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We report a case of ventricular septal defect (VSD) in which we attempted to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) with the goal of VSD closure in an adult with suspected Eisenmenger syndrome in childhood. Four years previously (age 41 years), she was referred to our department due to repeated hemoptysis requiring further treatment of PAH. We started combination therapy with several pulmonary vasodilators. Two years later, her pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) was improved but still not at the level where VSD closure was possible. To control the increased PA flow resulting from intensive PAH treatment and to reduce the risk of hemoptysis, we performed pulmonary artery banding (PAB). As the risk of hemoptysis decreased, a prostacyclin analog was introduced, and the dose was increased. More than 1 year after PAB, active vasoactivity testing became positive, suggesting that the pulmonary vascular lesion was now “reversible”. We performed VSD closure and atrial septal defect creation even though her PVR was still high. After the operation, her exercise capacity was remarkably improved. We suggest that stepwise surgical repair with pulmonary vasodilators is an important treatment option for select patients with VSD with severe PAH.

This study aimed to assess the long-term outcomes of patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD) after deferred revascularization based on fractional flow reserve (FFR).FFR is a practical technique for assessing the functional severity of intermediate coronary stenosis. Prior research has revealed a satisfactory outcome in patients after the deferral of percutaneous coronary intervention for coronary lesions based on FFR measurement. However, little research has been conducted focusing on patients undergoing HD.The retrospective study comprised 225 consecutive patients with FFR assessment and deferred revascularization between January 2016 and December 2019. Based on a deferral cutoff FFR value of0.80, we assessed the differences in all-cause death, major adverse cardiac events (MACEs), and target vessel failure (TVF) between the HD (n = 69) and non-HD groups (n = 156) during a mean ± standard deviation routine follow-up of 32.2 ± 13.4 months.Although the HD group had significantly higher rates of diabetes mellitus than the non-HD group (53.6% vs. 37.2%, p = 0.021), there were no significant differences in sex, left ventricular ejection fraction, or other risk factors between the groups, nor with respect to stenosis diameter or mean FFR. The HD group had a significantly higher incidence of TVF than the non-HD group (34.8% vs. 14.1%, p 0.001), as well as a significantly higher risk of all-cause death and MACEs.The study revealed that deferred revascularization in coronary lesions with an FFR value of0.80 in patients undergoing HD was associated with poor outcomes. Therefore, it is important to carefully monitor patients with intermediate coronary stenosis undergoing HD.

Graphical abstract, Highlights • Acute NBTE can be diagnosed on TTE and TEE. • LSE complicated by multiple coagulopathies may trigger NBTE and cerebral infarcts. • Screening with TTE is essential in patients with SLE with multiple risk factors.

Background: Identification of elevated pulmonary artery (PA) pressures during exercise may provide diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic implications in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. Although widely performed, exercise stress echocardiography may underestimate true PA pressures due to the difficulty in estimating right atrial pressure (RAP) during exercise. We hypothesized that peripheral venous pressure (PVP) could allow for reliable estimation of RAP, and thus PA pressures during exercise stress echocardiography. Methods: In protocol 1, we investigated the accuracy of PVP compared with simultaneously measured RAP at rest and during exercise right heart catheterization in 19 subjects. In protocol 2, we examined whether the addition of PVP to Doppler exercise echocardiography (tricuspid regurgitant velocity) would increase the ability to identify exercise-induced pulmonary hypertension compared with inferior vena cava-based RAP estimation in 60 patients with dyspnea. Results: In protocol 1, PVP was strongly correlated with simultaneously measured RAP at rest and during exercise ( r =0.77 and 0.90), with little overestimation of invasively measured RAP (bias 3.4 mm Hg at rest and 1.7 mm Hg during exercise). In protocol 2, PVP increased dramatically during exercise echocardiography (14±5 mm Hg) while an increase in inferior vena cava-based RAP was modest (6±4 mm Hg). Exercise PA pressures calculated from PVP and tricuspid regurgitant velocity were significantly higher than those estimated from inferior vena cava and the use of PVP increased the proportion of patients with exercise-induced pulmonary hypertension from 40% to 68%. Conclusions: PVP may prevent underestimation of PA pressures during exercise echocardiography and could be a preferred approach to identify exercise-induced pulmonary hypertension in patients with suspected heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.

Recently, new vaccine platforms-including mRNA vaccines for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been given emergency use authorization in Japan. Here, we present a rare case of myocarditis following a COVID-19 vaccine. In this case, myocarditis was confirmed by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, endomyocardial biopsy, and troponin levels. The degree of myocardial inflammation in the endomyocardial biopsy samples was mild and the patient's clinical course was not severe. Although the pathology of myocarditis in this case was mild, further investigation would be needed. Learning Objective: Vaccination for coronavirus disease 2019 is advancing worldwide, but post-vaccination myocarditis is getting attention as a rare side effect. Although the myocarditis in this case was mild, the pathogenesis of the disease is unclear and needs to be thoroughly investigated in the vaccination.

Introduction: Mechanical chest compression (MCC) provides consistent pressure and timing of each chest compression in line with latest evidenced-based practice. However, there has few evidence about the effectiveness of the mechanical device compared with manual chest compression. Furthermore, few studies focused on cardiogenic shock and cardiac arrest related to heart disease. Hypothesis: The aim in this study is to assess the effectiveness and safety of resuscitation strategies using MCC versus resuscitation strategies using standard manual chest compressions in patients with out of hospital cardiogenic shock and cardiac arrest due to heart disease. Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational study of comparing the outcomes of mechanical and manual chest compressions at our hospital. A total of 69 consecutive patients with out of hospital cardiogenic shock and cardiac arrest were enrolled between April 2014 and May 2018. 39 patients of them received only manual cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and 30 utilized a mechanical CPR device (LUCAS® Lund University Cardiac Arrest System, USA) during the resuscitation. Baseline characteristics, resuscitation details, and outcomes were compared between patients who received manual (manual group) and mechanical compressions (MCC group). Results: There was no significant difference in age, gender, the rate of bystander CPR, and arterial blood gases at baseline. No differences were found for the rate of ROSC and 30-day survival between two groups (manual group 42.8% vs MCC group 50.1% p=0.13). However, MCC group had significantly higher rate of bleeding events than manual group. In addition, fifty-four patients of them were treated for cardiac arrest or refractory cardiogenic shock with venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO). Among patients underwent VA-ECMO, the rate of 30-day survival was significantly lower in MCC group. (manual group 26.8% vs MCC group 39.1% p=0.014). Conclusions: This study showed that mechanical chest compression in cardiac arrest and cardiogenic shock increased bleeding events than manual chest compression. Furthermore, in the patients underwent ECMO, the use of mechanical chest compression might be associated with higher mortality.

BackgroundTreatment options for inoperable chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) remain limited. Selexipag, an oral selective IP prostacyclin receptor agonist approved for pulmonary arterial hypertension, is a potential treatment option for CTEPH.MethodsIn this multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, 78 Japanese patients with inoperable CTEPH or persistent/recurrent pulmonary hypertension after pulmonary endarterectomy and/or balloon pulmonary angioplasty were randomly assigned to receive placebo or selexipag. The primary end-point was the change in pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) from baseline to week 20. Secondary end-points were changes in other haemodynamic parameters: 6-min walk distance (6MWD), Borg dyspnoea scale score, World Health Organization (WHO) functional class, EuroQol five-dimension five-level tool and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide.ResultsThe change in PVR was −98.2±111.3 dyn·s·cm−5 and −4.6±163.6 dyn·s·cm−5 in the selexipag and placebo groups, respectively (mean difference −93.5 dyn·s·cm−5; 95% CI −156.8 to −30.3; p=0.006). The changes in cardiac index (pConclusionSelexipag significantly improved PVR and other haemodynamic variables in patients with CTEPH, although exercise capacity remained unchanged. Further large-scale investigation is necessary to prove the role of selexipag in CTEPH.

Objective Whether or not adaptive servo-ventilation (ASV) is effective in preventing arrhythmias in patients with heart failure (HF) due to ischemic heart disease (IHD) is unclear. This study estimated the effects of ASV therapy on arrhythmias in patients with HF due to IHD. Methods One hundred and forty-one consecutive hospitalized patients with HF due to IHD (mean age: 74.9±11.9 years old) were retrospectively assessed in this study. Of the 141 patients, 75 were treated with ASV (ASV group), and 66 were treated without ASV (Non-ASV group). We estimated the incidence of arrhythmias, including paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) and ventricular tachycardia (VT), during one-year follow-up in both groups using multivariable logistic regression models. Results Men accounted for 55.3% of the study population. There were no significant differences in the baseline clinical characteristic data between the ASV and Non-ASV groups with respect to age, sex, heart rate, risk factors, oral medication, or laboratory data, including the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), brain natriuretic peptide, and left ventricular ejection fraction. ASV therapy was associated with a reduced incidence of arrhythmia after adjusting for demographic and cardiovascular disease risk factors (odds ratio, 0.27; 95% confidence interval, 0.11 to 0.63; p

総説, Review article, 腰痛は日本人の多くが経験するが，その多くは原因が明らかでなく治療に苦慮する．その中で慢性化し医療費の高騰，就労困難による生産性低下など社会経済に与える損失が危惧されている．したがって，慢性腰痛における運動障害や疼痛の発現状態を詳細に評価し，慢性化を防ぐことが理学療法分野では必須の課題とされている．最近の研究では，心理的要因以外に慢性疼痛には脳・神経の可塑的変化が起こることや，腰部機能障害を有する患者では疼痛の有無に関わらず肋骨拡張が制限されることが明らかになってきたが，各要因の影響度や相関については明らかではないのが現状であり，使用者はこの測定についての意義を熟知し正しい評価を行う必要がある．そこで本稿では，慢性腰痛の概説し，心理的要因，神経の可塑的変化を反映する2 点識別覚，胸郭拡張差の文献を踏まえて臨床での有用性や展望を述べることを目的とした．, Many Japanese experience lower back pain, but its etiology is unclear in most cases, making treatment difficult. In particular, a chronic-state related increase in health expenditure and reduction of productivity related to difficulty in working may affect the patients’ socioeconomic situation. Therefore, in the field of physical therapy, it is necessary to evaluate chronic lower back pain- related movement disorders and prevent a chronic condition. Recent studies have shown that chronic low back pain induces plastic changes of the brain/nerves in addition to changes in mental factors, and that costal bone dilation is restricted regardless of the presence or absence of pain in patients with low back dysfunction; however, clinically standardized efficacy assessment or interpretation of measurement remains controversial. Health care professionals must recognize the significance of the measurement and correctly evaluate the results. In this article, we introduce chronic low back pain based on previous articles, review the literature on mental factors, using a two-point discrimination, which reflects plastic changes of the nerves, and thoracic expansion differences. We also examine their clinical usefulness and development.

Background: Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is a cause of heart failure. Adaptive servo-ventilation (ASV) is one of the treatments for SDB. Recently, ASV has been applied to the treatment of patients with heart failure and SDB. The aim of this study was to estimate whether ASV therapy is effective and safe for patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) compared with standard medical therapy in the real world, using three-year follow-up data.Methods: The patients with HFrEF (n=186) were treated with standard medical therapy plus ASV therapy (ASV group; n=57) or standard medical therapy alone (control group; n=129). We followed up the patients for 3 years.Results: The ASV group had significantly lower baseline left ventricular ejection fraction than the control group (27.9 ± 8.6% vs. 34.1 ± 8.8%; P

Nicorandil, an adenosine triphosphate-sensitive potassium channel opener, improves cardiac sympathetic nerve activity (CSNA) in ischemic heart disease or chronic heart failure. However, its effects on CSNA and myocyte dysfunction in acute heart failure (AHF) remain unclear. We investigated the effects of adding intravenous nicorandil to standard therapy on CSNA and myocyte dysfunction in AHF.We selected 70 patients with mild to moderate nonischemic AHF who were treated with standard conventional therapy soon after admission. Thirty-five patients were assigned to additionally receive intravenous nicorandil (4-12 mg/h; group A), whereas the remaining patients continued their current drug regimen (group B). Delayed total defect score (TDS), delayed heart to mediastinum count (H/M) ratio, and washout rate (WR) were determined by (123)I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) scintigraphy within 3 days of admission and 4 weeks later. High sensitivity troponin T (hs-TnT) level was also measured at the same time points.After treatment, MIBG scintigraphic parameters significantly improved in both groups. However, the extent of the changes in these parameters in group A significantly exceeded the extent of the changes in group B [TDS -11.3 ± 4.3 in group A vs -4.0 ± 6.0 in group B (p 0.01); H/M ratio 0.31 ± 0.16 vs 0.14 ± 0.16 (p 0.01); WR -13.8 ± 7.8 % vs -6.1 ± 8.9 % (p 0.01)]. The hs-TnT level decreased significantly from 0.052 ± 0.043 to 0.041 ± 0.033 ng/ml (p 0.05) in group A, but showed no significant change in group B. Moreover, in both groups, no relationships between the extent of changes in MIBG parameters and hs-TnT level were observed.Adding intravenous nicorandil to standard therapy provides additional benefits for CSNA and myocyte dysfunction over conventional therapy alone in AHF patients. Furthermore, the mechanisms of improvement in CSNA and myocyte dysfunction after nicorandil treatment in AHF patients were distinct.

Background and purposeIt is unclear whether adaptive servo-ventilation (ASV) is safe and effective in patients with severe systolic heart failure (HF). Our aim in this study was to estimate the safety and efficacy of ASV therapy for patients with severe systolic HF.Methods and subjectsSeventy-six HF patients (age: 69±12 years; 53 men), categorized as New York Heart Association (NYHA) Class II–IV, with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of

Background: Although adaptive servo-ventilation (ASV) therapy is considered clinically beneficial to patients with heart failure (HF), a large proportion of patients fail to show improvement in HF. We aimed to identify reliable markers indicative of a favorable response to ASV. Methods: We evaluated 103 consecutive patients with New York Heart Association (NYHA) class II–IV HF who were scheduled for ASV therapy for 3 months. Patients were classified as responders if their brain natriuretic peptide levels were decreased after 3 months. Results: Twenty-one patients (20.3%) failed to respond to ASV. No significant differences were observed between responders and nonresponders with regard to NYHA classification, age, gender, body mass index, drug therapy, and cardiovascular risk factors. Polysomnography showed no significant baseline differences between the 2 groups in the apnea–hypopnea index (AHI) and percent sleep time of oxygen saturation level below 90% (responders, 4.7% ± 9.2%; nonresponders, 3.7% ± 6.0%; P=0.68). The percent sleep time of oxygen saturation level below 90% is similar parameter as cumulative percentage of time at a pulse-oximetry oxygen saturation below 90% (CT90%) which is measured by in-home screening. We named it “Modified CT90%”. After ASV therapy for 3 months, NYHA classification remarkably improved in responder group. Logistic regression analysis revealed that improvement of modified CT90%

Background:Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) induces marked activation of the sympathetic nervous system. Fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4) is not only an intracellular protein, but also a secreted adipokine that contributes to obesity-related metabolic complications. Here, we examined the role of serum FABP4 as a pathophysiological marker in patients with AMI.Methods and results:We studied 106 patients presenting to the emergency unit with a final diagnosis of AMI, including 12 patients resuscitated from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) caused by ventricular fibrillation. FABP4 levels peaked on admission or just after percutaneous coronary intervention and declined thereafter. Regression analysis revealed no significant correlation between peak FABP4 and peak cardiac troponin T determined by Roche high-sensitive assays (hs-TnT). Notably, FABP4 levels were particularly elevated in AMI patients who were resuscitated from OHCA (median 130.2 ng/mL, interquartile range (IQR) 51.8–243.9 ng/mL) compared with those without OHCA (median 26.1 ng/ml, IQR 17.1–43.4 ng/mL), while hs-TnT levels on admission were not associated with OHCA. Immunohistochemistry of the human heart revealed that FABP4 is abundantly present in adipocytes within myocardial tissue and epicardial adipose tissue. An in vitro study using cultured adipocytes showed that FABP4 is released through a β3-adrenergic receptor (AR)-mediated mechanism.Conclusions:FABP4 levels were significantly elevated during the early hours after the onset of AMI and were robustly increased in OHCA survivors. Together with the finding that FABP4 is released from adipocytes via β3-AR-mediated lipolysis, our data provide a novel hypothesis that serum FABP4 may represent the adrenergic overdrive that accompanies acute cardiovascular disease, including AMI.

Background: Adaptive servo-ventilation (ASV) is used to treat sleep apnea in heart failure (HF). However, it is unclear whether ASV improves the long-term prognosis for all patients with HF, regardless of the severity of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB). We therefore aimed to estimate the long-term prognosis associated with ASV therapy for patients with HF by the severity of SDB.Methods: Sixty-one consecutive patients with HF (mean age ± standard deviation: 70 ± 10 years) were initiated on ASV therapy for HF treatment after polysomnography. Patients were then classified into the following three groups based on their apnea–hypopnea index (AHI): a severe group with an AHI of ≥40/h (n = 28); a moderate group with an AHI of ≥20/h but Results: No significant differences were observed between the three study groups in the risk of fatal cardiovascular events (p = 0.207).Conclusions: Our results suggest that ASV therapy is associated with a good prognosis and that ASV therapy is effective, regardless of the severity of SDB.

Background: It is unclear whether adaptive servo-ventilation (ASV) is effective for all patients with heart failure (HF). The aim of the present study was therefore to investigate the effectiveness of ASV for all patients with HF. Methods and Results: Sixty-one patients with HF were recommended for ASV treatment, regardless of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) severity and type. On the basis of the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) results, patients were classified into 3 groups: 28 patients with AHI ≥40/h were designated as group A; 20 patients with AHI ≥20/h and

Our aim in this study was to estimate the effectiveness of the integrated area of desaturation (IAD) index as a measure of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) severity. The study comprised 98 patients with 36 old myocardial infarction (OMI), 40 with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), and 22 without myocardial infarction as control normal subjects. The ejection fraction was significantly lower (OMI: 48.3±14.6% vs. AMI: 56.0±10.5% vs. Control: 67.1±9.3%, p p p

We report a novel apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) mutation identified in a 64-year-old patient with marked plasma high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (4 mg/dl) and apoA-I (5 mg/dl) deficiency, prior myocardial infarction, and moderate corneal opacities. Coronary angiography revealed extensive atherosclerosis in all three major vessels. Genomic DNA sequencing of the proband revealed a homozygous novel deletion of two successive adenine residues in codon 138 in the apoA-I gene, resulting in a frameshift mutation at amino acid residues 138–178, which we have designated as apoA-I Tomioka. His elder brother was also homozygous for apoA-I Tomioka with marked HDL cholesterol and apoA-I deficiency, but had no clinical evidence of coronary heart disease. Other family members including three siblings and two sons were heterozygous for the mutation, and had approximately 50% of normal plasma HDL cholesterol, and apoA-I. Analysis of apoA-I-containing HDL particles by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis revealed undetectable apoA-I HDL particles in the homozygotes, while in heterozygotes, the mean concentrations of apoA-I in large α-1 and very small preβ-1 HDL subpopulations were significantly decreased at about 35% of normal. Thus, apoA-I Tomioka, a novel deletion mutation in codon 138 of the apoA-I gene, is the causative defect in this case of HDL deficiency.

This report describes a 77-year-old woman with a single coronary artery who suffered an acute anterior wall myocardial infarction. The single coronary artery arose from the right coronary artery through the transverse trunk, and there were no other cardiovascular anomalies. Coronary angiography did not reveal significant coronary artery stenosis in the left anterior descending artery. The patient was treated medically in the acute phase. She developed typical angina and evidence of myocardial ischemia, and underwent successful coronary artery bypass grafting in the chronic phase with anterior chest pain.

冠動脈複雑性病変に対するcoronary rotational atherectomy (RA)は有効な血行再建術の一つとして普及しつつあるが, 治療効果等に関しては報告が少ない.今回われわれはRAの初期成績および遠隔期成績について検討した.1997年12月～2000年4月の間に当院でRAを施行した連続30例, 32病変を対象とした.RA後バルーンカテーテルによる低圧拡張の追加を基本方針とし, 必要に応じて高圧拡張・ステント留置を行った.残存狭窄50%未満かつTIMI3をもって手技成功とし, 遠隔期(3～6カ月後)造影所見における50%以上の狭窄を再狭窄とした.標的病変は全てが高度石灰化を伴う複雑性病変(タイプB2病変が22病変(69%), タイプC病変が10病変(31%))であった.手技成功は28病変(87.5%)に得られ, 平均径狭窄率は78±9%から20±14%に改善した.手技不成功の原因としてはガイドワイヤー不通過, プラットホーム形成困難等であり, RAが施行可能であった28病変はすべて手技成功が得られた.遠隔期に17病変において冠動脈造影を施行し, 再狭窄を8例(47%)に認め, 平均径狭窄率は52±25%であった.再狭窄を認めた全例に再血行再建(RA1例・ステント留置7例)を施行したが, RAによるlesion modificationによって, RA以外の手技にて良好な初期成功率が得られた.再狭窄率は低くないが, 慎重な症例選択と手技を行えば, RAは石灰化を有する複雑性病変に対し, 粥腫の切除(debulking)のみでなくlesion modificationの面でも有用な治療手技であると考えられた.

Fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4, also designated as adipocyte-FABP or aP2) has been described to be most exclusively expressed in adipocytes and macrophages. Circulating FABP4 levels have been linked to metabolic alternations that are associated adiposity. We have recently reported that FABP4 is

Adaptive servo-ventilation (ASV) is used as the device to treat not only sleep disordered breathing but also heart failure (HF) in Japan. Though arrhythmias often occur in HF patients, it is unclear that ASV is effective in preventing arrhythmias for patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM). Our

Objective Short-acting loop diuretics are known to enhance cardiac sympathetic nerve activity (CSNA) in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). The effects of two loop diuretics—long-acting azosemide and short-acting furosemide—on CSNA were evaluated using 123I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) scintigraphy in patients with CHF. Methods The present study was a subanalysis of our previously published study, which had reported that serial 123I-MIBG studies were the most useful prognostic indicator in patients with CHF. Patients with CHF (n=208, left ventricular ejection fraction

Sarcomatoid carcinoma of the thymus is rare and responds poorly to treatment. Invasion of great vessels and metastasis are significant predictors for poor prognosis. Thymic tumors commonly cause superior vena cava (SVC) obstruction by extrinsic compression or invasion, but intraluminal permeation is the most uncommon cause. We report a rare, long-surviving case of sarcomatoid carcinoma with SVC syndrome developed by tumor thrombus. She underwent SVC replacement and extended thymectomy. The resection indicated intracaval extension without direct invasion of thymic tumor, histologically diagnosed as sarcomatoid carcinoma. After adjuvant chemotherapy, she continues to show no apparent recurrence for five years.

Background: Adaptive servo-ventilation (ASV) has been used as therapy for heart failure (HF). The objective of the present study was to estimate the effect of ASV on 1-year prognosis in HF patients. Methods and Results: After optimizing medical therapy, a 1-year follow-up study was conducted of 85 HF patients (mean age, 72±10 years; 46 men), categorized as New York Heart Association class II-IV. The patients were classified into 2 groups based on adherence to ASV therapy. Use of ASV for ≥4h/night was designated as good adherence, and use of ASV for