Clinical research in cardiology : official journal of the German Cardiac Society
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Meta Analysis Comparative Study
Mechanical circulatory support with Impella versus intra-aortic balloon pump or medical treatment in cardiogenic shock-a critical appraisal of current data.
Patients suffering from cardiogenic shock (CS) have a high mortality and morbidity. The Impella percutaneous left-ventricular assist device (LVAD) decreases LV preload, increases cardiac output, and improves coronary blood flow. We aimed to review and meta-analyze available data comparing Impella versus intra-aortic pump (IABP) counterpulsation or medical treatment in CS due to acute myocardial infarction or post-cardiac arrest. ⋯ In patients suffering from severe CS due to AMI, the use of Impella is not associated with improved short-time survival but with higher complications rates compared to IABP and medical treatment. Better patient selection avoiding Impella implantation in futile situations or in possible lower risk CS might be necessary to elucidate possible advantages of Impella in future studies.
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Patients with electrical injury are considered to be at high risk of cardiac arrhythmias. Due to the small number of studies, there is no widely accepted guideline regarding the risk assessment and management of arrhythmic complications after electrical accident (EA). Our retrospective observational study was designed to determine the prevalence of ECG abnormalities and cardiac arrhythmias after EA, to evaluate the predictive value of cardiac biomarkers for this condition and to assess in-hospital and 30-day mortality. ⋯ Most of cardiac arrhythmias in patients presenting after EA can be diagnosed by an ECG on admission, thus routine ECG monitoring appears to be unnecessary. In our patient cohort cardiac troponin I and CK-MB were not useful in risk assessment after EA. Late-onset malignant arrhythmias were not observed.
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Multicenter Study
The role of atrial fibrillation in the short-term outcomes of patients with acute heart failure.
To investigate whether the presence of atrial fibrillation (AF) is independently associated with adverse short-term outcomes in patients diagnosed with acute heart failure (AHF) in the emergency department (ED). ⋯ The coexistence of AF does not impact the short-term outcomes of patients diagnosed with AHF in the ED.
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Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (eCPR) may be considered as a rescue attempt for highly selected patients with refractory cardiac arrest and potentially reversible aetiology. Currently, there are no randomised, controlled studies on eCPR. ⋯ Currently, selection criteria and procedure techniques differ across hospitals and standardised algorithms are lacking. Based on expert opinion, the present consensus statement provides a first standardised treatment algorithm for eCPR.
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Percutaneous mitral valve repair (PMVR) via MitraClip implantation is a therapeutic option for high-risk or non-surgical candidates with severe mitral regurgitation (MR) and advanced stages of heart failure (HF). However, these patients have a high mortality despite PMVR, and predictors for outcomes are not well established. Here, we evaluated invasive hemodynamics, echocardiography parameters, and biomarkers to predict outcomes after PMVR in severe HF patients. ⋯ In a cohort of patients with severe HF undergoing PMVR, patients with elevated hsTnT and reduced mixed venous O2-saturation carried the worst prognosis. A simple risk score including these two parameters may improve patient selection and outcomes after PMVR.