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The global health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has evolved rapidly to overburden health care organizations around the world and has resulted in significant morbidity and mortality. Many countries have reported a substantial and rapid reduction in hospital admissions for acute coronary syndromes and percutaneous coronary intervention. The reasons for such abrupt changes in health care delivery are multifactorial and include lockdowns, reduction in outpatient services, reluctance to seek medical attention for fear of contracting the virus, and restrictive visitation policies adopted during the pandemic. This review discusses the impact of COVID-19 on important aspects of acute MI care.

ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) complicating COVID-19 is associated with an increased risk of cardiogenic shock and mortality. However, little is known about the frequency of use and clinical impact of mechanical circulatory support (MCS) in these patients. We sought to define patterns of MCS utilization, patient characteristics, and outcomes in patients with COVID-19 with STEMI. The NACMI (North American COVID-19 Myocardial Infarction) is an ongoing prospective, observational registry of patients with COVID-19 positive (COVID-19+) with STEMI with a contemporary control group of persons under investigation who subsequently tested negative for COVID-19 (COVID-19-). We compared the baseline characteristics and in-hospital outcomes of COVID-19+ and patients with COVID-19- according to the use of MCS. The primary outcome was a composite of in-hospital mortality, stroke, recurrent MI, and repeat unplanned revascularization. A total of 1,379 patients (586 COVID-19+ and 793 COVID-19-) enrolled in the NACMI registry between January 2020 and November 2021 were included in this analysis; overall, MCS use was 12.3% (12.1% [n = 71] COVID-19+/MCS positive [MCS+] vs 12.4% [n = 98] COVID-19-/MCS+). Baseline characteristics were similar between the 2 groups. The use of percutaneous coronary intervention was similar between the groups (84% vs 78%; p = 0.404). Intra-aortic balloon pump was the most frequently used MCS device in both groups (53% in COVID-19+/MCS+ and 75% in COVID-19-/MCS+). The primary outcome was significantly higher in COVID-19+/MCS+ patients (60% vs 30%; p = 0.001) because of very high in-hospital mortality (59% vs 28%; p = 0.001). In conclusion, patients with COVID-19+ with STEMI requiring MCS have very high in-hospital mortality, likely related to the significantly higher pulmonary involvement compared with patients with COVID-19- with STEMI requiring MCS.

Recent evidence suggest that extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) may improve survival rates for nontraumatic out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Eligibility criteria for ECPR are often based on patient age, clinical variables, and facility capabilities. Expanding access to ECPR across the U.S. requires a better understanding of how these factors interact with transport time to ECPR centers.We constructed a Geographic Information System (GIS) model to estimate the number of ECPR candidates in the U.S. We utilized a Resuscitation Outcome Consortium (ROC) database to model time-dependent rates of ECPR eligibility and the Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival (CARES) registry to determine the total number of OHCA patients who meet pre-specified ECPR criteria within designated transportation times. The combined model was used to estimate the total number of ECPR candidates.There were 588,203 OHCA patients in the CARES registry from 2013 to 2020. After applying clinical eligibility criteria, 22,104 (3.76%) OHCA patients were deemed eligible for ECPR. The rate of ROSC increased with longer resuscitation time, which resulted in fewer ECPR candidates. The proportion of OHCA patients eligible for ECPR increased with older age cutoffs. Only 1.68% (9,889/588,203) of OHCA patients in the U.S. were eligible for ECPR based on a 45-minute transportation time to an ECMO-ready center model.Less than 2% of OHCA patients are eligible for ECPR in the U.S. GIS models can identify the impact of clinical criteria, transportation time, and hospital capabilities on ECPR eligibility to inform future implementation strategies.

Refractory angina is defined as chest pain caused by coronary ischemia in patients on maximal medical therapy and not amenable to revascularization despite advanced coronary artery disease. The long term prognosis has improved with optimal medical therapy including risk factor modification. Still, patients are left with major impairment in quality of life and have high resource utilization with limited treatment options. We review the novel invasive and non-invasive therapies under investigation for refractory angina.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a highly contagious pathogen resulting in the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic with direct impact on cardiac catheterization laboratory (CCL) operations. Initially, major challenges in limiting the spread of aerosolized pathogens existed until protocols were implemented to limit infectivity to staff and patients. COVID-19 increases the risk of myocardial infarctions and cardiogenic shock requiring acute management in the CCL. In this review, we specify best practices in the CCL for the management of infected patients in the preprocedure, intraprocedure, and postprocedure environments harmonizing available evidence, recommendations from international heart associations, and consensus opinion.

Heterogeneity in diagnostic criteria and provocation protocols has posed challenges in understanding the safety of coronary provocation testing with intracoronary acetylcholine (ACh) for the contemporary diagnosis of epicardial and microvascular spasm.We examined the safety of testing and subgroup differences in procedural risks based on ethnicity, diagnostic criteria, and provocation protocols.PubMed and Embase were searched in November 2021 to identify original articles reporting procedural complications associated with intracoronary ACh administration. The primary outcome was the pooled estimate of the incidence of major complications including death, myocardial infarction, ventricular tachycardia/fibrillation, and shock.A total of 16 studies with 12,585 patients were included in the meta-analysis. The overall pooled estimate of the incidence of major complications was 0.5% (95% CI: 0.0%-1.3%) without any reports of death. Exploratory subgroup analyses revealed that the pooled incidence of major complications was significantly higher in the studies that followed the contemporary diagnosis criteria for epicardial spasm defined as ≥90% diameter reduction (1.0%; 95% CI: 0.3%-2.0%) but significantly lower in Western populations (0.0%; 95% CI: 0.0%-0.45%). The rate of positive epicardial spasm and the incidence of major complications were similar between provocation protocols using the maximum ACh doses of 100 μg and 200 μg.Intracoronary ACh administration for the contemporary diagnosis of epicardial and microvascular spasm is a safe procedure. Moreover, excellent safety records are observed in Western populations primarily presenting with myocardial ischemia and/or infarction with nonobstructive coronary arteries. This study will help standardize ACh testing to improve clinical diagnosis and ensure procedural safety.

We previously reported high in-hospital mortality for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients with COVID-19 treated in the early phase of the pandemic.The purpose of this study was to describe trends of COVID-19 patients with STEMI during the course of the pandemic.The NACMI (North American COVID-19 STEMI) registry is a prospective, investigator-initiated, multicenter, observational registry of hospitalized STEMI patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 infection in North America. We compared trends in clinical characteristics, management, and outcomes of patients treated in the first year of the pandemic (January 2020 to December 2020) vs those treated in the second year (January 2021 to December 2021).A total of 586 COVID-19-positive patients with STEMI were included in the present analysis; 227 treated in Y2020 and 359 treated in Y2021. Patients' characteristics changed over time. Relative to Y2020, the proportion of Caucasian patients was higher (58% vs 39%; P 0.001), patients presented more frequently with typical ischemic symptoms (59% vs 51%; P = 0.04), and patients were less likely to have shock pre-PCI (13% vs 18%; P = 0.07) or pulmonary manifestations (33% vs. 47%; P = 0.001) in Y2021. In-hospital mortality decreased from 33% (Y2020) to 23% (Y2021) (P = 0.008). In Y2021, none of the 22 vaccinated patients expired in hospital, whereas in-hospital death was recorded in 37 (22%) unvaccinated patients (P = 0.009).Significant changes have occurred in the clinical characteristics and outcomes of STEMI patients with COVID-19 infection during the course of the pandemic.

Background Patients with refractory angina (RA) have poor quality of life and new therapies are needed. XC001 is a novel adenoviral vector expressing multiple isoforms of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) promoting an enhanced local angiogenic effect. Methods The E picardial Delivery of X C001 Gene Therapy for Refractory A ngina C oronary T reatment (EXACT) trial is a 6-month (with 6-month extension) phase 1/2, first-in-human, multicenter, open-label, single-arm, dose-escalation study to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and preliminary efficacy of XC001 in patients with RA. The trial will enroll 33 patients in an initial (n = 12) ascending dose-escalation phase (1 × 109, 1 × 1010, 4 × 1010, and 1 × 1011 viral particles), followed by phase 2 (n = 21) assessing the highest tolerated dose. Patients must have stable Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS) class II–IV angina on maximally tolerated medical therapy without options for conventional revascularization, demonstrable ischemia on stress testing, and angina limiting exercise tolerance. XC001 will be delivered directly to ischemic myocardium via surgical transthoracic epi c ardial access. The primary outcome is safety via adverse event monitoring through 6 months. Efficacy assessments include difference from baseline to month 6 in time to 1 mm of ST segment depression, time to angina, and total exercise duration; myocardial blood flow at rest, and stress and coronary flow reserve by positron emission tomography; quality of life; CCS functional class; and angina frequency. Conclusions The EXACT trial will determine whether direct intramyocardial administration of XC001 in patients with RA is safe and evaluate its effect on exercise tolerance, myocardial perfusion, angina and physical activity, informing future clinical investigation. Clinical trial registration NCT04125732

The outcomes of patients with previous coronary bypass graft surgery (CABG) presenting with ST-segment elevation acute myocardial infarction (STEMI) have received limited study. We compared the clinical and procedural characteristics and outcomes of STEMI patients with and without previous CABG in a contemporary multicenter STEMI registry between 2003 and 2020. The primary outcomes of the study were mortality and major cardiac adverse events (MACE: death, MI or stroke). Survival curves were derived using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared with the log-rank test. Of the 13,893 patients included in the analyses, 7.2% had previous CABG. Mean age was 62.4 ± 13.6 years, most patients (71%) were men and 22% had diabetes. Previous CABG patients were older (69.0 ± 11.7 vs 61.9 ± 13.6 years, p0.001) and more likely to have diabetes (40% vs 21%, p0.001) compared with patients without previous CABG. Previous CABG patients had higher mortality and MACE at 5 years (p0.001). Outcomes were similar with saphenous vein graft vs native coronary culprits. Previous CABG remained associated with mortality from discharge to 18 months (p = 0.044) and from 18 months to 5 years (p0.001) after adjusting for baseline characteristics. Long term outcomes after STEMI were worse among patients with previous CABG compared with patients without previous CABG, even after adjustment for baseline characteristics.

Objectives The aim of this study was to compare ticagrelor monotherapy with dual-antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with drug-eluting stents. Background The role of abbreviated DAPT followed by an oral P2Y12 inhibitor after PCI remains uncertain. Methods Two randomized trials, including 14,628 patients undergoing PCI, comparing ticagrelor monotherapy with standard DAPT on centrally adjudicated endpoints were identified, and individual patient data were analyzed using 1-step fixed-effect models. The protocol was registered in PROSPERO ( CRD42019143120 ). The primary outcomes were the composite of Bleeding Academic Research Consortium type 3 or 5 bleeding tested for superiority and, if met, the composite of all-cause death, myocardial infarction, or stroke at 1 year, tested for noninferiority against a margin of 1.25 on a hazard ratio (HR) scale. Results Bleeding Academic Research Consortium type 3 or 5 bleeding occurred in fewer patients with ticagrelor than DAPT (0.9% vs. 1.7%, respectively; HR: 0.56; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.41 to 0.75; p Conclusions Ticagrelor monotherapy was associated with a lower risk for major bleeding compared with standard DAPT, without a concomitant increase in ischemic events.

Background Anthracycline-induced cardiomyopathy (AIC) may be irreversible with a poor prognosis, disproportionately affecting women and young adults. Administration of allogeneic bone marr...

The worldwide pandemic caused by the novel acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 has resulted in a new and lethal disease termed coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). Although there is an association between cardiovascular disease and COVID-19, the majority of patients who need cardiovascular care for the management of ischemic heart disease may not be infected with this novel coronavirus. The objective of this document is to provide recommendations for a systematic approach for the care of patients with an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) during the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a recognition of two major challenges in providing recommendations for AMI care in the COVID-19 era. Cardiovascular manifestations of COVID-19 are complex with patients presenting with AMI, myocarditis simulating an ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) presentation, stress cardiomyopathy, non-ischemic cardiomyopathy, coronary spasm, or nonspecific myocardial injury, and the prevalence of COVID-19 disease in the U.S. population remains unknown with risk of asymptomatic spread. This document addresses the care of these patients focusing on 1) the varied clinical presentations; 2) appropriate personal protection equipment (PPE) for health care workers; 3) role of the Emergency Department, Emergency Medical System and the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory; and 4) Regional STEMI systems of care. During the COVID-19 pandemic, primary PCI remains the standard of care for STEMI patients at PCI capable hospitals when it can be provided in a timely fashion, with an expert team outfitted with PPE in a dedicated CCL room. A fibrinolysis-based strategy may be entertained at non-PCI capable referral hospitals or in specific situations where primary PCI cannot be executed or is not deemed the best option.

Ranolazine is approved for patients with chronic stable angina but has not been formally studied in patients with refractory angina pectoris (RAP). Patients with RAP have limited therapeutic options and significant limitations in their quality of life. The Ranolazine Refractory Angina Registry was designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and effectiveness of ranolazine in RAP patients in order to expand treatment options for this challenging patient population. Using an extensive prospective database, we enrolled 158 consecutive patients evaluated in a dedicated RAP clinic. Angina class, medications, major adverse cardiac events including death, myocardial infarction, and revascularization were obtained at 12, 24, and 36 months. At 3 years, 95 (60%) patients remained on ranolazine. A ≥2 class improvement in angina was seen in 48% (38 of 80 patients with known Canadian Cardiovascular Society class) of those who remained on ranolazine. Discontinuation due to side effects, ineffectiveness, cost, and progression of disease were the principle reasons for discontinuation, but primarily occurred within the first year. In conclusion, ranolazine is an effective antianginal therapy at 3-year follow-up in patients with RAP and may reduce cardiac readmission.

The highly anticipated ISCHEMIA (International Study of Comparative Health Effectiveness with Medical and Invasive Approaches) trial, the largest study to-date conducted to assess for the incremental clinical benefits of an initial invasive management strategy over an initial medical therapy

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has placed an enormous strain on the health care systems of the nations where it has spread widely, with specific implications of the disease on practice in the catheterization laboratory. These implications include how we might modify practice for standard

This study sought to compare the clinical characteristics and long-term outcomes of patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) with and without cardiogenic shock (CS) or cardiac arrest (CA) before percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).Patients with STEMI complicated by CS or CA are underrepresented in STEMI registries.Consecutive patients with STEMI or new left bundle branch block within 24 h of symptom onset were included in a regional STEMI program comprising a PCI center (Minneapolis Heart Institute at Abbott Northwestern Hospital), 11 hospitals 60 miles from PCI center (zone 1), and 19 hospitals 60 to 210 miles from PCI center (zone 2). No patients were excluded. Patients were stratified based on the presence (+) or absence (-) of CS or CA before PCI. Patients with CA were further classified based on initial rhythm. Primary outcomes were in-hospital and 5-year mortality.Between March 2003 and December 2014, 4,511 STEMI patients were included in the regional program, including 398 (9%) with CS and 499 (11%) with CA. Hospital mortality was: CS+ and CA+, 44%; CS+ and CA-, 23%; CS- and CA+, 19%; and CS- and CA-, 2% (p 0.001). The 5-year survival probability for CS+ and CA+ patients was 0.69 (95% confidence interval: 0.61 to 0.76) and 0.89 (95% confidence interval: 0.84 to 0.93), respectively (p 0.01). Compared with patients with shockable rhythms, CA patients with nonshockable rhythms had significantly lower odds of survival at hospital discharge and at 5 years (both p 0.001).The combination of CS and CA significantly increases short-term mortality in patients with STEMI. After 5 years of follow-up, CS patients remained at high risk of fatal events, whereas the prognosis of CA patients was determined by initial rhythm at presentation.

The five-stage Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Intervention (SCAI) cardiogenic shock classification scheme can stratify hospital mortality risk in patients admitted to the cardiac intensive care unit (CICU). We sought to evaluate the SCAI shock classification for prediction of post-discharge mortality in CICU survivors.We retrospectively analyzed hospital survivors admitted to a single CICU between 2007 and 2015. SCAI CS stages A through E were classified using CICU admission data using a previously published algorithm. All-cause post-discharge mortality was compared across SCAI stages using Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazards models.Among 9096 unique hospital survivors, 43.2% had acute coronary syndrome (ACS), 44.6% had heart failure (HF), and 8.7% had cardiac arrest (CA) on admission. The proportion of patients in each SCAI shock stage was: A, 49.1%; B, 30.6%; C, 15.2; D/E 5.2%. Kaplan-Meier survival at 5 years in each SCAI shock stage was: A, 88.2%; B, 81.6%; C, 76.7%; D/E, 71.7% (P .001 by log-rank). Each higher SCAI shock stage was associated with increased adjusted post-discharge mortality compared to SCAI shock stage A (all P .001); results were consistent among patients with ACS or HF. Late hemodynamic deterioration after 24 hours, but not an admission diagnosis of CA, was associated with higher post-discharge mortality.The SCAI shock classification assessed at the time of CICU admission was predictive of post-discharge mortality risk among hospital survivors, although an admission diagnosis of CA was not. The SCAI shock classification can be used for post-discharge mortality risk stratification.

Highlights •Refractory angina may be prevalent in 5% to 10% of stable coronary artery disease patients. •Many emerging therapeutics may be suitable and efficacious to improve quality of life in refractory angina. •Standardized sham-controlled trials’ design will be key to these treatments’ wide implementation.

A new 5-stage cardiogenic shock (CS) classification scheme was recently proposed by the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Intervention (SCAI) for the purpose of risk stratification.This study sought to apply the SCAI shock classification in a cardiac intensive care unit (CICU) population.The study retrospectively analyzed Mayo Clinic CICU patients admitted between 2007 and 2015. SCAI CS stages A through E were classified retrospectively using CICU admission data based on the presence of hypotension or tachycardia, hypoperfusion, deterioration, and refractory shock. Hospital mortality in each SCAI shock stage was stratified by cardiac arrest (CA).Among the 10,004 unique patients, 43.1% had acute coronary syndrome, 46.1% had heart failure, and 12.1% had CA. The proportion of patients in SCAI CS stages A through E was 46.0%, 30.0%, 15.7%, 7.3%, and 1.0% and unadjusted hospital mortality in these stages was 3.0%, 7.1%, 12.4%, 40.4%, and 67.0% (p 0.001), respectively. After multivariable adjustment, each higher SCAI shock stage was associated with increased hospital mortality (adjusted odds ratio: 1.53 to 6.80; all p 0.001) compared with SCAI shock stage A, as was CA (adjusted odds ratio: 3.99; 95% confidence interval: 3.27 to 4.86; p 0.001). Results were consistent in the subset of patients with acute coronary syndrome or heart failure.When assessed at the time of CICU admission, the SCAI CS classification, including presence or absence of CA, provided robust hospital mortality risk stratification. This classification system could be implemented as a clinical and research tool to identify, communicate, and predict the risk of death in patients with, and at risk for, CS.

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is an increasingly recognized cause of myocardial infarction (MI) in younger women, often treated conservatively due to revascularization risks. Revascularization outcomes are largely unknown in SCAD presenting with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).The purpose of this study was to compare revascularization strategies and outcomes of STEMI-SCAD with STEMI atherosclerosis (STEMI-ATH).Consecutive STEMI patients were retrospectively analyzed (2003 to 2017) at 2 regional STEMI programs (Minneapolis Heart Institute and Cedars-Sinai Smidt Heart Institute) with 3-year outcomes.Among 5,208 STEMI patients, SCAD was present in 53 (1%; 93% female). SCAD prevalence was 19% in female STEMI patients age ≤50 years. Compared with STEMI-ATH, STEMI-SCAD patients were younger (age 49 ± 10 years vs. 63 ± 13 years), were more often female (93% vs. 27%), and had more frequent cardiogenic shock (19% vs. 9%); all p ≤ 0.03. In STEMI-SCAD, the culprit artery was more commonly left main (13% vs. 1%) or left anterior descending (47% vs. 38%); both p = 0.003. Acute revascularization was lower in STEMI-SCAD (70% vs. 97%); p 0.001. In STEMI-SCAD, acute revascularization included percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), n = 33 (62%), or bypass grafting, n = 4 (8%); PCI success was 91%. Those with revascularization were more likely to have shock, left main culprit, proximal dissection, and initial TIMI (Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction) flow grade 0 to 1. The 3-year survival was 98% for STEMI-SCAD versus 84% for STEMI-ATH; p 0.001.STEMI-SCAD represents an important STEMI subset, particularly among younger women, characterized by significantly greater frequency of left main or left anterior descending culprit and cardiogenic shock than STEMI-ATH. Primary PCI is successful in most STEMI-SCAD patients, with low 3-year mortality.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the association between dual-antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) cessation and cardiovascular risk after percutaneous coronary intervention in relat...

BACKGROUND: Clinical trial data studies suggest superiority of prasugrel over clopidogrel in patients with diabetes. However, the use, safety and efficacy profile of prasugrel in unselected diabetic patients presenting with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) remain unclear. METHODS: PROMETHEUS was a prospective multicenter observational study of 19,919 ACS PCI patients enrolled between 2010 and 2013. The primary endpoint was 90-day major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), comprising all-cause death, myocardial infarction, stroke or unplanned revascularization. The safety endpoint was bleeding requiring hospitalization. RESULTS: We identified 7580 (38%) subjects with and 12,329 (62%) without diabetes. Diabetic patients were older and had significantly higher rates of cardiovascular risk factors. However, they were less likely to receive prasugrel (18.2% vs. 21.7%). Use of prasugrel did not increase with the severity of clinical presentation in diabetics, whereas, among non-diabetics, prescription of prasugrel was higher in NSTEMI and STEMI compared to unstable angina. The 90-day and 1-year adjusted risk of MACE was greater in diabetics (at 1 year: 22.7% vs. 16.5%; HR 1.22 [1.14-1.33], p