Search

Background Conventional fluoroscopy guided catheter ablation (CA) is an established treatment option for ventricular arrhythmias (VAs). However, with the complex nature of most procedures, patients and staff bare an increased radiation exposure. Near-zero or zero-fluoroscopy CA is an alternative method which could substantially reduce or even eliminate the radiation dose. Our aim was to analyse procedural outcomes with fluoroscopy minimising approach for treatment of VAs in patients with structurally normal hearts (SNH) and structural heart disease (SHD). Methods Fifty-two (age 53.4 ± 17.8 years, 38 male, 14 female) consecutive patients who underwent CA of VAs in our institution between May 2018 and December 2019 were included. Procedures were performed primarily with the aid of the three-dimensional electro-anatomical mapping system and intra-cardiac echocardiography. Fluoroscopy was considered only in left ventricular (LV) summit mapping for coronary angiography and when epicardial approach was planned. Acute and long-term procedural outcomes were analysed. Results Sixty CA procedures were performed. Twenty-five patients had SHD-related VAs (Group 1) and 27 patients had SNH (Group 2). While Group 1 had significantly higher total procedural time (256.9 ± 71.7 vs 123.6 ± 42.2 min; p p = 0.20)] and recurrence rate after the first procedure [8/25, (32%) vs 8/27, (29.6%); p = 0.85] were similar in both groups. Fluoroscopy was used in 3 procedures in Group 1 where epicardial approach was needed and in 4 procedures in Group 2 where LV summit VAs were ablated. Overall procedure-related major complication rate was 5%. Conclusions Fluoroscopy minimising approach for CA of VAs is feasible and safe in patients with SHD and SNH. Fluoroscopy could not be completely abolished in VAs with epicardial and LV summit substrate location.

Only up to 20% of patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) receive immediate and optimal initial cardiac resuscitation and consequently regain consciousness soon after return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). In the present study, we compared the outcome of conscious survivors of OHCA presenting with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) in post-resuscitation electrocardiogram undergoing immediate invasive coronary strategy with randomly selected STEMI patients without preceding OHCA undergoing primary PCI.We conducted a single-centre registry-based analysis of all conscious OHCA survivors with STEMI over the last 10 year period. We gathered clinical and angiographic data and compared them with a randomly selected cohort of non-OHCA patients with STEMI within the same period. Patients were matched by sex, age and STEMI location.86 conscious survivors of OHCA were admitted between 2006 and 2016. OHCA was witnessed in all patients (85% EMS witnessed), and all patients presented with initial shockable rhythm. Clinical and angiographic features were well matched with randomly selected STEMI patients without OHCA presenting to our department within the same study period. Delay from symptoms to EMS arrival but not delay from EMS to PCI was significantly shorter in conscious OHCA survivors (1.2 ± 1.3 h vs 3.1 ± 3.8 h, p 0.001), yielding decreased total myocardial ischemic time (2.6 ± 1.3 h vs 4.6 ± 4.0 h, p 0.001). Hospital and 1-year survival with normal neurological condition in conscious survivors of OHCA (cerebral performance category 1) was excellent and numerically even better than survival of STEMI patients without OHCA.Conscious survivors of OHCA with STEMI have excellent survival if they undergo immediate invasive coronary strategy. Since there is no obvious post-resuscitation brain injury in this subgroup of OHCA patients, it is probably shorter duration of myocardial ischemia driven by shorter delay from symptoms to EMS arrival that contributes to the good outcome, which is at least similar to STEMI patients without OHCA.

Background: Immediate percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is increasingly performed in comatose survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) undergoing therapeutic hypothermia (TH). Since reported incidence of stent thrombosis (ST) varies significantly from 2.5% to 31%, we investigated definite ST using systematic coronary angiography (CAG) and autopsy. Methods: Consecutive comatose survivors of OHCA undergoing immediate PCI and TH admitted between August 2016 and May 2018 were investigated. CAG was performed if ST was suspected and systematically between day 10-14. Patients who died underwent autopsy with analysis of stented segments. Results: Among 147 consecutive patients, immediate CAG was performed 103 (70%) and 52 (50%) underwent PCI. Since 5 patients refused to participate or had no follow-up, 47 patients were included. Definite ST, which was confirmed 8 patients (17%), was diagnosed either by clinically-driven CAG (n = 6), routine CAG (n = 1) or autopsy (n = 1). Patients with ST had more often diabetes (38% vs. 5%; p = 0.008), longer interval of prehospital resuscitation (12.6 ± 10.7 minutes vs. 25.0 ± 10.6 minutes; p = 0.005), higher admission lactate (6.8 ± 6.3 mmol/L vs. 3.2 ± 2.9 mmol/L; p = 0.013), lower arterial pH (7.13 + 0.19 vs. 7.27 ± 0.11; p = 0.005) and less favorable survival with good neurological outcome - Cerebral Performance Category score 1 - 2 (13% vs. 62%; p = 0.03). There was no difference in left ventricular ejection fraction (40 ± 12% vs. 39 ± 13%; p = 0.85), periprocedural dose of unfractioned heparin (8944 ± 2504 IU/kg vs. 8188 ± 2764 IU/kg; p = 0.45), use of GP llb/llla (16 % vs. 25 %; p = 0.59) and of novel P2Y12 inhibitor ticagrelor (79% vs. 63%; p = 0.33). There was no significant difference in total length of stented segment (32.7 ± 24.4 mm vs. 36.6 ± 20.7 mm; p = 0.68) nor in average stent diameter (3.1 ± 0.5 mm vs. 3.2 ± 0.4 mm; p = 0.62). Conclusions: Incidence of definite ST in comatose survivors of OHCA undergoing immediate PCI and TH is significant (17%) and is associated with worse outcome. Prolonged prehospital resuscitation and diabetes rather than PCI characteristics represent the risk factors for development of ST.

Out of hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) has a high mortality despite modern treatment. Reliable early prognosis in OHCA could significantly improve clinical decision making. We explored prognostic utility of advanced ECG parameters, obtained from high-resolution ECG, in combination with clinical and OHCA-related parameters during treatment with mild induced hypothermia (MIH) and after rewarming in unconscious survivors of OHCA. Ninety-two patients during MIH and 66 after rewarming were included. During MIH, a score based on initial rhythm, QRS-upslope and systolic pressure resulted in an area under curve (AUC) of 0.82 and accuracy of 80% for survival. After rewarming, a score based on admission rhythm, sum of 12 lead QRS voltages, and mean lateral ST segment level in leads I and V6 resulted in an AUC of 0.88 and accuracy of 85% for survival. ECG can assist with early prognostication in unconscious survivors of OHCA during MIH and after rewarming.

Brief description of the article: This article considers heart rate variability as a measurable parameter of stress reaction and present recent studies that examined the impact of occupational stress on heart rate variability and thus autonomic nervous system.ABSTRACT Stress is a complex psychoneuroendocrinological and immune response of an individual to stressogenic factor. The most important contemporary stressogenic factors are mental, psycho-social and socio-economic stressors. This especially holds true for occupational stress. Many symptoms and signs of disease are associated with chronic occupational stress. Among those are cardiovascular diseases, metabolic and psychiatric disorders.This article describes different stressogenic factors that lead to occupational stress and two conceptual models of occupational stress (Karasek’s Demand/Control Model and Siegrist’s Effort-Reward Imbalance Model). Reaction to stress can be measured in various ways. This article summarizes the physiology of heart beat regulation and presents heart rate variability as a measurable parameter of stress reaction. Heart rate variability gives us an insight into autonomic modulation of the heart and functioning of the entire autonomic nervous system. This article presents the latest results of larger studies that examined the impact of occupational stress on heart rate variability and various mechanisms that lead to end-organ damage due to changes in autonomic nervous system as a result of work stress. Subjects exposed to chronic stress have significantly lower heart rate variability compared with subjects unaffected by stress. Researches have shown that reduced heart rate variability reliably predicts mortality among health adults, as well as morbidity and mortality in patients after acute myocardial infarction, in patients with chronic heart failure and mortality in patients with chronic kidney disease.

The scleral pocket technique has dramatically changed wound closure after phacoemulsification with implantation of a posterior chamber lens. The use of single-stitch technique and wound closure by fibrin adhesive is now possible. We conducted a comparative study of 385 consecutive patients; 167 received only fibrin glue for wound closure and 218 had the single-stitch procedure. No complications were observed in either group. Surgically induced astigmatism was smaller in the fibrin group (vector analysis: 0.80 diopters [D]) than in the single-stitch group (vector analysis: 0.99 D). Minimal, statistically insignificant different against-the-rule astigmatism developed: single-stitch group: -0.07 D (Cravy), -0.09 D (Naeser); fibrin adhesive group: -0.13 D (Cravy), -0.17 D (Naeser). These results suggest that postoperative against-the-rule astigmatism can be prevented with fibrin glue.