Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Declining Length Of Stay For Patients Hospitalized With Ami: Impact On Mortality And Readmissions, Jane Saczynski, Darleen Lessard, Frederick Spencer, Jerry Gurwitz, Joel Gore, Jorge Yarzebski, Robert Goldberg

Jorge L. Yarzebski

BACKGROUND: Length of hospital stay after acute myocardial infarction decreased significantly in the 1980s and 1990s. Whether length of stay has continued to decrease during the 2000s, and the impact of decreasing length of stay on rehospitalization and mortality, is unclear. We describe decade-long (1995-2005) trends in length of stay after acute myocardial infarction, and examine whether declining length of stay has impacted early rehospitalization and postdischarge mortality in a population-based sample of hospitalized patients.

METHODS: The study sample consisted of 4184 patients hospitalized with acute myocardial infarction in a central New England metropolitan area during 6 annual periods (1995, …

Management And Outcomes Of Renal Disease And Acute Myocardial Infarction, Paul Santolucito, Dennis Tighe, David Mcmanus, Jorge Yarzebski, Darleen Lessard, Joel Gore, Robert Goldberg

Jorge L. Yarzebski

BACKGROUND: Contemporary trends in the management and outcomes of chronic kidney disease patients who develop an acute myocardial infarction have not been adequately described, particularly from the more generalizable perspective of a population-based investigation. METHODS: The study population consisted of 6219 residents of the Worcester, Massachusetts, metropolitan area who were hospitalized with acute myocardial infarction in 6 annual periods between 1995 and 2005. Patients were categorized as having preserved kidney function (n=3154), mild to moderate chronic kidney disease (n=2313), or severe chronic kidney disease (n=752) at the time of hospital admission. RESULTS: Patients with chronic kidney disease were more likely …

Closure Of A Para-Valvular Aortic Leak With The Use Of 2 Amplatzer Devices And Real-Time 2− And 3-Dimensional Transesophageal Echocardiography, Kurt S Hoffmayer, Christian Zellner, Damon M Kwan, Suma Konety, Elyse Foster, Phillip Moore, Yerem Yeghiazarians

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

Paravalvular leaks are well-recognized sequelae of mechanical aortic valve implantation. Clinical manifestations include hemolysis, arrhythmias, and congestive heart failure. Frequently, patients who receive mechanical aortic valves are poor candidates for repeat valve surgery, and the reoperative mortality rate is high. Percutaneous intervention has recently become an alternative to surgery in selected patients. Herein, we describe the percutaneous closure of an aortic paravalvular leak in a 45-year-old man who had undergone 2 aortic valve replacements with mechanical valves. The patient, who was at high surgical risk due to comorbidities, underwent the implantation of 2 AMPLATZER devices with the use of real-time …

Usefulness Of The Echocardiographic Multi-Parameter Score (Emps) In Evaluating Left Ventricular Global Heart Function, Bingyuan Zhou, Junhua Yang, Xiangjun Yang, Yongming He, Caiming Zhao, Sudan Xu, Huifeng Wang

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

In this study, we established a new index by combining several echocardiographic parameters to quantify heart failure. We selected 233 consecutive patients who underwent both echocardiographic and plasma B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) tests within 24 hours after referral for suspected heart failure. The echocardiographic parameters included systolic function, diastolic function, left ventricular chamber remodeling, valvular lesions, systolic pulmonary arterial pressure, and regional wall-motion abnormality. Each factor was scored from 1 to 3 points according to its severity. The total point from these 6 factors is the echocardiographic multi-parameter score (EMPS).

The EMPS for 37, 51, 77, and 38 patients from …

Heart Disease And Hormones, Stephanie A Coulter

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

Results from more than 40 observational studies conducted in women over 3 decades have repeatedly indicated the cardioprotective effects of postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Women taking estrogen in these observational trials experienced a consistent 30% to 50% reduction in cardiovascular (CV) events. The biologic benefit of estrogen has been attributed to improvements in lipid profiles and endothelial function.

Left Atrial Ablation For Atrial Fibrillation: Creating The “Box Lesion” With A Bipolar Radiofrequency Device, Leonid Sternik, Hartzel V Schaff, David Luria, Michael Glikson, Alexander Kogan, Ateret Malachy, Maya First, Ehud Raanani

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

The maze procedure is the gold standard for the ablation of atrial fibrillation, and the “box lesion” around the pulmonary veins is the most important part of this procedure. We have created this lesion with a bipolar radiofrequency ablator, abandoning the usual use of this device (to achieve bilateral epicardial isolation of the pulmonary veins).

From March 2004 through the end of May 2010, we performed surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation in 240 patients. Of this number, 205 underwent operation by a hybrid maze technique and the remaining 35 (our study cohort) underwent the creation of a box lesion around …

Rosuvastatin Therapy Does Not Affect Serum Mmp-13 Or Timp-1 Levels In Hypercholesterolemic Patients, Cihan Cevik, Kenneth Nugent, Gary Meyerrose, Mohammad Otahbachi, Cemil Izgi, Mark Lyte, R David Fish

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

Matrix metalloproteinases degrade the collagen content of atherosclerotic plaque and reduce plaque stability. In tissue sections of atherosclerotic plaque, the expression of matrix metalloproteinases is increased. 3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors (statins) decrease the tissue expression of matrix metalloproteinases-1, -2, -3, and -9 in atheromatous plaque by attenuating the inflammatory process that leads to increased expression. However, it is not known whether statins decrease levels of matrix metalloproteinase-13—an enzyme crucial to the initiation of collagen degradation—as part of their plaque-stabilizing effect.

We prospectively examined the effect of statin therapy on serum levels of matrix metalloproteinase-13, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1, and …

High-Risk Diabetic Patients With Unprotected Left Main Coronary Artery Disease: Characteristics And Medium-Term Outcomes Of Percutaneous Revascularization With Drug-Eluting Stents, Jose F Díaz Fernández, Carlos Sánchez González, Manuel Jiménez Navarro, Juan C Fernández Guerrero, Antonio Gómez Menchero, Juan H Alonso Briales, Rosa María Cardenal Piris, Juan Herrador, Manuel Guzmán Herrera, Jose M Hernández García

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

Percutaneous coronary intervention with drug-eluting stents is an alternative for patients with high-risk unprotected left main coronary artery disease; those with diabetes mellitus are at even higher risk. Recent advances in percutaneous coronary intervention could lead to better results. The aim of this study was to evaluate medium-term results in a real-world sample of high-risk diabetic patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention with drug-eluting stents for unprotected left main coronary artery disease.

From 3 tertiary hospitals, we retrospectively identified 334 high-risk patients, of whom 141 (42%) were diabetic and 193 (58%) were nondiabetic. The diabetes mellitus group showed a higher prevalence …

Internal Medicine Problems As They Present To The Cardiologist, Ira Martin Grais

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

No abstract provided.

Sirolimus-Eluting Stents Versus Bare-Metal Stents In Routine Clinical Use, Muhammad Munir, Jonathan Aliota, Amany Ahmed, Anwarullah Mohammed, Vei Vei Lee, Macarthur A Elayda, James M Wilson

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

Conflicting patient outcomes have been reported after the use of sirolimus-eluting stents or bare-metal stents. In this nonrandomized study, we examine the outcomes after placement of sirolimus-eluting versus bare-metal stents in an unselected population of patients who underwent percutaneous coronary revascularization.

We used THIRD-base, a longitudinal data registry of patients who underwent revascularization at our institution, to compare demographics and outcomes in patients treated with a sirolimus-eluting or bare-metal stent from January 2001 through June 2006. Outcome measures included major acute coronary and cerebral events at 30 days, target-vessel failure at 9 months and at 3 years, and stent thrombosis. …

Endovascular Repair Of Aortoesophageal And Aortobronchial Fistulae., Roberto Chiesa, Andrea Kahlberg, Yamume Tshomba, Enrico M Marone, Massimiliano M Marrocco-Trischitta, Germano Melissano

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

Aortoesophageal fistulae (AEF) and aortobronchial fistulae (ABF) are uncommon, but are in general fatal if left untreated. Conventional treatment requires surgical replacement of the thoracic aorta, along with several adjunctive procedures to repair the esophageal or tracheobronchial lesion.The mortality rates associated with open surgery reach 61% in cases of primary fistula and 78% in secondary fistula.

Thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) has been proposed as an alternative strategy to surgical management.Although less invasive, this technique has important limitations in treating AEF and ABF, the chief of which is the high risk of graft contamination. Moreover, we still lack sufficient data …

Prehypertension: A Meta-Analysis Of The Epidemiology, Risk Factors, And Predictors Of Progression, Xiaofan Guo, Liling Zou, Xingang Zhang, Jue Li, Liqiang Zheng, Zhaoqing Sun, Jian Hu, Nathan D Wong, Yingxian Sun

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

We investigated the prevalence and risk factors of prehypertension, as well as the predictors of progression from prehypertension to hypertension. To do this, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, after unrestricted searches of PubMed and The Cochrane Library through September 2010. In addition, we reviewed references, major textbooks, and review articles. Pooled prevalence, standardized mean differences, and odds ratios were estimated by using a random-effects model.

Twenty-six articles met our inclusion criteria; these included 20 cross-sectional and 6 longitudinal studies, with a total sample of 250,741 individuals. The overall pooled prevalence of prehypertension was …

The Cardiac Atlas Project--An Imaging Database For Computational Modeling And Statistical Atlases Of The Heart, Carissa G. Fonseca, Michael Backhaus, David A. Bluemke, Randall D. Britten, Jae Do Chung, Brett R. Cowan, Alan H. Kadish

Office of the President Publications and Research

MOTIVATION: Integrative mathematical and statistical models of cardiac anatomy and physiology can play a vital role in understanding cardiac disease phenotype and planning therapeutic strategies. However, the accuracy and predictive power of such models is dependent upon the breadth and depth of noninvasive imaging datasets. The Cardiac Atlas Project (CAP) has established a large-scale database of cardiac imaging examinations and associated clinical data in order to develop a shareable, web-accessible, structural and functional atlas of the normal and pathological heart for clinical, research and educational purposes. A goal of CAP is to facilitate collaborative statistical analysis of regional heart shape …