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Background: The relationship between changes in the left atrial volume index (LAVI) post-catheter ablation (CA) and long-term prognostic events in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) remains unclear. We evaluated the incidence of major adverse clinical events (MACE), including all-cause death, unplanned heart failure hospitalization, and unplanned cardiovascular hospitalization using pre- and post-CA LAVI., Methods and Results: We collected data retrospectively from 150 patients with persistent AF who underwent their first CA. LAVI was calculated during preprocedural echocardiography under AF rhythm (pre-CA LAVI) and 3 months post-CA under sinus rhythm (post-CA LAVI). The cumulative incidence of MACE was compared among 3 subgroups based on the cutoff values of pre-CA (45.5 mL/m 2 ) and post-CA (46.5 mL/m 2 ; both determined using the c-statistic) LAVI. The subgroup of a pre-CA LAVI >45.5 mL/m 2 with a post-CA LAVI >46.5 mL/m 2 (n=45) had a significantly higher MACE incidence compared with other subgroups (P=0.002). Multivariate analysis identified this subgroup as independently at higher risk for MACE. The subgroup of a pre-CA LAVI >45.5 mL/m 2 with a post-CA LAVI ≤46.5 mL/m 2 (n=49) had an incidence comparable with those with pre-CA LAVI ≤45.5 mL/m 2 (n=56) and exhibited a significantly greater reduction in LAVI than other subgroups did (P<0.001)., Conclusions: Combining pre-CA and post-CA LAVIs is valuable in stratifying long-term MACE development risk following CA., Competing Interests: The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest. This research received no grants from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. M.S. is a member of the Editorial Board of Circulation Journal/ Circulation Reports., (Copyright © 2024, THE JAPANESE CIRCULATION SOCIETY.)

Cholesterol crystal embolism (CCE) is a rare but serious complication of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). However, its incidence, risk factors, and prognosis in the contemporary era are not well known. We included 23,184 patients who underwent PCI in our institution between January 2000 and December 2019 in this study. The diagnosis of CCE was made histologically or by the combination of cutaneous signs and specific blood test results. In patients with CCE, we evaluated the incidence, risk factors, and prognosis. A total of 88 patients (0.38%) were diagnosed with CCE. The incidence of CCE seemed to decline through the investigated 20 years. Positive predictors of CCE were age ≥70 years (68% vs 59%, p = 0.012), aortic aneurysm (23% vs 7.2% p <0.001), and a femoral approach (71% vs 45%, p <0.001), whereas a negative predictor of CCE was the use of an inner sheath (63% vs 77%, p <0.001). The rate of 1-year mortality and the requirement for chronic hemodialysis within 1 year after PCI in patients with CCE were 10% and 11%, respectively. The use of an inner sheath and a nonfemoral approach was associated with a lower incidence of CCE. In conclusion, because the prognosis of patients with CCE is still poor, preprocedural identification of high-risk patients and selection of low-risk procedures could be important for preventing CCE., Competing Interests: Disclosures The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is the gold standard for detecting thrombi in the left atrium (LA) and left atrial appendage (LAA) prior to pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) for the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF). Although TEE has a good safety profile, it was recently reported that TEE preceding PVI can cause esophageal mucosal injuries (EMIs). The exact mechanism remains to be elucidated. In the present study, we investigated the incidence and risk factors of TEE-related EMI (TEE-EMI) among patients who underwent PVI for AF., Methods and Results: This study included 262 consecutive patients who underwent PVI with preoperative TEE using a 3D TEE probe and postoperative esophagogastroduodenoscopy. TEE-EMIs were observed in 16 (6.1%) patients (18 lesions), whereas PVI-related EMIs were found in 5 (1.9%) patients (8 lesions). All TEE-EMIs were observed in the upper or middle esophagus and occurred more frequently in the right region of the upper esophagus and the left anterior region of the middle esophagus; only one patient experienced mild chest discomfort. In the multivariate analysis, advanced age was an independent risk factor for TEE-EMIs (odds ratio 1.08, 95% confidence interval 1.01-1.16; P = 0.0274)., Conclusions: The incidence of TEE-EMIs with 3D TEE probes was relatively high in the upper or middle esophagus, anatomically close to the LA, among patients who underwent PVI. Advanced age could pose a significant risk. These findings may warrant consideration of other methods to rule out LA/LAA thrombi, especially in elderly patients., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: We investigated the relationship between intraprocedural angiographic and echocardiographic AR severity after TAVI, and the clinical robustness of angiographic assessment., Methods and results: In 74 consecutive patients, the echocardiographic circumferential extent (CE) of the paravalvular regurgitant jet was retrospectively measured and graded based on the VARC-2 cut-points; and angiographic post-TAVI AR was retrospectively quantified using contrast videodensitometry (VD) software that calculates the ratio of the contrast time-density integral in the LV outflow tract to that in the ascending aorta (LVOT-AR). Seventy-four echocardiograms immediately after TAVI were analyzable, while 51 aortograms were analyzable for VD. These 51 echocardiograms and VD were evaluated. Median LVOT-AR across the echocardiographic AR grades was as follows: none-trace, 0.07 (IQR, 0.05-0.11); mild, 0.12 (IQR, 0.09-0.15); and moderate, 0.17 (IQR, 0.15-0.22; P<0.05 for none-trace vs. mild, and mild vs. moderate). LVOT-AR strongly correlated with %CE (r=0.72, P<0.0001). At 1 year, the rate of the composite end-point of all-cause death or HF re-hospitalization was significantly higher in >mild AR patients compared with no-mild AR on intra-procedural echocardiography (41.5% vs. 12.4%, P=0.03) as well as in patients with LVOT-AR >0.17 compared with LVOT-AR ≤0.17 (59.5% vs. 16.6%, P=0.03)., Conclusions: VD (LVOT-AR) has good intra-procedural inter-technique consistency and clinical robustness. Greater than mild post-TAVI AR, but not mild post-TAVI AR, is associated with late mortality.