Surgical Treatment Of Coronary Artery Disease Research Articles

Quality of life in patients with long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation after surgical ablation and simultaneous coronary artery bypass grafting

Aim. To analyze quality of life (QOL) of patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) in combination with long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) in the long-term postoperative period, depending on chosen surgical strategy for concomitant pathology.Material and methods. The analysis of QOL changes in the long-term postoperative period (12 and 24 months) in 116 patients with CAD and concomitant long-term persistent AF who selectively underwent biatrial (BA) or isolated left atrial (LA) ablation with simultaneous on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting. To assess QOL, a non-specific Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Form Health Status Survey (SF-36) questionnaire was used. Patients were questioned in preoperative and long-term postoperative periods (12 and 24 months).Results. All SF-36 parameters significantly improve after open surgical treatment in the long-term postoperative period (24 months) with both treatment strategies (BA and LA ablation) for AF. In the BA ablation group, 74% of patients did not have arrhythmia after 12 months, and only 38,5% of patients in the LA ablation group belonged to European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) score class 1 (p=0,001). After 24 months, a comparison revealed a significant diff erence between the two groups in arrhythmia symptoms (p=0,014), with maintaining the advantage of the BA ablation group. After 12 and 24 months, none of the patients in both compared groups had severe class IV angina.Conclusion. SF-36 parameters were improved 24 months after surgical treatment of CAD and long-standing persistent AF, regardless of the ablation strategy. Elimination of angina symptoms and long-term maintenance of sinus rhythm can improve the QOL of patients in the long-term postoperative period.

Postoperative cerebrovascular complications in high-risk patients with coronary artery disease in cardiac surgery

Aim: to analyze the frequency and specificity of cerebrovascular complications in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) after cardiac surgery. Materials and methods: a retrospective analysis of data of 354 randomly selected patients with CAD who were operated on and discharged from the Amosov National Institute of Cardiovascular Surgery, Ukraine from 2009 to 2019. The average age of the patients was 61.9±9.6 years old. In preoperative risk stratification according to the EuroSCORE II scale, patients were classified as high cardiac risk, the predictive risk of death was on average 8.8%. All patients underwent general clinical examinations, ECG, ECHO, coronary angiography and surgical treatment of CAD. Duplex scanningf the brachiocephalic arteries (BCA) was performed in 280 (79.09%) patients. Results: 43 (12.1%) patients had a history of stroke. Among 280 patients who underwent ultrasound examination of BCA, stenosis more than 50% of the internal carotid arteries was diagnosed in 95 (33.9%) cases. For hemodynamically significant (> 70%) BCA stenoses, hemodynamic stability and coronary artery lesions that didn’t require emergency surgery, a neurosurgeon’s consultation is required. The predictive risk of postoperative stroke on the STS scale in average was 1.48±0.98% [range 0.2–6.8%]. In the postoperative period, in 10 (2.8%) patients non-fatal cerebrovascular accidents were developed, among which 5 (1.4%) had an ischemic stroke, and 5 (1.4%) had a transient ischemic attack. The risk of neurological complications in the perioperative period increases in patients with a history of stroke (р = 0,0002), preoperative atrial fibrillation (р = 0,013), aortic calcification (р = 0,003) and more significant decrease of blood pressure on the 1st postoperative day (systolic pressure p = 0.005, diastolic pressure p = 0.0008). Conclusions: strict monitoring of blood pressure and prevention of hypotension are required at all stages of patients management. The cardiac surgeon, whenever possible, limits manipulations on the atheromatous aorta, using the no-touch aorta technique, by performing total arterial revascularization. The work of a multidisciplinary team helps to avoid life-threatening events.

Cardiac Surgery of Complicated Forms of Coronary Artery Disease: Features of the Perioperative Period in High-Risk Patients

The aim. To analyze the features of the perioperative period in high-risk patients with complicated forms of coronary artery disease (CAD).
 Material and methods. Retrospective analysis of 160 patients with CAD who were operated and discharged from the National Amosov Institute of Cardiovascular Surgery of the NAMS of Ukraine in the period from January 2009 to December 2019. All the patients underwent electrocardiography, echocardiography, coronary ventriculography and surgical revascularization with correction of concomitant cardiac pathology.
 Results. One hundred thirty two (37.2%) patients were diagnosed with postinfarction left ventricular aneurysm (LVA), 12 (3.3%) with mitral regurgitation of ischemic origin, 16 (4.5%) patients had combination of CAD with aortic valve stenosis. Risk stratification by the ES II scale revealed the average risk of death of 10.08%. Surgery was performed in all the patients on day 5.7±4.7 of hospitalization. In 159 (99.3%) patients the operations were on-pump. There weak was direct correlation (r =0.29) between the dependence of the length of stay in the intensive care unit and the initial severity of the patient’s condition by the ES II scale. A weak direct correlation was found between the severity of the patient’s condition by the scales ES II (r =0.24, p=0.0022), STS (r =0.16, p=0.0325) and the time of discharge which was on 9.5±5.06 days in average. All the interventions were performed by experienced cardiac surgeons, with 25.3±14.1 years of experience in surgical treatment of CAD.
 Conclusions. Despite the high predicted mortality, 10.08% by the ES II scale, mortality in the studied group was 0%. In order to prevent complications, the management of patients in the perioperative period requires a clear algorithm of action and timely compensation of comorbidity at all stages of the patient’s stay in the cardiac surgery facility.

Comparison of the EuroSCORE I, EuroSCORE II and STS Scales in Cardiac Surgery of High-Risk Patients with Complicated Forms of CAD

Before performing cardiac surgery, risk stratification is necessary in order to predict the outcome of the operation. Today, there are European risk calculators EuroSCORE I, EuroSCORE II and the scale of the American Society of Thoracic Surgeons – STS.
 The aim. To compare prognostic scales for high-risk patients with complicated forms of coronary artery disease (CAD).
 Materials and methods. Post-hoc analysis of the data obtained from 100 random high-risk patients with complicated forms of CAD who were operated and discharged from Amosov National Institute in the period from 2009 to 2019. For all patients, risk factors were analyzed and calculated using three risk scales.
 Results. In addition to the initial severity of cardiovascular disease, the patients of the study group had comor-bidities like diabetes mellitus (23%), obesity (33%), and chronic kidney disease (34%), atherosclerosis of brachio-cephalic arteries (57%), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (78%), a history of cerebrovascular accident (9%) etc. The predicted operative mortality was 19.2% according to the ES I scale, 8.6% according to the ES II, and 2.6% according to the STS scale, while mortality in the study group was 0%. An analysis of the ten-year experience of National Amosov Institute in the surgical treatment of CAD in more than 15,000 patients showed 0.9% mortality in complicated forms of high-risk CAD, which is significantly less than the forecast according to all the three scales. The ES I scale is characterized by a significant overestimation of mortality rates, the STS scale is cumbersome, time consuming, predicts 9 indicators that are not statistically significant in comparison with real practice. The most modern and convenient to use, but though not 100% reliable, is the ES II scale. The scales are necessary to stratify the risk and to understand the severity of the patient’s condition. It should be kept in mind that, in addition to comorbidities as well as cardiac and non-cardiac factors, the result of surgical intervention is influenced by the coordinated work of the Heart Team consisting of a cardiologist, interventional cardiologist, functional diagnostics doctor, cardiac surgeon, anesthesiologist and resuscitator.

Surgical treatment for coronary artery disease with concomitant carotid stenosis: one-center experience

Background : Coronary artery disease (CAD) in 16.6% of cases is associated with concomitant carotid arterial involvement, with this proportion reaching up to 40% in the elderly patients. According to the guidelines on myocardial revascularization and surgical treatment of brachycephalic artery (BCA) stenosis, the surgical strategies in this patient cohort remains uncertain, with advantages of various techniques being debated. Aim: To evaluate efficacy and safety of the staged or simultaneous surgery of patients with multifocal atherosclerosis (CAD with BCA atherosclerosis). Materials and methods : Patients were recruited into this single center study retrospectively with continuous follow-up. From September 2012 to March 2019, 3718 CAD patients underwent coronary artery bypass grafting. Concomitant BCA involvement was found in 574 (15.4%) of the cases (the study group). The mean age of the patients in the study group was 65.9 ± 14.2 years (38 to 84 years). There were 171 (29.8%) patients over 70 years of age and most of the patients were male (412, 71.8%). Bilateral BCA involvement was found in 104 (18.1%) of the cases. The staged surgical intervention (1 st step, carotid endarterectomy and 2 nd step, coronary artery bypass grafting) was performed in 441 (76.8%) of the cases (group I), whereas simultaneous interventions in 133 (23.2%) (group II). Results: There was no difference between the groups I and II in the hospital mortality (0.2% vs. 0%, p = 1.000). No between-group differences were found in the rates of complications, such as early postoperative bleedings (n = 8, 1.8% vs. n = 2, 1.5%; p = 1.000), wound infections (4, 0.9% vs. 2, 1.5%; p = 0.410), acute cerebrovascular accidents (n = 1, 0.2% vs. n = 1,0.8%; p = 0.36), and acute myocardial infarction (n = 1, 0.2% vs. 0; p = 1.000). The longest total duration of in-hospital stay (considering all hospitalizations taken together) was in patients who had undergone staged interventions (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Surgical treatment of CAD with concomitant BCA involvement can be effectively and safely performed both as separate procedures, as well as simultaneously, based on the patient's comorbidities and special aspects of the underlying disorders.

Association of apelin and apelin receptor with the risk of coronary artery disease: a meta-analysis of observational studies

It is well established that apelin-APLNR (apelin receptor) pathway plays a central role in cardiovascular system. In this meta-analysis, we summarized published results on circulating apelin concentration in association with coronary artery disease (CAD), apelin and APLNR genetic polymorphism(s) in predisposition to CAD risk and circulating apelin changes after surgical treatment for CAD. The results from 15 articles were pooled. Two authors independently took charge of literature search, article selection and information collection. Overall, circulating apelin concentration was significantly lower in CAD patients (N=1021) than in controls (N=654) (weighted mean difference [WMD]: -1.285 ng/mL, 95% confidence interval [CI]: -1.790 to -0.780, P<0001), with significant heterogeneity (I2=99.3%) but without publication bias. For the association of APLNR gene rs9943582 polymorphism with CAD (patients/controls: 5975/4717), the mutant T allele was associated with a 5.2% increased risk relative to the wild C allele (odds ratio: 1.052, 95% CI: 0.990 to 1.117, P=0.100), without heterogeneity (I2=0.0%) or publication bias. Circulating apelin was increased significantly after surgical treatment for CAD (N=202) (WMD: 2.011 ng/mL, 95% CI: 0.541 to 3.481, P=0.007), with significant heterogeneity (I2=98.0%). Stratified analyses showed that circulating apelin was significantly reduced in studies with age- and sex-matched patients and controls (WMD: -1.881 ng/mL, 95% CI: -2.457 to -1.304, P<0.001) and with total sample size ≥125 (WMD: -1.657 ng/mL, 95% CI: -2.378 to -0.936, P<0.001), relative to studies without matching reports and with total sample size <125. In brief, our results suggested that circulating apelin was a prominent athero-protective marker against the development of CAD.

Prevalence of Coronary Heart Disease in Patients with Hemophilia: a Nationwide Study in Brazil.

Abstract 3495Poster Board III-432 BackgroundIt is well known that patients with hemophilia (both A and B) have a lower incidence of coronary artery disease (CAD). However, patients with hemophilia may develop atherosclerosis, and with increases in life expectancy it is possible that the incidence of CAD may increase in these patients. There are no studies analyzing the prevalence of CAD in patients with hemophilia and possible risk factors. AimsTo determine the prevalence of CAD in patients with hemophilia treated in Brazil. MethodsAll patients with hemophilia in Brazil receive therapy with Factor VIII or Factor IX at government-designed hemophilia centers. We thus contacted all centers in Brazil by e-mail and information from databases concerning health information for all patients was reviewed by the responsible physician at each center. A questionnaire about risk factors for CAD and history of coronary events was sent to patients that had a positive history of CAD. ResultsThere are 6,881 patients registered with a diagnosis of hemophilia A and 1,291 patients with a diagnosis of hemophilia B in Brazil. Fifty-six percent of hemophilia centers answered the query, and information on 71.7% of patients with hemophilia A (4,934 patients) and 61.4% of patients with hemophilia B (792 patients) was reviewed. There were only 3 patients (0.05%) with a positive history of CAD. Their clinical characteristics are summarized in Table 1. During surgical treatment for CAD, replacement with Factor VIII and Factor IX was done by continuous infusion to increase Factor activity to 80-100%. Antiplatelet therapy was used in all patients at some point, and one patient (#1) developed hemarthrosis after two months of ASA. Patient #3 did not start antiplatelet therapy after CABG, and developed thrombosis of the graft. ASA and clopidogrel were started after percutaneous coronary angioplasty. ConclusionWe found a very low incidence of CAD in hemophiliac patients, even after doing a nationwide survey that included more than 5,000 patients. No information about risk factors can be gleaned due to the small number of patients. Surgical treatment after increasing factor activity appears to be safe in such patients. Despite a theoretical risk for increased bleeding, therapy with antiplatelet agents appears to be necessary in hemophiliac patients with CAD.Table 1Clinical features of patients with CAD and HemophiliaUPIAge, yearsTypeComorbiditiesAcute EventsMedical TherapySurgical Therapy151ADiabetes MellitusMIASACABG262ANoneUAASAPercutaneous angioplasty with stent337BHIV+ receiving HAARTUAClopidogrel ASACABG Percutaneous angioplasty with stentAbbreviations: UPI, unique patient identifier; MI, myocardial infarction; ASA, acetylsalycilic acid; CABG, coronary artery bypass graft; UA, unstable angina; HAART, highly active anti-retroviral therapy Disclosures:No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Percutaneous coronary intervention with stent implantation in haemophilic A patient with unstable angina

The prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD) and acute coronary syndromes in patients with haemophilia is much lower than in general population and there is a lack of information regarding safe interventional or surgical treatment of CAD in haemophiliacs. This report presents a case of patient with moderate haemophilia A and unstable angina pectoris, who underwent successful coronary angioplasty. The patient was pretreated with factor VIII (before and after the procedure) and the incision site was sealed with vessel closure device. Additionally, the article discusses the issue of the safety of standard, postpercutaneous coronary intervention antiplatelet therapy in patients with haemophilia.

Coronary-Artery Surgery at the Crossroads

The surgical treatment of coronary-artery disease began early in this century when surgical sympathectomy was reported as a successful treatment for angina pectoris. Since then a variety of procedures have been tried, all of which were greeted with initial enthusiasm, which then rapidly waned. However, aortocoronary-artery bypass graft (CABG) is qualitatively superior to the earlier operations because it is associated with marked and sustained relief of angina pectoris in most patients. Since the delivery of substantial quantities of blood to previously ischemic myocardium can be accomplished with relatively low mortality by a skilled, experienced surgical team, the indications for this . . .