BACKGROUND

Postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) is the most common arrythmia to occur after cardiovascular surgery. Inflammation being pivotal in POAF perpetuation has been utilized as a therapeutic target. Owing to their anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects, beta-blockers (BB) and N-acetylcysteine (NAC) became research interests in the pursuit for an effective POAF prevention strategy.

To determine the efficacy of NAC plus BB versus BB alone in preventing POAF in cardiac surgery patients.

A literature search using the following search engines: PubMed/Medline, Cochrane Review Central, Clinical Trials Registry, ResearchGate, Mendeley and Google Scholar for relevant randomized trials were conducted. Published and unpublished studies indexed from inception until 2023 were included. Three independent reviewers evaluated the randomized clinical trials (RCTs) for eligibility. The pooled estimates for POAF prevention as primary outcome and MACE, mortality, myocardial infarction, stroke, ICU LOS and hospital LOS as secondary outcomes were measured using the RStudio statistical software.

Seven eligible RCTs allocated 1069 cardiac surgery patients to NAC + BB (n=539) and BB alone (N = 530) treatment arms. The effect estimate using random effect model disclosed significantly reduced POAF events (RR 0.62, 95% CI [0.44, 0.86], p = 0.005) in those on NAC + BB. While no statistical difference between the study arms were demonstrated in reducing mortality (RR 0.63, 95% CI [0.23, 1.73], p = 0.37); myocardial infarction (RR 1.02, 95% CI [0.49, 2.13], p = 0.96); stroke (RR 0.95, 95% CI [0.24, 3.68], p = 0.94); ICU LOS (std. mean difference 0.14, 95% CI [-0.43, 0.70], p = 0.41), and hospital LOS (std. mean difference 0.08, 95% CI [-0.06, 0.21], p = 0.19).

Among cardiac surgery patients, the use of NAC in combination with BB compared with BB alone significantly reduced POAF.

BACKGROUND

Chest pain is a common reason for emergency room visits. The HEART score is used as a risk stratification tool to aid in clinical decision making. The HEART score is a useful tool due to its good sensitivity, however it has low specificity. The SVEAT score was developed as an improved risk stratification tool which outperformed the HEART score in previous studies. Both the performance of HEART and SVEAT scores lack data in our locality.

To compare the performance of Symptoms, Vascular disease, Electrocardiography, Age, Troponin-I (SVEAT) score and History, Electrocardiography, Age, Risk factors, Troponin-I (HEART) score as predictors of in-hospital Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events (MACE) among adult patients admitted in Chong Hua Hospital Cebu for chest pain.

This single-center, retrospective, observational analytic study included adult patients, ages 18 years old and above, who were admitted for chest pain from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022. All patients who passed the inclusion and exclusion criteria were included in the data analysis. Both SVEAT and HEART scores were calculated for each of the included subjects. The performance of both scoring criteria was compared using logistic regression and area under the receiving-operator characteristic curve.

A total of 113 cases were analyzed after exclusion criteria were applied. A total of 50 (44.2%) individuals suffered MACE. The difference in AUC of both SVEAT (0.946, 95%CI) and HEART (0.936, 95%CI) was not statistically significant (95% CI – 0.013 – 0.033, p = 0.400). With a cut-off ofCONCLUSION

SVEAT and HEART scores had similar performance in predicting in hospital MACE. Using a cut-off value of
Human ; Chest Pain ; Heart ; Myocardial Infarction ; Acute Coronary Syndrome

Introduction: Red cell distribution width (RDW) is a parameter that is readily available as part of a standard complete blood count (CBC). Studies have shown that an elevated RDW is associated with increased cardiovascular events including acute coronary syndrome (ACS). This cross- sectional retrospective study was conducted to determine the association of RDW in patients with ACS admitted to Bataan General Hospital and Medical Center (BGHMC). Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed in a 500-bed tertiary care hospital in Bataan, Philippines. The clinical medical records of patients with ACS were analyzed retrospectively. A total of 811 patients was admitted as cases of ACS from January 2017 to December 2019. Using Slovin’s formula, the computed sample size was 261 patients. However, only 205 cases were included in the study in accordance to the eligibility criteria. The baseline RDW were recorded from the CBC obtained upon admission of patients with ACS. Results: Based on the data collected from January 2017 to December 2019 from patients admitted to BGHMC, there was no significant association between RDW and in-house morbidity and mortality and classification of ACS. Conclusions There were no significant association between RDW and in-house morbidity and mortality and classification of ACS. The authors recommend to conduct the study for a longer duration to have more population included and to include other parameters such as cardiac enzymes, electrocardiogram (ECG) changes and presence of co-morbidities.
Erythrocyte Indices ; Acute Coronary Syndrome ; Angina, Unstable ; ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction

Interactions between brain-resident and peripheral infiltrated immune cells are thought to contribute to neuroplasticity after cerebral ischemia. However, conventional bulk sequencing makes it challenging to depict this complex immune network. Using single-cell RNA sequencing, we mapped compositional and transcriptional features of peri-infarct immune cells. Microglia were the predominant cell type in the peri-infarct region, displaying a more diverse activation pattern than the typical pro- and anti-inflammatory state, with axon tract-associated microglia (ATMs) being associated with neuronal regeneration. Trajectory inference suggested that infiltrated monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs) exhibited a gradual fate trajectory transition to activated MDMs. Inter-cellular crosstalk between MDMs and microglia orchestrated anti-inflammatory and repair-promoting microglia phenotypes and promoted post-stroke neurogenesis, with SOX2 and related Akt/CREB signaling as the underlying mechanisms. This description of the brain's immune landscape and its relationship with neurogenesis provides new insight into promoting neural repair by regulating neuroinflammatory responses.
Humans ; Ischemic Stroke ; Brain/metabolism* ; Macrophages ; Brain Ischemia/metabolism* ; Microglia/metabolism* ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents ; Neuronal Plasticity/physiology* ; Infarction/metabolism*

INTRODUCTION

ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is a common and potentially fatal presentation of cardiovascular disease. Once a diagnosis is made, prompt intervention is crucial, with substantial effect on morbidity and even mortality.

The aim of this study was to assess the adherence of physicians of a tertiary care hospital to American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association and European Society of Cardiology performance measures for the management of acute STEMI patients. 

This was a descriptive retrospective chart review of acute STEMI patients seen in a tertiary care hospital over a 2-year period.

A total of 118 STEMI patients were included in the study. Mean age was 57.8 years with male predominance. High adherence rates (100% achievement score) to recommended discharge medications and counseling for smoking cessation were observed. However, performance measures for time to reperfusion therapy via percutaneous coronary intervention (average, 16.7% over 2 years) and referral to cardiac rehabilitation (average, 38.0%) were consistently low, although time to percutaneous coronary intervention improved from an average of 170 minutes to 142 minutes in the second year of this study.

For 2 consecutive years, all STEMI patients seen in our institution were adequately managed with regard to recommended medications. All patients have been advised lifestyle change, particularly smoking cessation for current smokers. There is room for improvement with regards to time to reperfusion therapy and referral to cardiac rehabilitation. Some measures have been suggested, including shortening the time to secure patient consent.

Objective: To compare the efficacy of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and coronary angiography guided drug eluting stent (DES) implantation for the treatment of left main coronary artery (LMCA) lesions. Methods: Randomized controlled trials (RCT) and observational studies, which compared IVUS with coronary angiography guided DES implantation for the treatment of LMCA lesions published before August 2021 were searched in PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library databases. Baseline data, interventional procedures and endpoint events of each study were collected. The primary endpoint was major cardiovascular adverse events (MACE), and the secondary endpoints were all-cause death, cardiac death, myocardial infarction (MI), target lesion revascularization (TLR) and target vessel revascularization (TVR). The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) and the Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias tool were used to evaluate the quality of the included studies. Results: Nine studies were included, including 3 RCT and 6 observational studies, with a total of 5 527 cases of LMCA. All the 6 observational studies had NOS scores≥6, and the 3 RCT had a low risk of overall bias. The results of meta-analysis showed that compared with coronary angiography guided group, MACE rate (OR=0.55, 95%CI 0.47-0.66, P<0.001), all-cause death (OR=0.56, 95%CI 0.43-0.74, P<0.001), cardiac death (OR=0.43, 95%CI 0.30-0.61, P<0.001), MI (OR=0.64, 95%CI 0.52-0.79, P<0.001), TLR (OR=0.49, 95%CI 0.28-0.86, P=0.013) and TVR (OR=0.77, 95%CI 0.60-0.98, P=0.037) were all significantly lower in the IVUS guided group. Conclusions: Compared with angiography guided, IVUS guided PCI with DES implantation in LMCA lesions could significantly reduce the risk of MACE, death, MI, TLR and TVR. IVUS is thus superior to coronary angiography for guiding PCI treatment among patients with LMCA.
Humans ; Coronary Artery Disease/complications* ; Coronary Angiography ; Drug-Eluting Stents/adverse effects* ; Treatment Outcome ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention/methods* ; Ultrasonography, Interventional/methods* ; Risk Factors ; Myocardial Infarction/etiology*

Objective: To investigate the clinical features and long-term prognostic factors of diabetic patients with low or intermediate complexity coronary artery disease (CAD) post percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods: This was a prospective, single-centre observational study. Consecutive diabetic patients with SYNTAX score (SS)≤32 undergoing PCI between January and December 2013 in Fuwai hospital were included in this analysis. The patients were divided into two groups based on SS, namely SS≤22 group and SS 23-32 group. Multivariate Cox regression analysis was performed to identify independent factors related to poor 5-year prognosis. The primary outcomes were cardiac death and recurrent myocardial infarction, the secondary outcomes were all cause death and revascularization. Results: Of the 3 899 patients included in the study, 2 888 were men (74.1%); mean age was 59.4±9.8 years. There were 3 450 patients in the SS≤22 group and 449 patients in the SS 23-32 group. Compared with SS≤22 group, the incidence of revascularization was higher in SS 23-32 group (18.9% (85/449) vs. 15.2% (524/3450), log-rank P=0.019). There was no significant difference in all-cause death, cardiac death and recurrent myocardial infarction between the two groups (log-rank P>0.05). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that age (HR=1.05, 95%CI 1.02-1.08, P<0.001), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (HR=3.12, 95%CI 1.37-7.07, P=0.007) and creatinine clearance rate (CCr)<60 ml/min (HR=3.67, 95%CI 2.05-6.58, P<0.001) were independent risk factors for 5-year cardiac death, while left ventricular ejection fraction (HR=0.94, 95%CI 0.91-0.96, P<0.001) was a protective factor. Previous PCI (HR=2.04, 95%CI 1.38-3.00, P<0.001), blood glucose level≥11.1 mmol/L on admission (HR=2.49, 95%CI 1.32-4.70, P=0.005) and CCr<60 ml/min (HR=1.85, 95%CI 1.14-2.99, P=0.012) were independent risk factors for 5-year recurrent myocardial infarction. The SS of 23-32 was independently associated with risk of revascularization (HR=1.54, 95%CI 1.09-2.16, P=0.014), after adjusting for residual SS. Residual SS was not a risk factor for 5-year prognosis. Conclusions: In diabetic patients with low-or intermediate complexity CAD, SS 23-32 is associated with increased risk of 5-year revascularization; the clinical characteristics of the patients are associated with the long-term mortality and recurrent myocardial infarction, but not related to revascularization.
Male ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Female ; Coronary Artery Disease/surgery* ; Stroke Volume ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention ; Prospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome ; Ventricular Function, Left ; Prognosis ; Risk Factors ; Myocardial Infarction/etiology* ; Diabetes Mellitus

Objectives: To evaluate microvascular perfusion and left ventricular function in patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction after revascularization using myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE), and to explore clinical influencing factors of abnormal microvascular perfusion in these patients. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. The analysis was performed among patients admitted to Peking University People's Hospital for acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) from June 2018 to July 2021. All patients underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and completed MCE within 48 hours after PCI. Patients were divided into normal myocardial perfusion group and abnormal perfusion group according to the myocardial perfusion score. The echocardiographic indexes within 48 hours after PCI, including peak mitral valve flow velocity (E), mean value of early diastolic velocity of left ventricular septum and lateral mitral annulus (Em), left ventricular global longitudinal strain (GLS) and so on, were analyzed and compared between the two groups. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the influencing factors of myocardial perfusion abnormalities. Results: A total of 123 STEMI patients, aged 59±13 years with 93 (75.6%) males, were enrolled. There were 50 cases in the normal myocardial perfusion group, and 73 cases in the abnormal myocardial perfusion group. The incidence of abnormal myocardial perfusion was 59.3% (73/123). The left ventricular volume index ((62.3±18.4)ml/m² vs. (55.1±15.2)ml/m², P=0.018), wall motion score index (WMSI) (1.59 (1.44, 2.00) vs. 1.24(1.00, 1.47), P<0.001) and mitral E/Em (17.8(12.0, 24.3) vs. 12.2(9.2, 15.7), P<0.001) were significantly higher whereas left ventricular global longitudinal strain (GLS) ((-10.8±3.4)% vs. (-13.8±3.5)%, P<0.001) was significantly lower in the abnormal myocardial perfusion group than those in the normal myocardial perfusion group. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that left anterior descending (LAD) as culprit vessel (OR=3.733, 95%CI 1.282-10.873, P=0.016), intraoperative no/low-reflow (OR=6.125, 95%CI 1.299-28.872, P=0.022), and peak troponin I (TnI) (OR=1.018, 95%CI 1.008-1.029, P=0.001) were independent risk factors of abnormal myocardial perfusion. As for ultrasonic indexes, deceleration time of mitral E wave (OR=0.979, 95%CI 0.965-0.993, P=0.003), mitral E/Em (OR=1.100, 95%CI 1.014-1.194, P=0.022) and WMSI (OR=7.470, 95%CI 2.630-21.222, P<0.001) were independently related to abnormal myocardial perfusion. Conclusions: The incidence of abnormal myocardial perfusion after PCI is high in patients with acute STEMI. Abnormal myocardial perfusion is related to worse left ventricular systolic and diastolic function. LAD as culprit vessel, intraoperative no/low-reflow and peak TnI are independent risk factors of abnormal myocardial perfusion.
Male ; Humans ; Female ; ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction/diagnostic imaging* ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Coronary Circulation ; Echocardiography ; Anterior Wall Myocardial Infarction/etiology* ; Ventricular Function, Left ; Perfusion

Humans ; Cardiac Catheterization ; Treatment Outcome ; Heart Septal Defects, Atrial/surgery* ; Cerebral Infarction ; Septal Occluder Device

Objective: Hyperlipidemia is closely related to premature acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The present study was performed to explore the correlation between various blood lipid components and the risk of premature AMI. Methods: This is a cross-sectional retrospective study. Consecutive patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), who completed coronary angiography from October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2022 in our hospital, were enrolled and divided into premature AMI group (male<55 years old, female<65 years old) and late-onset AMI group. Total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), non-HDL-C, lipoprotein (a) (Lp (a)), apolipoprotein B (ApoB), apolipoprotein A-1 (ApoA-1), non-HDL-C/HDL-C and ApoB/ApoA-1 were analyzed. The correlation between the above blood lipid indexes and premature AMI was analyzed and compared by logistic regression, restricted cubic spline and receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC). Results: A total of 1 626 patients with STEMI were enrolled in this study, including 409 patients with premature AMI and 1 217 patients with late-onset AMI. Logistic regression analysis showed that the risk of premature AMI increased significantly with the increase of TG, non-HDL-C/HDL-C, non-HDL-C, ApoB/ApoA-1, TC and ApoB quintiles; while LDL-C, ApoA-1 and Lp (a) had no significant correlation with premature AMI. The restricted cubic spline graph showed that except Lp (a), LDL-C, ApoA-1 and ApoB/ApoA-1, other blood lipid indicators were significantly correlated with premature AMI. The ROC curve showed that TG and non-HDL-C/HDL-C had better predictive value for premature AMI. Inconsistency analysis found that the incidence and risk of premature AMI were the highest in patients with high TG and high non-HDL-C/HDL-C. Conclusion: TG, non-HDL-C/HDL-C and other blood lipid indexes are significantly increased in patients with premature AMI, among which TG is the parameter, most closely related to premature AMI, and future studies are needed to explore the impact of controlling TG on incidence of premature AMI.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Cholesterol, LDL ; Retrospective Studies ; ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction ; Apolipoprotein A-I ; Myocardial Infarction ; Cholesterol ; Apolipoproteins B ; Triglycerides ; Cholesterol, HDL ; Lipids ; Lipoproteins