Bundle branch block patterns during atrial fibrillation rhythm for heart failure events.

Aims: The clinical significance of bundle branch block (BBB) during atrial fibrillation (AF) rhythm in relation to heart failure (HF) events remains to be elucidated. This study aimed to explore the associations between BBB patterns and HF in AF patients.

Methods And Results: We enrolled 2721 AF patients whose baseline electrocardiography during AF rhythm was available from a community-based prospective survey, the Fushimi AF Registry.

10-Year Trends of Antithrombotic Therapy Status and Clinical Outcomes in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation and Renal Dysfunction - The Fushimi AF Registry.

Background: Anticoagulation therapy for atrial fibrillation (AF) has undergone major changes following the introduction of direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC) in 2011. However, the transition of anticoagulation therapy for AF patients with severe renal dysfunction remains to be elucidated.

Methods And Results: Follow-up data, including creatinine clearance (CrCl), were available for 3,706 patients in the Fushimi AF Registry.

Association of Regression from Sustained to Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation with Clinical Outcomes: The Fushimi AF Registry.

Some patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), albeit less frequently, may regress from sustained to paroxysmal type. We sought to investigate how the regression of AF is associated with outcomes. Among the AF patients enrolled in the Fushimi AF Registry who were identified as having sustained AF at baseline, conversion of sustained to paroxysmal AF during follow-up was defined as AF regression.

Association of left atrial enlargement with heart failure events in non-valvular atrial fibrillation patients with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction.

Aims: Atrial fibrillation (AF) increases the risk of heart failure (HF); however, little is known regarding the risk stratification for incident HF in AF patients, especially with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF).

Methods And Results: The Fushimi AF Registry is a community-based prospective survey of AF patients. From the registry, 3002 non-valvular AF patients with preserved LVEF and with the data of antero-posterior left atrial diameter (LAD) at enrolment were investigated.

Impact of smoking initiation age on nicotine dependency and cardiovascular risk factors: a retrospective cohort study in Japan.

Aims: Initiating smoking in early adolescence results in challenges with smoking cessation and is associated with high risk of cardiovascular disease. Recently, the initiation of smoking has transitioned from adolescence to young adulthood. However, there are few reports on the impact of initiating smoking at a later age.

Atrial fibrillation type and long-term clinical outcomes in hospitalized patients with heart failure: insight from JROADHF.

Aims: Atrial fibrillation (AF) type (paroxysmal, persistent, or permanent) is important in determining therapeutic management; however, clinical outcomes by AF type are largely unknown for hospitalized patients with heart failure (HF).

Methods And Results: The Japanese Registry Of Acute Decompensated Heart Failure is a retrospective, multicenter, and nationwide registry of patients hospitalized for acute HF in Japan. Follow-up data were collected up to 5 years after hospitalization.

Single-Session Versus Staged Multivessel Optimal IVUS-Guided PCI in Patients With CCS or NSTE-ACS.

Background: There are no studies comparing single-session vs staged multivessel intravascular ultrasound (IVUS)-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with chronic coronary syndrome (CCS) or non-ST-segment-elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS).

Objectives: The authors aimed to compare single-session vs staged multivessel IVUS-guided PCI in patients with CCS or NSTE-ACS.

Methods: The OPTIVUS-Complex PCI study multivessel cohort was a prospective multicenter single-arm trial enrolling 1,021 patients with CCS or NSTE-ACS undergoing multivessel PCI including left anterior descending coronary artery using IVUS aiming to meet the prespecified OPTIVUS criteria for optimal stent expansion.

Utility of left ventricular ejection fraction in atrial fibrillation patients without pre-existing heart failure.

Aims: Atrial fibrillation (AF) increases the risk of heart failure (HF); however, little focus has been placed on the prevention of HF in patients with AF. Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) is an established echocardiographic parameter in HF patients. We sought to investigate the association of LVEF with HF events in AF patients without pre-existing HF.

Ten-year clinical outcomes from a randomized trial comparing new-generation everolimus-eluting stent versus first-generation Sirolimus-eluting stent: Results from the RESET extended study.

Background: New-generation drug-eluting stents (DES) achieved technological innovations and reported clinical advantages as compared with first-generation DES in clinical trials with 3-5 years follow-up. However, detailed clinical outcome data in very long-term follow-up is still scarce.

Objectives: To evaluate 10-year clinical outcomes after first- and new-generation DES implantation.

Biodegradable or durable polymer drug-eluting stents in patients with coronary artery disease: ten-year outcomes of the randomised NEXT Trial.

Background: There are no randomised trials reporting clinical outcomes of biodegradable polymer biolimus-eluting stents (BP-BES) and durable polymer everolimus-eluting stents (DP-EES) at 10 years.

Aims: We aimed to compare the 10-year clinical outcomes between BP-BES and DP-EES.

Methods: The randomised NOBORI Biolimus-Eluting Versus XIENCE/PROMUS Everolimus-eluting Stent Trial (NEXT) was originally designed to evaluate the non-inferiority of BP-BES relative to DP-EES with the primary efficacy endpoint of target lesion revascularisation (TLR) at 1 year and the primary safety endpoint of death or myocardial infarction (MI) at 3 years.

Dual Antiplatelet Therapy Duration After Multivessel Optimal Intravascular Ultrasound-Guided Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

Background: There is a scarcity of data evaluating contemporary real-world dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) strategies after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Methods and results: In the OPTIVUS-Complex PCI study multivessel cohort enrolling 982 patients undergoing multivessel PCI, including left anterior descending coronary artery using intravascular ultrasound (IVUS), we conducted 90-day landmark analyses to compare shorter and longer DAPT. DAPT discontinuation was defined as withdrawal of P2Yinhibitors or aspirin for at least 2 months.

Target Lesion Revascularization After Intravascular Ultrasound-Guided Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

Background: Several stent expansion criteria derived from the intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) evaluation have been proposed to predict future clinical outcomes, but optimal stent expansion criteria as a guide during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) are still controversial. There are no studies evaluating the utility of stent expansion criteria along with the clinical and procedural factors in predicting target lesion revascularization (TLR) after contemporary IVUS-guided PCI.

Methods: OPTIVUS-Complex PCI study (Optimal Intravascular Ultrasound Guided Complex Percutaneous Coronary Intervention) multivessel cohort was a prospective multicenter study enrolling 961 patients undergoing multivessel PCI including left anterior descending coronary artery using IVUS with an intention to meet the prespecified criteria for optimal stent expansion.

Optimal Intravascular Ultrasound-Guided Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Patients With Multivessel Disease.

Background: Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) was only rarely used in landmark trials comparing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in patients with multivessel disease.

Objectives: The authors aimed to evaluate clinical outcomes after optimal IVUS-guided PCI in patients undergoing multivessel PCI.

Methods: The OPTIVUS (OPTimal IntraVascular UltraSound)-Complex PCI study multivessel cohort was a prospective multicenter single-arm study enrolling 1,021 patients undergoing multivessel PCI, including left anterior descending coronary artery using IVUS, aiming to meet the prespecified criteria (OPTIVUS criteria: minimum stent area > distal reference lumen area [stent length ≥28mm], and minimum stent area >0.

Clopidogrel Monotherapy After 1-Month DAPT in Patients With High Bleeding Risk or Complex PCI.

Background: High bleeding risk (HBR) and complex percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) are major determinants for dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) duration.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of HBR and complex PCI on short vs standard DAPT.

Methods: Subgroup analyses were conducted on the basis of Academic Research Consortium-defined HBR and complex PCI in the STOPDAPT-2 (Short and Optimal Duration of Dual Antiplatelet Therapy After Verulam's-Eluting Cobalt-Chromium Stent-2) Total Cohort, which randomly compared clopidogrel monotherapy after 1-month DAPT with 12-month DAPT with aspirin and clopidogrel after PCI.

Proteinuria is independently associated with heart failure events in patients with atrial fibrillation: the Fushimi AF registry.

Aims: Previous studies have shown that proteinuria is independently associated with the incidence of atrial fibrillation (AF), and is also associated with the incidence of cardiovascular events such as stroke and thromboembolism in patients with AF. However, the association of proteinuria with heart failure (HF) events in patients with AF remains unclear.

Methods And Results: The Fushimi AF Registry is a community-based prospective study of patients with AF.

Machine Learning Risk Prediction for Incident Heart Failure in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) increases the risk of heart failure (HF); however, little focus is placed on the risk stratification for, and prevention of, incident HF in patients with AF.

Objectives: This study aimed to construct and validate a machine learning (ML) prediction model for HF hospitalization in patients with AF.

Methods: The Fushimi AF Registry is a community-based prospective survey of patients with AF in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Japan.

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome and lymphohistiocytic myocarditis after Covid-19 vaccine in a middle-aged woman.

We describe a 51-year-old otherwise healthy woman hospitalized for hypotension, fever, and weakness 4 days after the second-dose Covid-19 mRNA vaccine. Elevated inflammatory markers, natriuretic peptide levels and troponin levels, and slightly reduced left ventricular ejection fraction of 50% were noted. We also found the multiple organ damage, including mucocutaneous, gastrointestinal, and neurologic systems.

Caseous calcification of mitral annulus evaluated by multi-modality imaging including cardiac magnetic resonance parametric mapping.

Unlabelled: We report an 85-year-old woman with caseous calcification of mitral annulus (CCMA), a rare variant of mitral annular calcification with caseous degeneration, in which imaging findings were useful for elucidating the pathogenesis and diagnosis. Since the CCMA is considered to be benign, it is important for clinicians to differentiate CCMA from other cardiac masses using multi-modality imaging in order to avoid unnecessary surgery. To the best of our knowledge, there is a paucity of literature regarding cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) parametric mapping, an emerging technique, for evaluating CCMA.