External Validation of Mortality Prediction Models in Japanese Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement Registry.

Objectives: Mortality prediction models (MPMs) play a crucial role in risk assessment for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), but their external validity in Japanese patients remains unclear. This study evaluated the performance of existing short-term (30-day) and long-term (1-year) MPMs with Japanese TAVR patients.

Methods: We analysed patients who underwent TAVR between 2016 and 2023 in the KPUM transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) registry, a prospective multicentre registry in Japan.

Characteristics of Asian patients with Fibromuscular Dysplasia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

A significant knowledge gap exists regarding characteristics of fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD) in Asian patients compared to Caucasian populations. This meta-analysis evaluated FMD characteristics in Asia (PROSPERO ID: CRD42024596516). PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, VIP, CNKI, and Wanfang databases were searched for observational studies after January 1, 2000, focusing on FMD in Asian populations.

A comparative study on iliofemoral artery calcification distribution in alternative TAVR approaches.

Background: Alternative access approaches are required for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) cases wherein the transfemoral approach is restrictive with severe calcification. We aimed to examine the safety of the external iliac artery (EIA) as an alternative access site by evaluating the calcification distributions from the common iliac artery (CIA) to the common femoral arteries (CFA).

Methods: We retrospectively enrolled 402 patients who underwent TAVR.

Clinical Outcomes of Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Using Drug-Coated Balloons for De Novo Coronary Lesions With Eruptive Calcified Nodules as Detected by Optical Coherence Tomography.

Background: The clinical outcomes of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) using drug-coated balloons (DCB) for de novo coronary artery lesions with eruptive calcified nodules remain unclear.

Methods And Results: This retrospective study analyzed the long-term outcomes of 308 consecutive patients (389 lesions) treated with PCI using DCB under optical coherence tomography guidance for de novo coronary artery lesions between September 2018 and November 2020. Patients were classified into 2 groups: those with an eruptive calcified nodule in the culprit lesion (CN group) and those without (non-CN group).

Pre-distance assessment from radial artery to lower extremity arterial lesion.

Endovascular treatment (EVT) for patients with lower extremity artery disease is widely used as a less invasive alternative to surgical bypass. Recently, transradial artery intervention has gained popularity owing to its minimally invasive nature. The distance from the radial artery to the target vessel is critical for success; however, effective pre-assessment methods have not yet been established.

Predictors of recurrent restenosis after repeat drug-coated balloon therapy for drug-coated balloon restenosis in femoropopliteal lesions: Results of the RECURRENCE study.

Background: Despite the widespread use of drug-coated balloons (DCBs) for femoropopliteal (FP) lesions, there is still no consensus on treatment strategies for DCB restenosis. This study aimed to determine the risk factors for recurrent restenosis after repeat DCB therapy for DCB restenosis in FP lesions.

Methods: This multicenter retrospective study assessed 1176 consecutive limbs in 860 patients who successfully received initial DCB therapy for FP lesions at four cardiovascular centers between May 2018 and December 2022.

CVIT expert consensus document on primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for acute coronary syndromes (ACS) in 2024.

Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) has significantly contributed to reducing the mortality of patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) even in cardiogenic shock and is now the standard of care in most of Japanese institutions. The Task Force on Primary PCI of the Japanese Association of Cardiovascular Intervention and Therapeutics (CVIT) proposed an expert consensus document for the management of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) focusing on procedural aspects of primary PCI in 2018 and updated in 2022. Recently, the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) published the guidelines for the management of acute coronary syndrome in 2023.

Editor's Choice - Comparison of Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Acute Lower Limb Ischaemia Undergoing Endovascular Therapy and Open Surgical Revascularisation: A Large Scale Analysis in Japan.

Objective: The recommended revascularisation methods for acute limb ischaemia (ALI), which is caused by embolism and atherosclerotic thrombosis, include endovascular therapy (EVT) and open surgical revascularisation (OSR); however, treatment choices based on patient characteristics remain controversial. This retrospective analysis from the Japanese Registry of All Cardiac and Vascular Diseases - Diagnosis Procedure Combination database (April 2012 to March 2020) evaluated differences in clinical outcomes and identified prognostic predictors in patients with ALI.

Methods: This study analysed 10 977 patients with lower limb ALI.

Balloon aortic valvuloplasty bridge to transcatheter aortic valve replacement is associated with worse in-hospital mortality.

Background: Balloon aortic valvuloplasty (BAV) has gained renewed interest as a bridge to transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) for patients with aortic stenosis (AS). However, it is unclear whether they patients should undergo TAVR directly or receive a staged bridge to BAV before TAVR is unclear. We used a national database to examine the association between BAV and TAVR in patients with TAVR and its effect on in-hospital mortality.

Dynamic Pulmonary Vein Stenosis After Left Pneumonectomy.

Pulmonary vein stenosis might be caused by mediastinal migration into the vacated pleural space after pneumonectomy. In a patient complaining of worsening dyspnea in the left lateral decubitus position after left pneumonectomy, transthoracic echocardiography during different postures revealed pulmonary vein stenosis that worsened in the left lateral position.

Mitral valve leaflet stiffness predicts residual mitral regurgitation after transcatheter edge-to-edge mitral valve repair.

Background: Residual regurgitation after transcatheter edge-to-edge mitral valve repair (TMVR) is a predictor of poor prognosis in patients with functional mitral regurgitation (FMR). This study sought to identify the mitral valve (MV) parameters measured by three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography (3D-TEE) and MV leaflet features that predict residual mitral regurgitation (MR) after TMVR in patients with FMR.

Methods: Consecutive patients with FMR who underwent TMVR were classified into two groups based on the degree of residual MR just after TMVR: < 2+ in the optimal MR reduction group and ≥ 2+ in the suboptimal MR reduction group.

Usefulness of catheter pressure measurement using the Navvus RXi system to determine left ventricular outflow tract obstruction and aortic stenosis severity: a case report.

Background: Left ventricular outflow tract obstruction (LVOTO) sometimes presents with aortic stenosis (AS). Echocardiography is used to assess the diagnosis and severity of LVOTO or AS. However, LVOTO is one of the conditions that makes AS assessment difficult, and catheter pressure measurement is frequently useful in such cases.

Infrapopliteal 3-Vessel Occlusive Disease Is the Only Predictor of Wound Recurrence After Complete Wound Healing via Endovascular Therapy in Patients With Chronic Limb-threatening Ischemia.

Purpose: To determine the predictors of wound recurrence after complete wound healing in patients with chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI) who underwent endovascular therapy (EVT) for infrapopliteal (IP) lesions with consideration of IP arterial anatomic severity, including classification by the Global Limb Anatomic Staging System (GLASS).

Materials And Methods: This retrospective single-center study assessed patients with de novo CLTI limbs with tissue loss treated via EVT for IP lesions from September 2016 to May 2021. Among these patients, 149 consecutive limbs from 133 patients who achieved complete wound healing were enrolled.

Doppler Underestimates Transvalvular Gradient Measured by Catheterization in Patients With Severe Aortic Stenosis.

We sought to clarify characteristics of patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) in whom transvalvular mean pressure gradient (MPG) was underestimated with Doppler compared with catheterization. Study subjects included 127 patients with severe AS who underwent transcatheter aortic valve implantation. Between subjects with Doppler MPG underestimation ≥10 mm Hg (group U) and those without (group C), we retrospectively compared echocardiographic parameters and aortic valve calcification score using the Agatston method.

Left ventricular hypertrophy as a predictor of cardiovascular outcomes after transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

Aims: This study aimed to clarify the relationship between cardiovascular prognosis and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in patients with severe aortic stenosis who underwent transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and to investigate the relationship between cardiac sympathetic nerve (CSN) function and these factors using I-metaiodobenzylguanidine scintigraphy.

Methods And Results: In this single-centre, retrospective observational study, 349 patients who underwent TAVR at our institution between July 2017 and May 2020 were divided into two groups: those with severe LVH pre-operatively [severe LVH (+) group] and those without LVH pre-operatively [severe LVH (-) group]. The rates of freedom from cardiovascular events (cardiovascular death and heart failure hospitalization) were compared.