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Aims: In the Bivalirudin versus Heparin in ST-Segment and Non-ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction in Patients on Modern Antiplatelet Therapy in the Swedish Web System for Enhancement and Development of Evidence-based Care in Heart Disease Evaluated according to Recommended Therapies Registry Trial (VALIDATE-SWEDEHEART), bivalirudin was not superior to unfractionated heparin in patients with acute coronary syndrome undergoing invasive management. We assessed whether the access site had an impact on the primary endpoint of death, myocardial infarction or major bleeding at 180 days and whether it interacted with bivalirudin/unfractionated heparin., Methods and Results: A total of 6006 patients with acute coronary syndrome planned for percutaneous coronary intervention were randomised to either bivalirudin or unfractionated heparin. Arterial access was left to the operator discretion. Overall, 90.5% of patients underwent transradial access and 9.5% transfemoral access. Baseline risk was higher in transfemoral access. The unadjusted hazard ratio for the primary outcome was lower with transradial access (hazard ratio 0.53, 95% confidence interval 0.43-0.67, p <0.001) and remained lower after multivariable adjustment (hazard ratio 0.56, 95% confidence interval 0.52-0.84, p <0.001). Transradial access was associated with lower risk of death (hazard ratio 0.41, 95% confidence interval 0.28-0.60, p <0.001) and major bleeding (hazard ratio 0.57, 95% confidence interval 0.44-0.75, p <0.001). There was no interaction between treatment with bivalirudin and access site for the primary endpoint ( p =0.976) or major bleeding ( p =0.801)., Conclusions: Transradial access was associated with lower risk of death, myocardial infarction or major bleeding at 180 days. Bivalirudin was not associated with less bleeding, irrespective of access site.

Introduction: Treatment with warfarin in combination with clopidogrel has been shown to reduce the incidence of major bleeding as compared to triple antithrombotic therapy (TT; warfarin, clopidogrel and aspirin). However, there are uncertainties regarding the risk for thrombosis since poor-responsiveness to clopidogrel is common. Ticagrelor is a more potent platelet inhibitor, but data supporting concurrent use of ticagrelor and warfarin (dual antithrombotic therapy, DT) is limited. This study therefore sought to evaluate the risk of bleeding and thrombosis associated with DT after an acute coronary syndrome (ACS)., Materials and Methods: We identified all ACS patients on DT upon discharge from Helsingborg Hospital and Skåne University Hospital in Malmö and Lund, Sweden, during 2013. Patients on DT were compared with historical controls discharged with TT. Major bleeding was defined in accordance with the HAS-BLED derivation study. Patients were retrospectively followed for three months., Results: In total, 107 DT patients were identified and compared with 159 controls on TT. Mean HAS-BLED bleeding risk score and duration of treatment were similar between the groups (HAS-BLED 2.2+/-0.8 vs 2.2+/-1.0 units, p=NS; duration 2.7+/-0.8 vs 2.5+/-0.9months, p=NS; DT vs TT). The incidence of spontaneous major bleeding was similar between the groups, as was a composite of all thrombotic events, i.e. peripheral embolism, stroke/TIA and acute coronary syndrome (bleeding 8/106 (7.5%) vs 11/157 (7.0%), p=NS; thrombosis 5/106 (4.7%) vs 5/157 (3.2%), p=NS; DT vs TT)., Conclusions: Rates of thrombotic and bleeding events were similar in patients with TT and patients with ticagrelor and warfarin., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of triple antithrombotic therapy (TT) (warfarin, aspirin and clopidogrel) in patients following an acute coronary syndrome (ACS), the bleeding risk compared to double antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) (aspirin and clopidogrel) and evaluate the accuracy of the HAS-BLED risk score in predicting serious bleeding events in TT patients., Methods and Results: We retrospectively identified all ACS patients on TT upon discharge from the Coronary Care Unit at Skane University Hospital between 2005 and 2010. TT patients were compared to age- and sex-matched control patients discharged with DAPT. Major bleeding was defined in accordance with the HAS-BLED derivation study. A total of 2,423 patients were screened, of whom 159 (6.6%) were on TT. The mean age was 67.2 (±0.9) years. The most common indication for TT was atrial fibrillation (n=63, 39.6%) followed by apical akinesia (n=60, 37.8%), and the mean duration of TT was 3.7 (±0.3) months. Upon termination of TT, warfarin was discontinued in 82 (52.2%) patients and clopidogrel in 57 (36.3%) patients. The cumulative incidence of spontaneous bleeding events was significantly higher with TT compared to DAPT at one year (10.2% vs. 3.2%; p=0.01). The HAS-BLED score significantly predicted spontaneous bleeding events in TT patients (area under the receiver operating characteristic [ROC] curve 0.67; 95% CI=0.54-0.79; p=0.048)., Conclusions: TT was relatively common following acute coronary syndrome and was associated with a threefold increase in major bleeding compared to DAPT at one year. The HAS-BLED risk score predicted bleeding events with moderate accuracy.

Background: Mortality in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) has improved substantially with modern therapy including percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) but remains high in certain subgroups such as patients presenting with overt cardiogenic shock. However, the risk for AMI in patients presenting acutely with signs of heart failure but without cardiogenic shock is less well described. We aimed to identify risk factors for mortality in AMI patients with heart failure without overt cardiogenic shock.Methods: Using data from the Swedish Coronary Angiography and Angioplasty Registry (SCAAR), we identified patients with operator-registered heart failure (Killip class II-IV), and evaluated predictors of mortality based on clinical factors from review of patient records.Results: A total of 1260 unique patients with acute myocardial infarction underwent PCI in 2014, of which 77 patients (7%) showed signs of heart failure (Killip II-IV) Overall 30-day mortality in patients with Killip class II-IV was 20% (N = 15). In patients classified Killip IV (1%), 30-day mortality was 50% (N = 6). In patients presenting with mild to moderate heart failure (Killlip class II-III), 30-day mortality was 14% (N = 9). In patients with Killip class II-III, lactate ≥2.5 mmol/L was associated with 30-day mortality, whereas systolic blood pressure < 90 mmHg, age, sex and BMI were not. In patients with lactate < 2.5 mmol/L 30-day mortality was 5% (N = 2) whereas mortality was 28% (N = 7) with lactate ≥2.5 mmol/L. This cut-off provided discriminative information on 30-day mortality (area under ROC curve 0.74).Conclusions: In patients with AMI and signs of mild to moderate heart failure, lactate ≥2.5 mmol/L provides additional prognostic information. Interventions to reduce risk may be targeted to these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]