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Abstract Background Left ventricular dysfunction is common after coronary artery bypass graft and valve replacement surgeries and is often treated with inotropic drugs to maintain adequate hemodynamic status. In this study, we aimed to identify the demographic, clinical, laboratory, echocardiographic and hemodynamic factors that are associated with use of inotropic drugs in patients undergoing concomitant coronary artery bypass graft and aortic valve replacement surgery. Methods The study included 97 patients who had undergone concomitant coronary artery bypass graft and aortic valve replacement at Regions Hospital, University of Minnesota Medical School from January 2006 to December 2008. All data were collected retrospectively after reviewing electronic medical records. Inotropic support was defined as the use of dopamine [greater than or equal to] 5 ug/kg/min; any dose of epinephrine, norepinephrine, dobutamine, and milrinone at the separation from cardiopulmonary bypass. Results Inotropic support was used in a total of 50 patients (52%) at the separation from cardiopulmonary bypass. Average age of the patients requiring inotropic support was 72.2 +/- 8.8 years. The study identified four significant, independent predictors of inotrope use: (1) Cardiac index [less than or equal to]2.5 L/min/m2, (2) LVEDP [greater than or equal to] 20 mm Hg, (3) LVEF [less than or equal to]40%, and (4) CKD stage 3 to 5. Conclusion We identified four independent risk factors for postoperative use of inotropic support in patients undergoing concomitant coronary artery bypass graft and arotic valve replacement surgery at the separation from cardiopulmonary bypass. The study results will be helpful to prospectively identify patients who will likely to require inotropic support at the separation from cardiopulmonary bypass.

Purpose: Cardiac rehabilitation is associated with improved clinical outcomes, but the impact of individual cardiac rehabilitation sessions on readmission rates is less studied. Methods: A retrospective evaluation of the relationship between the number of cardiac rehabilitation sessions completed and all-cause and cardiac readmission rates at 1 year was conducted. The 1-year cardiac readmission counts were modeled via Poisson regression. Results: Of the 347 patients included in the primary analysis, 227 (65%) completed all assigned cardiac rehabilitation sessions. At 1 year, 135 patients (39%) had at least 1 cardiac readmission, and 155 patients (45%) had at least 1 all-cause readmission. The primary result was that every additional cardiac rehabilitation session completed was associated with a 1.75% lower incidence rate of 1-year cardiac readmission (P = .01) and a 2% lower incidence rate of all-cause hospital readmission (P = .001). Conclusion: Regardless of the number of cardiac rehabilitation sessions assigned, each additional session attended was associated with reduced cardiac readmission by 1.75% and all-cause readmission by 2%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to evaluate predictors of appropriate therapy in patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICD) for primary prevention of sudden cardiac death. A retrospective cohort of 321 patients with systolic heart failure undergoing ICD placement for primary prevention of sudden cardiac death was queried with a mean follow-up period of 2.6 years. Appropriate ICD therapy was defined as therapy delivered for termination of a ventricular tachyarrhythmia. Appropriate ICD therapy was delivered in 142 (44%) of the patients. In a multivariate model, body mass index ≥28.8 kg/m², chronic kidney disease, left ventricular ejection fraction ≥20% and metabolic syndrome were found to be independent predictors of appropriate ICD therapy. Appropriate ICD therapy was associated with higher cardiovascular mortality. These findings show the importance of identification of risk factors, especially metabolic syndrome, in patients following ICD implantation as aggressive treatment of these co-morbidities may decrease appropriate ICD therapy and cardiovascular mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present two cases of cardiac arrest, presumably attributable to apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy(HCM). The first case was a 37-year-old Asian man known to have an apical HCM and was successfully resuscitated from an "out of hospital" ventricular fibrillation arrest. He underwent an electrophysiological study that was unable to induce tachyarrhythmias, which may not be surprising. He did receive an automated internal cardioverter defibrillator (AICD) in compliance with his class I indication for an implantable defibrillator. The second patient was an 86-year-old Caucasian woman with a cardiac history significant for apical HCM, coronary artery disease, diastolic heart failure, and monomorphic ventricular tachycardia. She underwent electrophysiological testing for frequent dizziness and monomorphic ventricular tachycardia of a right ventricular origin was induced. She received an AICD for sudden cardiac death prevention. Though lethal ventricular arrhythmias have been reported in patients with apical HCM, the prevailing consensus is that the prognosis of apical HCM is benign. Whether these accounts are truly exceptional occurrences for this rare and conventionally regarded benign condition or whether they represent an under-appreciated risk for sudden cardiac arrest is an intriguing question. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The case report describes an interesting and unusual finding of acute coronary artery thrombosis in a patient presenting with septic shock without any clinical and laboratory evidence of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). The patient presented with leucocytosis and refractory hypotension requiring pressor support and found to have anterior and inferior ST-elevation in 12-lead electrocardiogram. Coronary angiogram revealed acute thrombotic occlusions in the proximal right coronary artery and the proximal left anterior descending coronary artery. There was no occlusive atherosclerotic coronary artery disease. The patient underwent mechanical thrombectomy. Haemodynamic parameters obtained from right heart catheterisation confirmed sepsis as the aetiology of hypotension. The patient was treated successfully with broad spectrum antibiotics, pressors and intravenous fluid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: In patients with a functional Sprint Fidelis lead at generator replacement, the manufacturer recommended to either continue to use the existing lead or replace it with a new lead. For those patients who continue to use a functional Fidelis lead, the risk of inappropriate shocks remains present if the lead fails in the future. We evaluated the feasibility of an alternative approach at the time of cardiac resynchronization therapy-defibrillator (CRT-D) generator replacement in patients with a functional bipolar left ventricular (LV) lead for prevention of inappropriate shocks from future Fidelis lead failure., Methods and Results: During the procedure, the pace/sense IS-1 connection pin of the functional Fidelis lead was intentionally inserted into the LV port of the new CRT-D generator, while the existing bipolar LV lead IS-1 connection pin was inserted into the right ventricular (RV) pace/sense port. After such switching, the existing bipolar LV lead was used for functional LV pacing/sensing, while the Fidelis lead was used for functional RV pacing and high voltage shock only and could no longer be used for the purpose of sensing and detecting. This approach precluded oversensing and inappropriate shocks should the functional Fidelis lead fail in the future. Six fragile patients, who were not considered suitable candidates for lead replacement, underwent the alternative approach. During a follow-up of 35 ± 23 months, the CRT-D system functioned normally in five patients. The Fidelis lead fractured in one patient 7 months after generator replacement. The malfunction was detected promptly and the defected lead was replaced. No inappropriate detections or shock was triggered., Conclusions: In CRT-D patients with a functional Fidelis lead and a bipolar LV lead, switching of the Fidelis lead pace/sense IS-1 pin with the bipolar LV lead IS-1 pin at generator replacement did not affect normal system function. This novel approach may be valuable in fragile patients with high risk of sudden death for prevention of inappropriate shocks triggered by oversensing from a malfunctioning Fidelis lead., (Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author 2016. For permissions please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background: The study aim was to determine the prevalence of normally functioning mitral prostheses with mean gradient ≥10 mmHg, and to identify the characteristics and echocardiographic variables that might be useful to distinguish normal function from dysfunction., Methods: A total of 56 consecutive patients with a prosthetic mitral valve and mean gradient ≥10 mmHg was retrospectively identified. Nineteen patients without subsequent imaging confirming normal prosthesis function or dysfunction were excluded; hence, 37 patients were classified as obstruction, insufficiency, or normal prosthesis (high-gradient; NPHG). A comparison group of 25 patients with a mean transprosthetic gradient of ≤5 mmHg (low-gradient group) was also identified., Results: Of the 37 patients, seven (19%) had obstruction, 10 (27%) had significant valvular or perivalvular insufficiency, and 20 (54%) were deemed NPHG. NPHG patients had a similar net atrioventricular compliance (Cn) to those with obstruction and insufficiency, which was significantly lower than the low-gradient group. The cardiac index (CI) was significantly higher in the NPHG group (3.4 ± 0.9 l/min/m2) compared to all other groups (p = 0.001). Receiver operator characteristic curves showed that the indexed effective orifice area (EOAi), effective orifice area (EOA) and velocity-time integral ratio distinguished NPHG from abnormal prosthesis function in patients with mean gradients ≥10 mmHg (area under curve = 0.92, 0.86, and 0.82, respectively)., Conclusions: The study data suggested that a plurality of individuals with a mean transprosthetic mitral gradient ≥10 mmHg will be found to have a normally functioning prosthesis. Most of these patients will have a small EOAi, a reduced Cn, and a relatively increased CI.

Prosthesis-patient mismatch (PPM) occurs when an implanted prosthesis is too small relative to the patient's body surface area (BSA). However, mismatch can often be prevented by indexing the expected effective orifice area (EOA) of a prosthesis to the patient's BSA and then selecting the largest implantable prosthesis to avoid mismatch. Previously, prosthesis manufacturers have attempted to simplify this process by providing charts that include the expected EOA for their prosthesis, already indexed into an array of BSA values. One caveat with these charts is that the expected EOA data must truly be reliable, or the charts will misguide the implanting surgeon. Manufacturer-provided charts could be improved by standardizing the EOA data, with one potential source being the hemodynamic data submitted to the United States Food and Drug Administration. This review discusses PPM, manufacturer-provided EOA charts, and the regulation of EOA data.

Background and Aim of the Study: Patient-prosthesis mismatch (PPM) occurs when a valvular prosthesis is too small relative to the patient's body surface area (BSA). The presence of PPM results in increased transprosthetic gradients and may portend a worse prognosis. It has been shown that reliable effective orifice area (EOA) data can be used to accurately predict PPM, thus preventing its occurrence. The study aim was to assess the predictive abilities of an effective orifice area indexed (EOAI) chart--the Perimount Magna EOAI chart--in the prevention of PPM., Methods: A retrospective comparison of projected versus calculated EOA values and the predicted versus actual incidence of PPM was conducted. Forty patients with a Perimount Magna aortic bioprosthesis implanted between 1st January 2006 and 31st March 2009, were identified. The sensitivity, specificity, positive-predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) were each calculated using the Perimount Magna EOAI chart, to assess how well it could predict the incidence of postoperative PPM., Results: The Perimount Magna EOAI chart had a sensitivity of 35% for predicting postoperative PPM, and an NPV of 53%. The projected EOA-values were almost invariably larger than those actually measured; this resulted in a higher proportion of patients than in whom PPM was predicted preoperatively. This EOAI chart proved to be very specific, with specificity of 100% and a PPV of 100%., Conclusion: The Perimount Magna EOAI chart, based on mean EOA data from a small echocardiographic cohort, represents a poor method of predicting and preventing PPM. Rather, EOAI charts should be based on reliable EOA data that reproducibly predict the expected EOA for that prosthesis.