PURPOSE: To evaluate the ability of coronary computed tomographic angiography (CCTA) to predict the need of coronary revascularization in symptomatic patients with stable angina who were referred to a cardiac catheterization laboratory for coronary revascularization. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Pre-angiography CCTA findings were analyzed in 1846 consecutive symptomatic patients with stable angina, who were referred to a cardiac catheterization laboratory at six hospitals and were potential candidates for coronary revascularization between July 2011 and December 2013. The number of patients requiring revascularization was determined based on the severity of coronary stenosis as assessed by CCTA. This was compared to the actual number of revascularization procedures performed in the cardiac catheterization laboratory. RESULTS: Based on CCTA findings, coronary revascularization was indicated in 877 (48%) and not indicated in 969 (52%) patients. Of the 877 patients indicated for revascularization by CCTA, only 600 (68%) underwent the procedure, whereas 285 (29%) of the 969 patients not indicated for revascularization, as assessed by CCTA, underwent the procedure. When the coronary arteries were divided into 15 segments using the American Heart Association coronary tree model, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of CCTA for therapeutic decision making on a per-segment analysis were 42%, 96%, 40%, and 96%, respectively. CONCLUSION: CCTA-based assessment of coronary stenosis severity does not sufficiently differentiate between coronary segments requiring revascularization versus those not requiring revascularization. Conventional coronary angiography should be considered to determine the need of revascularization in symptomatic patients with stable angina.
Aged ; Angina, Stable/*diagnostic imaging ; Coronary Angiography/*methods ; Coronary Stenosis/*diagnostic imaging ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myocardial Revascularization ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; United States

PURPOSE: Evidence suggests that technological innovations and reimbursement schemes of the National Health Insurance Service may have impacted the management of coronary artery disease. Thus, we investigated changes in the practice patterns of coronary revascularization. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Revascularization and in-hospital mortality among Koreans > or =20 years old were identified from medical claims filed between 2006 and 2010. The age- and sex-standardized procedure rate per 100000 person-years was calculated directly from the distribution of the 2008 Korean population. RESULTS: The coronary revascularization rate increased from 116.1 (95% confidence interval, 114.9-117.2) in 2006 to 131.0 (129.9-132.1) in 2010. Compared to the rate ratios in 2006, the rate ratios for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery in 2010 were 1.16 (1.15-1.17) and 0.80 (0.76-0.84), respectively. Among patients who received PCI, the percentage with drug-eluting stents increased from 89.1% in 2006 to 93.0% in 2010. In-hospital mortality rates from PCI significantly increased during the study period (p=0.03), whereas those from CABG significantly decreased (p=0.01). The in-hospital mortality rates for PCI and CABG were higher in elderly and female patients and at the lowest-volume hospitals. CONCLUSION: The annual volume of coronary revascularization continuously increased between 2006 and 2010 in Korea, although this trend differed according to procedure type. A high percentage of drug-eluting stent procedures and a high rate of in-hospital mortality at low-volume hospitals were noted.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Coronary Artery Bypass/*statistics & numerical data/trends ; Coronary Artery Disease/*surgery ; Drug-Eluting Stents ; Female ; Hospital Mortality ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myocardial Revascularization/*methods/*trends ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention/*statistics & numerical data/trends ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology

Although the favored strategy for coronary bifurcation intervention is stenting main vessel with provisional side branch (SB) stenting, we occasionally use two-stent strategy. The objective of this study was to investigate the angiographic outcome of SB ostium in two-stent group, compared with one-stent group. We analyzed 199 patients with bifurcation lesion who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with drug-eluting stent and follow up angiography. The patients were divided into one-stent group (167 lesions, 158 patients) and two-stent group (41 lesions, 41 patients). Prior to intervention, SB ostium minimal luminal diameter (MLD) was smaller in two-stent group than in one-stent group (1.08+/-0.55 mm vs. 1.39+/-0.60 mm; P=0.01). But, immediately after PCI, SB MLD of two-stent group became greater than that of one-stent group (2.41+/-0.40 mm vs. 1.18+/-0.68 mm; P<0.01). Six to nine months after PCI, this angiographic superiority in SB MLD of two-stent group persisted (1.56+/-0.71 mm vs. 1.13+/-0.53 mm; P<0.01), although there was larger late loss in two-stent group (0.85+/-0.74 mm vs. 0.05+/-0.57 mm; P<0.01). In terms of target lesion revascularization and target vessel revascularization rates, one-stent group showed better results than two-stent group. We could attain wider long term SB ostium after two-stent strategy than after one-stent strategy.
Aspirin/therapeutic use ; Cohort Studies ; *Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Vessels/radiography ; *Drug-Eluting Stents ; Female ; Heart/radiography ; Heart Septal Defects, Atrial/diagnosis/*radiography ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myocardial Revascularization/*methods ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention/*methods ; Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors/therapeutic use ; Retrospective Studies ; Ticlopidine/analogs & derivatives/therapeutic use ; Treatment Outcome

The purpose of this study was to determine the combined effect of transmyocardial laser revascularization (TMLR) and the implantation of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) on cardiac function of ischemic hearts in canines. The left anterior descending artery (LAD) was occluded to establish the canine model of acute myocardial infarct (AMI). Four weeks later, the animals were randomly divided into four groups: TMLR group, in which transmyocardial laser-induced channels were established at the ischemic region; EPCs+TMLR group, in which EPCs were locally transplanted into laser-induced channels at the ischemic region; EPCs group, in which the EPCs were injected into the ischemic region; control group, in which the AMI animals received neither TMLR nor EPCs. The peripheral blood (50 mL) was sampled in all groups. Mononuclear cells from the peripheral blood were separated and cultured to obtain spindle-shaped attaching (AT) cells in vitro. AT cells were labeled with 1, 1'-dioctadecyl-1 to 3,3, 3',3'-tetramethyl-indocarbocyanine perchlorate (DiI) before injecting into the laser-induced channels or ischemic region. Four weeks after the first operation, TMLR was performed in the TMLR group and EPCs+TMLR group, and at the same time, the EPCs originating from the AT cells were mixed with calcium alginate (CA). Then the EPCs-CA composites were implanted into myocardial channels induced by laser in the EPCs+TMLR group, and into the myocardial infarct area in the EPCs group. All dogs underwent echocardiography at second month after LAD occlusion. Finally the samples of myocardium around the LAD were subjected to histochemical and immunohistologic examinations. The results showed there was no significant difference in the diameter of left atrium and ventricle before treatment among all groups (P>0.05). Eight weeks after modeling, the regional contractility in the LAD territory in the EPCs+TMLR group was increased as compared with control group and TMLR group, but there was no significant difference between control group and TMLR group. Neoangiogenesis was observed in the EPCs+TMLR group, and the fibrosis was seen in the TMLR group. There was no significant difference in neoangiogenesis around the channels induced by laser among EPCs+TMLR, EPCs and TMLR groups. It was concluded that TMLR combined with EPCs could improve the regional and global cardiac function in AMI, and augment neovascularizaiton in channels of ischemic myocardium induced by laser.
Animals ; Coronary Circulation ; Coronary Vessels ; pathology ; surgery ; Dogs ; Humans ; Muscle Contraction ; physiology ; Myocardial Ischemia ; pathology ; therapy ; Myocardium ; pathology ; Neovascularization, Physiologic ; physiology ; Stem Cell Transplantation ; methods ; Stem Cells ; Transmyocardial Laser Revascularization ; methods

The aim of this study is to compare clinical outcomes for seven years, between sirolimus-eluting stent (SES) and bare metal stent (BMS). During the BMS and drug-eluting stent (DES) transition period (from April 2002 to April 2004), 434 consecutive patients with 482 lesions underwent percutaneous coronary intervention, using BMS or SES. Using propensity score matching, 186 patients with BMS and 166 patients with SES were selected. Seven year clinical outcomes of major adverse cardiac events (MACE), such as cardiac death, myocardial infarction (MI) and ischemia-driven target vessel revascularization (TVR), and angiographic definite stent thrombosis (ST) were compared. At one-year follow up, patients with SES showed significantly lower MACE (9.1% in BMS vs 3.0% in SES, P = 0.024). However, cumulative MACE for 7 yr was not significantly different between two groups (24.7% in BMS vs 17.4% in SES, P = 0.155). There was no significant difference in MI, TVR, death and ST. The TVR were gradually increased from 1 to 7 yr in SES, on the contrary to that of BMS. In conclusion, although SES showed better clinical outcomes in the early period after implantation, it did not show significant benefits in the long-term follow up, compared with that of BMS.
Aged ; Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary/adverse effects/*methods ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Stenosis/mortality/radiography/*therapy ; Databases, Factual ; *Drug-Eluting Stents ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Ischemia/etiology ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myocardial Infarction/etiology ; Myocardial Revascularization ; Registries ; Sirolimus/*therapeutic use ; *Stents ; Thrombosis/etiology

Trans-radial (TR) approach is increasingly recognized as an alternative to the routine use of trans-femoral (TF) approach. However, there are limited data comparing the outcomes of these two approaches for the treatment of coronary bifurcation lesions. We evaluated outcomes of TR and TF percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) in this complex lesion. Procedural outcomes and clinical events were compared in 1,668 patients who underwent PCI for non-left main bifurcation lesions, according to the vascular approach, either TR (n = 503) or TF (n = 1,165). The primary outcome was major adverse cardiac events (MACE), including cardiac death, myocardial infarction (MI), and target lesion revascularization (TLR) in all patients and in 424 propensity-score matched pairs of patients. There were no significant differences between TR and TF approaches for procedural success in the main vessel (99.6% vs 98.6%, P = 0.08) and side branches (62.6% vs 66.7%, P = 0.11). Over a mean follow-up of 22 months, cardiac death or MI (1.8% vs 2.2%, P = 0.45), TLR (4.0% vs 5.2%, P = 0.22), and MACE (5.2% vs 7.0%, P = 0.11) did not significantly differ between TR and TF groups, respectively. These results were consistent after propensity score-matched analysis. In conclusion, TR PCI is a feasible alternative approach to conventional TF approaches for bifurcation PCI (clinicaltrials.gov number: NCT00851526).
Aged ; Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary/adverse effects/*methods ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Stenosis/mortality/radiography/*therapy ; Coronary Vessels/radiography/surgery ; *Drug-Eluting Stents ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hemorrhage/etiology ; Humans ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myocardial Infarction/etiology ; Myocardial Revascularization ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Registries

This study compared two-stent strategies for treatment of bifurcation lesions by stenting order, 'main across side first (A-family)' vs 'side branch first (S-family). The study population was patients from 16 centers in Korea who underwent drug eluting stent implantation with two-stent strategy (A-family:109, S-family:140 patients). The endpoints were cardiac death, myocardial infarction (MI), stent thrombosis (ST), and target lesion revascularization (TLR) during 3 years. During 440.8 person-years (median 20.2 months), there was 1 cardiac death, 4 MIs (including 2 STs), and 12 TLRs. Cumulative incidence of cardiac death, MI and ST was lower in A-family (0% in A-family vs 4.9% in S-family, P = 0.045). However, TLR rates were not different between the two groups (7.1% vs 6.2%, P = 0.682). Final kissing inflation (FKI) was a predictor of the hard-endpoint (hazard ratio 0.061; 95% CI 0.007-0.547, P = 0.013), but was not a predictor of TLR. The incidence of hard-endpoint of S-family with FKI was comparable to A-family, whereas S-family without FKI showed the poorest prognosis (1.1% vs 15.9%, retrospectively; P = 0.011). In conclusion, 'A-family' seems preferable to 'S-family' if both approaches are feasible. When two-stent strategy is used, every effort should be made to perform FKI, especially in 'S-family'.
Aged ; Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary/*methods ; Coronary Stenosis/surgery/*therapy ; Death, Sudden, Cardiac/etiology ; *Drug-Eluting Stents ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myocardial Infarction/etiology ; Myocardial Revascularization ; Thrombosis/etiology

Management of ischemic mitral regurgitation (MR) is challenging. The aim of this study was to investigate long-term clinical and echocardiographic results of restrictive mitral annuloplasty for ischemic MR. From 2001 through 2010, 96 patients who underwent myocardial revascularization with restrictive mitral annuloplasty using a vascular strip for ischemic MR were analyzed. Patients were stratified into two groups based on left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF): group I, n = 50, with LVEF > 35% and group II, n = 46, with LVEF < or = 35%. The early mortality rate was 2.1% (2/96) and the late cardiac mortality rate was 11.5% (11/96). MR grade was reduced at discharge (0.8 +/- 0.7) but increased during follow-up (1.1 +/- 0.8, P = 0.001). There was no intergroup difference in terms of freedom from recurrent MR > or = moderate eight years after surgery (94.1% +/- 5.7%, group I vs 87.8% +/- 7.2%, group II; P = 0.575). NYHA functional class (odds ratio [OR], 2.2; P = 0.044) and early postoperative residual MR > or = mild (OR, 25.4; P < 0.001) were independent predictors of recurrent MR. Restrictive mitral annuloplasty using a vascular strip is effective in ischemic MR. It is important to avoid early postoperative residual MR.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Coronary Artery Disease/mortality/*surgery ; Echocardiography ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mitral Valve/physiopathology/*surgery ; Mitral Valve Annuloplasty/*methods ; Mitral Valve Insufficiency/mortality/*surgery ; Myocardial Ischemia/mortality/*surgery ; Myocardial Revascularization ; Stroke Volume ; Treatment Outcome ; Vascular Surgical Procedures

OBJECTIVETo investigate the application of the retroperitoneal approach in aortic surgery.

METHODSWe collected and analyzed data of 7 patients in Macau who presented with aortic diseases from 2007 to 2008 and were treated with aorta repair through retroperitoneal approach. Demographic features as well as intraoperative and postoperative data were analyzed. One case of thoracoabdominal aneurysm and 4 cases of abdominal aneurysm received artificial graft, among which hybrid iliac artery reconstruction with Zenith stent covering the ostium of the left subclavian artery was performed in 2 cases of infrarenal abdominal aneurysm. Aortic-iliac artery bypass was performed in 2 cases of aortoiliac occlusion.

RESULTSNo operative or early postoperative death was observed. No perioperative intestinal adhesion or ureteral obstruction was found. One case reported delayed paraplegia and graft infection as postoperative complications. The complications were partially removed 3 months later after rehabilitation.

CONCLUSIONRetroperitoneal approach is a safe and feasible technique, which associated with a low incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications.

Aged ; Aorta ; surgery ; Humans ; Myocardial Revascularization ; methods ; Peritoneal Cavity ; Treatment Outcome ; Vascular Surgical Procedures ; methods

BACKGROUNDC-reactive protein (CRP) is a lowly expressed marker for inflammatory response. This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of baseline CRP levels in patients undergoing coronary revascularization in the context of modern medical treatment.

METHODSThis was a retrospective study in a single center. Four hundred and fourteen patients were enrolled, who underwent coronary revascularization and received adequate medication for secondary prevention of coronary heart disease. The study compared the follow-up clinical outcomes between high level CRP group (CRP > 5 mg/L) and low level one. The median follow-up time was 551 days.

RESULTSCompared with low CRP group, the relative risk (RR) of the major adverse cardiovascular and cerebral events (MACCE) in high CRP group was 5.131 (95%CI: 1.864-14.123, P = 0.002). There were no significant differences in death, myocardial infarction and stroke during the follow-up between two groups, but a higher risk of re-revascularization was found in high CRP group (RR 6.008, 95%CI: 1.667-21.665, P = 0.006). Cox regression analysis showed that only CRP level could contribute to MACCE during the follow-up. MACCE-free rate was much lower in high CRP group (Kaplan-Meier log-rank P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONIn the context of modern medical treatment, the baseline level of CRP is an independent predictor for long-term prognosis in patients with coronary revascularization.

Aged ; C-Reactive Protein ; metabolism ; Coronary Disease ; metabolism ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myocardial Revascularization ; methods ; Retrospective Studies