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Background: Consensus recommendations regarding the threshold levels of cardiac troponin elevations for the definition of perioperative myocardial infarction and clinically important periprocedural myocardial injury in patients undergoing cardiac surgery range widely (from >10 times to ≥70 times the upper reference limit for the assay). Limited evidence is available to support these recommendations., Methods: We undertook an international prospective cohort study involving patients 18 years of age or older who underwent cardiac surgery. High-sensitivity cardiac troponin I measurements (upper reference limit, 26 ng per liter) were obtained 3 to 12 hours after surgery and on days 1, 2, and 3 after surgery. We performed Cox analyses using a regression spline that explored the relationship between peak troponin measurements and 30-day mortality, adjusting for scores on the European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation II (which estimates the risk of death after cardiac surgery on the basis of 18 variables, including age and sex)., Results: Of 13,862 patients included in the study, 296 (2.1%) died within 30 days after surgery. Among patients who underwent isolated coronary-artery bypass grafting or aortic-valve replacement or repair, the threshold troponin level, measured within 1 day after surgery, that was associated with an adjusted hazard ratio of more than 1.00 for death within 30 days was 5670 ng per liter (95% confidence interval [CI], 1045 to 8260), a level 218 times the upper reference limit. Among patients who underwent other cardiac surgery, the corresponding threshold troponin level was 12,981 ng per liter (95% CI, 2673 to 16,591), a level 499 times the upper reference limit., Conclusions: The levels of high-sensitivity troponin I after cardiac surgery that were associated with an increased risk of death within 30 days were substantially higher than levels currently recommended to define clinically important periprocedural myocardial injury. (Funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and others; VISION Cardiac Surgery ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01842568.)., (Copyright © 2022 Massachusetts Medical Society.)

Managing severe valvular heart disease with mechanical valve replacement necessitates lifelong anticoagulation with a vitamin K antagonist. Optimal anticoagulation intensity for patients with mechanical valves remains uncertain; current recommendations are inconsistent across guideline bodies and largely based on expert opinion. In this review, we outline the history of anticoagulation therapy in patients with mechanical heart valves and critically evaluate current antithrombotic guidelines for these patients. We conclude that randomized trials evaluating optimal anticoagulation intensity in patients with mechanical valves are needed, and that future guidelines must better justify antithrombotic treatment recommendations.

Optimal postprocedural antithrombotic regimen is uncertain after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). We developed an online questionnaire on post-TAVR antithrombotic management. After research ethics board approval, we distributed the survey to TAVR implanters across Canada. A total of 24 TAVR implanters from 17 centres responded to the survey for a response rate of 75%. Dual antiplatelet therapy for variable durations was the preferred initial treatment for patients in sinus rhythm after isolated TAVR, TAVR with a recent stent (≤ 1 month), and valve-in-valve procedures (71%, 96%, and 65%, respectively). Most respondents continued patients on acetylsalicylic acid indefinitely after these procedures (100%, 92%, 90%, respectively). In patients with atrial fibrillation, the CHA 2 DS 2 -VAS C score was the preferred stroke risk score for 57% of respondents, the CHADS 2 score was the preferred stroke risk score for 22% of respondents, and the CHADS65 score was the preferred stroke risk score for 17% of respondents. To determine the risk of bleeding, the HASBLED score was most often used (52%), but 48% of respondents indicated that they did not use a bleeding risk score. In the presence of atrial fibrillation, antithrombotic therapy choice varied widely. Our survey shows that dual antiplatelet therapy is the most common discharge regimen after TAVR in current practice. However, the choice and duration of antithrombotic regimen vary in patients requiring anticoagulation., (Crown Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Among adults undergoing contemporary noncardiac surgery, little is known about the frequency and timing of death and the associations between perioperative complications and mortality. We aimed to establish the frequency and timing of death and its association with perioperative complications., Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study of patients aged 45 years and older who underwent inpatient noncardiac surgery at 28 centres in 14 countries. We monitored patients for complications until 30 days after surgery and determined the relation between these complications and 30-day mortality using a Cox proportional hazards model., Results: We included 40 004 patients. Of those, 715 patients (1.8%) died within 30 days of surgery. Five deaths (0.7%) occurred in the operating room, 500 deaths (69.9%) occurred after surgery during the index admission to hospital and 210 deaths (29.4%) occurred after discharge from the hospital. Eight complications were independently associated with 30-day mortality. The 3 complications with the largest attributable fractions (AF; i.e., potential proportion of deaths attributable to these complications) were major bleeding (6238 patients, 15.6%; adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 2.6, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.2-3.1; AF 17.0%); myocardial injury after noncardiac surgery [MINS] (5191 patients, 13.0%; adjusted HR 2.2, 95% CI 1.9-2.6; AF 15.9%); and sepsis (1783 patients, 4.5%; adjusted HR 5.6, 95% CI 4.6-6.8; AF 12.0%)., Interpretation: Among adults undergoing noncardiac surgery, 99.3% of deaths occurred after the procedure and 44.9% of deaths were associated with 3 complications: major bleeding, MINS and sepsis. Given these findings, focusing on the prevention, early identification and management of these 3 complications holds promise for reducing perioperative mortality. Study registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, no. NCT00512109., Competing Interests: Competing interests: Clara Chow received support from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia and The Heart Foundation (Australia) for a career development fellowship. Robert Sapsford received nonfinancial support in the form of a research nurse funded by the National Institutes of Health Research, and lecture fees from Eli Lilly, MSD and Novo Nordisk. Denis Xavier received grants from Cadila Pharmaceuticals, Boehringer Ingelheim, Astra Zeneca India, Sanofi Aventis, Pfizer, Bristol–Myers Squibb, Medical Research Council (United Kingdom) and Wellcome Trust outside the submitted work. Emmanuelle Duceppe received a grant as a coapplicant on an investigator-initiated study and lecture fees from Roche Diagnostics. Philip J. Devereaux is a member of a research group with a policy of not accepting honorariums or other payments from industry for their own personal financial gain. They do accept honorariums or payments from industry to support research endeavours and costs to participate in meetings. Based on study questions Dr. Devereaux has originated and grants he has written, he has received grants from Abbott Diagnostics, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers-Squibb, Coviden, Octapharma, Philips Healthcare, Roche Diagnostics, Siemens and Stryker. Dr Devereaux has participated in advisory board meetings for GlaxoSmithKline and Boehringer Ingelheim. He also attended an expert panel meeting with AstraZeneca and Boehringer Ingelheim. Roche Diagnostics provided Troponin T assays and financial support for the Vascular Events in Noncardiac Surgery Patients Cohort Evaluation (VISION) Study. No other competing interests were declared., (© 2019 Joule Inc. or its licensors.)

Background: The effect on cardiovascular outcomes of withholding angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin II receptor blockers in chronic users before noncardiac surgery is unknown., Methods: In this international prospective cohort study, the authors analyzed data from 14,687 patients (including 4,802 angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor/angiotensin II receptor blocker users) at least 45 yr old who had in-patient noncardiac surgery from 2007 to 2011. Using multivariable regression models, the authors studied the relationship between withholding angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin II receptor blockers and a primary composite outcome of all-cause death, stroke, or myocardial injury after noncardiac surgery at 30 days, with intraoperative and postoperative clinically important hypotension as secondary outcomes., Results: Compared to patients who continued their angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin II receptor blockers, the 1,245 (26%) angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor/angiotensin II receptor blocker users who withheld their angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin II receptor blockers in the 24 h before surgery were less likely to suffer the primary composite outcome of all-cause death, stroke, or myocardial injury (150/1,245 [12.0%] vs. 459/3,557 [12.9%]; adjusted relative risk, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.70 to 0.96; P = 0.01) and intraoperative hypotension (adjusted relative risk, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.72 to 0.93; P < 0.001). The risk of postoperative hypotension was similar between the two groups (adjusted relative risk, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.77 to 1.10; P = 0.36). Results were consistent across the range of preoperative blood pressures. The practice of withholding angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin II receptor blockers was only modestly correlated with patient characteristics and the type and timing of surgery., Conclusions: Withholding angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin II receptor blockers before major noncardiac surgery was associated with a lower risk of death and postoperative vascular events. A large randomized trial is needed to confirm this finding. In the interim, clinicians should consider recommending that patients withhold angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin II receptor blockers 24 h before surgery.

Objective: Acute kidney injury is common after cardiac surgery and associated with postoperative mortality. Perioperative cardiac biomarkers may predict acute kidney injury and mortality. We evaluated whether cardiac biomarkers were associated with severe acute kidney injury, defined as a doubling in serum creatinine or requiring renal replacement therapy during hospital stay after surgery, and mortality., Methods: In a prospective multicenter cohort of adults undergoing cardiac surgery, we measured the following biomarkers in preoperative and postoperative banked plasma: high-sensitivity troponin T, cardiac troponin I, creatine kinase-MB, and N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide., Results: In the patients who were discharged alive, severe acute kidney injury occurred in 37 of 960 (3.9%), and 43 of 960 (4.5%) died within 1 year of follow-up. N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide was the only preoperative biomarker that was independently associated with severe acute kidney injury (with log transformation, adjusted odds ratio, 1.4; 95% confidence interval, 1.0-1.9). Biomarkers measured within 6 hours of surgery (day 1) were all associated with severe acute kidney injury. Preoperative N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide was also independently associated with 1-year mortality (with log transformation, adjusted odds ratio, 1.7; 95% confidence interval, 1.2-2.2). Patients in the highest tertile for N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide preoperatively (>1006.4 ng/L) had marked increases in their risk for 1-year mortality (adjusted odds ratio, 27.2; 95% confidence interval, 3.5-213.5). Day 1 N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide was associated with mortality independently of change in serum creatinine from preoperative baseline., Conclusions: Of the studied biomarkers, N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide was the only preoperative biomarker independently associated with severe acute kidney injury and mortality. Early increases in postoperative cardiac biomarkers were associated with severe acute kidney injury after cardiac surgery. Future research should focus on whether interventions that lower N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide can affect postoperative outcomes., (Copyright © 2016 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)