Publications by authors named "Yoshihiro J Akashi"

Aims: Predictors of true degenerative mitral stenosis (MS) in patients with aortic stenosis who underwent transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) remain unknown. This study aimed to investigate the predictors and prognostic value of true degenerative MS in this population.

Methods And Results: We retrospectively reviewed the records of 760 consecutive patients who underwent TAVI.

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Background: Guideline-directed medical therapy has become an important component of heart failure (HF) therapy, with sacubitril/valsartan as one of the recommended drugs; however, the real-world prognostic implications of sacubitril/valsartan uptitration are unclear.

Methods And Results: Patients with HF newly initiated on sacubitril/valsartan were registered in a retrospective multicenter study (REVIEW-HF). In all, 995 patients were divided into 3 groups according to the maximum dose achieved: high dose, sacubitril/valsartan 400 mg; intermediate dose, sacubitril/valsartan 200-<400 mg; and low dose, sacubitril/valsartan <200 mg.

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Article Synopsis
  • * A study involving 287 TAVR patients found that those with ESRD-HD are generally younger, more likely to be male, and have higher surgical risks, yet similar aortic valve complex characteristics to non-ESRD-HD patients.
  • * At the one-year mark, there were no significant differences in key health outcomes like death or stroke between ESRD-HD and non-ESRD-HD patients, indicating that TAVR is a viable option for
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Aims: Evidence for risk stratification using exercise stress echocardiography (ESE) in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) for severe aortic stenosis (AS) is currently lacking. Cardiac power output (CPO) has demonstrated prognostic value in patients undergoing TAVI for severe AS. This study investigated prognoses in patients undergoing TAVI for severe AS and to explore the additional information that ESE can provide for risk stratification.

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Obstruction of a systemic venous pathway is relatively common after the Mustard operation. A helix-fixation leadless pacemaker was successfully implanted in the subpulmonic but morphologic LV in a d-TGA patient with post-Mustard baffle stenosis and failure of a previously implanted epicardial lead.

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Background: In secondary mitral regurgitation (SMR), effective regurgitant orifice area by the proximal isovelocity surface area method ( ) evaluation might cause an underestimation of regurgitant orifice area because of its ellipticity compared with vena contracta area (VCA). We aimed to reassess the SMR severity using VCA-related parameters and .

Methods: The three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography data of 128 patients with SMR were retrospectively analyzed; the following parameters were evaluated: , anteroposterior and mediolateral vena contracta widths (VCWs) of VCA (i.

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Aims: Cardiac power output (CPO) measures cardiac performance, and its prognostic significance in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (EF) has been previously reported. However, the effectiveness of CPO in risk stratification of patients with valvular heart disease and post-operative valvular disease has not been reported. We aimed to determine the association between CPO and clinical outcomes in patients with preserved left ventricular (LV) EF after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI).

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the effectiveness of the extraaortic-valvular cardiac damage (EVCD) Stage in assessing risks for patients with moderate aortic stenosis (AS) and reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF).
  • Clinical data from 130 patients were analyzed, categorizing them into EVCD stages based on the level of cardiac damage, with follow-up highlighting significant outcomes like cardiac death and heart failure hospitalization.
  • Results showed that patients in EVCD Stage 3/4 had a higher risk of adverse events compared to those in Stage 1, suggesting the EVCD staging system can be a useful tool for risk stratification in this patient group.
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We report the behavior of OptiVol2 fluid index (OVFI2) and intrathoracic impedance on remote monitoring before the appearance of signs of infection. A sustained rise in OVFI2 early after implantation reflects peri-device fluid retention.

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Despite guideline-based recommendation of the interchangeable use of instantaneous wave-free ratio (iFR) and fractional flow reserve (FFR) to guide revascularization decision-making, iFR/FFR could demonstrate different physiological or clinical outcomes in some specific patient or lesion subsets. Therefore, we sought to investigate the impact of difference between iFR and FFR-guided revascularization decision-making on clinical outcomes in patients with left main disease (LMD). In this international multicenter registry of LMD with physiological interrogation, we identified 275 patients in whom physiological assessment was performed with both iFR/FFR.

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: Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) is the gold standard modality for evaluating cardiac morphology, function, and hemodynamics in clinical practice. While artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to contribute to improved accuracy and is being applied clinically, its impact on daily clinical practice has not been fully evaluated. : We retrospectively examined 30 consecutive patients who underwent AI-equipped TTE at a single institution.

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Aims: Current evidence on the prognostic value of exercise stress echocardiography (ESE) in asymptomatic patients with low-gradient severe aortic stenosis (AS) is limited. Therefore, this study aimed to elucidate its prognostic implications for patients with low-gradient severe AS and determine the added value of ESE in risk stratification for this population.

Methods And Results: This retrospective observational study included 122 consecutive asymptomatic patients with either moderate [mean pressure gradient (MPG) < 40 mmHg and aortic valve area (AVA) 1.

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A 70-year-old patient with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation underwent left atrial appendage closure. The patient experienced transient hypotension during device implantation. The procedure was abandoned because of ST-T-wave changes on electrocardiography and elevated coronary flow velocity on transesophageal echocardiography, which indicated that the device caused coronary artery compression.

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Background: High shock impedance is associated with conversion failure among patients with subcutaneous implantable cardioverter defibrillators (S-ICD). Currently, there is no preoperative assessment method for predicting high shock impedance. This study examined the efficacy of chest computed tomography (CT) as a preoperative evaluation tool to assess the shock impedance of S-ICDs.

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Background: This study aimed to clarify the effects of exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation (CR) on patients with heart failure.

Methods And Results: Patients were divided into groups according to intervention duration (<6 and ≥6 months). We searched for studies published up to July 2023 in Embase, MEDLINE, PubMed, and the Cochrane Library, without limitations on data, language, or publication status.

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Article Synopsis
  • Valvular heart disease (VHD) is increasingly prevalent due to aging populations, necessitating better assessment methods for treatment decisions.
  • Recent advancements highlight stress echocardiography as a key tool for evaluating VHD severity by assessing hemodynamic changes under stress without invasive risks.
  • Evidence supports its use not only for mitral regurgitation and aortic stenosis but also for other conditions like mitral stenosis and aortic regurgitation, guiding future applications in VHD management.
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A high score for controlling nutritional status (CONUT) due to poor nutritional status has been associated with adverse outcomes in patients with chronic heart failure. However, because little is known about the effect of CONUT score on mortality rates after transcatheter mitral valve repair, we evaluated nutrition screening tools for prognosis prediction in patients undergoing transcatheter mitral valve repair using the MitraClip system. We retrospectively analyzed 148 patients with severe mitral regurgitation (MR) who underwent MitraClip implantation between April 2018 and April 2021.

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Background: The MitraClip G4 system is a new iteration of the transcatheter edge-to-edge repair system. We assessed the impact of the G4 system on routine practice and outcomes in secondary mitral regurgitation (2°MR).

Methods and results: Consecutive patients with 2°MR treated with either the MitraClip G2 (n=89) or G4 (n=63) system between 2018 and 2021 were included.

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Weather conditions influence the incidence of cardiovascular disease. However, few studies have investigated the association between weather temperature and humidity and cerebrovascular disease hospitalizations in a super-aging society. We included 606,807 consecutive patients with cerebrovascular disease admitted to Japanese acute-care hospitals between 2015 and 2019.

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A 59-year-old man who had been diagnosed with human immunodeficiency virus-associated cardiomyopathy was referred for catheter ablation of ventricular tachycardia (VT). An electrocardiogram (ECG) waveform revealed that the clinical VT originated from the epicardium. A deceleration zone (DZ) was identified on an isochronal late activation map.

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The safety and feasibility are still not well known for exercise-induced mitral regurgitation (MR). This study is aimed to assess and compare the hemodynamic and symptomatic changes in patients with significant secondary MR during exercise stress echocardiography (ESE) before and after transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER). The study included a total of 15 patients with secondary MR who underwent ESE before and after TEER using the MitraClip system (Abbott, Abbott Park, IL, USA).

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Backgrounds: There are limited data on the clinical relevance of transvalvular flow rate (Q ) at rest (Q and at peak stress (Q ) during dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) in patients with low-gradient severe aortic stenosis (LG-SAS).

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of patients with LG-SAS who underwent DSE. LG-SAS was defined as an aortic valve (AV) area index of < .

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