families of confirmed ADPKD sufferers must be informed and screened as early as possible, in order to prevent renal and cardiovascular complications.

[Evaluation of Best Practices in the improvement and quality of care: seven notions for better understanding]

The aim of Professional Practices Evaluation (PPE) is continuous improvement in the quality and safety of patient care. Over a five year period, each physician in France is required to complete a PPE according to guidelines validated by the Haute Autorité de Santé. This PPE will be overseen by a Committee of the Conseil Régional de l'Ordre des Médecins. The PPE guidelines are suggestions developed to assist healthcare professionals to provide and patients to seek the most appropriate care. Clinical audit is a self-assessment method which allows the practitioner to compare his own health care practices with accepted norms and to improve them.