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Aims: Patients with aortic stenosis (AS) and cardiogenic shock (CS) are an extremely high-risk population with a poor prognosis in the absence of definitive therapy. We aimed to compare the outcomes of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) with those of surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) in patients with AS-CS., Methods and Results: We queried the Nationwide Readmission Database (2016-21) to identify patients hospitalized for AS-CS who underwent isolated TAVR or SAVR. In-hospital outcomes of TAVR vs. SAVR were compared using multivariable regression and propensity-matching analyses. Ninety-day readmissions were compared using a Cox proportional hazards regression model. A total of 16 161 patients were hospitalized for AS-CS, of whom 6470 (40.0%) underwent isolated TAVR and 9691 (60.0%) underwent isolated SAVR. From 2016 through 2021, the proportion of TAVR increased from 29.5 to 46.5% and the proportion of SAVR correspondingly decreased in AS-CS (Ptrend < 0.01). After adjustment for baseline characteristics, TAVR was associated with lower odds of stroke [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 0.63, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.47-0.84], acute kidney injury (aOR 0.80, 95% CI 0.69-0.93), and major bleeding (aOR 0.54, 95% CI 0.40-0.71) and higher odds of vascular complications (aOR 1.56, 95% CI 1.23-1.97) compared with SAVR. In-hospital mortality, myocardial infarction, permanent pacemaker placement, and 90-day all-cause and heart failure readmissions showed similar rates between TAVR and SAVR. However, hospital length of stay was shorter and total costs and non-home discharges were lower with TAVR than with SAVR., Conclusion: This nationwide observational analysis showed that TAVR is increasingly performed in patients with AS-CS and is associated with similar rates of in-hospital mortality and 90-day readmissions but lower rates of in-hospital complications and resource utilization compared with SAVR., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: none declared., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Aims: A reversible cause of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is vaguely defined in international guidelines as an identifiable transient or potentially correctable condition. However, studies evaluating long-term outcomes of patients experiencing OHCA due to reversible and non-reversible causes are lacking. We aimed to determine differences in long-term outcomes in OHCA survivors according to different aetiology., Methods and Results: From the British Columbia Cardiac Arrest registry, adults with non-traumatic OHCA (2009-2016) surviving to hospital discharge were identified. Patients were categorized by OHCA aetiology combining reversibility and underlying ischaemic aetiology. The primary outcome was a composite of all-cause mortality, recurrent OHCA, or re-hospitalization for sudden cardiac arrest or ventricular arrhythmias. Using the Kaplan-Meier method and multivariable Cox regression models, we compared the risk of the composite outcome according to different OHCA aetiology. Of 1325 OHCA hospital-discharge survivors (median age 62.8 years, 77.9% male), 431 (32.5%) had reversible ischaemic, 415 (31.3%), non-reversible ischaemic, 99 (7.5%), reversible non-ischaemic, and 380 (28.7%), non-reversible non-ischaemic aetiologies. At 3 years post discharge, the Kaplan-Meier event-free rate was highest in patients with a reversible ischaemic aetiology [91%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 87-94%], and lowest in those with a reversible non-ischaemic aetiology (62%, 95% CI 51-72%). In multivariate analyses, compared with non-reversible non-ischaemic cause, reversible ischaemic cause was associated with a significantly lower hazard ratio (HR; 0.52, 95% CI 0.33-0.81), reversible non-ischaemic cause with a significantly higher HR (1.53, 95% CI 1.03-2.32), and non-reversible ischaemic cause with a non-significant HR (0.92, 95% CI 0.64-1.33) for the composite outcome., Conclusion: Compared to other aetiologies, the presence of a reversible ischaemic cause is associated with improved long-term OHCA outcomes., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: C.B.F. received consultant fees/honorarium from Bayer, Novo Nordisk, Boehringer Ingelheim, Sanofi, Novartis, New Amsterdam, and HLS therapeutics, and research grants from Bayer, Amgen, and Novartis, all unrelated to the submitted work. K.H.K. received research grants from the Laerdal Foundation, unrelated to the submitted work. All other authors had no conflicts of interest to disclose., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Aims: We set out to explore associations between a 'mitral-specific' cardiac damage score (m-CDS) and survival outcomes in mitral regurgitation (MR) and compare the performance of the m-CDS and an 'aortic-specific' CDS (a-CDS) in patients with MR within the large National Echo Database of Australia., Methods: Among 620 831 unique adults investigated with echocardiography, there were 17 658 individuals (3.1%) with moderate or greater functional MR (aged 76±13 years, 51% female) who met inclusion criteria. A randomly selected cohort of 5000 of these patients was used to test seven different CDS models for prediction of subsequent all-cause mortality during an average 3.8-year follow-up. The best-performing CDS model in the derivation cohort was then applied to a validation cohort of the remaining 12 658 individuals (aged 76±13 years, 51% female)., Results: The best-performing m-CDS model stratified the full cohort into Stage 0: control (1046 patients, 8%); Stage 1: left atrial damage (3416 patients, 27%); Stage 2: left ventricular damage (3352 patients, 26%); Stage 3: right ventricular damage (1551 patients, 12%) and Stage 4: pulmonary hypertension (3293 patients, 26%). Increasing m-CDS stage was consistently and incrementally associated with both all-cause and cardiovascular mortality at 1 year, 5 years and all-time and remained so after adjustment for increasing age and severity of MR, with a ~35% increase in mortality for each increase in CDS stage (p<0.001)., Conclusion: A m-CDS was robustly and incrementally associated with short-, medium- and long-term risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in patients with functional MR in this large registry study., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background: Comprehensive summaries on real-world outcomes in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH)-a rare, incurable condition, are lacking. We conducted a systematic literature review to describe current survival, morbidity, and quality of life (QoL) outcomes in adult and pediatric PAH patients. We searched Medline and Embase electronic databases, clinicaltrials.gov, and encepp.eu entries, and grey literature to identify outcome estimates for right-heart catheterization-confirmed PAH patients from population-based observational studies (search date: 25 Nov 2021). Data were synthesized using a narrative approach and post-hoc subgroup meta-analyses were conducted to explore adult survival by region, disease severity, representativeness, and study period. The search yielded 7473 records. Following screening and full text review, 22 unique studies with 31 individual reports of outcomes were included. Studies were mostly national registries (n = 21), European (n = 13) and covering adults (n = 17); only six had systematic countrywide coverage of centers. Survival was the most frequently reported outcome (n = 22). Global adult 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival ranged from 85 to 99% (n = 15), 65 to 95% (n = 14), and 50 to 86% (n = 9), respectively. Subgroup meta-analysis showed that 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival in Europe was 90% (95% CI 86-94%; n = 8), 78% (95% CI 68-86%; n = 8), and 61% (95% CI 49-72%; n = 6), respectively; 1-year survival in North America was 88% (95% CI 83-93%; n = 3) and 3-year survival in Asia was 85% (95% CI 82-88%; n = 3). No difference in survival between regions was observed. Subgroup analysis suggested higher survival in patients with better baseline functional class; however, interpretation should be cautioned due to large subgroup heterogeneity and potential missingness of data., Short Conclusion: This review describes current disease outcomes based on well-defined and representative PAH populations. There is an overall lack of follow-up data for morbidity and QoL outcomes; survival estimates for pediatric patients are scarce and may not be generalizable to the current treatment era, although publications from large pediatric registries became available after our search date. This study demonstrated a remaining unmet need world-wide to improve long-term prognosis in PAH in the current era., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Patients undergoing dialysis treatment have long been recognized as having an elevated risk of developing coronary artery disease necessitating coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). However, the prognostic implications of CABG in dialysis-dependent patients remain underexplored. This study aimed to comprehensively assess both short- and long-term outcomes in dialysis-dependent patients undergoing CABG., Methods: In this retrospective analysis, we meticulously matched 55 dialysis-dependent patients with 55 non-dialysis patients, controlling for baseline characteristics including age, sex, etiology, and date of surgery. All patients underwent CABG treatment at our institution between January 2014 and June 2022. We conducted a comparative analysis of postoperative complications and survival rates between the two groups., Results: Our findings revealed that the dialysis-dependent group exhibited a significantly higher incidence of postoperative complications compared to the non-dialysis group (92.7% vs. 61.8%; p < 0.001). Furthermore, the 5-year survival rates were notably diminished among dialysis patients relative to their non-dialysis counterparts (46.2 ± 7.9% vs. 58.2 ± 12.1%, p = 0.045). Consistently, dialysis patients exhibited decreased 5-year cardiac-event-free rates in contrast to non-dialysis patients (31.6 ± 7.6% vs. 58.8 ± 11.3%, p = 0.041). Predictably, several baseline parameters were identified as significant risk factors contributing to adverse outcomes among dialysis patients, including a history of smoking, diabetes mellitus, congestive heart failure upon admission, and the requirement for intraoperative concomitant surgery (p = 0.006, p = 0.043, p = 0.017, p = 0.003, respectively)., Conclusions: This study underscores the poorer prognosis associated with CABG treatment in dialysis-dependent patients. Notably, baseline factors such as a smoking history, diabetes mellitus, congestive heart failure upon admission, and the need for intraoperative concomitant surgery were all independently linked to increased mortality in this patient population., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: The clinical characteristics and survival outcomes of patients who underwent concomitant coronary artery bypass grafting during septal myectomy have not been well studied., Methods and Results: We reviewed patients who underwent both septal myectomy and coronary artery bypass grafting from 2009 to 2020. Causes of concomitant grafting and their impact on survival were analyzed. The median follow-up period was 5.1 years. A total of 320 patients underwent both grafting and myectomy. Of these, 69.7% and 28.1% underwent grafting attributed to atherosclerotic coronary artery disease and myocardial bridging, respectively. Patients who underwent grafting for coronary artery disease tended to be older, had a longer bypass time, and required more grafts compared with patients undergoing procedures because of myocardial bridging (all P <0.05). Postoperatively, the left ventricular outflow gradient significantly decreased from 85.4 mm Hg to 12.8 mm Hg ( P <0.001) without perioperative death. The cumulative survival rates were 96.2% and 97.6% at 5 years in the coronary artery disease and myocardial bridging groups, respectively, and they were comparable to that of general myectomy cohort (hazard ratio [HR], 1.06 [95% CI, 0.47-2.36], P =0.895 and HR 0.75 [95% CI, 0.23-2.46], P =0.636, respectively). Sudden death accounted for 45.5% (5 of 11) of postoperative mortality. Analysis of composite end point events showed decreased morbidity with at least one arterial graft in the overall cohort (HR, 0.47 [95% CI, 0.23-0.94], P =0.034)., Conclusions: Concomitant grafting in septal myectomy was found to be a safe procedure. Patients who underwent such surgery experienced favorable postoperative outcomes comparable to those who underwent septal myectomy alone, with a 5-year survival rate of >95% and improved functional class of >90%.

Transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement (TPVR) is now frequently performed in patients with adult congenital heart disease. As the life expectancy of the population with adult congenital heart disease continues to improve, more patients will require pulmonary valve intervention. This study details the short-term and midterm clinical outcomes of patients aged ≥40 years who underwent TPVR. We performed an institutional retrospective cohort study that included patients aged ≥40 years who underwent TPVR (and clinical follow-up) from January 1, 2012 to January 1, 2024. Descriptive analyses, Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, and Cox proportional hazard modeling were used to determine outcomes and risk factors affecting survival. The study included 67 patients, and median age at TPVR was 48 years (43 to 57). Median hospital length of stay after TPVR was 1 day (1 to 3); periprocedural complications occurred in 5 patients, and acute kidney injury occurred in 1 patient. Median duration of follow-up was 3.5 years (0.1 to 9.7). There were 9 total deaths, and 1-, 3-, and 5-year Kaplan-Meier survival after TPVR was 95%, 91%, and 82%, respectively. Moderate or worse right ventricular dysfunction was present in 22 patients before TPVR and in 20 patients after TPVR. Inpatient status before TPVR negatively affected survival (hazard ratio 24.7, 3.3 to 186.1, p = 0.002). In conclusion, TPVR was performed in patients aged ≥40 years with favorable periprocedural and midterm follow-up outcomes including survival, but right ventricular dysfunction did not improve, and further exploration of the ideal timing of TPVR in this age group is warranted., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest Drs. Greenbaum and Babaliaros have received institutional research support from Edwards Lifesciences, Gore Medical, and Medtronic; and consulting fees from Edwards Lifesciences and Medtronic. Dr. Ligon is a consultant for Abbott Vascular, Inc., B. Braun Interventional Systems, and Medtronic. The remaining authors have no competing interest to declare., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Heart failure (HF) is not included in atrial fibrillation (AF) bleeding risk prediction scores, reflecting uncertainty regarding its importance as a risk factor for major haemorrhage. We aimed to report the relative risk of first major haemorrhage in people with HF and AF compared with people with AF without HF ('AF only')., Methods: English primary care cohort study of 2 178 162 people aged ≥45 years in the Clinical Practice Research Datalink from January 2000 to December 2018, linked to secondary care and mortality databases. We used traditional survival analysis and competing risks methods, accounting for all-cause mortality and anticoagulation., Results: Over 7.56 years median follow-up, 60 270 people were diagnosed with HF and AF of whom 4996 (8.3%) had a major haemorrhage and 36 170 died (60.0%), compared with 8256 (6.4%) and 34 375 (27.2%), respectively, among 126 251 people with AF only. Less than half those with AF were prescribed an anticoagulant (45.6% from 2014 onwards), although 75.7% were prescribed an antiplatelet or anticoagulant. In a fully adjusted Cox model, the HR for major haemorrhage was higher among people with HF and AF (2.52, 95% CI 2.44 to 2.61) than AF only (1.87, 95% CI 1.82 to 1.92), even in a subgroup analysis of people prescribed anticoagulation. However, in a Fine and Gray competing risk model, the HR of major haemorrhage was similar for people with AF only (1.82, 95% CI 1.77 to 1.87) or HF and AF (1.71, 95% CI 1.66 to 1.78)., Conclusions: People with HF and AF are at increased risk of major haemorrhage compared with those with AF only and current prediction scores may underestimate the risk of haemorrhage in HF and AF. However, people with HF and AF are more likely to die than have a major haemorrhage and therefore an individual's expected prognosis should be carefully considered when predicting future bleeding risk., Competing Interests: Competing interests: NRJ reports consultancy fees from OXON Epidemiology and teaching fees from NB Medical. CJT reports consultancy fees from Roche, AstraZeneca, and Bayer. C.S. and unconditional honoraria for delivery of education from AstraZeneca, Bedfont, Boehringer Ingelheim, Cheisi, GSK, Teva and Trudell., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ.)

Background: Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TC) is an established differential diagnosis of myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronaries with significant interest but limited data on prognostication. We reviewed the characteristics and in-hospital outcomes and developed a novel risk score for TC., Methods: Using the National Inpatient Sample data from 2016 to 2020, we identified adult patients (≥18 years) with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and TC. We divided the cohort into ACS with and without TC and retrieved baseline data. Multivariable regression analysis was conducted to identify factors associated with TC diagnosis and adverse outcomes, leading to the development of a risk-scoring system., Results: Among 7 219 004 adult ACS admissions, 78 214 (1.0%) were diagnosed with TC, with a mean age of 68.2 years, 64 526 (82.5%) being female and 5475 (7.0%, compared with 8.4% for other ACS) in-hospital mortality events. Factors significantly associated with TC were female sex (OR 6.78 (95% CI 6.47 to 7.09), p<0.001) and chronic heart failure (OR 1.60 (95% CI 1.54 to 1.66), p<0.001). A novel risk score was developed, including the following parameters: male sex, age >70 years, non-white race, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, history of coronary artery bypass grafting, history of percutaneous coronary intervention, cardiac arrhythmias, renal failure, cardiogenic shock and vasopressor use. The area under curves for in-hospital mortality was 0.716 in the derivation and 0.725 in the validation cohorts., Conclusions: TC remains a high-risk diagnosis in a minority of ACS cases, with mortality rates similar to other ACS causes. Our novel risk score offers a valuable tool for risk stratification in patients with TC, but external validation is needed to confirm its utility., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ.)

Objectives: To assess the impact of differences in Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) testing rates on prostate cancer (PCa) diagnosis and PCa-specific mortality among Māori men in a New Zealand (NZ) population., Patients and Methods: Māori men aged 40 years or older, without a history of PCa, with a PSA test between 2006 and 2018 were included. The cohort was divided into two groups; the "screened group" (ScG) consisting of men who had at least one PSA test every four years or less, and the "non-screened group" (non-SG). We measured the rate of cancer diagnoses and used competing risk analysis to assess survival., Results: The study cohort included 63,939 Māori men, with 37,048 (58%) in the ScG. PCa was more frequently diagnosed in the ScG (3.7% vs. 3.0%, P < 0.001). A higher proportion of high-grade cancers were found in the non-SG (32.7% vs. 25.6%, P = 0.001). The 10-year cancer-specific survival was significantly higher in the ScG (99.4% vs. 98.5%, P < 0.001). In a multivariable risk model, PSA testing frequency was an independent predictor of PCa mortality. (HR 2.43, [95% CI 1.97-3.01], P < 0.001)., Conclusions: In a cohort of only Māori men, lower PSA testing rates were associated with a higher risk of PCa-related death. Therefore, regular PSA testing for Māori could improve cancer-specific survival among Māori men. Regular PSA testing should be considered a priority area for improving PCa survival in this population., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Introduction: Staged bilateral surgery is widely used to treat synchronous multiple primary lung cancer (SMPLC); however, the prognostic factors for survival outcomes remain unclear. This study aimed to identify prognostic factors and construct a predictive model for overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) in patients with SMPLC who underwent staged bilateral surgery., Methods: The study included 256 patients diagnosed with SMPLC and treated with staged bilateral surgery at our hospital between January 2010 and July 2017. Multivariate Cox proportional-hazard regression was used to identify prognostic factors for OS and RFS. Additionally, a predictive model was constructed using time-dependent receiver operating characteristic curves., Results: Among the 256 patients, 10 (3.95%) succumbed to the disease and 24 (9.41%) experienced recurrence. Smoking (hazard ratio [HR]: 5.128; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.442-18.233; p = 0.012) and most advanced pathological TNM (pTNM) stage (II + III) (HR: 12.938; 95% CI: 2.650-63.176; p = 0.002) were identified as significant predictors of poor OS. A prognostic model was developed for predicting OS, with a 5-year area under the curve (AUC) of 0.854. Furthermore, most advanced pTNM stage (II + III) was associated with poor RFS (HR: 5.964; 95% CI: 2.669-13.327; p < 0.001), and the predictive model exhibited a 5-year AUC of 0.718 for RFS., Conclusion: This study revealed that smoking and most advanced pTNM stage were independent prognostic factors associated with poor OS in patients with bilateral SMPLC. Moreover, most advanced pTNM stage was also linked to unfavorable RFS. The developed predictive model demonstrated moderate prognostic performance for both OS and RFS., (© 2024 The Author(s). The Clinical Respiratory Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Right ventricular dysfunction (RVD) complicates 30%-40% of cases in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and cardiogenic shock (CS). There are sparse data on the effects of RVD on outcomes and the impact of providing early left ventricular (LV) mechanical circulatory support (MCS) on RV function and hemodynamics., Methods and Results: Between July 2016 and December 2020, 80 sites participated in the study. All centers agreed to treat patients with AMI-CS using a standard protocol emphasizing invasive hemodynamic monitoring and rapid initiation of LV-MCS. RVD was defined as a right atrial (RA) pressure of >12 mm Hg and a pulmonary artery pulsatility index (PAPI) of <1 within 24 hours of the index procedure. The primary outcome was survival to discharge. In a subgroup analysis, data available from the Automated Impella Controller console was used to analyze diastolic suction alarms from LV placement signal and its relation to RVD. A total of 361 patients were included in the analysis, of whom 28% had RVD. The median age was 64 years (interquartile range 55-72 years), 22.7% were female and 75.7% were White. There was no difference in age, sex, or comorbidities between those with or without RVD. Patients with RVD had a higher probability of active CPR during LV-MCS implant (14.7% vs 6.3%), Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions stage E shock (39.2% vs 23.2%), and higher admission lactate levels (5.1 mg/dL vs 3.0 mg/dL). Survival to discharge was significantly lower among those with RVD (61.8% vs 73.4%, odds ratio 0.89, 95% confidence interval 0.36-0.95, P = .031). This association remained significant in the multivariate analysis. There was no significant difference in hemodynamic variables within 24 hours of LV-MCS support among those with or without RVD. At 24 hours, patients with a CPO of >0.6 W and a PAPi of >1 had a trend toward better survival to discharge compared with those with a CPO of ≤0.6 W and a PAPi of ≤1 (77.1% vs 54.6%, P = .092). Patients with RVD were significantly more likely to have diastolic suction alarms within 24 hours of LV-MCS initiation., Conclusions: RVD in AMI-CS is common and associated with worse survival to discharge. Early LV-MCS decreases filling pressures rapidly within the first 24 hours and decreases the rate of RVD. Achieving a CPO of >0.6 W and a PAPi of >1 within 24 hours is associated with high survival. Diastolic suction alarms may have usefulness as an early marker of RVD., Competing Interests: Disclosures Dr. Tedford reports no direct conflicts of interest related to this manuscript. He reports general disclosures to include consulting relationships with Abbott, Acorai, Aria CV Inc., Acceleron/Merck, Alleviant, CareDx, Cytokinetics, Edwards LifeSciences, Gradient, Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Medtronic, and United Therapeutics. Dr. Tedford serves on steering committee for Merck, Edwards, and Abbott, as well as a research advisory board for ​Abiomed. He also does hemodynamic core lab work for Merck. Dr. Cowger is a paid consultant/advisor for Abbott, Inc (HeartMate 3 LVAD; tendyne and cephea valve trials), Medtronic (HVAD study), Bioventrix, CorWave, and Procyrion (Aortix device). She is an unpaid steering committee member for Endotronix (Cordella PA sensor) and Nuwellis. She is on the DSMB for BiVACOR and Berlin Heart Excor device trials. She is a speaker for Zoll, Abbott, and Bioventrix., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Sex-based disparities have been demonstrated in care delivery for females with cardiogenic shock (CS), including lower use of coronary angiography (CAG), percutaneous intervention (PCI) and mechanical circulatory support (MCS). We evaluated whether sex-based disparities exist and are associated with worse CS outcomes in females., Methods: We studied a retrospective cohort of 1498 consecutive, unique adult cardiovascular intensive care unit (CICU) admissions with CS from 2007-2018., Results: Compared to males, females (n = 566, 37.1%) were older (71.7 vs 67.8 years; P < 0.001) but had similar burdens of medical comorbidities. Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) was present in 54.1% of females and 59.1% of males (P = 0.06). There were no sex-based differences in the use of CAG and PCI, but females received temporary MCS less commonly. Specifically, females with non-AMI CS received MCS devices less commonly (17.6% vs 24.4%; P = 0.04). There was no difference in in-hospital or 1-year mortality rates between the sexes. Compared to males, females who received PCI had lower risks of 1-year mortality (unadjusted HR 0.72; P = 0.03), whereas females who received CAG without PCI had higher risks of 1-year mortality (unadjusted HR 1.41; P = 0.02)., Conclusions: No sex-based disparities in mortality due to CS were demonstrated in this large, diverse cohort of patients with CICU admissions. Females who underwent PCI demonstrated lower risks of 1-year mortality, whereas females who underwent CAG without PCI demonstrated higher risks of 1-year mortality compared to males. This may reflect underuse of PCI as a mortality-reducing therapy in females., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Patients with a bicuspid aortic valve carry an increased risk for developing an ascending aortic aneurysm due to intrinsic aortic wall alterations. A lower threshold for aortic surgery may therefore be considered in these patients, especially in those who require aortic valve surgery. This study aimed to compare the outcomes of an isolated aortic valve replacement with that of an aortic root replacement in bicuspid aortic valve patients with an indication for aortic valve surgery., Methods: Patients were included in retrospect from a tertiary academic hospital. Included patients received an elective aortic valve (AVR) or a composite valve-graft conduit (both mechanical and biological) between 2006 and 2021 without any concomitant procedure. Mortality data were retrieved from a national database and comparisons, including survival analyses, were performed between both groups., Results: A total of 132 isolated AVR and 149 aortic root replacements were included. Patients who received an isolated AVR were significantly older than the aortic root replacement group (62.9 vs. 57.7 year respectively, p < 0.001). Survival analyses showed a comparable long-term mortality between both groups (8.1% vs. 9.1%, p = 0.321)., Conclusion: This study shows that performing an aortic root replacement with a composite valve-graft conduit in bicuspid aortic valve patients does not impair the survival outcomes. In the light of preventing potential future aortic complications within this patient group with a congenitally and structurally weakened aortic wall, a more aggressive approach towards the treatment of BAV aortopathy might be considered., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Purpose: Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) and cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P) are inborn closure defects. Genetic factors in and outcomes for patients with both anomalies (CDH+CL/P) remain unclear. We aimed to investigate associated genetic aberrations, prevalence of, and outcomes for, CDH+CL/P., Methods: Data from Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Study Group (CDHSG) registry were collected. CL/P prevalence in CDH patients was determined. Genetic abnormalities and additional malformations in CDH+CL/P were explored. Patient characteristics and outcomes were compared between CDH+CL/P and isolated CDH (CDH-) using Fisher's Exact Test for categorical, and t-test or Mann-Whitney U-test for continuous, data. p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant., Results: Genetic anomalies in CDH+CL/P included trisomy 13, 8p23.1 deletion, and Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome (4p16.3 deletion). CL/P prevalence in CDH was 0.7%. CDH+CL/P had lower survival rates than CDH-, a nearly fourfold risk of death within 7 days, were less supported with extracorporeal life support (ECLS), had higher non-repair rates, and survivors had longer length of hospital stay., Conclusion: Genetic anomalies, e.g. trisomy 13, 8p23.1 deletion, and Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome, are seen in patients with the combination of CDH and orofacial clefts. CL/P in CDH patients is rare and associated with poorer outcomes compared to CDH-, influenced by goals of care decision-making., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Aims: Congestive heart failure (HF) is a common complication in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The estimated plasma volume status [ePVS = (100 - haematocrit)/haemoglobin] is used as the blood plasma volume index to determine the presence of congestion in patients with HF. However, the clinical impact of ePVS at discharge in patients with AMI remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate whether ePVS at discharge could determine the long-term prognosis in patients with AMI., Methods and Results: We retrospectively identified patients with AMI with ePVS measured at discharge between January 2012 and December 2020. The primary endpoint was post-discharge all-cause death. The patients were divided into two groups according to an ePVS cut-off value of 5.5%, which is commonly used in HF. In total, 1012 patients with AMI were included. The median age was 70 years (range, 61-78 years), and 76.4% of the patients were male. The ePVS > 5.5% (high-ePVS) group included 365 patients (36.1%), and the all-cause mortality rate in the total cohort was 17.7%. The log-rank test revealed that the high-ePVS group had a significantly higher rate of all-cause death than the ePVS ≤ 5.5% (low-ePVS) group (P < 0.001). Multivariate Cox proportional hazards model analysis revealed that high ePVS was associated with post-discharge all-cause death, independent of other risk factors (hazard ratio = 1.879; 95% confidence interval = 1.343-2.629, P < 0.001)., Conclusions: High ePVS at discharge was independently associated with high post-discharge all-cause mortality in patients with AMI. Our study suggests that ePVS at discharge in patients with AMI could serve as a novel prognostic marker., (© 2024 The Author(s). ESC Heart Failure published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Society of Cardiology.)

Objective: To provide contemporary data on infants inborn at 22 to 25 weeks' gestation and receiving care at level 3 and 4 neonatal intensive care units in the United States., Methods: Vermont Oxford Network members submitted data on infants born at 22 to 25 weeks' gestation at a hospital with a level 3 or 4 NICU from 2020 to 2022. The primary outcome was survival to hospital discharge. Secondary outcomes included survival without severe complications, length of stay, and technology dependence., Results: Overall, 22 953 infants at 636 US hospitals were included. Postnatal life support increased from 68.0% at 22 weeks to 99.8% at 25 weeks. The proportion of infants born at 22 weeks receiving postnatal life support increased from 61.6% in 2020 to 73.7% in 2022. For all infants, survival ranged from 24.9% at 22 weeks to 82.0% at 25 weeks. Among infants receiving postnatal life support, survival ranged from 35.4% at 22 weeks to 82.0% at 25 weeks. Survival without severe complications ranged from 6.3% at 22 weeks to 43.2% at 25 weeks. Median length of stay ranged from 160 days at 22 weeks to 110 days at 25 weeks. Among survivors, infants born at 22 weeks had higher rates of technology dependence at discharge home than infants born at later gestational ages., Conclusions: Survival ranged from 24.9% at 22 weeks to 82.1% at 25 weeks, with low proportions of infants surviving without complications, prolonged lengths of hospital stay, and frequent technology dependence at all gestational ages., (Copyright © 2024 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.)

Objectives: The clinical trial showed that sublobar resection was not inferior to lobectomy in terms of disease-free survival in patients with peripherally located non-small-cell lung cancer ≤2 cm. However, it is not clear whether sublobar resection is indicated for all types of c-stage IA lung cancer. The purpose of this study was to clarify whether sublobar resection is indicated for c-stage IA hypermetabolic lung cancer., Methods: Patients with c-stage IA lung cancer who underwent F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography and lobectomy or sublobar resection were assessed. Of these, patients who had a maximum standardized uptake value ≥3.0 on positron emission tomography/computed tomography were evaluated. We compared survival rates after lobectomy versus sublobar resection. Propensity score matching was performed to balance patient characteristics between groups., Results: Between April 2004 and March 2023, 723 patients underwent lobectomy or sublobar resection and had a maximum standardized uptake value ≥3.0 on positron emission tomography/computed tomography. Lobectomy and sublobar resection were performed in 532 (73.6%) and 191 (26.4%) patients, respectively. Both the 5-year overall and disease-free survival rates were worse after sublobar resection compared with lobectomy (62.3% vs 79.9% and 53.9% vs 70.3%, respectively). After propensity score matching, the 5-year overall and disease-free survival rates remained worse after sublobar resection compared with lobectomy (60.7% vs 75.2% and 51.6% vs 67.7%, respectively)., Conclusions: Patients with c-stage IA hypermetabolic lung cancer with standardized uptake value ≥3.0 on positron emission tomography/computed tomography had a worse prognosis after sublobar resection than after lobectomy., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery.)

Background: There are limited data assessing the spectrum of systemic sclerosis-associated pulmonary hypertension (PH)., Methods: Data for 912 systemic sclerosis patients assessed between 2000 and 2020 were retrieved from the Assessing the Spectrum of Pulmonary hypertension Identified at a REferral centre (ASPIRE) registry and classified based on 2022 European Society of Cardiology/European Respiratory Society (ESC/ERS) guidelines and multimodality investigations., Results: Reduction in pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) diagnostic threshold to >2WU resulted in a 19% increase in precapillary PH diagnoses. Patients with PVR ≤2WU had superior survival to PVR >2-3WU which was similar to PVR >3-4WU. Survival in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) was superior to PH associated with lung disease. However, patients with mild parenchymal disease on CT had similar characteristics and outcomes to patients without lung disease. Combined pre- and postcapillary PH had significantly poorer survival than isolated postcapillary PH. Patients with mean pulmonary arterial wedge pressure (PAWP) 13-15 mm Hg had similar haemodynamics and left atrial volumes to those with PAWP >15 mm Hg. Unclassified-PH had more frequently dilated left atria and higher PAWP than PAH. Although Unclassified-PH had a similar survival to No-PH, 36% were subsequently diagnosed with PAH or PH associated with left heart disease. The presence of 2-3 radiological signs of pulmonary veno-occlusive disease was noted in 7% of PAH patients and was associated with worse survival. Improvement in incremental shuttle walking distance of ≥30 m following initiation of PAH therapy was associated with superior survival. PAH patients diagnosed after 2011 had greater use of combination therapy and superior survival., Conclusion: A number of systemic sclerosis PH phenotypes can be recognized and characterized using haemodynamics, lung function and multimodality imaging., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Aim: Sudden cardiac arrest is a global health issue, with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) posing a major challenge. Bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillators (AEDs) improve survival and neurological outcomes. However, their actual usage involves numerous constraints. Therefore, to determine the association between bystander AED use and survival of patients with OHCA, we analyzed South Korea's national OHCA database., Methods: This retrospective study included cases from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency's Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Surveillance database from January 2016 to December 2021. Adult OHCA cases treated with bystander intervention were categorized into two groups, CPR with AEDs and without AEDs. Propensity score matching was employed to control for confounders and analyze bystander AED use's impact on survival to discharge and neurological outcomes., Results: Of 182,508 OHCA cases, 35,840 met the inclusion criteria, with 234 (0.7%) receiving bystander CPR with AEDs. The survival rate to discharge in the AED and non-AED group was 46.6% and 23.0%, respectively. However, after adjusting for potential confounders, bystander AED use did not significantly affect survival to discharge (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.01, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.70-1.44) or favorable neurological outcomes (aOR 1.08, 95% CI 0.99-1.18)., Conclusion: Survival to discharge or favorable neurological outcomes of patients with OHCA managed using bystander-applied AEDs and those without showed no significant difference. Factors such as AED accessibility and bystander preparedness influence the impact of bystander AED use. Further research should optimize AED deployment and usage strategies to enhance patient survival rate., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Chiwon Ahn reports financial support was provided by Korea Health Industry Development Institute. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Aims: Current data are insufficient for the leading resuscitation societies to advise on the use of extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) for pediatric out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). The aim of this study was to explore the current utilization of ECPR for pediatric OHCA and characterize the patient demographics, arrest features, and metabolic parameters associated with survival., Methods: Retrospective review of the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization Registry database from January 2020 to May 2023, including children 28 days to 18 years old who received ECPR for OHCA. The primary outcome was survival to hospital discharge., Results: Eighty patients met inclusion criteria. Median age was 8.8 years [2.0-15.8] and 53.8% of patients were male. OHCA was witnessed for 65.0% of patients and 46.3% received bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Initial rhythm was shockable in 26.3% of patients and total CPR duration was 78 min [52-106]. Signs of life were noted for 31.3% of patients and a cardiac etiology precipitating event was present in 45.0%. Survival to discharge was 29.9%. Initial shockable rhythm was associated with increased odds of survival (unadjusted OR 4.7 [1.5-14.5]; p = 0.006), as were signs of life prior to ECMO (unadjusted OR 7.8 [2.6-23.4]; p < 0.001). Lactate levels early on-ECMO (unadjusted OR 0.89 [0.79-0.99]; p = 0.02) and at 24 h on-ECMO (unadjusted OR 0.62 [0.42-0.91]; p < 0.001) were associated with decreased odds of survival., Conclusions: These preliminary data suggest that while overall survival is poor, a carefully selected pediatric OHCA patient may benefit from ECPR. Further studies are needed to understand long-term neurologic outcomes., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: “Ryan P. Barbaro reports a relationship with Extracorporeal Life Support Organization that includes: board membership. Peta M.A. Alexander reports a relationship with Extracorporeal Life Support Organization that includes: board membership. Ryan P. Barbaro reports a relationship with Pedi-ECMO that includes: board membership. Ryan P. Barbaro reports a relationship with National Institutes of Health that includes: funding grants. Peta M.A. Alexander reports a relationship with US Department of Defense that includes: funding grants. Peta M.A. Alexander reports a relationship with National Institutes of Health that includes: funding grants. Peta M.A. Alexander reports a relationship with US Food and Drug Administration that includes: funding grants. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper”., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Implantation of bioprosthetic valves is more common as the population ages and there is a shift towards implanting bioprosthetic aortic valves in an increasingly younger surgical population. Bioprosthetic heart valve insertion, however, carries the long-term risk of valve failure through structural valve degeneration. Re-operative surgical aortic valve replacement has historically been the only definitive management option for patients with prosthetic valve dysfunction, however, data on the short- and long-term outcomes following re-operative surgery in Australia and New Zealand is limited., Method: Data on all patients who underwent redo aortic valve surgery, over a 20-year period (up to 2021) was obtained from the Australian and New Zealand Society of Cardiothoracic Surgery Registry., Results: A total of 1,199 patients (770 males; 64.2% and 429 females; 35.8%) were included in the overall analysis. The 30-day mortality was 6.4% with operative urgency status the most important risk factor for peri-operative mortality. The long-term survival rate of 1,145 patients was 90.5% (95% confidence interval [CI] 88.8%-92.3%), 77% (95% CI 73.9%-80.2%) and 57.2% (95% CI 55.2%-62.8%) at 1-, 5- and 10-years post-procedure, respectively, with a median survival of 12.7 years. Pre-existing chronic kidney disease was strongly associated with poorer long-term survival. For patients under 70 years of age the 1-, 5- and 10-year survival rates were 92.9% (95% CI 90.9%-95.1%), 83.6% (95% CI 80.1%-87.3%) and 73.1% (95% CI 67.4%-79.3%), respectively., Conclusions: The results from this registry study indicate that in Australia and New Zealand, a repeat surgical aortic valve replacement can result in a relatively low mortality rate, serving as a reference point for medical procedures in these regions., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest There are no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Crown Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Aims: Heart failure (HF) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) place significant challenges on the healthcare system, and their co-existence is associated with shared adverse outcomes. The multinational CaReMe project was initiated to provide contemporary, real-world epidemiological data on cardiovascular and reno-metabolic diseases. Utilizing data from the German CaReMe cohort, we characterize a multicentric HF population and describe in-hospital outcomes stratified for co-morbid CKD., Methods and Results: This retrospective, observational study analysed administrative data from inpatient cases hospitalized in 87 German Helios hospitals between 1 January 2016 and 31 August 2022. The first hospitalization of patients aged ≥18 years with a primary discharge diagnosis of HF, based on ICD-10 codes, were considered the index cases, and subsequent hospitalizations were considered as readmissions. Baseline characteristics and outcomes were stratified for co-morbid CKD using ICD-10-encoding from the index cases. Cox regression was utilized for readmission endpoints and in-hospital mortality. In total, 174 829 index cases (mean age 79 ± 15 years, 49.9% female) were included; of these, 55.0% had coexisting CKD. Patients with CKD were older, suffered from worse HF-related symptoms, had a higher co-morbidity burden, and in-hospital mortality was increased at index and during follow-up. Prevalent CKD was associated with higher rehospitalization rates and was an independent predictor for in-hospital death., Conclusions: Within this HF inpatient cohort from a multicentric German database, CKD was diagnosed in more than half of the patients and was associated with increased in-hospital mortality at baseline and during follow-up. Rehospitalizations were observed earlier and more frequently in patients with HF and co-morbid CKD., (© 2024 The Authors. ESC Heart Failure published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Society of Cardiology.)

Aims: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a well-established risk factor for heart failure (HF); however, patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) < 30 mL/min/1.73 m 2 have been systematically excluded from clinical trials. This study investigated the incidence of HF and kidney outcomes in HF patients with and without advanced CKD, that is, eGFR < 30., Methods: From nationwide registries, HF patients were identified from 2014 to 2018 and categorized into three groups according to baseline eGFR (eGFR ≥ 60, 60 > eGFR ≥ 30 and eGFR < 30). The incidence of primary outcomes (all-cause mortality, HF hospitalization, end-stage kidney disease and sustained 50% eGFR decline) was estimated using cumulative incidence functions., Results: Of the 21 959 HF patients included, the median age was 73.9 years, and 30% of patients had an eGFR between 30 and 60 and 7% had an eGFR < 30. The 4 year incidence of all-cause mortality was highest for patients with eGFR < 30 (28.3% for patients with eGFR ≥ 60, 51.6% for patients with 60 > eGFR ≥ 30 and 72.2% for patients with eGFR < 30). The 4 year incidence of HF hospitalization was comparable between the groups (25.8%, 29.8% and 26.1% for patients with eGFR ≥ 60, 60 > eGFR ≥ 30 and eGFR < 30, respectively). For patients with eGFR < 30, kidney outcomes were four times more often the first event than patients with eGFR > 30 (4 year incidence of kidney outcome as the first event was 5.0% for eGFR ≥ 60, 4.8% for 60 > eGFR ≥ 30 and 20.1% for eGFR < 30)., Conclusions: Patients with advanced CKD had a higher incidence of mortality and poorer kidney outcomes than those without advanced CKD, but a similar incidence of HF hospitalizations., (© 2024 The Author(s). ESC Heart Failure published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Society of Cardiology.)

Aims: Individuals with congenital heart disease (CHD) are at an increased risk for cancer. As cancer survival rates improve, the prevalence of late side effects, such as heart failure (HF), is becoming more evident. This study aims to evaluate the risk of developing HF following a cancer diagnosis in patients with CHD, compared with those without CHD and with CHD patients who do not have cancer., Methods: CHD patients (n = 69 799) and randomly selected non-CHD controls (n = 650 406), born in Sweden between 1952 and 2017, were identified from the Swedish National Health Registers and Total Population Register (excluding those with syndromes and transplant recipients). CHD patients who developed cancer (n = 1309) were propensity score-matched with non-CHD patients who developed cancer (n = 9425), resulting in a cohort of 1232 CHD patients with cancer and 2602 non-CHD controls with cancer (after exclusion of individuals with HF prior to cancer diagnosis). In a separate analysis, CHD patients with cancer were propensity score-matched with CHD patients without cancer (n = 68 490). A total of 1233 CHD patients with cancer and 2257 CHD patients without cancer were included in the study., Results: Among CHD patients with cancer, 73 (5.9%) developed HF during a mean follow-up time of 8.5 ± 8.7. Comparatively, in the propensity-matched control population, 29 (1.1%) non-CHD cancer patients (mean follow-up time of 7.3 ± 7.5) and 101 (4.5%) CHD patients without cancer (mean follow-up time of 9.9 ± 9.2) developed HF. CHD patients exhibited a significantly higher risk of HF post-cancer diagnosis compared with the non-CHD control group [hazard ratio (HR) 4.39, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.83-6.81], after adjusting for age at cancer diagnosis and comorbidities. In the analysis between CHD patients with cancer and those without cancer, the results indicated a significantly higher risk of developing HF in CHD patients with cancer (HR 1.53, 95% CI 1.13-2.07)., Conclusions: CHD patients face a more than four-fold increased risk of developing HF after a cancer diagnosis compared with cancer patients without CHD. Among CHD patients, the risk of HF is only modestly higher for those with cancer than for those without cancer. This suggests that the increased HF risk in CHD patients with cancer, relative to non-CHD cancer patients, may be more attributable to CHD itself than to cancer treatment-related side effects., (© 2024 The Author(s). ESC Heart Failure published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Society of Cardiology.)

Aims: The adverse effects of low daily protein intake (DPI) on clinical outcomes in patients with heart failure (HF) are known; however, an optimal DPI to predict event adverse outcomes remains undetermined. Moreover, whether protein restriction therapy for chronic kidney disease is applicable in patients with HF and renal dysfunction remains unclear., Methods and Results: In this single-centre, ambispective cohort study, we included 405 patients with HF aged ≥65 years (mean age, 78.6 ± 7.5 years; 50% women). DPI was estimated from consumption over three consecutive days before discharge and normalized relative to the ideal body weight [IBW, 22 kg/m 2  × height (m) 2 ]. The primary outcome was a composite of all-cause mortality and HF-related readmission within the 2 year post-discharge period., Results: During an average follow-up period of 1.49 ± 0.74 years, 100 patients experienced composite events. Kaplan-Meier survival curves revealed a significantly lower composite event-free rate in patients within the lowest quartile of DPI than in the upper quartiles (log-rank test, P = 0.02). A multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis after adjusting for established prognostic markers and non-proteogenic energy intake revealed that patients in the lowest DPI quartile faced a two-fold higher risk of composite events than those in the highest quartile [hazard ratio (HR), 2.03; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.08-3.82; P = 0.03]. The composite event risk linearly increased as DPI decreased (P for nonlinearity = 0.90), with each standard deviation (0.26 g/kg IBW/day) decrease in DPI associated with a 32% increase in composite event risk (HR, 1.32; 95% CI, 1.10-1.71; P = 0.04). There was significant heterogeneity in the effect of DPI, with the possible disadvantage of lower DPI in patients with HF with cystatin C-based estimated glomerular filtration rate <30 mL/min/1.73 m 2 . The cutoff value of DPI for predicting the occurrence of composite events calculated from the Youden index was 1.12 g/kg IBW/day. Incorporating a DPI < 1.12 g/kg IBW/day into the baseline model significantly improved the prediction of post-discharge composite events (continuous net reclassification improvement, 0.294; 95% CI, 0.072-0.516; P = 0.01)., Conclusions: Lower DPI during hospitalization is associated with an increased risk of mortality and HF readmission independent of non-proteogenic energy intake, and the possible optimal DPI for predicting adverse clinical outcomes is >1.12 g/kg IBW/day in older patients with HF. Caution is warranted when protein restriction therapy is administered to older patients with HF and renal dysfunction., (© 2024 The Authors. ESC Heart Failure published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Society of Cardiology.)

Aims: Serum calcium level is widely used for evaluating disease severity, but its impact on clinical outcomes in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) remains poorly understood. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between serum calcium levels and in-hospital mortality in CHF patients., Methods and Results: We conducted a retrospective analysis utilizing clinical data from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care database, encompassing a cohort of 15 983 CHF patients. This cohort was stratified based on their serum calcium levels, with the primary objective being the determination of in-hospital mortality. To assess the impact of admission serum calcium levels on in-hospital mortality, we employed various statistical methodologies, including multivariable logistic regression models, a generalized additive model, a two-piecewise linear regression model, and subgroup analysis. Comparative analysis of the reference group (Q3) revealed increased in-hospital mortality in the first quintile (Q1, the group with the lowest blood calcium level) and the fifth quintile (Q5, the group with the highest blood calcium level), with fully adjusted odds ratios of 1.38 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.13-1.68, P = 0.002] and 1.23 (95% CI: 1.01-1.5, P = 0.038), respectively. A U-shaped relationship was observed between serum calcium levels and in-hospital mortality, with the lowest risk occurring at a threshold of 8.35 mg/dL. The effect sizes and corresponding CIs below and above this threshold were 0.782 (95% CI: 0.667-0.915, P = 0.0023) and 1.147 (95% CI: 1.034-1.273, P = 0.0094), respectively. Stratified analyses confirmed the robustness of this correlation., Conclusions: Our study identifies a U-shaped association between serum calcium levels and in-hospital mortality in CHF patients, with a notable inflection point at 8.35 mg/dL. Further investigation through prospective, randomized, and controlled studies is warranted to validate the findings presented in this study., (© 2024 The Authors. ESC Heart Failure published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Society of Cardiology.)

Aims: The value of the systemic immune-inflammatory index (SII) in assessing adverse outcomes in various cardiovascular diseases has been extensively discussed. This study aims to evaluate the predictive value and risk stratification ability of SII for 30 day mortality in patients with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF)., Methods: This analysis included 1452 patients hospitalized for ADHF, all the participants being part of the China Jiangxi-acute decompensated heart failure1 project. The risk stratification capability of the SII in patients with ADHF, as well as its correlation with the 30 day mortality risk among ADHF patients, was evaluated utilizing Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and multivariable Cox regression models. A restricted cubic spline was employed to model the dose-response relationship between the two, and the receiver operating characteristic curve was utilized to assess the predictive ability of SII for 30 day mortality., Results: The Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that the risk of mortality in the high SII group (SII ≥ 980 × 10 9 /L) was significantly greater than that in the low SII group (SII < 980 × 10 9 /L, log-rank P < 0.001). After adjusting for various confounding factors, a higher SII was associated with an increased risk of 30 day mortality in ADHF patients [hazard ratio (HR) = 2.03, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.34-3.08]. Further restricted cubic spline analysis revealed a non-linear dose-response relationship between the two (P for non-linear = 0.006). Receiver operating characteristic analysis demonstrated that SII had a high accuracy in predicting 30 day mortality events in ADHF patients (AUC = 0.7479), and the optimal predictive threshold was calculated to be 980 × 10 9 /L, a sensitivity of 0.7547 and a specificity of 0.7234., Conclusions: This study found a significant positive association between SII and 30 day all-cause mortality in ADHF patients. We determined the SII cut-off point for predicting 30 day all-cause mortality in patients with ADHF to be 980 × 10 9 /L., (© 2024 The Author(s). ESC Heart Failure published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Society of Cardiology.)

Aims: We aim to integrate the parameters of two-dimensional (2D) echocardiography and identify the high-risk population for all-cause mortality in patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI)., Methods: The study involved a retrospective cohort population with STEMI who were admitted to Yongchuan Hospital of Chongqing Medical University between January 2016 and January 2019. Baseline data were collected, including 2D echocardiography parameters and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). The parameters of 2D echocardiography were subjected to cluster analysis. Logistic regression models were employed to assess univariate and multivariate adjusted odds ratios (ORs) of cluster information in relation to all-cause mortality. Four logistic regression models were generated, utilizing cluster information, clinical variables, clinical variables in conjunction with LVEF, and clinical variables in conjunction with LVEF and cluster information as predictive variables, respectively. The area under the curve (AUC) were utilized to evaluate the incremental risk stratification value of cluster information., Results: The study included 633 participants with 28.8% female, a mean age of 65.68 ± 11.98 years. Over the course of a 3-year follow-up period, 108 (17.1%) patients experienced all-cause mortality. Utilizing cluster analysis of 2D echocardiography parameters, the patients were categorized into two distinct clusters, with statistically significant differences observed in most clinical variables, echocardiography, and survival outcomes between the clusters. Multivariate regression analysis revealed that cluster information was independently associated with the risk of all-cause mortality with adjusted OR 7.33 (95% confidence interval [CI] 3.99-14.06, P < 0.001). The inclusion of LVEF enhanced the predictive capacity of the model utilized with clinical variables with AUC 0.848 (95% CI 0.809-0.888) versus AUC 0.872 (95% CI 0.836-0.908) (P < 0.001), and the addition of cluster information further improved its predictive performance with AUC 0.906 (95% CI 0.878-0.934, P < 0.001). This cluster analysis was translated into a free available online calculator (https://app-for-mortality-prediction-cluster.streamlit.app/)., Conclusions: The 2D echocardiographic diagnostic information based on cluster analysis had good prognostic value for STEMI population, which was helpful for risk stratification and individualized intervention., (© 2024 The Author(s). ESC Heart Failure published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Society of Cardiology.)

Background: To predict native liver survival (NLS) after Kasai portoenterostomy (KP) for biliary atresia (BA) using pre-operative clinical data., Materials and Methods: Pre-operative data were collected from 29 patients with BA who underwent KP at our department between 1989 and 2017 and were analysed including serum albumin, bilirubin, prothrombin time-international normalised ratio, body height, body weight, age at KP, paediatric end-stage liver disease score calculated using the pre-operative data and the period of NLS., Results: The 10-year NLS rate of all patients was 51%. A multivariate analysis revealed that among all factors, the pre-KP serum albumin level was the only independent predictor of NLS ( P = 0.04, hazard ratio = 0.269, 95% confidence interval = 0.077-0.934). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for NLS, determined using pre-KP serum albumin was 0.760 and 3.75 mg/dl was selected as the cut-off value. There was a significant difference in NLS between patients with high (≥3.8 mg/dl) and low (≤3.7 mg/dl) pre-KP serum albumin (90.0% vs. 31.5%, P < 0.01)., Conclusions: Decreased pre-KP serum albumin may reflect not only functional impairment of the liver, but also the inflammatory process, which is hypothesized to occur during its advancement. The pre-KP serum albumin level may be a good prognostic factor for NLS in post-KP BA patients., (Copyright © 2024 Copyright: © 2024 African Journal of Paediatric Surgery.)

Aims: Sex differences in long-term post-discharge clinical outcomes in Asian patients hospitalized for acute decompensated heart failure (HF) persist despite the world-wide implementation of guideline-directed medical therapy for decades. The present study aims to elucidate the puzzling dilemma and to depict the directions of solution., Methods and Results: Between 2011 and 2020, a total of 12 428 patients (6518 men and 5910 women, mean age 73.50 ± 14.85) hospitalized for acute decompensated HF were retrospectively enrolled from a university HF cohort. Compared with men, women hospitalized for acute decompensated HF were older in age (76.40 ± 13.43 vs. 71.20 ± 15.67 years old, P < 0.0001) with more coexisting hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidaemia and moderate to severe chronic kidney disease, but less with ischaemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (P < 0.0001). In echocardiography measurement parameters, women had smaller left ventricular and left atrial dimensions, higher left ventricular mass index, higher left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and more in HF with preserved ejection fraction (EF) category (LVEF > 50%) than men (P < 0.0001). In HF therapy, women compared with men received more guideline-directed medical HF therapies including angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers, angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitors and sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors, but similar beta-blockers and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (P < 0.0001). Post-discharge long-term clinical outcomes after multivariate-adjusted analysis revealed that women compared with men had lower all-cause mortality [adjusted hazard ratio (aHR): 0.89, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.84-0.93], lower cardiovascular mortality (aHR: 0.89, 95% CI: 0.80-0.99) and lower 1 year mortality (aHR: 0.91, 95% CI: 0.84-0.99) but similar HF rehospitalization rate (aHR: 1.02, 95% CI: 0.95-1.09) over 8 years of follow-up. The superiority of women over men in all-cause mortality was shown in HF with preserved EF (>50%) and HF with mildly reduced EF (40%-50%), but not in HF with reduced EF (<40%) category. Subgroup forest plot analysis showed body mass index, coexisting hypertension and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease as significant interacting factors., Conclusions: With more coronary risk factors and medical comorbidities, less cardiac remodelling and better adherence to guideline-directed HF therapy, women hospitalized for acute decompensated HF demonstrated superiority over men in long-term post-discharge clinical outcomes, including all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality and 1 year mortality, and mainly in HF with preserved and mid-range EF categories, in the Asian HF cohort., (© 2024 The Author(s). ESC Heart Failure published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Society of Cardiology.)

Aims: Combined coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and aortic valve replacement (AVR), and female sex are associated with increased perioperative mortality in clinical risk scores. This study investigated male-female differences in short-term outcome stratified by age groups., Methods and Results: All patients undergoing AVR and CABG between January 2001 and June 2021 at our institution were included. 1963 patients were grouped by decades into: 59 years and younger (n = 127), 60-69 (n = 471), 70-79 (n = 1070), and 80 years and older (n = 295). The primary end points of this study were 30 and 180 days mortality. Secondary end points were influence of preoperative risk factors and impact of sex on survival and postoperative major adverse events. Female patients showed higher 30 and 180 days mortality after combined CABG and AVR surgery (8.3% vs. 4.2%, P < 0.01; 15.8% vs. 9.4%, P < 0.01). Stratified by age groups, 30 and 180 days mortality remained significantly higher in septuagenarians (9.6% vs. 2.5%, P < 0.01; 16.3% vs. 7.7%, P < 0.01). Females were significantly older, had better preserved left ventricular function, and higher incidence of diabetes mellitus compared with male patients in this subgroup (P < 0.01; P = 0.01; P < 0.01). Additionally, females received significantly less internal mammary artery (IMA) conduits (P < 0.01). Female sex (OR: 3.33, 95% CI: [1.76-6.31]; 1.93, [1.22-3.06]), higher age (1.28, [1.13-1.45]; 1.16, [1.06-1.26]), diabetes mellitus (1.93, [1.03-3.60]; 1.70, [1.08-2.67]) and LVEF <30% (3.26, [1.48-7.17]; 2.23, [1.24-4.02]) were correlated with 30 and 180 days mortality, respectively. Upon multivariable testing, sex (1.77, [1.21-2.58]) and LVEF <30% (3.71, [2.39-5.76]) remained independent predictors for major adverse postoperative events. Infrequent use of IMA grafts was associated with increased 30 and 180 days mortality as well as adverse events (0.47, [0.25-0.87]; 0.46, [0.29-0.72]; 0.61, [0.42-0.88])., Conclusions: Sex disparities in baseline characteristics may delay operative intervention in female patients. The inherent risk profiles might be responsible for outcome differences in septuagenarians., (© 2024 The Authors. ESC Heart Failure published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Society of Cardiology.)

Aims: The objective of this study was to examine associations between elevated depressive symptoms and increased risk of adverse clinical events patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), as well as the potential contribution of health behaviours., Methods and Results: One hundred forty-two men and women with HFrEF were enrolled through heart failure (HF) clinics and followed over time. At baseline and 6 months, depressive symptoms were assessed by the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) and HFrEF disease activity by B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP). The Self-Care of Heart Failure Index (SCHFI) was used to assess HF self-care behaviours. Proportional hazards regression models assessed the contribution of depressive symptoms and HFrEF disease biomarkers on death or cardiovascular hospitalization. Over a median follow-up period of 4 years, 42 patients (30%) died, and 84 (60%) had cardiovascular hospitalizations. A 10-point higher baseline BDI-II score was associated with a 35% greater risk of death or cardiovascular hospitalization. Higher baseline BDI-II scores were associated with poorer HF self-care maintenance behaviours (R = -0.30, P < 0.001) and fewer daily steps (R = -0.19, P = 0.04), suggesting that elevated depressive symptoms may diminish important health behaviours. Increases in plasma BNP over 6 months were associated with worse outcomes. Changes in BDI-II and plasma BNP over 6 months were positively related (R = 0.25, P = 0.004)., Conclusions: This study confirms that elevated depressive symptoms are associated with an increased likelihood of adverse clinical outcomes in patients with HFrEF. Poor health behaviours may contribute to the adverse association of elevated depressive symptoms with the increased hazard of adverse clinical outcomes., (© 2024 The Authors. ESC Heart Failure published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Society of Cardiology.)

Aims: Despite advances in therapies, the disease burden of heart failure (HF) has been rising globally. International comparisons of HF management and outcomes may reveal care patterns that improve outcomes. Accordingly, we examined clinical management and patient outcomes in older adults hospitalized for acute HF in the United States (US) and Japan., Methods: We identified patients aged >65 who were hospitalized for HF in 2013 using US Medicare data and the Japanese Registry of Acute Decompensated Heart Failure (JROADHF). We described patient characteristics, management, and healthcare utilization and compared outcomes using multivariable Cox regression during and after HF hospitalization., Results: Among 11 193 Japanese and 120 289 US patients, age and sex distributions were similar, but US patients had higher comorbidity rates. The length of stay was longer in Japan (median 18 vs. 5 days). While Medicare patients had higher use of implantable cardioverter defibrillator or cardiac resynchronization therapy during hospitalization (1.32% vs. 0.6%), Japanese patients were more likely to receive cardiovascular medications at discharge and to undergo cardiac rehabilitation within 3 months of HF admission (31% vs. 1.6%). Physician follow-up within 30 days was higher in Japan (77% vs. 57%). Cardiovascular readmission, cardiovascular mortality and all-cause mortality were 2.1-3.7 times higher in the US patients. The per-day cost of hospitalization was lower in Japan ($516 vs. $1323)., Conclusions: We observed notable differences in the management, outcomes and costs of HF hospitalization between the US and Japan. Large differences in length of hospitalization, cardiac rehabilitation rate and outcomes warrant further research to determine the optimal length of stay and assess the benefits of inpatient cardiac rehabilitation to reduce rehospitalization and mortality., (© 2024 The Author(s). ESC Heart Failure published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Society of Cardiology.)

Aims: The identification of subjects at higher risk for incident heart failure (HF) with preserved ejection fraction (EF) suitable for more intensive preventive programmes remains challenging. We applied phenomapping to the DAVID-Berg population, comprising subjects with preclinical HF, aiming to refine HF risk stratification., Methods: The DAVID-Berg study prospectively enrolled 596 asymptomatic outpatients with EF > 40% with hypertension, diabetes mellitus or known cardiovascular disease. In this cohort, we performed an unsupervised cluster analysis on 591 patients, including clinical, laboratory, electrocardiographic and echocardiographic parameters. We tested the association between each cluster and a composite outcome of HF/death., Results: The median age was 70 years, 55.5% were males and the median EF was 61.0%. Phenomapping provided three different clusters. Subjects in Cluster 3 were the oldest and had the highest prevalence of atrial fibrillation, the lowest estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), the highest N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and the largest left atrium. During a median follow-up of 5.7 years, 13.4% of subjects experienced HF/death events (N = 79). Compared with Clusters 1 and 2, Cluster 3 had the worst prognosis (log-rank test: Cluster 3 vs. 1 P < 0.001; Cluster 3 vs. 2 P = 0.008). Cluster 3 was associated with a risk of HF/death 2.5 times higher than Cluster 1 [adjusted hazard ratio (HR) = 2.46, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.24-4.90]., Conclusions: Based on phenomapping, older patients with lower kidney function and worse diastolic function might represent a subset of preclinical HF with EF > 40% who deserve more efforts to prevent clinical HF., (© 2024 The Author(s). ESC Heart Failure published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Society of Cardiology.)

Background: Survival for in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) has declined since the COVID-19 pandemic. Because the burden of COVID-19 was uneven throughout the U.S., it remains unknown if top-performer hospitals in IHCA survival have remained top-performers since the pandemic., Methods: Within Get With The Guidelines®-Resuscitation, we identified hospitals with at least 2 years of registry participation pre-pandemic (2017-2019) and post-pandemic (July 2020-2022) and with at least 20 IHCA cases in both periods. Using multivariable hierarchical models with hospital as a random effect and adjusting for patient and arrest characteristics, we calculated risk-standardized survival rates to discharge (RSSR) for IHCA at each hospital during the pre- and post-pandemic periods. We then assessed the correlation between a hospital's pre-pandemic and post-pandemic RSSR for IHCA, and whether the correlation differed by the proportion of Black or Hispanic IHCA patients at each hospital., Results: A total of 243 hospitals were included, comprising 122,561 IHCAs (pre-pandemic: 57,601; post-pandemic: 64,960). Pre-pandemic, the mean RSSR was 26.8% (SD, 5.2%) whereas the mean RSSR post-pandemic was 21.7% (SD, 5.5%). There was good correlation between a hospital's pre- and post-pandemic RSSR: correlation of 0.55. When hospitals were categorized into tertiles based on the proportion of their IHCA patients who were Black or Hispanic, this correlation remained similar: 0.48, 0.68, and 0.45 (interaction P-value: 0.69) for hospitals in the upper, middle and lower tertiles, respectively., Conclusion: Although the COVID-19 pandemic affected the U.S. unevenly, there was good correlation in a hospital's performance for IHCA survival before and after the pandemic, even at hospitals caring for a larger proportion of Black and Hispanic patients. Future studies are needed to understand what characteristics of high-performing hospitals pre-pandemic allowed many to continue to excel in the post-pandemic period., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Anne Grossestreuer, PhD is a member of the American Heart Association's Get With The Guidelines®-Resuscitation Adult Research Task Force and the Resuscitation editorial board., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Aims: Technological advances and the current shortage of donor organs have contributed to an increase in the number of left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantations in patients with end-stage heart failure. Demographic change and medical progress might raise the number of these patients, resulting in a further increase in the number of LVAD implantations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term costs of LVAD therapy and identify diagnoses resulting in expensive stays., Methods and Results: In this retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data, all patients after implantation of a second- or third-generation LVAD by 31 March 2022 were included. In addition to demographic and survival data, revenues and case mix points were determined for each patient. Of the 163 patients included, 75.5% were male. The mean age at LVAD implantation was 52 ± 14 years. The mean survival was 1458 ± 127 days. During follow-up, the total inpatient treatment time per patient was 70 ± 87 days. The average duration of outpatient treatment was 55.1%, based on the total duration of support. The average revenue per patient for the implant stay was $193 192.35 ± $111 801.29, for inpatient readmissions $52 068.96 ± $116 630.00, and for outpatient care $53 195.94 ± $62 363.53., Conclusions: LVAD implantation in patients with end-stage heart failure leads to improved survival but a significant increase in treatment costs. Further multi-centre studies are necessary in order to be able to assess the effects of long-term LVAD treatment on the healthcare system., (© 2024 The Authors. ESC Heart Failure published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Society of Cardiology.)

Background: Percutaneous mitral balloon commissurotomy (PMBC) is the standard treatment option for patients with rheumatic mitral stenosis (MS), according to current guidelines. This study aimed to compare the outcomes of rheumatic mitral valve repair (rMVR) and PMBC in this patient population., Methods: Baseline, clinical, and follow-up data from 703 patients with rheumatic heart disease who underwent PMBC or rMVR at the current centre were collected and analysed. A 1:1 propensity score (PS) matching method was used to balance the differences in baseline characteristics between the two groups. The primary outcome was mitral valve reoperation, and the secondary outcome was all-cause mortality., Results: Propensity score matching generated 101 patient pairs for comparison. In the matched population, there were no significant differences in the early clinical outcomes between the groups. The median follow-up time was 40.9 months. Overall, patients in the rMVR group had a statistically significantly lower risk of mitral valve reoperation than those in the PMBC group (HR 0.186; 95% CI 0.041-0.835; p=0.028). Regarding all-cause mortality, no statistically significant differences were observed between the rMVR and PMBC groups (HR 4.065; 95% CI 0.454-36.374; p=0.210)., Conclusions: Compared with PMBC, rMVR has more advantages for the correction of valve lesions; therefore, it may offer a better prognosis than PMBC in select patients with rheumatic MS. However, this finding needs to be verified in future studies with larger sample sizes and longer follow-up periods., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 Australian and New Zealand Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons (ANZSCTS) and the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (CSANZ). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Aims: Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is a common mode of death in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). Implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) implantation is established treatment for SCD prevention, but current eligibility criteria based on left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class may be due for reconsideration given the increasing effectiveness of pharmacological therapy. We sought to reconsider the risk stratification of SCD in patients with symptomatic CHF., Methods: In total, 1,676 consecutive patients (74 ± 13 years old; 56% male) with NYHA class II or III CHF between 2008 and 2015 were enrolled for this prospective study. The endpoint was SCD., Results: During a median (interquartile range) follow-up period of 25 (4-70) months, 198 (11.8%) patients suffered SCD. Of those events, 23% occurred within 3 months of discharge. In the adjusted analyses, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) < 30 ml/min/1.73 m 2 [hazard ratio (HR) 1.73, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.11-2.70, P = 0.01] and LVEF ≤ 35% (HR 2.31, 95% CI 1.47-3.66, P < 0.01) were independent risk predictors of SCD. Addition of eGFR to LVEF significantly improved prediction of SCD in the C-index (P = 0.04), and in two metrics, net reclassification improvement (P = 0.01) and integrated discrimination improvement (P = 0.03). The predictive power of eGFR declined time-dependently over 2 years., Conclusions: The addition of eGFR to current eligibility criteria may be useful for risk assessment of SCD, although its predictive power wanes over time. Roughly a quarter of the SCD occurred within 3 months after discharge in patients with CHF., (© 2024 The Author(s). ESC Heart Failure published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Society of Cardiology.)

Background: Lepidic-type adenocarcinomas (LPAs) can be multifocal, and treatment is often deferred until growth is observed. This study investigated the potential downside of that strategy by evaluating the relationship of nodal involvement with tumor size and survival., Methods: The impact of tumor size on lymph node involvement and survival was evaluated for National Cancer Database patients who underwent surgery without induction therapy as primary treatment for cT1-3 N0 M0 histologically confirmed LPA from 2006 to 2019 by using logistic regression, Kaplan-Meier, and Cox analyses., Results: Positive nodes occurred in 442 of 8286 patients (5.3%). The incidence of having positive nodes approximately doubled with each 1-cm increment increase in size. Patients with positive nodes were more likely to have larger tumors (27 mm vs 20 mm, P < .001) and clinical ≥T2 disease (40.7% vs 26.8%, P < .001) compared with node-negative patients. However, tumor size was the only significant independent predictor of having positive nodal disease in logistic regression analysis, and this association grew stronger with each incremental centimeter increase in size. Patients with positive nodes were more likely to undergo adjuvant radiotherapy (23.5% vs 1.1%, P < .001) and chemotherapy (72.9% vs 7.9%, P < .001), and expectedly, had worse survival compared with the node-negative group in univariate (5-year overall survival, 50.9% vs 81.1%, P < .001) and multivariable (hazard ratio, 2.56; 95% CI, 2.14-3.05; P < .001) analyses., Conclusions: Nodal involvement is relatively uncommon in early-stage LPAs but steadily increases with tumor size and is associated with dramatically worse survival. These data can be used to inform treatment decisions when evaluating LPA patients., (Copyright © 2024 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Existing risk prediction models for hospitalized heart failure patients are limited. We identified patients hospitalized with a diagnosis of heart failure between 7 May 2013 and 26 April 2022 from a large academic, quaternary care medical centre (training cohort). Demographics, medical comorbidities, vitals, and labs were collected and were used to construct random forest machine learning models to predict in-hospital mortality. Models were compared with logistic regression, and to commonly used heart failure risk scores. The models were subsequently validated in patients hospitalized with a diagnosis of heart failure from a second academic, community medical centre (validation cohort). The entire cohort comprised 21 802 patients, of which 14 539 were in the training cohort and 7263 were in the validation cohort. The median age (25th-75th percentile) was 70 (58-82) for the entire cohort, 43.2% were female, and 6.7% experienced inpatient mortality. In the overall cohort, 7621 (35.0%) patients had heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (EF ≤ 40%), 1271 (5.8%) had heart failure with mildly reduced EF (EF 41-49%), and 12 910 (59.2%) had heart failure with preserved EF (EF ≥ 50%). Random forest models in the validation cohort demonstrated a c-statistic (95% confidence interval) of 0.96 (0.95-0.97), sensitivity (SN) of 87.3%, and specificity (SP) of 90.6% for the prediction of in-hospital mortality. Models for those with HFrEF demonstrated a c-statistic of 0.96 (0.94-0.98), SN 88.2%, and SP 91.0%, and those for patients with HFpEF showed a c-statistic of 0.95 (0.93-0.97), SN 87.4%, and SP 89.5% for predicting in-hospital mortality. The random forest model significantly outperformed logistic regression (c-statistic 0.87, SN 75.9%, and SP 86.9%), and current existing risk scores including the Acute Decompensated Heart Failure National Registry risk score (c-statistic of 0.70, SN 69%, and SP 62%), and the Get With the Guidelines-Heart Failure risk score (c-statistic 0.69, SN 67%, and SP 63%); P < 0.001 for comparison. Machine learning models built from commonly recorded patient information can accurately predict in-hospital mortality among patients hospitalized with a diagnosis of heart failure., (© 2024 The Authors. ESC Heart Failure published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Society of Cardiology.)

Aims: In low-risk patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS), sutureless surgical aortic valve replacement (SU-SAVR) may be an alternative to transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). The risk of heart failure hospitalization (HFH) after aortic valve replacement (AVR) in this population is incompletely characterized. This study aims to investigate the incidence, predictors, and outcomes of HFH in patients undergoing SU-SAVR versus TAVI., Methods and Results: Patients referred for AVR between 2013 and 2020 at two centres were consecutively included. The decision for SU-SAVR or TAVI was determined by a multidisciplinary Heart Team. Cox regression and competing risk analysis were conducted to assess adverse events. Of 594 patients (mean age 77.5 ± 6.4, 59.8% male), 424 underwent SU-SAVR, while 170 underwent TAVI. Following a mean follow-up of 34.1 ± 23.1 months, HFH occurred in 112 (27.8%) SU-SAVR patients and in 8 (4.8%) TAVI patients (P < 0.001). The SU-SAVR cohort exhibited higher all-cause mortality (138 [32.5%] patients compared with 30 [17.6%] in the TAVI cohort [P < 0.001]). These differences remained significant after sensitivity analyses with 1:1 propensity score matching for baseline variables. SU-SAVR with HFH was associated with increased all-cause mortality (61.6% vs. 23.1%, P < 0.001). Independent associates of HFH in SU-SAVR patients included diabetes, atrial fibrillation, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lower glomerular filtration rate and lower left ventricular ejection fraction. SU-SAVR patients with HFH had a 12-month LVEF of 59.4 ± 12.7., Conclusions: In low-risk AS, SU-SAVR is associated with a higher risk of HFH and all-cause mortality compared to TAVI. In patients with severe AS candidate to SU-SAVR or TAVI, TAVI may be the preferred intervention., (© 2024 The Author(s). ESC Heart Failure published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Society of Cardiology.)

Objective: To assess the impact of evolving criteria for group E retinoblastoma on ocular survival outcomes., Design: A retrospective observational study., Methods: Single-institution consecutive case series of patients with advanced intraocular retinoblastoma (groups D and E) were classified based on International Intraocular Retinoblastoma Classification (IIRC) and International Classification of Retinoblastoma (ICRB) criteria. The main outcomes measured were ocular survival, frequency of histopathologic risk factors (HRF), and the need for adjuvant therapy., Results: A total of 332 eyes of 298 patients were classified into group D (150, 45%) and E eyes (182, 55%) based on IIRC criteria. ICRB classification resulted in upstaging of 57 group D eyes (17%) to group E. Eyes that were upstaged to group E from D in the ICRB classification (E1) differed significantly, with a greater proportion undergoing primary enucleation (17 of 57, 30%) than those that were not (10 of 93, 11%) (p = 0.003). Similar significant differences were observed between group E2 and E3 eyes (p < 0.0001). Ocular survival according to Kaplan-Meier estimates at 12 months of 79%, 59%, 49%, and 1% differed significantly between all groups (ICRB D, E1, E2, and E3, respectively)., Conclusion: Proposed new subgrouping of group E eyes into E1, E2, and E3 based on clinical criteria is based upon natural history of tumor progression and is predictive of ocular survival. Preservation of the existing lower boundaries for group E by ICRB and IIRC offers the possibility of reanalyzing existing published data., Competing Interests: Footnotes and Disclosure Supported Support provided by The Operation Eyesight Universal Institute for Eye Cancer (SK) and Hyderabad Eye Research Foundation (SK), Hyderabad, India. The funders had no role in preparing, reviewing, or approving the manuscript. No conflicting relationship exists for any author., (Copyright © 2024 Canadian Ophthalmological Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Aims: Left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation, a therapy for end-stage heart failure, is associated with platelet (PLT) activation. This study aims to evaluate the prognostic impact of PLT count in patients with LVAD implantation., Methods and Results: Data from the Interagency Registry for Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support (INTERMACS) registry were investigated, and patients were divided into three groups according to tertiles. The dynamic change of PLT counts and its associations with long-term outcomes were analysed. The primary outcome was long-term mortality. A total of 19 517 patients who received the first continuous-flow LVAD were identified from the INTERMACS registry. The PLT count underwent a dynamic change towards normalization after LVAD implantation. Compared with intermediate, both high (hazard ratio [HR], 1.09, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.01 to 1.17, P = 0.033) and low (HR, 1.18, 95% CI: 1.10 to 1.27, P < 0.001) pre-implant PLT counts were associated with an increased risk of 2 year mortality. Compared with intermediate, a high post-implant PLT count was associated with an increased risk of 4 year mortality (HR, 1.38, 95% CI: 1.26 to 1.52, P < 0.001). Besides, both pre- and post-implant PLT counts exhibit a U-shaped association with the risk of mortality., Conclusions: LVAD implantation could improve the PLT count towards normalization. Abnormal pre-/post-implant PLT counts were independently associated with increased risks of long-term mortality., (© 2024 The Authors. ESC Heart Failure published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Society of Cardiology.)

Aims: The benefits of lowering heart rate (HR) in heart failure (HF) with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) patients are still a matter of debate. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between changes in HR during hospitalization and cardiovascular (CV) events and all-cause death in hospitalized HFpEF patients., Methods and Results: Hospitalized HF patients between January 2017 and December 2021 were consecutively enrolled in a national, multicentred, and prospective registry database, the China Cardiovascular Association Database-HF Center Registry. HF patients with a left ventricular ejection fraction of ≥50% were defined as HFpEF patients. The study analysed admission/discharge HR, change in HR during hospitalization (∆HR), and ∆HR ratio (∆HR/admission HR). The patients were categorized into three groups: no HR dropping group (ΔHR ratio > 0.0%), moderate HR dropping group (-15% < ΔHR ratio ≤ 0.0%), and excessive HR dropping group (ΔHR ratio ≤ -15%). All patients were followed up for 12 months. The primary endpoint was CV events (CV death or HF rehospitalization). The secondary endpoint was all-cause death. A total of 19 510 HFpEF patients (9750 males, mean age 71.9 ± 12.2 years) were included, with 4575 in the no HR dropping group, 8434 in the moderate HR dropping group, and 6501 in the excessive HR dropping group. Excessive HR dropping during hospitalization was significantly associated with an increased risk of CV events (17.1%) compared with the no HR dropping group (14.5%, P < 0.001) or the moderate HR dropping group (14.0%, P < 0.001), although all-cause mortality was similar among the three groups. After adjusting for multiple confounding factors, excessive HR dropping remained an independent predictor of increased CV event risk [hazard ratio 1.197, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.078-1.328]. Subgroup analysis revealed that the prognostic impact of excessive HR dropping on increased CV event risk remained in the subgroups of older age, New York Heart Association class IV, ischaemic HF, higher left ventricular ejection fraction, absence of chronic kidney disease, and use of beta-blockers or ivabradine. Independent determinants associated with excessive HR dropping during admission included use of beta-blockers [odds ratio (OR) 1.683, 95% CI 1.558-1.819], lower discharge diastolic blood pressure (OR 0.988, 95% CI 0.985-0.991), no pacemaker (OR 0.501, 95% CI 0.416-0.603), coexisting atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter (OR 1.327, 95% CI 1.218-1.445), and use of digoxin (OR 1.340, 95% CI 1.213-1.480)., Conclusions: In hospitalized HFpEF patients, excessive HR dropping during hospitalization is associated with an increased risk of CV death or HF rehospitalization. These findings highlight the importance of HR monitoring and avoiding excessively slowing down HR in hospitalized HFpEF patients to reduce the risk of CV events., (© 2024 The Authors. ESC Heart Failure published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Society of Cardiology.)

Background: There is an unmet surgical burden among people living with rheumatic heart disease (RHD) in Uganda. Nevertheless, risk factors associated with time to first intervention and preoperative mortality are poorly understood., Methods: Individuals with RHD who met indications for valve surgery were identified using the Uganda National RHD Registry (January 2010-August 2022). Kaplan-Meier estimates and multivariable Cox proportional hazard models were used., Results: Of the cohort with clinical RHD, 64% (1452 of 2269) met criteria for an index operation. Of those, 13.5% obtained a surgical intervention, whereas 30.6% died before the operation. The estimated likelihood of first operation was 50% at 9.3 years of follow-up (95% CI, 8.1-upper limit not reached). Intervention was more likely in men vs women (hazard ratio [HR], 1.78; 95% CI, 1.21-2.64), those with postsecondary education vs primary school or less (HR, 3.60; 95% CI, 1.88-6.89), and those with a history of atrial fibrillation (HR, 2.78; 95% CI, 1.63-4.76). Surgical intervention was less likely for adults vs those aged <18 years (HR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.32-0.77) and those with New York Heart Association Functional Class III/IV vs I/II (HR, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.32-0.83). The median preoperative survival time among those awaiting first operation was 4.6 years (95% CI, 3.9-5.7 years). History of infective endocarditis, right ventricular dysfunction, pericardial effusion, atrial fibrillation, and having surgical indications for multiple valves were associated with increased probability of death., Conclusions: Our analysis revealed a prolonged time to first surgical intervention and high preintervention death for RHD in Uganda, with factors such as age, sex, and education level remaining barriers to obtaining surgery., Competing Interests: Disclosures The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: The age profile of organ donors and patients on lung transplantation (LT) waiting lists have changed over time. In Europe, the donor population has aged much more rapidly than the recipient population, making allocation decisions on lungs from older donors common. In this study we assessed the impact of donor and recipient age discrepancy on LT outcomes in the UK and France., Methods: A retrospective analysis of all adult single or bilateral LT in France and the UK between 2010 and 2021. Recipients were stratified into 3 age author groups: young (≤30 years), middle-aged (30-60) and older (≥60). Their donors were also stratified into 2 groups <60, ≥60. Primary graft dysfunction (PGD) rates and recipient survival was compared between matched and mismatched donor and recipient age groups. Propensity matching was employed to minimize covariate imbalances and to improve the internal validity of our results., Results: Our study cohort was 4,696 lung transplant recipients (LTRs). In young and older LTRs, there was no significant difference in 1 and 5-year post-transplant survival dependent on the age category of the donor. Young LTRs who received older donor grafts had a higher risk of severe grade 3 PGD., Conclusion: Our findings show that clinically usable organs from older donors can be utilized safely in LT, even for younger recipients. Further research is needed to assess if the higher rate of PGD3 associated with use of older donors has an effect on long-term outcomes., Competing Interests: Disclosure statement P. Pradère, J. Le Pavec, S. Morisset, V. Gerovasili, R. Kessler, A. Adlakha, V. Bunel, K. Santhanakrishnan, X. Demant, A. Roux, L. Falque, V. Cottin, J. Parmar, M. Reynaud-Gaubert, T. Villeneuve, A. Tissot have nothing to declare related to the content of the manuscript. O. Mercier reports grants from Edwards Lifescience outside the scope of the submitted work. A.J. Fisher reports institutional grant funding from NIHR Blood and Transplant Research Unit, consultancy and non-financial support from Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals, consultancy from Altavant and Sanofi, and grants from Pfizer and Chiesi, all outside the scope of the submitted work., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Aims: This meta-analysis investigated the dose-response relationship between circulating galectin-3 levels and adverse outcomes in patients with heart failure (HF)., Methods and Results: PubMed and Embase were screened for studies on galectin-3 and HF. The outcomes of interest were all-cause mortality (ACM), and all-cause mortality or HF-related rehospitalization (ACM/HFR), with a follow-up time of more than 6 months. For categorical variables, comparisons between groups with the highest and lowest galectin-3 levels were pooled. For continuous variables, the risks of ACM and ACM/HFR increase per 1-standard deviation (SD) and 1-unit after logarithmic transformation galectin-3 levels were pooled. A random-effects model was employed to calculate the pooled results, and all pooled results were expressed as hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Besides, a dose-response analysis was performed. Twenty-four cohort studies were included. In HF patients, higher circulating galectin-3 levels were significantly associated with a higher risk of long-term ACM (HR, 1.65; 95% CI 1.28-2.13; I 2  = 66%), and 1 ng/mL increase in galectin-3 was associated with a 4% (HR, 1.04; 95% CI 1.02-1.06; P = 0.002) increase in hazard. Similarly, higher circulating galectin-3 levels were significantly associated with a higher risk of long-term ACM/HFR (HR, 1.52; 95% CI, 1.15 to 2.00; I 2  = 76%), and 1 ng/mL increase in galectin-3 was associated with a 3% (HR, 1.03; 95% CI 1.02-1.04; P < 0.001) increase in hazard. An increase of 1-SD in galectin-3 units was associated with a 29% increased hazard of long-term ACM (HR 1.29; 95% CI 1.13-1.48; I 2  = 42%) and a 22% increased hazard of ACM/HFR (HR 1.22; 95% CI 1.07-1.38; I 2  = 60%). Similarly, an increase of 1-log in galectin-3 units was associated with a 98% higher hazard of long-term ACM (HR 1.98; 95% CI 1.48-2.65; I 2  = 41%) and an 83% higher hazard of ACM/HFR in HF patients (HR 1.83; 95% CI 1.02-3.28; I 2  = 7%). Correlation analysis showed a moderate positive correlation between baseline galectin-3 and N terminal pro brain natriuretic peptide levels (r = 0.48, P = 0.045) and a weak negative correlation with eGFR (r = -0.39, P = 0.077)., Conclusions: Higher circulating galectin-3 levels after hospitalization of HF patients are linearly and positively associated with the risk of long-term ACM and ACM/HFR., (© 2024 The Authors. ESC Heart Failure published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Society of Cardiology.)

Background: Current guidelines recommend considering multiple factors while deciding between cardiac resynchronization therapy with a defibrillator (CRT-D) or a pacemaker (CRT-P). Nevertheless, it is still challenging to pinpoint those candidates who will benefit from choosing a CRT-D device in terms of survival., Objective: We aimed to use topological data analysis (TDA) to identify phenogroups of CRT patients in whom CRT-D is associated with better survival than CRT-P., Methods: We included 2603 patients who underwent CRT-D (54%) or CRT-P (46%) implantation at Semmelweis University between 2000 and 2018. The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality. We applied TDA to create a patient similarity network using 25 clinical features. Then, we identified multiple phenogroups in the generated network and compared the groups' clinical characteristics and survival., Results: Five- and 10-year mortality were 43 (40-46)% and 71 (67-74)% in patients with CRT-D and 48 (45-50)% and 71 (68-74)% in those with CRT-P, respectively. TDA created a circular network in which we could delineate five phenogroups showing distinct patterns of clinical characteristics and outcomes. Three phenogroups (1, 2, and 3) included almost exclusively patients with non-ischemic etiology, whereas the other two phenogroups (4 and 5) predominantly comprised ischemic patients. Interestingly, only in phenogroups 2 and 5 were CRT-D associated with better survival than CRT-P (adjusted hazard ratio 0.61 [0.47-0.80], p < 0.001 and adjusted hazard ratio 0.84 [0.71-0.99], p = 0.033, respectively)., Conclusions: By simultaneously evaluating various clinical features, TDA may identify patients with either ischemic or non-ischemic etiology who will most likely benefit from the implantation of a CRT-D instead of a CRT-P., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: Pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis (PPFE) has no currently available specific treatment. Benefits of lung transplantation (LT) for PPFE are poorly documented., Methods: We conducted a nation-wide multicentric retrospective study in patients who underwent lung or heart-lung transplantation for chronic end-stage lung disease secondary to PPFE between 2012 and 2022 in France., Results: Thirty-one patients were included. At transplantation, median age was 48 years [IQR 35-55]. About 64.5% were women. Twenty-one (67.7%) had idiopathic PFFE. Sixteen (52%) had bilateral LT, 10 (32%) had single LT, 4 (13%) had lobar transplantation and one (3%) had heart-lung transplantation. Operative mortality was 3.2%. Early mortality (<90 days or during the first hospitalization) was 32%. Eleven patients (35.5%) underwent reoperation for hemostasis. Eight (30.8%) experienced bronchial complications. Mechanical ventilation time was 10 days [IQR 2-55]. Length of stay in intensive care unit and hospital were 34 [IQR 18-73] and 64 [IQR 36-103] days, respectively. Median survival was 21 months. Post-transplant survival rates after 1, 2, and 5 years were 57.9%, 42.6% and 38.3% respectively. Low albuminemia (p = 0.046), FVC (p = 0.021), FEV1 (p = 0.009) and high emergency lung transplantation (p = 0.04) were associated with increased early mortality. Oversized graft tended to be correlated to a higher mortality (p = 0.07)., Conclusion: LT for PPFE is associated with high post-operative morbi-mortality rates. Patients requiring high emergency lung transplantation with advanced disease, malnutrition, or critical clinical status experienced worse outcomes., Gov Identifier: NCT05044390., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)