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Heart failure (HF) is a common cause of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. Despite advances in treatment, the prognosis remains poor. Sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors decrease HF events by 27–39% in high-risk patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Moreover, the DAPA-HF and EMPEROR-Reduced studies randomized patients with HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) with or without diabetes mellitus to receive guideline-directed medical therapy versus guideline-directed medical therapy plus an SGLT-2 inhibitor. Both studies showed the benefits of SGLT-2 inhibitors. In addition, SGLT-2 inhibitors have shown improvement according to the EMPEROR-Preserved study of HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Therefore, a panel of cardiology experts from the Egyptian Atherosclerosis and Vascular Biology Association (EAVA) revised the literature for SGLT-2 inhibitors in HF, along with the recommended indications and contraindications, and this article presents their consensus on the topic. The panel concluded that SGLT-2 inhibitors have significantly benefited patients with chronic HFrEF, as indicated through the DAPA-HF and EMPEROR-Reduced trials. The panel recommended early use of dapagliflozin 10 mg or empagliflozin 10 mg in patients with symptomatic chronic HFrEF, whether diabetic or non-diabetic, to ameliorate HF hospitalization rate, mortality, symptoms, and decline in renal function.

Objective: Early treatment of acute ischemia of the heart by performing immediate percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) to restore blood flow in patients with the clinical presentation of an acute coronary syndrome and more specifically with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) can save lives. This study aims to identify the mean time (door to balloon time and first contact to balloon time) to primary PCI for STEMI patients and to assess the percentage of primary PCI and its success rate in Egypt. Methods: A registry study of patients presenting to cardiac centers in Egypt was designed, where patients’ basic characteristics, the treatment strategy, and the door to balloon time and the first contact to balloon time were assessed. Results: One thousand six hundred fifty STEMI patients with a mean age of 57 years were included in the study. Immediate transfer for primary PCI was the most used treatment strategy, representing 74.6% of all treatment strategies used. The door to balloon time and the first contact to balloon time were 50 and 60 minutes, respectively, with a primary PCI success rate of 65.1%. Conclusion: The registry study results showed a marked improvement by implementation of the best treatment strategy with respect to the time factor to achieve a better outcome for STEMI patients in Egypt.

Aims Analysis of SGLT2i data from DAPA-HF and EMPEROR- reduced trials to put a simplified consensus statement on the use of these glucose lowering agents in patients with established heart failure. Methods and Results Sixty experts in the field of cardiology revised the literature of the SGLT2i in heart failure, their recommended indications, and their contraindications. Data from DAPA-HF and EMPEROR-reduced trials were tabulated and statistically analysed. SGLT2 inhibitors investigated initially for their glucose lowering capability, have shown a significant benefit in chronic heart failure eit reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Conclusions We recommend early use of dapagliflozin 10 mg, or empagliflozin 10 mg in patients suffering from symptomatic chronic HFrEF, whether the patient is diabetic or non, to improve heart failure hospitalization, death, symptoms, and decline of renal function.

Background Atrial fibrillation (AF) is considered the major cause of stroke in the elderly. Alternative therapies to the anticoagulant therapy are warranted, particularly in patients who are ineligible or at high risk of bleeding. The left atrial appendage (LAA) is a prominent source of thrombi in nonvalvular AF, accounting for 90% of thrombi. As a result, surgical and transcatheter techniques have been explored to reduce the risk of stroke in patients with AF by occluding the LAA. Objectives To assess the safety and efficacy of LAA closure in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (AF) ineligible for warfarin therapy. Methods A prospective study that evaluated LAA closure with the Watchman device (Boston Scientific, Natick, MA; group A) in fifteen patients with nonvalvular AF and CHADS2 (congestive heart failure, hypertension, age ⩾75 years, diabetes mellitus, and prior stroke or transient ischemic attack) score ⩾1, who were considered ineligible for warfarin therapy. The primary efficacy endpoint was the combined events of ischemic/hemorrhagic stroke, systemic embolism and cardiovascular/unexplained death during a period of six months follow-up. Results Successful closure of the LAA using the Watchman device was achieved in 15 patients (100%). The mean age was found to be 67.9 ± 9 years with 40% of them being males. No device or procedure related adverse events were detected. The mean CHADS2 score was 2.4 ± 0.8, while the mean CHA2DS2-VASC score was 4.4 ± 1.0. After a mean period of 8 ± 2 months of follow-up, no device dislodgement or device-related thrombi were documented. The all-cause stroke (ischemic and hemorrhagic) and systemic embolism were 0%. The device and procedure related mortality was found to be 0%. Only one patient died after 8 months of device implantation from pneumonia. Conclusion LAA closure with the Watchman device can be safely performed, and may be a reasonable alternative to consider for patients at high risk for stroke but with contraindications to systemic oral anticoagulation or with high risk of bleeding.

Objectives The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility and safety of transcarotid transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Background Many candidates for TAVR have challenging vascular anatomy that precludes transfemoral access. Transcarotid arterial access may be an option for such patients. Methods The French Transcarotid TAVR Registry is a voluntary database that prospectively collected patient demographics, procedural characteristics, and clinical outcomes among patients undergoing transcarotid TAVR. Outcomes are reported according to the updated Valve Academic Research Consortium criteria. Results Among 96 patients undergoing transcarotid TAVR at 3 French sites (2009 to 2013), the mean age and Society of Thoracic Surgeons predicted risk of mortality were 79.4 ± 9.2 years and 7.1 ± 4.1%, respectively. Successful carotid artery access was achieved in all patients. The Medtronic CoreValve (Medtronic, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota) (n = 89; 92.7%) and Edwards SAPIEN valves (Edwards Lifesciences, Irvine, California) (n = 7; 7.3%) were used. Procedural complications included: valve embolization (3.1%), requirement for a second valve (3.1%), and tamponade (4.2%). There were no major bleeds or major vascular complications related to the access site. There were 3 (3.1%) procedural deaths and 6 (6.3%) deaths at 30 days. The 1-year mortality rate was 16.7%. There were 3 (3.1%) cases of Valve Academic Research Consortium–defined in-hospital stroke (n = 0) or transient ischemic attack (TIA) (n = 3). None of these patients achieved the criteria for stroke and none manifested new ischemic lesions on cerebral computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging. At 30 days, a further 3 TIAs were observed, giving an overall stroke/TIA rate of 6.3%. Conclusions Transcarotid vascular access for TAVR is feasible and is associated with encouraging short- and medium-term clinical outcomes. Prospective studies are required to ascertain if transcarotid TAVR yields equivalent results to other nonfemoral vascular access routes.

Bifurcation lesions represent a distinct lesion subset associated with an increased risk of procedural complications. Data on the incidence, treatment, and outcome of bifurcation lesions associated with chronic total occlusions are limited.Among chronic total occlusion procedures performed by a single experienced operator, patients with a bifurcation lesion within the chronic total occlusion vessel and a side branch reference diameter greater than or equal to 2.0 mm were enrolled.A total of 905 patients (mean age 61.1±9.5 years, men 89.4%) were treated for 922 chronic total occlusion lesions. Among these, 244 bifurcation lesions were observed (26.5%). The procedural time was significantly longer in bifurcation lesions (139±67 vs. 124±68 min; P=0.003), with greater use of contrast load (470±193 vs. 436±227 ml; P=0.04) and higher number of stents (3.1±1.5 vs. 2.9±1.4; P=0.035). Overall, an angiographic success was achieved in 91.1% of cases with a higher rate in nonbifurcation lesions (92.5 vs. 87.3%; P=0.04). Coronary perforations were more often observed in bifurcation lesions (4.9 vs. 1.7%; P0.001), resulting in more tamponades (2.4 vs. 0.2%; P0.001). True bifurcations were encountered in the majority of cases (86.8%) and required more two-stent techniques than false bifurcations (50 vs. 18.8%; P=0.001).The incidence of bifurcation lesions in chronic total occlusions is higher than that reported in continuous lesions. The presence of a bifurcation lesion increases the complexity of the procedure and may lead to less angiographic success and more periprocedural complications.

Objective To evaluate the feasibility, efficacy, and safety of the ABSORB BVS (Bioresorbable Vascular Scaffold) for the treatment of de novo native coronary artery stenosis. Methods Thirty patients with ischemic heart disease were selected between September 2012 and December 2012 and received ABSORB BVS for the treatment of de novo native significant coronary artery stenosis. Patients were followed up for six months after the procedure. In each patient, the treated segment and the periscaffold segments (5 mm proximal and distal to the scaffold edge) were analyzed by Quantitative coronary angiography (QCA) and phased-array intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) catheters in paired matched angiographic views after the procedure and at follow-up. The major clinical end point was ischemia-driven major adverse cardiac events (ID-MACE) defined as a composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction or ischemia-driven target lesion revascularization. Results Overall the scaffold area remained unchanged. The angiographic late lumen loss amounted to 0.27 ± 0.32 mm with an IVUS relative decrease in minimal lumen area of 1.94% ( p = 0.12), without significant changes in the mean lumen area. After 2 weeks, 1 patient presented with STEMI, control coronary angiography revealed a patent stent with thrombus distal to it that was treated with a metallic drug-eluting stent (Xience V). There were no cardiac deaths or ischemia-driven target lesion revascularizations. At six months the hierarchical ID-MACE was 3.3%. Conclusions ABSORB BVS seems an attractive option for the treatment of significant de novo native coronary artery stenosis with low risk of serious adverse events.

Background Among the Egyptian population with essential hypertension, a minority are under control (systolic pressure

Factors of restenosis after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for chronic total coronary occlusion (CTO) have not been fully explored. In particular, although the last ACC/AHA guidelines on PCI suggest that a minimum diameter stenosis of 10% with an optimal goal of as close to 0% as possible should be the new benchmark for lesions treated by stenting, angiographic success of PCI for CTO remains in the literature most often defined as a30% residual diameter stenosis. Whether an optimized immediate post-PCI angiographic result (OAR) defined by a minimal diameter stenosis as close to 0% is associated with a lower restenosis rate in this subset of coronary lesions remains unknown.Therefore, we assessed by quantitative coronary analysis (QCA) both the immediate post-PCI and 6-month follow-up angiographic results of 170 successfully treated true CTO.Post-PCI QCA immediate residual diameter stenosis was30% in all 170 CTOs and OAR defined as a ≤10% residual stenosis was achieved in 133 (78%). Global binary restenosis rate was 21% in the 170 lesions. Restenosis rates were 46% and 14% in the non-OAR group and in the OAR group, respectively (p0.0001). Multivariate analysis showed that a non-OAR, a younger age and a retrograde approach were independent factors of restenosis.Thus, an optimized immediate angiographic result with a minimal diameter stenosis as close to 0% as possible appears to be associated with a lower rate of restenosis after CTO PCI.

Summary Background Previous studies have evaluated return to work after acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) treated medically, after bypass surgery or after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for stable coronary artery disease. However, there are few data regarding return to work after acute STEMI treated by direct PCI. Aims To analyse the factors influencing return to work after STEMI treated by direct PCI. Methods Two hundred consecutive patients who underwent direct PCI for acute STEMI and who were employed at the time of their STEMI were studied. Stents were used in 94% of patients and glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors in 77%. Results Among the 200 patients, 152 (76%) patients returned to work and 48 (24%) did not. Patients who did not return to work did not differ from those who returned to work in terms of time from onset of chest pain to PCI, STEMI location, left ventricular function, extent of vessel disease, PCI technique and success, completeness of revascularization, duration of hospital stay, intrahospital complications and performance of cardiac rehabilitation. Multivariable analysis showed that older age, daytime onset of chest pain, manual labour, rapid call-out of the emergency medical team, unmarried status and a limited number of risk factors were independent predictors of non-return to work. Conclusion Age, sociopsychological and occupational factors appear to be the strongest predictors of return to work after STEMI treated by direct PCI. Clinical and procedural factors as well as cardiac rehabilitation appear to have no impact on return to work in this subset of patients.

BackgroundSYNTAX score II (SS II) integrates anatomical SS with clinical characteristics allowing an individualized prediction of long-term mortality.AimsWe sought to assess to evaluate the usefulness of SS II in a real-world acute coronary syndromes (ACS) population with severe coronary artery disease (CAD) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).MethodsFrom August 2011 to May 2013, out of 1591 consecutive patients admitted for ACS, 217 (13.6%) showed severe CAD (three-vessel disease and/or left main involvement). Among the latter, 100 patients underwent PCI and were enrolled into the study. SS II was calculated in all patients. One-year clinical follow-up was performed; major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) were defined as a composite of death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, stroke, or repeat revascularization.ResultsThe median SS II was 29 (range, 14–59). Overall, MACCE occurred in 25% of patients (cardiac death 4%, myocardial infarction 4%, stroke 0%, and repeat revascularization 17%). The 1-year MACCE-free survival was significantly lower in patients with SS (⩾29), than in those with SS II (

A promising variant of the subintimal tracking and re-entry (STAR) technique, called "mini-STAR," has been recently described as a successful rescue technique after revascularization failure by conventional techniques for coronary chronic total occlusion (CTO).The current study enrolled patients with CTO who underwent successful revascularization by the mini-STAR technique as a bailout strategy. Two-year clinical follow-up and angiographic control procedures were performed.From March 2009-September 2011, 100 of 117 patients (mean age, 61.4 ± 10.9 years) underwent successful recanalization of CTO by the mini-STAR technique as a bailout strategy. Drug-eluting stents (DESs) were implanted in all cases. At 2-year follow-up, the major adverse cardiac events (MACE)-free survival was 89.2%, with a target lesion revascularization (TLR) rate of 6.5%. Angiographic follow-up was performed in 72% of patients. CTO target lesion restenosis was observed in 25% of patients, whereas the reocclusion rate was 12.5%. At multivariate Cox analysis, final thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) flowgrade 3 was related to occurrence of MACE (hazard ratio, 5.9; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.4-24.4; P = 0.013). Final TIMI flowgrade 3 (odds ratio [OR], 5.41; 95% CI, 1.05-27.73; P = 0.043) and CTO stent length (OR, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.93-0.99; P = 0.017) were independent predictors of reocclusion. The independent variables related to restenosis were first-generation DESs (OR, 4.10; 95% CI, 1.23-13.64; P = 0.022) and CTO stent length (OR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.95-0.99; P = 0.027).As bailout strategy for CTO revascularization, the mini-STAR technique shows low MACE and TLR rates at long-term follow-up.

Objectives To evaluate the feasibility, efficacy, and safety of catheter-based radiofrequency renal sympathetic denervation for treatment of resistant hypertension. Background In a subpopulation of patients with essential hypertension, therapeutic targets are not met, despite the use of multiple types of medication. In this paper we describe our first experience with a novel percutaneous treatment modality using renal artery radiofrequency (RF) ablation. Methods Thirty patients with essential hypertension unresponsive to at least three types of antihypertensive medical therapy (baseline office systolic blood pressure ⩾160 mmHg) were selected between March and September 2012 and received percutaneous RF ablation. Patients were followed up for 6 months after treatment. The primary effectiveness endpoint was change in seated office-based measurement of systolic blood pressure at 6 months. Another thirty patients were taken as control. Results A reduction of mean office blood pressure was seen from 170/102 ± 9/5 mmHg at baseline to 151/91 ± 8/6 mmHg at 6 months follow-up ( p = 0.001). Also, we noted a significant decrease in plasma renin activity (3.66 ± 0.64 versus 3.37 ± 0.47 ng/mL/h; p = 0.003). No periprocedural complications, adverse events or change in renal function were noted during follow-up. Conclusion Catheter-based renal denervation seems an attractive minimally invasive treatment option in patients with resistant hypertension, with a low risk of serious adverse events.

Background: Patients undergoing high-risk percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) are at risk for hemodynamic compromise. In addition to an intraaortic balloon pump, TandemHeart and the Impella device may also be used for temporary hemodynamic support. Indications and benefits of one device vs. another remain poorly defined. We therefore sought to evaluate our experience with these devices in a consecutive series of patients undergoing high-risk PCI. Methods: Seventy-five consecutive patients undergoing high-risk PCI at a single center were retrospectively reviewed. Demographic, procedural and angiographic variables and in-hospital clinical events were collected. The STS, Additive euroSCORE and NCDR CathPCI risk scores were calculated to evaluate procedural risk. Patients undergoing IABP-assisted PCI (I-PCI group, n=47) were compared to those undergoing either Tandem Heart or Impella-assisted PCI (PLVAD-PCI group, n=28). Results: The PLVAD-PCI group was older and had a higher prevalence of CHF and prior MI and significant left main disease and lower EF. Patients in the I-PCI group more commonly presented with acute coronary syndromes or STEMI and more commonly underwent emergent and salvage procedures. STS, Additive euroSCORE and NCDR PCI risk scores were similar between both groups (Table 1). In-hospital mortality was 17% for the entire group. In-hospital mortality and MACE rates were similar in both groups. Conclusions: There were significant baseline, procedural and angiographic differences in patients receiving I-PCI compared to those receiving PLVAD-PCI. Various risk score models showed similar procedural risk between both groups. In-hospital MACE and mortality rates were similar, suggesting that physicians can effectively choose which devices benefit which patients.

Background The newer generation of Bioresorbable Vascular Scaffold ABSORB (BVS 1.1) showed better outcome in regard to scaffold area reduction as a result of improved scaffold design and enhanced polymer processing. Objective To assess the safety and efficacy of treating significant native coronary artery stenosis using ABSORB BVS. Methods Ninety-nine patients with de novo native significant coronary artery stenosis were selected between September 2012 and September 2014 and were treated using ABSORB BVS. For each patient, the target and the peri-scaffold segments (5 mm proximal and distal to the scaffold edge) were analyzed by Quantitative Coronary Angiography (QCA) and Intravascular Ultrasound (IVUS) immediately after the procedure and at one year of follow-up. The major clinical endpoint was ischemia-driven major adverse cardiac events (ID-MACE) defined as a composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction or ischemia-driven target lesion revascularization (ID-TLR). Results At one year, the overall scaffold area did not demonstrate any significant change. The angiographic insegment late lumen loss was estimated to be 0.11 ± 0.19 mm, while the IVUS assessment revealed a non-significant decrease in the minimal lumen area by 0.5% (p = 0.79), without significant change in the mean lumen area. There were no reported cardiac deaths. However, two cases of ID-TLR were recorded, one case with STEMI after two weeks due to thrombosis at the distal edge of the BVS and another case with restenosis after one year. Both were treated with metallic drug-eluting stents (Xience V). At one year the overall ID-MACE was found to be 2%. Conclusion The performance of ABSORB BVS in the treatment of significant de novo native coronary artery stenosis makes it an attractive option with favorable early and late outcome.