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Aims: The aim of this study was to report the prevalence, clinical features and outcomes of patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) hospitalized during the Corona-Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak compared with those admitted in a previous equivalent period., Methods and Results: Eighty-five patients admitted for STEMI at a high-volume Italian centre were included. Patients hospitalized during the COVID-19 outbreak (21 February-10 April 2020) (40%) were compared with those admitted in pre-COVID-19 period (3 January-20 February 2020) (60%). A 43% reduction in STEMI admissions was observed during the COVID-19 outbreak compared with the previous period. Time from symptom onset to first medical contact (FMC) and time from FMC to primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) were longer in patients admitted during the COVID-19 period compared with before [148 (79-781) versus 130 (30-185) min; P = 0.018, and 75 (59-148)] versus 45 (30-70) min; P < 0.001]. High-sensitive troponin T levels on admission were also higher. In-hospital mortality was 12% in the COVID-19 phase versus 6% in the pre-COVID-19 period. Incidence of the composite end-point, including free-wall rupture, severe left ventricular dysfunction, left ventricular aneurysm, severe mitral regurgitation and pericardial effusion, was higher during the COVID-19 than the pre-COVID-19 period (19.6 versus 41.2%; P = 0.030; odds ratio = 2.87; 95% confidence interval 1.09-7.58)., Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the STEMI care system reducing hospital admissions and prolonging revascularization time. This translated into a worse patient prognosis due to more STEMI complications.

Background: Cardiac rupture is a disastrous but uncommon complication of acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). The incidence, risk factors and in-hospital outcomes related to cardiac rupture in the current era are unknown., Methods: This study consecutively collected all acute STEMI patients admitted to a single tertiary center in China from January 2004 to December 2015. Characteristics of each cardiac rupture were collected and analyzed., Results: Among 4190 patients, 75 (1.8%) patients had cardiac rupture, including 33 at the ventricular septum and 42 at the left ventricle free wall (LVFW). Patients with cardiac rupture were more likely to be female, with more advanced age, lower rate of primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI), and higher in-hospital mortality. Compared with survivors, the death cases were older, had a higher white blood cell count, higher rate of delayed admission (>12 h from symptom onset to door), earlier occurrence of cardiac rupture, higher percentage of LVFW rupture and lower rate of surgical repair. Logistic regression analysis showed that surgical repair served as the most valuable factor affecting survival. Moreover, elevated white blood cell count and advanced age might be related to an increased in-hospital death due to cardiac rupture., Conclusions: In this contemporary cohort, female sex, advanced age and low rate of PPCI post-STEMI are associated with an increased risk of cardiac rupture. Advanced age and elevated white blood cell count might be related to an increased in-hospital mortality after cardiac rupture, whereas surgical repair served as the most valuable factor affecting survival.

Background: Hospital prognosis of moderate to severe pericardial effusion (MPE; ≥10 mm) in ST-elevation myocardial infarction is largely unknown., Methods and Results: Data from 446 ST-elevation myocardial infarction patients, 228 with MPE-88 with cardiac tamponade (CT) and electromechanical dissociation (EMD), 44 with CT without EMD (w/oEMD), and 96 without initial CT-and 218 with small PE (5 to 9 mm), were compared. Patients with MPE without initial CT were also compared with 96 patients without PE. CT patients showed larger PE (P<0.001) than those without initial CT; 85% of those with CT+EMD and 86% with CTw/oEMD were treated with pericardiocentesis and 10% and 21% were treated with a surgical repair, respectively. Among MPE patients, 30-day mortality was 43% and was higher in those with CT+EMD (operated, 89%; and nonoperated, 85%) than in those with CTw/oEMD (22% and 11%, respectively; P<0.001) and those without initial CT (17%; P<0.001). It was also higher than in patients with small PE (10%; P<0.001) or those without PE (6%; P=0.001). Death was attributable to cardiac rupture in 83% of patients with CT+EMD, 7% with CTw/oEMD, and 8% with MPE without initial CT and occurred late (≥7 days) in 14%, 67%, and 100%, respectively., Conclusions: MPE carries an increased mortality that is highest in patients with CT+EMD. In those with CTw/oEMD, however, mortality is considerably low after pericardiocentesis, and subsequent management may be individualized because a conservative approach is often successful. Importantly, MPE patients without initial CT are not free from late rupture and deserve further investigation.

Background: There exist few studies that characterize contemporary clinical features and outcomes or risk factors for operative mortality in cardiogenic shock (CS) patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG)., Methods and Results: We evaluated data of 708,593 patients with and without CS undergoing CABG enrolled in the Society of Thoracic Surgeons National Cardiac Database (2002-2005). Clinical, angiographic, and operative features and in-hospital outcomes were evaluated in patients with and without CS. Logistic regression was used to identify predictors of operative mortality and to estimate weights for an additive risk score. Patients with preoperative CS constituted 14,956 (2.1%) of patients undergoing CABG yet accounted for 14% of all CABG deaths. Operative mortality in CS patients was high and surgery specific, rising from 20% for isolated CABG to 33% for CABG plus valve surgery and 58% for CABG plus ventricular septal repair. Although mortality for CABG surgery overall declined significantly over time (P for trend <0.0001), mortality for CS patients undergoing CABG did not change significantly during the 4-year study period (P=0.07). Factors associated with higher death risk for CS patients undergoing CABG were identified by multivariable analysis and summarized into a simple bedside risk score (c statistic=0.74) that accurately stratified those with low (<10%) to very high (>60%) mortality risk., Conclusions: Patients with CS represent a minority of those undergoing CABG yet have persistently high operative risks, accounting for 14% of deaths in CABG patients. Estimation of patient-specific risk of mortality is feasible with the simplified additive risk tool developed in our study with the use of routinely available preprocedural data.

Background: Analysis of coronary flow velocity (CFV) in the recanalized infarct-related coronary artery (IRA) with a Doppler guidewire is useful for predicting recovery of regional left ventricular function, in-hospital complications, and survival. We postulated that the CFV pattern after IRA reperfusion for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) would predict long-term adverse cardiac events., Methods and Results: Sixty-eight consecutive patients with a first AMI underwent CFV measurement with a Doppler guidewire after successful reopening of the IRA by coronary angioplasty. At the end of follow-up, 3.8+/-1.7 years after AMI, 44 of the 65 surviving patients (67.7%) were free of long-term cardiac events. Univariate analysis showed that the following factors were predictive of an end point combining cardiac death, recurrent MI, and congestive heart failure: hypertension, age > or =65 years, time from onset of chest pain to PTCA > or =6 hours, peak creatine kinase >4000 IU/L, ejection fraction < or =50%, proximal left anterior descending artery occlusion, resting average peak velocity < or =10 cm/s, average systolic peak velocity < or =5 cm/s, a rapid diastolic deceleration time (< or =600 ms), and early retrograde systolic flow. In the final multivariate model, only age > or =65 years (OR, 3.6; 95% CI, 1.1 to 11.8; P=0.03), time to PTCA > or =6 hours (OR, 2.9; 95% CI, 1.0 to 8.3; P=0.04), and a rapid diastolic deceleration time (OR, 5.4; 95% CI, 1.5 to 19.3; P=0.01) were independent predictors., Conclusions: The CFV pattern appears to be an accurate predictor of long-term cardiac events in patients having undergone successful reopening of the IRA after AMI, identifying a subset of at-risk patients.