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Graphical AbstractEuroHeart = European Unified Registries for Heart Care Evaluation and Randomised Trials, HRQoL = health-related quality of life, TAVI = transcatheter aortic valve implantation.

Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is the most common technique to improve myocardial perfusion when treating coronary artery disease. It is very efficacious in improving symptoms for individuals with stable angina, and improves prognosis in acute coronary syndromes, particularly in the emergency treatment of patients presenting with ST elevation myocardial infarction. It is performed via a small intra-arterial sheath. A balloon is used to dilate the coronary stenosis, and a stent is implanted to scaffold the vessel. Re-narrowing at the treated site can occur but has been greatly reduced by drug-eluting stents. Most acute complications of PCI are mediated by platelet activation, so drugs blocking platelet aggregation are pivotal to the procedure's safety. Early complications include haemorrhage from the arterial access site (reduced by a radial approach). Abrupt vessel closure, stroke, vessel perforation and tamponade are rare. The requirement for emergency cardiac surgery is <0.1%, and in-hospital mortality is mainly determined by the indication for PCI – about 0.2% in patients with stable angina, 5% after ST elevation myocardial infarction and 30–50% in the context of cardiogenic shock. Technical advances mean that patients with complex coronary artery disease and co-morbid conditions can now be treated by PCI.

To investigate the clinical and procedural characteristics in patients with a history of renal transplant (RT) and compare the outcomes with patients without RT in 2 national cohorts of patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

The British Cardiovascular Intervention Society (BCIS) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) registry is hosted by the National Institute of Cardiovascular Outcomes Research (NICOR) at Bart's Heart Centre and collects clinical characteristics, indications, procedural details, and outcomes of all patients undergoing PCI in the UK. The data are used for audit and research to monitor and improve PCI practices and patient outcomes. Bespoke live data analysis and structured monthly reports are used to provide real-time feedback to all participating hospitals about the provision of care. Risk-adjusted analyses are used as a quality metric and benchmarking PCI practices. The consecutive patients undergoing PCI in all PCI performing hospitals in the UK from 1994 to present. One hundred and thirteen variables encompassing patient demographics, indication, procedural details, complications, and in-hospital outcomes are recorded. Prospective data are collected electronically and encrypted before transfer to central database servers. Data are validated locally and further range checks, sense checks, and assessments of internal consistency are applied during data uploads. Analyses of uploaded data including an assessment of data completeness are provided to all hospitals for validation, with repeat validation rounds prior to public reporting. Endpoints are in-hospital PCI complications, bleeding and mortality. All-cause mortality is obtained via linkage to the Office of National Statistics. No other linkages are available at present. Available for research by application to NICOR at http://www.nicor.org.uk/ using a data sharing agreement.

Background: High survival rates are commonly reported following primary percutaneous coronary intervention for ST-elevation myocardial infarction, with most contemporary studies reporting overall survival.Aims: The aim of this study was to describe survival following primary percutaneous coronary intervention for ST-elevation myocardial infarction corrected for non-cardiovascular deaths by reporting relative survival and investigate clinically significant factors associated with poor long-term outcomes.Methods and Results: Using the prospective UK Percutaneous Coronary Intervention registry, primary percutaneous coronary intervention cases (n=88,188; 2005–2013) were matched to mortality data for the UK populace. Crude five-year relative survival was 87.1% for the patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention and 94.7% for patients <55 years. Increasing age was associated with excess mortality up to four years following primary percutaneous coronary intervention (56–65 years: excess mortality rate ratio 1.61, 95% confidence interval 1.46–1.79; 66-75 years: 2.49, 2.26–2.75; >75 years: 4.69, 4.27–5.16). After four years, there was no excess mortality for ages 56–65 years (excess mortality rate ratio 1.27, 0.95–1.70), but persisting excess mortality for older groups (66–75 years: excess mortality rate ratio 1.72, 1.30–2.27; >75 years: 1.66, 1.15–2.41). Excess mortality was associated with cardiogenic shock (excess mortality rate ratio 6.10, 5.72–6.50), renal failure (2.52, 2.27–2.81), left main stem stenosis (1.67, 1.54–1.81), diabetes (1.58, 1.47–1.69), previous myocardial infarction (1.52, 1.40–1.65) and female sex (1.33, 1.26–1.41); whereas stent deployment (0.46, 0.42–0.50) especially drug eluting stents (0.27, 0.45–0.55), radial access (0.70, 0.63–0.71) and previous percutaneous coronary intervention (0.67, 0.60–0.75) were protective.Conclusions: Following primary percutaneous coronary intervention for ST-elevation myocardial infarction, long-term cardiovascular survival is excellent. Failure to account for non-cardiovascular death may result in an underestimation of the efficacy of primary percutaneous coronary intervention.

The UK Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) registry has collected data about every TAVI procedure performed in the UK. The latest data are from 2016 when 3250 procedures (49.5 pmp) were performed. There has been no change in the mean age of patients but there has been a shift to lower risk with fall in mean Logistic Euroscore since 2012. The switch from general anaesthetic to conscious sedation has been rapid, and propensity-adjusted analysis has not shown a difference in outcomes. In-hospital mortality has fallen to 1.8% in 2016, and relative survival analysis has shown outcome the same as the matched general population to 3 years. The UK TAVI registry has provided valuable benchmarks, and a risk adjustment model that includes frailty measures has been successfully developed and is available online.

Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is the most common technique to improve myocardial perfusion when treating coronary artery disease. It is very efficacious in improving symptoms for patients with stable angina, and improves prognosis in acute coronary syndromes, particularly in the emergency treatment of patients presenting with ST elevation myocardial infarction. It is performed via a small intra-arterial sheath. A balloon is used to dilate the coronary stenosis, and a stent is implanted to scaffold the vessel. Re-narrowing at the treated site can occur but has been greatly reduced by drug-eluting stents. Most acute complications of PCI are mediated by platelet activation, so drugs blocking platelet aggregation are pivotal to the procedure's safety. Early complications include haemorrhage from the arterial access site (reduced by a radial approach). Abrupt vessel closure, stroke, vessel perforation and tamponade are rare. The requirement for emergency cardiac surgery is <0.1%, and in-hospital mortality is mainly determined by the indication for PCI – about 0.2% in patients with stable angina, 5% after ST elevation myocardial infarction and 30–50% in the context of cardiogenic shock. Technical advances mean that patients with complex coronary artery disease and co-morbid conditions can now be treated by PCI.

ObjectivesTo investigate the association of the CharlsonComorbidity Index (CCI) with clinical outcomes after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI).BackgroundPatients undergoing TAVI have high comorbid burden; however, there is limited evidence of its impact on clinical outcomes.MethodsData from 1887 patients from the UK, Canada, Spain, Switzerland and Italy were collected between 2007 and 2016. The association of CCI with 30-day mortality, Valve Academic Research Consortium-2 (VARC-2) composite early safety, long-term survival and length of stay (LoS) was calculated using logistic regression and Cox proportional hazard models, as a whole cohort and at a country level, through a two-stage individual participant data (IPD) random effect meta-analysis.ResultsMost (60%) of patients had a CCI ≥3. A weak correlation was found between the total CCI and four different preoperative risks scores (ρ=0.16 to 0.29), and approximately 50% of patients classed as low risk from four risk prediction models still presented with a CCI ≥3. Per-unit increases in total CCI were not associated with increased odds of 30-day mortality (OR 1.09, 95% CI 0.96 to 1.24) or VARC-2 early safety (OR 1.04, 95% CI 0.96 to 1.14) but were associated with increased hazard of long-term mortality (HR 1.10, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.16). The two-stage IPD meta-analysis indicated that CCI was not associated with LoS (HR 0.97, 95% CI 0.93 to 1.02).ConclusionIn this multicentre international study, patients undergoing TAVI had significant comorbid burden. We found a weak correlation between the CCI and well-established preoperative risks scores. The CCI had a moderate association with long-term mortality up to 5 years post-TAVI.

ObjectivePerforming transfemoral transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) without general anaesthesia (GA) has been increasingly adopted. We sought to study the impact of GA and non-GA approaches on procedural outcome and 30-day and 1-year mortality in transfemoral TAVI.MethodsThe UK TAVI registry holds information for every TAVI procedure in the UK. We analysed the data for patients implanted during 2013–2014 using either an Edwards Sapien or a Medtronic CoreValve prosthesis. Propensity score-matching analysis was performed to adjust for confounding factors.Results2243 patients were studied (aged 81.4±7.5 years, 1195 males). 1816 (81%) underwent TAVI with GA and 427 (19%) without GA. Transoesophageal echocardiography (TOE) was used in 92.3% of GA and 12.4% of non-GA cases (p<0.001). There was no significant difference in the rate of successful valve deployment (GA 97.2% vs non-GA 95.7%, p=0.104) and in the incidence of more than mild aortic regurgitation (AR) at the end of the procedure (GA 5.6% vs non-GA 7.0%, p=0.295). However, procedure time was longer (131±60 vs 121±60mins, p=0.002) and length of stay was greater (8.0±13.5 vs 5.7±5.5 days, p<0.001) for GA cases. 30-day and 1-year mortality rates did not differ between the GA and non-GA cases. After propensity matching, these results remained unchanged. A second propensity analysis (adjusted for mode of anaesthesia) did not show an association between use of TOE and rate of successful valve deployment or frequency of significant AR. Neither was TOE associated with a longer procedural time or greater length of stay.ConclusionProcedure outcome, and 30-day and 1-year mortality are not influenced by mode of anaesthesia. However, GA is associated with longer procedure duration and greater length of stay.

ObjectiveExisting clinical prediction models (CPM) for short-term mortality after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) have limited applicability in the UK due to moderate predictive performance and inconsistent recording practices across registries. The aim of this study was to derive a UK-TAVI CPM to predict 30-day mortality risk for benchmarking purposes.MethodsA two-step modelling strategy was undertaken: first, data from the UK-TAVI Registry between 2009 and 2014 were used to develop a multivariable logistic regression CPM using backwards stepwise regression. Second, model-updating techniques were applied using the 2013–2014 data, thereby leveraging new approaches to include frailty and to ensure the model was reflective of contemporary practice. Internal validation was performed by bootstrapping to estimate in-sample optimism-corrected performance.ResultsBetween 2009 and 2014, up to 6339 patients were included across 34 centres in the UK-TAVI Registry (mean age, 81.3; 2927 female (46.2%)). The observed 30-day mortality rate was 5.14%. The final UK-TAVI CPM included 15 risk factors, which included two variables associated with frailty. After correction for in-sample optimism, the model was well calibrated, with a calibration intercept of 0.02 (95% CI −0.17 to 0.20) and calibration slope of 0.79 (95% CI 0.55 to 1.03). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, after adjustment for in-sample optimism, was 0.66.ConclusionThe UK-TAVI CPM demonstrated strong calibration and moderate discrimination in UK-TAVI patients. This model shows potential for benchmarking, but even the inclusion of frailty did not overcome the need for more wide-ranging data and other outcomes might usefully be explored.

ObjectiveStudies reporting an association between treatment delay and outcome for patients with ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) have generally not included patients treated by a primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) service that systematically delivers reperfusion therapy to all eligible patients. We set out to determine the association of call-to-balloon (CTB) time with 30-day mortality after PPCI in a contemporary series of patients treated within a national reperfusion service.MethodsWe analysed data on 16 907 consecutive patients with STEMI treated by PPCI in England and Wales in 2011 with CTB time of ≤6 hours.ResultsThe median CTB and door-to-balloon times were 111 and 41 min, respectively, with 80.9% of patients treated within 150 min of the call for help. An out-of-hours call time (58.2% of patients) was associated with a 10 min increase in CTB time, whereas inter-hospital transfer for PPCI (18.5% of patients) was associated with a 49 min increase in CTB time. CTB time was independently associated with 30-day mortality (p<0.0001) with a HR of 1.95 (95% CI 1.54 to 2.47) for a CTB time of >180–240 min compared with ≤90 min. The relationship between CTB time and 30-day mortality was influenced by patient risk profile with a greater absolute impact of increasing CTB time on mortality in high-risk patients.ConclusionCTB time is a useful metric to assess the overall performance of a PPCI service. Delays to reperfusion remain important even in the era of organised national PPCI services with rapid treatment times and efforts should continue to minimise treatment delays.

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text.

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text.

Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is the dominant method for mechanically improving myocardial perfusion in the treatment of coronary artery disease. The procedure is performed via a small intra-arterial sheath and usually involves a single overnight stay in hospital. Day-case treatment is not infrequent. A balloon is used to dilate the coronary stenosis and a stent is then implanted to scaffold the vessel. Re-narrowing at the treated site may occur but has been greatly reduced by drug-eluting stents. Most acute complications of PCI are mediated by platelet activation, so that drugs blocking platelet aggregation are pivotal to the safety of the procedure. Early complications include haemorrhage from the arterial access site (reduced by a radial approach). Abrupt vessel closure, CVA and tamponade are very rare. The requirement for emergency cardiac surgery is less than 0.1% and in-hospital mortality is mainly determined by the indication for PCI – about 0.2% in those with stable angina, 5% following STEMI and 30% to 50% in the context of cardiogenic shock. Technical advances mean that patients with complex coronary artery disease and co-morbid conditions can now be treated by PCI.

Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is now the dominant method for mechanically improving myocardial perfusion in the treatment of coronary artery disease. The procedure is performed via a small intra-arterial sheath and usually involves a single overnight stay in hospital. Day-case treatment is now possible in many cases. A balloon is used to dilate the coronary stenosis and a stent then implanted to scaffold the vessel. Renarrowing at the treated site may occur owing to neointimal proliferation but stents with drug-eluting coatings have profoundly reduced this problem. Most acute complications of PCI are mediated by platelet activation, so that appropriate drug combinations that block platelet aggregation are critical to the safety of the procedure and later outcomes. Early complications include haemorrhage from the arterial access site, abrupt vessel closure and cardiac tamponade. The requirement for emergency CABG is now about 0.1% and in hospital mortality about 1%. Technical advances mean that patients with ever more complex coronary artery disease can now be safely treated by PCI.

To gauge the accuracy of ultrafast CT in measuring cardiac output and myocardial perfusion in humans, measurements of continuous and pulsatile flow were made in a large asymmetrical phantom. The variation in the relationship between Hounsfield number and contrast concentration was assessed in a human thorax phantom. Radiopaque contrast medium was injected during perfusion of the phantom at a range of flow rates between 1.5 and 8 L/min. The phantom was scanned in two modes (50 and 100 ms) during continuous and pulsatile flow and with the phantom surrounded by air and by water. Flow in the tubes was calculated using indicator dilution theory, and flow in the tissue-equivalent chamber was calculated by applying first-pass distribution principles. The standard deviation of the difference between calculated and measured flow varied from 0.2 to 0.6 L/min, giving 95 limits of agreement from 0.4 to 1.2 L/min. The constant (K) relating Hounsfield unit number to iodine concentration varied widely both in different locations within the phantom and under different scan conditions (17.2–27.6 HU/mg I). Within a human thorax phantom, Kvaried from 1415 to 23.18 HU/mg I and was dependent on location within the thorax phantom, the scan mode, and the cross-sectional diameter of the phantom. These data suggest that though the ultrafast CT scanner can measure continuous and pulsatile flow accurately in tubes, precise measurements of cardiac output in humans will require Kto be assessed for each subject. Measurements of flow in tissue should be possible.

Endothelium-dependent vasodilation of the pulmonary vascular bed was investigated in five patients with primary pulmonary hypertension. Three endothelium-dependent vasodilators (acetylcholine, calcitonin gene-related peptide and substance P [in two patients]) were infused sequentially into the right atrium, followed by nicardipine given orally during full hemodynamic monitoring.

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text.

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text.

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text.

The impact of operator and centre volume on clinical outcomes and quality of care has been of considerable debate in recent years in a number of surgical- and procedural-based specialities. A relationship between higher volumes at both the institutional and operator levels and better clinical outcomes would at first appear intuitive, based on the premise that performing a procedure very infrequently would be likely to lead to unfamiliarity, complications, and poorer outcomes. In the current review, we study the relationship between operator volume and outcomes in the setting of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), and examine the evidence for current clinical competency guidelines that advocate that a minimum number of PCI procedures be undertaken annually. Whilst both high institutional and operator volumes have been shown to be associated with better outcomes by reducing death and in-hospital mortality, these data are often derived from the pre-stent era, or when high-volume operators undertook far smaller numbers of procedures than is currently recommended to maintain clinical competency. The emphasis of specific volume requirements for optimal outcomes needs to be interpreted with caution, as volume is not a surrogate for quality and merely one of the variables associated with outcome. Healthcare providers should focus on other measures of quality such as robust clinical care pathways, evidence-based treatments, periodic case review, using validated risk assessment scores, and ascertainment of outcome to improve care and reduce adverse events.

The prognostic impact of site-specific major bleeding complications after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has yielded conflicting data. The aim of this study is to provide an overview of site-specific major bleeding events in contemporary PCI and study their impact on mortality and major adverse cardiovascular event outcomes.

Objectives: Abnormalities of skeletal muscle perfusion and metabolism may be important in the symptomatic limitation of patients with chronic heart failure. A method for assessing both skeletal muscle blood flow and mass would be useful in clinical practice and research. Ultrafast computed tomography has the potential to make these measurements. The aim was to determine the accuracy with which skeletal muscle blood flow could be measured by ultrafast computed tomography in patients with chronic heart failure. Methods: Leg blood flow measured by venous occlusion plethysmography was compared with skeletal muscle blood flow by ultrafast computed tomography. Fourteen patients with chronic heart failure (aged 51 to 76 years) were investigated. Plethysmography and ultrafast computed tomography measurements were performed at rest and during hyperaemic flow induced by symptom limited bicycle exercise followed by five minutes of leg ischaemia. The ultrafast computed tomography measurements were made by analysing the opacification of the blood pool and of the muscle after an intravenous bolus of non-ionic radio-opaque contrast. Results: Flows assessed by plethysmography ranged from 1.5 to 38.1 ml·100 ml–1·min–1. The slope of the line relating the two methods was 1.1 (95% confidence interval 0.91 to 1.31), and the mean (95% limits of agreement) of the differences between the two methods was 2.5(10.6) ml·100 ml–1·min–1. Conclusions: Ultrafast computed tomography is a useful tool in the measurement of both skeletal muscle mass and perfusion in humans. Cardiovascular Research 1993;27:1109-1115