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Background There are limited data on the influence of seasons on the outcomes of acute myocardial infarction-cardiac arrest (AMI-CA). Aim To evaluate the outcomes of AMI-CA by seasons in the United States Design Retrospective cohort study Methods Using the National Inpatient Sample from 2000 to 2017, adult (>18 years) admissions with AMI-CA were identified. Seasons were defined by the month of admission as spring, summer, fall and winter. The outcomes of interest were prevalence of AMI-CA, in-hospital mortality, use of coronary angiography, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), hospital length of stay, hospitalization costs and discharge disposition. Results Of the 10 880 856 AMI admissions, 546 334 (5.0%) were complicated by CA, with a higher prevalence in fall and winter (5.1% each) compared to summer (5.0%) and spring (4.9%). Baseline characteristics of AMI-CA admissions admitted in various seasons were largely similar. Compared to AMI-CA admissions in spring, summer and fall, AMI-CA admissions in winter had slightly lower rates of coronary angiography (63.3–64.3% vs. 61.4%) and PCI (47.2–48.4% vs. 45.6%). Compared to those admitted in the spring, adjusted in-hospital mortality was higher for winter {46.8% vs. 44.2%; odds ratio (OR) 1.08 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.06–1.10]; P < 0.001}, lower for summer [43% vs. 44.2%; OR 0.97 (95% CI 0.95–0.98); P < 0.001] and comparable for fall [44.4% vs. 44.2%; OR 1.01 (95% CI 0.99–1.03); P = 0.31] AMI-CA admissions. Length of hospital stay, total hospitalization charges and discharge dispositions for AMI-CA admissions were comparable across the seasons. Conclusions AMI-CA admissions in the winter were associated with lower rates of coronary angiography and PCI, and higher rates of in-hospital mortality compared to the other seasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Hospitalized patients with hyperkalemia are heterogeneous, and cluster approaches may identify specific homogenous groups. This study aimed to cluster patients with hyperkalemia on admission using unsupervised machine learning (ML) consensus clustering approach, and to compare characteristics and outcomes among these distinct clusters. Methods Consensus cluster analysis was performed in 5133 hospitalized adult patients with admission hyperkalemia, based on available clinical and laboratory data. The standardized mean difference was used to identify each cluster's key clinical features. The association of hyperkalemia clusters with hospital and 1-year mortality was assessed using logistic and Cox proportional hazard regression. Results Three distinct clusters of hyperkalemia patients were identified using consensus cluster analysis: 1661 (32%) in cluster 1, 2455 (48%) in cluster 2 and 1017 (20%) in cluster 3. Cluster 1 was mainly characterized by older age, higher serum chloride and acute kidney injury (AKI), but lower estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), serum bicarbonate and hemoglobin. Cluster 2 was mainly characterized by higher eGFR, serum bicarbonate and hemoglobin, but lower comorbidity burden, serum potassium and AKI. Cluster 3 was mainly characterized by higher comorbidity burden, particularly diabetes and end-stage kidney disease, AKI, serum potassium, anion gap, but lower eGFR, serum sodium, chloride and bicarbonate. Hospital and 1-year mortality risk was significantly different among the three identified clusters, with highest mortality in cluster 3, followed by cluster 1 and then cluster 2. Conclusion In a heterogeneous cohort of hyperkalemia patients, three distinct clusters were identified using unsupervised ML. These three clusters had different clinical characteristics and outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There are limited large-scale data on the outcomes of patients with cardiogenic shock (CS) transferred to hub centers. This study aimed to compare the characteristics and outcomes of transferred patients with CS versus those who were not transferred., Methods: Adults (aged ≥18 years) with a primary or secondary diagnosis of CS were identified from the Nationwide Readmissions Database (2016-2020) and stratified by transfer status. Overlap propensity score weighting was performed to assess the association between transfer status and in-hospital mortality. Secondary outcomes, including length of hospital stay, hospitalization costs, and readmissions for cardiac and noncardiac etiologies, were assessed using multivariable regression., Results: Of 314 098 patients with CS (27% with acute myocardial infarction-related CS and 73% with nonacute myocardial infarction-related CS), 30 630 (9.8%) were transferred. In the unweighted population, compared with nontransferred patients, transferred patients were on average younger (65 versus 68 years), had higher comorbidities, and were more likely to be cared for at large teaching hospitals. During the hospitalization, they had higher rates of renal failure, pulmonary artery catheter use, and mechanical circulatory support use. In-hospital mortality was lower in transferred patients-39.1% versus 47.1%; unadjusted odds ratio (OR), 0.71 (95% CI, 0.70-0.73); adjusted OR, 0.73 ([95% CI, 0.71-0.76]; P <0.001). This was consistent across subgroups of CS cause, age, sex, hospital location, mechanical circulatory support use, and presence of cardiac arrest. The transferred cohort had lower costs and length of stay, but more frequent all-cause (adjusted OR, 1.21 [95% CI, 1.16-1.27]), cardiac (adjusted OR, 1.16 [95% CI, 1.11-1.22]), heart failure (adjusted OR, 1.14 [95% CI, 1.08-1.21]), and noncardiac readmissions (adjusted OR, 1.68 [95% CI, 1.21-2.33]) at 30 days postdischarge compared with the nontransferred cohort., Conclusions: Despite higher comorbidity, organ failure, and use of cardiac/noncardiac procedures, patients with CS who were transferred to hub centers had lower in-hospital mortality, hospitalization costs, and length of stay.

Critical care cardiology refers to the practice focus of and subspecialty training for the comprehensive management of life-threatening cardiovascular diseases and comorbid conditions that require advanced critical care in an intensive care unit. The development of coronary care units is often credited for a dramatic decline in mortality rates after acute myocardial infarction throughout the 1960s. As the underlying patient population became progressively sicker, changes in organizational structure, staffing, care delivery, and training paradigms lagged. The coronary care unit gradually evolved from a focus on rapid resuscitation from ventricular arrhythmias in acute myocardial infarction into a comprehensive cardiac intensive care unit designed to care for the sickest patients with cardiovascular disease. Over the past decade, the cardiac intensive care unit has continued to transform with an aging population, increased clinical acuity, burgeoning cardiac and noncardiac comorbidities, technologic advances in cardiovascular interventions, and increased use of temporary mechanical circulatory support devices. Herein, we provide an update and contemporary expert perspective on the organizational structure, staffing, and care delivery in the cardiac intensive care unit; examine the challenges and opportunities present in the education and training of the next generation of physicians for critical care cardiology; and explore quality improvement initiatives and scientific investigation, including multicenter registry initiatives and randomized clinical trials, that may change clinical practice, care delivery, and the research landscape in this rapidly evolving discipline.

Competing Interests: None.

Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest Dr. Abbott receives research funding from Boston Scientific and Shockwave, Med Alliance and serves as a consultant for Abbott, Medtronic, Penumbra, and Recor. The remaining authors have no competing interests to declare.

There are limited and conflicting data on sex and urban-rural disparities in outcomes of patients with pulmonary embolism (PE) in the reproductive age group. Our object was to assess sex disparities in the reproductive age group cohort. All adult non-elective admissions in the reproductive age group (18-49 years) with a primary diagnosis of PE and with no missing sex/age data were identified using the National Inpatient Sample. Females and males were stratified into rural and urban location based on hospital information. Outcomes of interest included in-hospital mortality, complication rates, variations in management, total hospitalization costs, and length of stay. During 01/01/2016 to 12/31/2020, 180,898 PE admissions aged 18-49 years were identified (rural-12,319 [6.8%]). Females comprised 54.8% and 55.1% of the rural and urban cohorts, respectively. Overall, compared to males, females in urban and rural regions had largely comparable rates of definitive PE interventions, except lower rates of catheter directed therapy (4.7 vs. 3.6%, p < 0.001) in females admitted to urban hospitals. Despite younger age, higher comorbidity, and lower utilization of PE interventions, females in both regions had similar unadjusted in-hospital mortality (rural 1.1% vs. 1.0%; p = 0.93 and urban 1.8% vs. 1.7%; p = 0.78) and hospitalization costs compared to males. In conclusion, females of reproductive age group had comparable in-hospital outcomes to males in both urban and rural areas. Females in urban areas had lower utilization of advanced PE interventions, potentially indicating selective management strategies in different settings., (© 2024 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

The retrograde approach to chronic total occlusion (CTO) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has significantly contributed to the success rates of CTO PCI. It is usually performed in complex CTO lesions, in which the antegrade approach is not feasible or fails. In this article we discuss the steps to perform retrograde CTO PCI and its complications and success rates. Considering the moderate to high success rates of the retrograde approach in the hands of experienced operators and higher complication rates than antegrade only procedures, optimizing the safety of retrograde CTO PCI is of paramount importance., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest Dr. Allana: Consulting fees from Boston Scientific Corporation, Abiomed and Electroducer. All other authors: nothing to disclose., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this article.

Background: There is uncertainty about the use of the CHA2DS2-VASc score to predict clinical events in patients with Takotsubo syndrome (TTS). This study aimed to assess the short-term prognostic role of CHA2DS2-VASc score in this population., Methods: All admissions with a primary diagnosis of TTS were included using data from the National Inpatient Sample database during 2016-2019. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality and secondary outcomes included ischemic stroke, intracardiac thrombus, cardiogenic shock, requirement for mechanical circulatory support, and renal replacement therapy. Patients were divided into 3 groups according to the CHA2DS2-VASc score. (0-3, 4-6, and >6). Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (OR) with 95 % confidence intervals (CI)., Results: A total 32,595 weighted hospitalizations were included (median age was 67 [58-76] years; 90 % female). The median CHA2DS2-VASc score value was 4 (2-5). In the adjusted models, in-hospital mortality was significantly higher in the CHA2DS2-VASc 4-6 (OR 1.86, 95 % CI 1.09-3.16, p = 0.022) and CHA2DS2-VASc >6 (OR 3.35, 95 % CI 1.60-7.04, p = 0.001) groups compared to the CHA2DS2-VASc 0-3 group. Likewise, the CHA2DS2-VASc >6 group had significantly higher odds of ischemic stroke (OR 2.92, 95 % CI 1.22-6.96, p = 0.016), intracardiac thrombus (OR 3.56, 95 % CI 1.36-9.30, p = 0.010), cardiogenic shock (OR 1.73, 95 % CI 1.05-2.86, =0.033), and renal replacement therapy (OR 2.87, 95 % CI 1.04-7.92, p = 0.042)., Conclusions: Our results suggest that the CHA2DS2-VASc score is relatively useful for predicting in-hospital mortality and a range of clinical events in hospitalized patients with TTS., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)