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Under the revised UNOS heart allocation system, waitlist and post-transplant outcomes among patients bridged to transplant with VA-ECMO (BTT-ECMO) have improved. However, it remains largely unknown if these early trends have persisted over time. We queried the UNOS database for all adult heart-only BTT-ECMO recipients between January 2019 and December 2022. Our analysis shows that under the revised system, waitlist mortality and 1-year post-transplant outcomes have remained favorable, despite increased utilization of BTT-ECMO. This finding supports the original intent of the revised allocation system in ensuring more rapid transplantation of the sickest patients while avoiding a higher post-HT mortality.

Abstract Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary disease (CTEPD) is characterized by unresolved clot burden in large pulmonary arteries, obstructive disease in smaller arteries, and increased downstream clot burden. This occurs in the setting of abnormal fibrinolysis or hematological disorders. Up to 50% of patients in some studies are unaware of a self-history of a deep venous thrombosis or pulmonary embolism. Ultimately, they present with symptoms of pulmonary hypertension (PH), which can result in right heart failure (RHF). Pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA) is curative, though many patients have prohibitive surgical risk or surgically inaccessible disease, warranting other interventions such as balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA) and medical therapy. Rarely, other treatment options may be implemented. We focus this review on PEA and BPA, with an overview of the history of CTEPD and the evolution of these procedures. We will briefly discuss other treatment modalities.

Background: Advanced age is associated with poor outcomes in cardiovascular emergencies. We sought to determine the association of age, use of support devices and shock severity on mortality in cardiogenic shock (CS).Methods: Characteristics and outcomes in CS patients included in the Cardiogenic Shock Work Group (CSWG) registry from 8 US sites between 2016 and 2019 were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were subdivided by age into quintiles and Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions (SCAI) shock severity.Results: We reviewed 1,412 CS patients with a mean age of 59.9 ± 14.8 years, including 273 patients > 73 years of age. Older patients had significantly higher comorbidity burden including diabetes, hypertension and coronary artery disease. Veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation was used in 332 (23%) patients, Impella in 410 (29%) and intra-aortic balloon pump in 770 (54%) patients. Overall in-hospital survival was 69%, which incrementally decreased with advancing age (p < 0.001). Higher age was associated with higher mortality across all SCAI stages (p = 0.003 for SCAI stage C; p < 0.001 for SCAI stage D; p = 0.005 for SCAI stage E), regardless of etiology (p < 0.001).Conclusion: Increasing age is associated with higher in-hospital mortality in CS across all stages of shock severity. Hence, in addition to other comorbidities, increasing age should be prioritized during patient selection for device support in CS.

Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a major cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is increasingly recognized in the aging population, especially with the rising obesity epidemic. The impact of OSA on inpatient mortality in PE is not well understood. We used the Nationwide Inpatient Sample databases from 2005 to 2016 to identify 755,532 acute PE patients (age≥18 years). Among these, 61,050 (8.1%) were OSA+. Temporal trends in length of stay, inpatient mortality, and its association with OSA in PE patients were analyzed. The proportion of PE patients who were OSA+ increased from 2005 to 2016. OSA+ PE patients were younger and predominantly men. Despite a higher prevalence of traditional risk factors for inpatient mortality in OSA+ patients, OSA was associated with a lower risk of mortality in PE patients (odds ratio, 95% confidence interval; p : unadjusted 0.56, 0.53–0.58; p

A comprehensive description of the contemporary trends in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) related hospitalizations, associated inpatient outcomes and predictors of worse outcomes were reported in our paper recently published in the International Journal of Cardiology [1]. Our observational analysis utilized ten year of national inpatient sample from January 1st 2007 through December 31st 2016. This Data in Brief companion paper aims to report the specific statistical highlights of the entire ten-year PAH cohort including demographics, hospital characteristics, regional variation, prevalence of comorbidities, and multivariable regression analysis used to examine the factors associated with increased inpatient mortality and prolonged length of stay. Additionally, we report trends in the cost (the actual amount of money reimbursed to the hospitals) of PAH related hospitalizations over the past ten years.

Currently, five classes of drug are approved for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH): phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitors (PDE5i); endothelin receptor antagonists; prostacyclin analogs; the IP receptor agonist selexipag; and the soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) stimulator riociguat. For patients with inoperable or persistent/recurrent chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH), riociguat is currently the only approved pharmacotherapy. Despite the development of evidence-based guidelines on appropriate use of specific drugs, in clinical practice patients are often prescribed PAH-targeted therapies off label or at inadequate doses. PDE5i are the most often prescribed class of drugs as initial therapy, either alone or in combination with other drug classes. However, a proportion of patients receiving PAH therapies do not reach or maintain treatment goals. As PDE5i and riociguat target different molecules in the nitric oxide-sGC-cyclic guanosine monophosphate (NO-sGC-cGMP) signaling pathway, for patients with PAH without an initial or sustained response to PDE5i, there is a biological rationale for switching to riociguat. However, robust data from randomized controlled trials on the safety and efficacy of switching are lacking, as is formal guidance for clinicians. Here we review studies of sequential combination therapy, and trial data and case studies that have investigated switching between PAH-approved therapies, particularly from PDE5i to riociguat in patients with PAH with an insufficient response to PDE5i, and in patients with CTEPH who were receiving off-label treatment. These studies summarize the current evidence and practical real-life experience on the concept of switching treatments.

Background. The decision to receive a permanent left ventricular assist device (LVAD) to treat end-stage heart failure (HF) involves understanding and weighing the risks and benefits of a highly invasive treatment. The goal of this study was to characterize end-stage HF patients across parameters that may affect their decision making and to inform the development of an LVAD decision support tool. Methods. A survey of 35 end-stage HF patients at an LVAD implant hospital was performed to characterize their information-seeking habits, interaction with physicians, technology use, numeracy, and concerns about their health. Survey responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics, grounded theory method, and Bayesian network learning. Results. Most patients indicated an interest in using some type of decision support tool (roadmap of health progression: 46%, n = 16; personal prognosis: 51%, n = 18; short videos of patients telling stories of their experiences with an LVAD: 57%, n = 20). Information patients desired in a hypothetical decision support tool fell into the following topics: prognoses for health outcomes, technical information seeking, expressing emotions, and treatment decisions. Desire for understanding their condition was closely related to whether they had difficult interpreting their electronic medical record in the past. Conclusions. Most patients reported interest in engaging in their health care decision making and seeing their prognosis and electronic health record information. Patients who were less interested in their own treatment decisions were characterized by having less success understanding their health information. Design of a decision support tool for potential LVAD patients should consider a spectrum of health literacy and include information beyond the technical specifications of LVAD support.

Malignant thymoma is rarely associated with giant cell myocarditis. We present a case study that illustrates this association and cardiogenic shock with underlying tamponade. The dramatic presentation of this scenario has not been previously described.

Incidence of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) remains high. Limited data is available about whether implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) can prevent arrhythmic death in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The purpose of this retrospective study was to determine the impact of CKD on all-cause and sudden cardiac death in ICD recipients. We evaluated 441 consecutive patients who underwent ICD implantation at our center between 1994 and 2002. We found that mortality rate was higher in patients with eGFR