Takotsubo syndrome (TTS) is a complex cardiovascular condition characterized by transient left and/or right ventricular dysfunction in the absence of a coronary artery culprit lesion. The InterTAK registry, a large international collaborative registry, has significantly advanced our understanding of TTS. This review summarizes key findings from the InterTAK registry, including epidemiology, clinical presentation, comorbidities, outcomes, and treatment. The registry has revealed the diverse clinical spectrum of TTS, including atypical presentations, and identified various risk factors associated with adverse outcomes. The InterTAK registry has been instrumental in shaping the current understanding of TTS and will continue to guide future research and clinical practice.

The social burden of nursing care is increasing with age, particularly for patients with heart failure who often require intensive care. This study aimed to clarify the relationship between nursing care needs and the clinical status of patients with a history of cardiovascular disease, focusing on the benefits of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) in reducing these needs. This single-gate, multicenter, retrospective observational study included patients of all ages with a history of hospitalization for cardiovascular diseases using government-administered insurance claims and health examination data. Data spanning a four-year period (April 2014 to March 2018) were analyzed, and the effects of CR on nursing care needs and associated factors were examined. Multivariate analysis and propensity score matching were used to adjust for confounding factors, ensuring a robust comparison between CR and nonCR groups. A total of 48,456 patients were enrolled, with an average follow-up of 36.1 months. After propensity score matching, patients who participated in CR demonstrated significantly lower mortality rates and reduced nursing care needs compared to those who did not (0.02 ± 0.13 vs. 0.04 ± 0.20, p < 0.01, 0.94 ± 0.27 vs. base: 1, p = 0.05). CR was associated with improved adherence to medications and increased generic drug prescriptions, contributing to better long-term health outcomes. The adjusted odds ratio for CR in reducing nursing care needs was 0.574 (95 % CI, 0.347-0.948, p < 0.05). This study confirms the potential critical role of CR in reducing mortality and nursing care needs in patients with cardiovascular disease. Although CR did not directly reduce nursing care costs, it contributed to improved health outcomes and reduced dependency on long-term care services. These findings highlight the benefits of CR as a preventive intervention, especially in aging populations. Further research is needed regarding its long-term economic benefits.

Excimer laser coronary atherectomy (ELCA) is used for thrombotic culprit lesions in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), but its effectiveness is still unclear. Consecutive patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention within 24 h of onset were retrospectively investigated. Patients were divided into ELCA and non-ELCA groups. The primary endpoint was target vessel-related major adverse cardiac events (TV-MACE). Cox regression analysis and propensity score matching were performed to compare clinical outcomes between the two groups. A total of 2593 patients were included in the analysis, with a median follow-up of 815 (390-1385) days. In the total cohort, there was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of TV-MACE-free survival rate. ELCA use was not a significant determinant of TV-MACE (hazard ratio 1.265, 95 % confidence interval, 0.910-1.757; p = 0.161). Nevertheless, when the ELCA group was stratified by the ELCA catheter size, the large catheter (1.4 mm-1.7 mm) group showed a lower event rate compared to the others in univariate analysis, although this difference was not significant in multivariate analysis. In the propensity score-matched cohort of 736 patients (368 pairs), the TV-MACE-free survival did not differ between the two groups. ELCA use was not associated with a reduced rate of adverse cardiac events in patients with STEMI. However, the use of large-sized ELCA catheters showed a potential association with better clinical outcomes, warranting further prospective studies.

Alcohol septal ablation (ASA) is used to treat drug-refractory hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM). Intraprocedural echocardiography is essential for identifying the septal area perfused by each septal branch; however, its role in determining the procedural endpoint of ASA remains unclear. This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the impact of intraprocedural echocardiographic findings on clinical outcomes and left ventricular pressure gradient (LVPG) after ASA. Overall, 120 patients with HOCM who underwent ASA at a single center were divided into two groups based on the presence of optimal ablation. Optimal ablation was defined as the ablated area fully covering the targeted septal myocardium from the point of contact with the onset of the accelerated flow to the basal septum and dense acoustic shadowing accompanying the ablated area. Clinical outcomes and LVPG changes were evaluated using inverse probability of treatment weighting. Significantly more patients showed a New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class improvement of ≥2 stages or achievement of class I in the optimal ablation group (n = 74) than in the non-optimal ablation group (94 % vs. 62 %; p < 0.001). The optimal ablation group had a significantly greater percentage reduction in LVPG at 1-year after ASA (82 ± 18 % vs. 64 ± 18 %; p = 0.001). Multivariate analyses revealed that optimal ablation was an independent predictor of a NYHA functional class improvement of ≥2 stages or achievement of class I (odds ratio, 11.3; 95 % confidence interval, 3.43-39.1; p < 0.001) and a percentage reduction in LVPG (p = 0.001). Intraprocedural echocardiographic findings of optimal ablation were associated with favorable clinical outcomes and a significant reduction in LVPG.

Delirium is associated with patient prognosis after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). However, the prognostic impact of subsyndromal delirium, described as an intermediate stage between delirium and normal cognition, is uncertain. The present study aimed to investigate the prognostic impact of delirium severity in patients undergoing TAVI. We prospectively assessed the delirium status of 1617 consecutive patients who underwent TAVI at Kokura Memorial Hospital using the Intensive Care Delirium Screening Checklist (ICDSC). The patients were divided into the following three groups: no-delirium [ICDSC score 0, n = 1035 (64.0 %)], subsyndromal delirium [ICDSC 1-3, n = 348 (21.5 %)], and delirium [ICDSC 4-8, n = 234 (14.5 %)] groups. A worse delirium status was associated with older age, higher degree of frailty, and higher prevalence of comorbidities, including atrial fibrillation, dementia, and peripheral arterial disease. At 2 years post-procedure with a clinical follow-up rate of 92.6 %, the cumulative all-cause mortality rate was significantly higher in the subsyndromal delirium (21.8 %) (p < 0.001) and delirium (29.1 %) (p < 0.001) groups than in the no-delirium group (11.9 %). After adjusting for pre- and post-procedural confounders, subsyndromal delirium and delirium were associated with an increased mortality risk [adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for subsyndromal delirium, 1.38; 95 % CI, 1.00-1.90; p = 0.049; adjusted HR for delirium, 1.61; 95 % CI, 1.15-2.17; p = 0.006]. Delirium conditions, including delirium and subsyndromal delirium, occurred in more than one-third of patients who had undergone TAVI and were associated with increased mortality.

Although the method of autocalibration or calibration based on catheter diameters was proposed for fluoroscopic measurement during percutaneous left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO), it may be imprecise and lead to mismeasurement. We sought to investigate whether the utilization of the surface steel ball calibration (SSBC) method under fluoroscopy could facilitate the fluoroscopic measurement of the post-implanted WATCHMAN device (Boston Scientific Corporation, Natick, MA, USA) in LAAO. This retrospective study included 97 consecutive patients who underwent percutaneous LAAO with the WATCHMAN device. The SSBC method and sheath calibration method under fluoroscopy, and transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) were employed to measure the diameter of the post-implanted device during the LAAO procedure. The results of the three methods were then compared. The success rate for procedural WATCHMAN implantation was 100 %. The mean maximal diameter of the post-implanted devices was 24.7 ± 3.1 mm, 23.5 ± 3.2 mm, and 24.2 ± 3.0 mm, as measured by the SSBC method, sheath calibration method, and TEE, respectively (all p < 0.001). The relevant coefficient of correlation between the SSBC method/TEE, SSBC method/sheath calibration method, and TEE/sheath calibration method, was 0.94, 0.93, and 0.89, respectively (all p < 0.001). The SSBC method, when employed under fluoroscopy, demonstrated a high correlation with the sheath calibration method and TEE for measurements. It may be applied to facilitate fluoroscopic measurements during percutaneous LAAO procedures.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a prevalent cardiac arrhythmia that greatly elevates the risk of stroke. This risk increases both during and after cardiac procedures, such as coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). There is an increasing interest in non-pharmacological treatments such as left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) and surgical ablation, intending to enhance both immediate and long-term postoperative results. To investigate the efficacy of surgical ablation (SA), LAAO, or both in patients with AF undergoing CABG. We searched four electronic databases: PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and WOS. We analyzed data using R language and "netmeta" and "netrank" packages of meta-insight software. Pooled outcomes were reported as mean difference or risk ratio (RR) with 95 % confidence interval (CI) in a random effect method. A total of 16 studies were included with 594,312 patients included. The 30-day mortality showed a non-statistically significant difference between CABG-LAAO compared to CABG alone and CABG-SA with RR of 1.70 (95%CI 0.38-7.61) and 0.62 (95%CI 0.10-3.94). However, compared to CABG alone, CABG-SA+ LAAO, CABG-LAAO, and CABG-SA had significantly lower risk of long-term mortality with RR 0.75 (95%CI 0.57-0.98), 0.78 (95%CI 0.65-0.94), and 0.73 (95%CI 0.61-0.88), respectively. CABG-SA + LAAO, CABG-LAAO, and CABG-SA reduced the risk of short-term stroke compared to CABG alone with RR of 0.73 (95%CI 0.43-1.24), 0.93 (95%CI 0.78-1.11), and 1.01 (95%CI 0.75-1.36), respectively. Moreover, only CABG-SA + LAAO and CABG-LAAO showed a statistically significant reduction in long term stroke and hospitalization due to heart failure while CABG-SA showed no statistically significant difference. Furthermore, there was no statistically significant difference between our interventions in terms of 30-day rehospitalization, intra-aortic balloon pump support, and risk of hemorrhage. Among patients with AF undergoing CABG, whether undergoing SA alone or LAAO alone or both showed significant clinical outcomes such as reduced risk of both short- and long-term mortality and short-term stroke.