Predictors and incidence of health status deterioration in patients with early atrial fibrillation.

Background: Various treatment approaches for atrial fibrillation (AF) have demonstrated improved health status, yet the significance of these therapeutic interventions in individual patients remains unclear.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate health status changes in patients with early AF, focusing on those who experience clinically significant deterioration after treatment initiation.

Methods: We analyzed data from a multicenter, prospective registry of newly diagnosed patients with AF.

Clinical Utility of Baseline Brain Natriuretic Peptide Levels on Health Status Outcomes after Catheter Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation in Individuals without Heart Failure.

Background: Catheter ablation (CA) benefits atrial fibrillation (AF) patients with heart failure (HF). Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), a marker of left-ventricular pressure load, may serve as a potential surrogate for predicting quality of life (QOL) in a broader range of patients.

Methods: Within the multicenter KiCS-AF registry, 491 AF patients underwent CA without clinical HF (e.

Discontinuation of Oral Anticoagulants in Atrial Fibrillation Patients: Impact of Treatment Strategy and on Patients' Health Status.

Aims: The discontinuation of oral anticoagulants (OACs) remains as a significant concern in the management of atrial fibrillation (AF). The discontinuation rate may vary depending on management strategy, and physicians may also discontinue OACs due to concerns about patient satisfaction with their care. We aimed to assess the incidence of OAC discontinuation and its relationship to patients' health in an outpatient AF registry.

Implications of QRS Prolongation in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation (from a Multicenter Outpatient Registry).

Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) at the highest risk of progression to heart failure (HF) need to be identified. We investigated whether QRS duration can stratify patients with AF at risk for poor clinical outcomes, including health-related quality of life (HR-QoL). We analyzed data from a multicenter registry-based cohort study of patients with AF.

Catheter ablation improves outcomes and quality of life in Japanese patients with early-stage atrial fibrillation: A retrospective cohort study.

Background: Catheter ablation is widely used as first-line therapy for patients with impaired quality of life; however, whether catheter ablation improves survival and other outcomes in atrial fibrillation (AF) cases remains unclear.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether catheter ablation reduces adverse clinical outcomes and improves patients' quality of life using data from a contemporary Japanese multicenter registry of patients with early-stage AF.

Methods: The Keio Interhospital Cardiovascular Studies-Atrial Fibrillation registered 3318 patients with AF newly diagnosed at or referred to participating hospitals between 2014 and 2018.

Treatment strategies and subsequent changes in the patient-reported quality-of-life among elderly patients with atrial fibrillation.

Background: Rhythm-control strategy, including catheter ablation (CA) application, constitutes an integral part of atrial fibrillation (AF) management. However, elderly patients are underrepresented in clinical trials, and reports on patient-reported outcome of various rhythm-control treatments remain limited. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the application of a rhythm-control strategy for elderly patients with AF.

Anomalous origin of the coronary artery coursing between the great vessels presenting with a cardiovascular event (J-CONOMALY Registry).

Aims: Anomalous origin of the coronary artery (AOCA) with an inter-arterial course (IAC) between the great vessels poses a risk for a life-threatening cardiovascular event. We assessed, in a registry-based study, the clinical features, treatment strategies, and prognoses of life-threatening cardiovascular events ensuant to AOCA.

Methods And Results: Included were 65 AOCA patients (48 men/17 women, aged 41 ± 23 years) from 40 clinical centres who had experienced sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) (n = 30), acute myocardial infarction (AMI) (n = 5), angina (n = 23), or syncope (n = 7).

Real-world use of intravascular ultrasound in Japan: a report from contemporary multicenter PCI registry.

Clinical trial data suggest that intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) may improve clinical outcomes after PCI. The aim of this study was to investigate the safety of IVUS in its broader use for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). A total of 11,570 consecutive patients undergoing PCI between 2008 and 2014 in Japan were analyzed.

Effects of body habitus on contrast-induced acute kidney injury after percutaneous coronary intervention.

Background: Limiting the contrast volume to creatinine clearance (V/CrCl) ratio is crucial for preventing contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). However, the incidence of CI-AKI and the distribution of V/CrCl ratios may vary according to patient body habitus.

Objective: We aimed to identify the clinical factors predicting CI-AKI in patients with different body mass indexes (BMIs).

Outcomes of Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Performed With or Without Preprocedural Dual Antiplatelet Therapy.

Background: Preprocedural dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) in percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) has been shown to improve outcomes; however, the efficacy of the procedure and its complications in Japanese patients remain largely unexplored, so we examined the risks and benefits of DAPT before PCI and its association with in-hospital outcomes.

Methods and results: We analyzed data from patients who had undergone PCI at 12 centers within the metropolitan Tokyo area between September 2008 and September 2013.Our study group comprised 6,528 patients, of whom 2,079 (31.

Gender differences in in-hospital clinical outcomes after percutaneous coronary interventions: an insight from a Japanese multicenter registry.

Background: Gender differences in clinical outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) among different age groups are controversial in the era of drug-eluting stents, especially among the Asian population who are at higher risk for bleeding complications.

Methods And Results: We analyzed data from 10,220 patients who underwent PCI procedures performed at 14 Japanese hospitals from September 2008 to April 2013. A total of 2,106 (20.

Location of the culprit coronary lesion and its association with delay in door-to-balloon time (from a multicenter registry of primary percutaneous coronary intervention).

Current guidelines recommend shorter door-to-balloon times (DBTs) (<90 minutes) for patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Clinical factors, including patient or hospital characteristics, associated with prolonged DBT have been identified, but angiographic variables such as culprit lesion location have not been thoroughly investigated. We aimed to evaluate the effect of culprit artery location on DBT of patients with STEMI who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Appropriateness of coronary interventions in Japan by the US and Japanese standards.

Background: Appropriateness use criteria (AUC) are widely used to assess quality of care. American professional organizations and Japanese experts have both developed original AUC for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). However, rating discrepancies have not been investigated.

Coronary subclavian steal syndrome detected during coronary bypass surgery in a hemodialysis patient.

Coronary subclavian steal syndrome associated with upper extremity arteriovenous fistula is an uncommon but potentially life-threatening condition. We present a case of a 65-year-old male on hemodialysis with a left upper extremity arteriovenous fistula who underwent coronary revascularization involving bypass with the left internal thoracic artery to the left anterior descending artery. Intraoperative transit-time graft flow measurements and fluorescence imaging showed a reversed flow in the left internal thoracic artery, and the left internal thoracic artery was successfully converted as a free graft from the ascending aorta to the left anterior descending artery.

Impact of coronary dominance on in-hospital outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with acute coronary syndrome.

Objective: This study evaluated the manner in which coronary dominance affects in-hospital outcomes of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Background: Previous studies have shown that left dominant coronary anatomies are associated with worse prognoses in patients with coronary artery disease.

Methods: Data were analyzed from 4873 ACS patients undergoing PCI between September 2008 and April 2013 at 14 hospitals participating in the Japanese Cardiovascular Database Registry.

Sudden cardiac arrest: associated with anomalous origin of the right coronary artery from the left main coronary artery.

Anomalous origin of the coronary artery from the opposite sinus of Valsalva and a course of that artery between the ascending aorta and the pulmonary artery is a rare congenital anomaly. It can cause myocardial ischemia, syncope, and sudden cardiac death in young people. Herein, we report the case of a 24-year-old man who was brought to our hospital after cardiac arrest due to ventricular fibrillation.

Luminescence technology in preservation and transplantation for rat islet.

The development of organ preservation solutions and associated technology has been a major effort in tissue transplantation recently. However, this research takes a great deal of time and resources. In this study, a novel method for the evaluation of preservation solutions was established by using islet cells.

Acute impact of right ventricular infarction on early hemodynamic course after inferior myocardial infarction.

Background: Right ventricular myocardial infarction (RVMI) is the major cause of hypotension and/or shock (HpS) after acute inferior myocardial infarction (inferior AMI). It is, however, unclear how RVMI affects the acute hemodynamic course.

Methods And Results: In the present study, 153 patients with inferior AMI caused by right coronary artery occlusion were examined.