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Bronchial artery aneurysm (BAA) is a rare condition. Rupture of BAA can cause critical hemorrhage, and intervention for BAA is thus recommended. A 69-year-old woman presented with BAA 70 mm in diameter in the right hilum of the lung. Transcatheter arterial embolization for afferent arteries of the BAA was performed and the BAA has subsequently been shrinking as observed by radiography. We present this case and a brief review of management of BAA based on the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This report describes a case of traumatic incomplete rupture of the ventricular septum, a rare complication caused by blunt chest trauma. Although a serial ECG progressed its course similar to acute anteroseptal myocardial infarction in this case, there was little clinical clue of septal tear. The diagnosis was established by transthoracic echocardiography. The authors chose a conservative line of management rather than surgical repair for incomplete septal rupture because of the patent's stable clinical course and hemodynamic status. A sequence of echocardiography during a 32-day stay in the hospital showed no change in the extent of incomplete septal rupture, septal structure, systolic function, and shape of left ventricle and also obtained no evidence of shunting through the rupture. In conclusion, echocardiography is a useful investigation to make a diagnosis as well as for follow-up in case of incomplete ventricular septal rupture. A close follow-up of incomplete septal rupture with serial echocardiography should be performed, because several cases of delayed ventricular septal rupture following blunt chest trauma have been reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors present a case of a large saccular aneurysm in a coronary artery fistula originating from the proximal left anterior descending coronary artery, draining into the main trunk of the pulmonary artery. The diagnosis was made by 3-dimensional computed tomography and coronary arteriography. Congenital coronary artery fistula is not uncommon. With a saccular aneurysm, however, it is very rare. A ruptured aneurysm will induce sudden death if surgical repair is not done. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors report the case of a 57-year-old woman with Ebstein's anomaly and atrial septal defect. She was referred to their hospital for treatment of refractory paroxysmal wide QRS tachycardia. Her 12-leads ECG in sinus rhythm showed ventricular preexcitation of type B Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. In a baseline electrophysiological study, a wide QRS tachycardia with right bundle branch block configurations was induced. This tachycardia was orthodromic atrioventricular reciprocating tachycardia with a right inferior accessory pathway. Radiofrequency current was successfully delivered at the inferior site of the atrialized right ventricle. Radiofrequency catheter ablation seems to be useful for supraventricular tachycardia in patients with Ebstein's anomaly and atrial septal defect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We assessed the prognostic ability of several inflammation-based scores and compared their long-term outcomes in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) following endovascular treatment (EVT). We included 278 patients with PAD who underwent EVT and classified them according to their inflammation-based scores (Glasgow prognostic score [GPS], modified GPS [mGPS], platelet to lymphocyte ratio [PLR], prognostic index [PI], and prognostic nutritional index [PNI]). Major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) at 5 years were examined, and C-statistics in each measure were calculated to compare their MACE predictive ability. During the follow-up period, 96 patients experienced MACE. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that higher scores of all measures were associated with a higher MACE incidence. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard analysis showed that GPS 2, mGPS 2, PLR 1, and PNI 1, compared with GPS 0, mGPS 0, PLR 0, and PNI 0, were associated with an increased risk of MACE. C-statistics for MACE for PNI (.683) were greater than those for GPS (.635, P = .021), mGPS (.580, P = .019), PLR (.604, P = .024), and PI (.553, P < .001). PNI is associated with MACE risk and has a better prognosis-predicting ability than other inflammation-scoring models for patients with PAD following EVT., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

The prognostic value of bone mineral content (BMC) for the clinical outcomes of patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) remains unknown. The present study evaluated the association between BMC index (BMCI) and cardiovascular events between January 2020 to June 2021, in consecutive patients (n = 257) with CAD undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) at the Nagano Municipal Hospital. BMCI was measured using bioelectrical impedance analysis and calculated as the BMC divided by height squared. Patients were classified as low (<0.918) or high BMCI (≥0.918) groups according to the receiver operating characteristics curve analysis for the primary endpoint, major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), including cardiovascular death, spontaneous myocardial infarction, stroke, and any revascularization. During a median follow-up of 744 days, the low BMCI group (n = 152) had an increased risk of MACE compared with the high group (n = 105) (19.7 vs 6.7%, P = .004). A low BMCI was significantly associated with MACE in the multivariable Cox and the Inverse Probability of Treatment Weighting analyses (hazard ratio: 3.16, 95% confidence interval: 1.15-8.67, P = .025). In conclusion, among patients with CAD undergoing PCI, BMCI was a predictor for cardiovascular events. Further research is required to determine whether medical interventions for BMC can improve patient prognosis., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

We evaluated whether underweight status is associated with poor prognosis in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) with claudication, excluding critical limb ischemia. We identified 441 claudicants hospitalized for cardiovascular disease between 2005 and 2012. Patients were divided into 4 groups according to body mass index (BMI): an underweight group (BMI < 18.5 kg/m 2 ; n = 48), a normal group (BMI = 18.5-25.0 kg/m 2 ; n = 286), an overweight group (BMI = 25.0-30.0 kg/m 2 ; n = 92), and an obese group (BMI ≥ 30.0 kg/m 2 ; n = 15). The mean follow-up period was 3.5 ± 1.9 years. The underweight group had significantly lower levels of hemoglobin, albumin, estimated glomerular filtration rate, triglycerides, and hemoglobin A 1c ; higher levels of C-reactive protein and B-type natriuretic peptide; and a higher prevalence of hemodialysis. The incidence of all-cause death and cardiovascular death was significantly higher in the underweight group (underweight vs normal, 77.1% vs 33.0%; P < .001 and 43.3% vs 14.4%; P < .001, respectively). In a multivariate Cox analysis, underweight status was an independent predictor of all-cause death (hazard ratio, 2.53; 95% confidence interval, 1.58-4.18; P < .001). Therefore, promoting weight gain, as well as managing cardiovascular disease, may be important for underweight patients with PAD.

Concomitant coronary and peripheral artery disease is associated with higher periprocedural and long-term percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) complication rates. We evaluated in-hospital and 1-year clinical outcomes of patients with low or borderline ankle-brachial indexes (ABIs) undergoing PCIs in the drug-eluting stent era. We divided 1370 SHINANO registry patients into 3 groups-low (ABI ≤ 0.9), borderline (0.9 < ABI ≤ 1.0), and normal (1.0 ≤ ABI < 1.4). During the 1-year follow-up, more PCI-related complications occurred in the low and borderline ABI groups than in the normal ABI group (7.7% vs 8.8% vs 4.0%, respectively). Low ABI patients were more likely to experience adverse clinical events (6.3% vs 3.6% vs 3.0%, respectively; log-rank P = .020 for low vs normal ABI), with a hazard ratio of 2.27 (95% confidence interval, 1.12-4.61; P = .023), compared with patients with normal ABIs. Patients with abnormal ABIs had a significantly higher incidence of PCI-related complications and a less favorable 1-year prognosis. Routine ABI measurement before PCI may help predict PCI-related complication incidence and 1-year prognosis.

Background: We evaluated the 1-year outcomes of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for elderly patients (aged ≥ 80 years) in the second-generation drug-eluting stent (DES) era., Methods and Results: Between August 2012 and July 2013, 1923 consecutive patients (mean age, 71 ± 11 years; ≥80 years, 23%; men, 77%) who underwent 2250 elective/urgent PCI procedures were enrolled in the Shinshu Prospective Multicenter Analysis for Elderly Patients with Coronary Artery Disease Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention registry. The primary end point was major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs; cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, and stroke) at 1 year. The 1-year incidence of MACEs, cardiac death, and stroke was significantly higher in elderly patients than in nonelderly patients (12.4% vs 5.3%, P < .0001; 7.8% vs 2.2%, P < .0001; and 2.8% vs 1.3%, P = .033, respectively). However, no significant difference in elective PCI procedures was detected. In elderly patients, the incidence of cardiac death and target lesion revascularization was significantly lower for DES than for non-DES (2.7% vs 10.5%, P = .0001 and 4.1% vs 8.6%, P = .029, respectively)., Conclusion: Although elderly patients had a significantly poorer prognosis than younger patients, the adverse events rate was comparable in those patients who underwent elective PCI in the second-generation DES era.

We evaluated the impact of endovascular therapy (EVT) on inflammatory cytokine levels and its relationship with in-stent restenosis in patients with peripheral artery disease. The study prospectively enrolled 35 patients with intermittent claudication who underwent EVT of the iliofemoral artery. Levels of interleukin 6 (IL-6), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay before and at 2 hours, 4 hours, and 3 months after EVT. All cytokine levels increased significantly after EVT (IL-6 [pg/mL]: from 1.51 [0.84-1.93] before EVT to 6.97 [4.05-20.41] at 2 hours and 13.29 [4.57-31.88] at 4 hours; MCP-1 [pg/mL]: from 326.65 [265.60-406.55] before EVT to 411.18 [341.21-566.27] at 2 hours and 519.36 [383.58-644.85] at 4 hours; TNF-α [pg/mL]: from 1.08 [0.77-1.29] before EVT to 1.25 [0.94-1.81] at 2 hours and 1.27 [0.95-1.59] at 4 hours, all P < .001). However, cytokine levels did not differ significantly between lesions with and without in-stent restenosis. Overall, our results suggest that EVT significantly increases IL-6, MCP-1, and TNF-α levels in the ischemic leg, but this effect is not associated with a higher rate of in-stent restenosis.

The admission shock index (SI) enables prediction of short-term prognosis. This study investigated the prognostic implications of admission SI for predicting long-term prognoses for acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The participants were 680 patients with AMI who received percutaneous coronary intervention. Shock index is the ratio of heart rate and systolic blood pressure. Patients were classified as admission SI <0.66 (normal) and ≥0.66 (elevated; 75th percentile). The end point was 5-year major adverse cardiac events (MACEs). Elevated admission SI was seen in 176 patients. Peak creatine kinase levels were significantly higher and left ventricular ejection fraction was lower in the elevated SI group, which had a worse MACEs. In multivariate Cox regression analysis, SI ≥0.66 was a risk factor for MACE. Elevated admission SI was associated with poorer long-term prognosis.

We sought to determine whether serial measurements of oxidative stress levels could serve as a predictive marker for cardiovascular (CV) events in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Biological antioxidant potential (BAP) levels were measured at admission and at 6, 12, and 24 months in 69 patients with STEMI. The CV events abruptly increased 6 to 10 months after successful percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with STEMI, and the 6-month BAP levels were significantly lower in patients with CV events (2456 μmol/L [interquartile range: 2237-2615 μmol/L]) than in those without (2849 μmol/L [2575-2987 μmol/L], P < .001). A decreased 6-month BAP level was an independent and significant predictor of long-term CV events (hazard ratio = 2.45; 95% confidence intervals 1.10-5.78; P = .04). Our findings suggest that serial changes in antioxidant capacity, assessed by BAP levels, may serve as a predictive marker for CV events after STEMI., (© The Author(s) 2014.)

Although limb salvage rate has improved in critical limb ischemia (CLI), an improvement in CLI prognosis has been scarcely reported. Multidisciplinary therapy (MT) including revascularization, wound bed preparation, treatment of comorbidity, and education of patients with CLI may improve prognosis. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of MT in prognostic improvement. We retrospectively analyzed 72 patients with CLI and assessed whether MT improved prognosis. The incidence of amputation-free survival (freedom from major amputation [MA] and death) was significantly different between the MT and conventional groups at 2 years (0% vs 33%; P = .024). After multivariate analysis, transfusion (hazard ratio [HR] 5.778; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.372-14.073; P < .001), multivessel coronary disease (HR 3.353; 95% CI, 1.309-8.590; P = .012), and C-reactive protein >5 mg/dL (HR 3.958; 95% CI, 1.359-11.531; P = .012) were independent predictors for MA or death. We concluded that MT was effective in improved mortality and limb salvage rate., (© The Author(s) 2014.)

To identify predictors of the presence of coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with planned surgery for aortic aneurysms, we reviewed clinical profiles and angiography records of 191 patients with aortic aneurysms (34 thoracic, 137 abdominal, and 20 thoracoabdominal; 162 men; mean age, 75.2 ± 7.7 years). The incidence of CAD was 38.7% among all the patients. Patients with CAD had significantly low levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) as compared with patients without CAD (45 ± 9 vs 51 ± 13 mg/dL; P = .009). Multivariate analysis showed that only low HDL-C levels were associated with the presence of CAD (adjusted odds ratio, 0.946; 95% confidence interval, 0.911-0.983; P = .004). The optimal cutoff level of HDL-C to predict CAD was 47.50 mg/dL. The CAD is common in patients with aortic aneurysms, and low levels of HDL-C are independently associated with the presence of CAD., (© The Author(s) 2013.)

Renal artery stenting is expected to improve or stabilize renal function. However, the efficacy of renal artery stenting in severely reduced renal function is unclear. We evaluated 23 patients with class IV or V renal dysfunction who were treated for renal artery stenosis between 2004 and 2009. Improvement in renal function was found in 7 (30%) patients, all of whom were treated with distal protection device. Deterioration of renal function was found in 4 (17%) cases. In these 4 cases, distal protection device could not be used for anatomical reasons. The use of distal protection device was associated with significantly less renal deterioration after the procedure (P < .05, odds ratio 0.21 [confidence interval 0.09-0.50]). Renal artery stenting can stabilize or improve renal function in patients with severe renal dysfunction. Distal protection devices may be beneficial in patients who require renal artery stenting due to severely reduced renal function., (© The Author(s) 2013.)

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) and heart failure (HF) share many risk factors; however, the prevalence and characteristics of HF in patients with PAD have not been fully examined. We investigated 120 consecutive patients with PAD, defined by an ankle-brachial index ≤ 0.9. In all, 36 (30%) patients had brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels ≥ 100 pg/mL (high BNP group), and 84 (70%) patients had BNP levels < 100 pg/mL (low BNP group). Univariate analysis showed that high BNP was associated with age, estimated glomerular filtration rate, hypertension, and transmitral E-wave/early diastolic mitral annular velocity (E/e') ratio. Multivariate logistic regression analysis established that a high BNP was strongly and independently associated with the highest quartile of E/e', highlighting these patients' diastolic dysfunction. The prevalence of high BNP levels in patients with PAD suggests that routine BNP measurements might be useful to detect HF.

This study was carried out to compare concentrations of osteopontin (OPN) and osteoprotegerin (OPG) in peripheral arterial disease (PAD). The study population consisted of 200 consecutive subjects in whom both OPN/OPG and ankle-brachial index were measured. It was found that OPN levels, but not OPG levels, were significantly more increased in patients with PAD than those without PAD. Serum OPN levels were significantly lower in subjects with angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin II receptor blockers than those without these agents. In this study, it has been demonstrated for the first time that serum OPN levels are related to PAD. Inhibition of renin- angiotensin system could decrease OPN levels and prevent the progression of PAD.

A 49-year-old man was admitted for primary cardiac angiosarcoma with a cardiac tamponade. Transthoracic echocardiography and contrast-enhanced computed tomography scan demonstrated a large mass in the right atrium and thickening of the right ventricular wall. 18F-labeled deoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) scan showed increased FDG uptake in the mediastinum and over the heart. The patient responded to combination therapy with docetaxel and radiotherapy and tolerated the treatment well, except for radiation esophagitis, which required a soft diet and resolved 1 month after treatment. This combination therapy resulted in a minimal response with slight regression in the tumor size, but FDG-PET initially showed an increase in FDG uptake by the tumor that was no longer seen after combination therapy. There is no evidence of progression or metastasis even at 12 months after diagnosis.

Coronary artery spasm induced by a guide wire is a very rare complication of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). The authors describe a patient who developed coronary vasoconstriction distal to the dilated lesion during PTCA, which was refractory to intracoronary nitroglycerin and intravenous calcium antagonist injection and balloon angioplasty but responded promptly and completely to withdrawal of the guide wire from the coronary artery, suggesting that the spasm had been induced by the guide wire.