Incidence, timing, predictors, and impact of sustained ventricular arrhythmia complicating st-segment elevation myocardial infarction

Aims

To describe the incidence, predictors, and in-hospital impact of early SVA (eSVA, occurring < day 2 post-STEMI) and late SVA (lSVA, occurring ≥ day 2 post-STEMI) in STEMI patients. To derive and internally validate a risk score to identify patients at high-risk of lSVA.

Methods

Data of 13523 patients enrolled in the ORBI registry were analysed. Logistic regression was performed to identify predictors of eSVA, lSVA, and in-hospital all-cause mortality. Predictors of lSVA were used to build a risk score.

Results

eSVA occurred in 678 patients (5%) whereas 120 patients (0.9%) experienced lSVA at a median timing of 3 days post-STEMI. eSVA associated with a significantly higher risk of all-cause mortality (adjusted OR:1.90, 95% CI: 1.39–2.61, p<0.001) whereas only a trend was observed with lSVA (adjusted OR: 1.69, 95% CI:0.91–3.13, p=0.09). Multivariable predictors of eSVA are listed in Table 1. Multivariable predictors of lSVA are listed in the Figure. The score derived from these variables allowed the classification of patients into four risk categories: low (0–21), low-to- intermediate (22–34), intermediate-to-high (35–44), and high (≥45). Observed lSVA rates were 0.2%, 0.4%, 0.8%, and 2.5%, across the four risk categories, respectively. The model demonstrated good discrimination (20-fold cross-validated c-statistic of 0.76) and adequate calibration (Hosmer-Lemeshow p=0.40).

Conclusion

eSVA are 5-fold more common than lSVA in the setting of STEMI, mainly associate with other early complications, and portends a 2-fold higher risk of in-hospital mortality. Moreover, we developed a risk score identifying patients at high risk of lSVA for whom early ICU discharge may not be suitable.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding source: None

Conjunctival lymphangiectasia as a biomarker of severe systemic disease in Ser77Tyr hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis

AIMS

To investigate the relationship between the ophthalmic and systemic phenotypes in patients with hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis with the S77Y mutation (ATTRS77Y).

METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, patients with genetically confirmed ATTRS77Y amyloidosis were enrolled. All patients underwent complete neurological examination, including staging with the Neuropathy Impairment Score (NIS), Polyneuropathy Disability (PND) score; complete cardiological evaluation, including echocardiography, cardiac MRI and/or cardiac scintigraphy and complete ophthalmic evaluation, including slit lamp examination and fundus examination. Ocular ancillary tests (fluorescein and indocyanine green angiography, and anterior segment optical coherence tomography) were performed in cases with abnormal findings. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used for quantitative outcomes and Fisher's exact test for qualitative outcomes. Statistical significance was indicated by p<0.05 (two tailed).

RESULTS

The study sample was composed of 24 ATTRS77Y patients. The mean patient age was 58.4±12.4 years. None of the patients presented with amyloid deposits in the anterior chamber, secondary glaucoma or vitreous amyloidosis. Retinal angiopathy was observed in four patients, complicated with retinal ischaemia in one patient. Conjunctival lymphangiectasia (CL) was detected in 13 patients (54%), associated with perilymphatic amyloid deposits. The presence of CL was statistically associated with more severe neurological disease (NIS=43.3±31.9 vs 18.9±20.4; PND=2.6±1.0 vs 1.4±0.7 in patients with and without CL, respectively; both p<0.05) and amyloid cardiomyopathy (p=0.002).

CONCLUSION

In ATTRS77Y patients, CL is common and could serve as a potential biomarker for severe systemic disease. There were neither anterior chamber deposits, secondary glaucoma nor vitreous deposits in ATTRS77Y patients.