Incidence of sudden cardiac arrest and sudden cardiac death after unstable angina pectoris and myocardial infarction

Repeated heart rate variability monitoring after myocardial infraction - Cohort profile of the MI-ECG study

The purpose of this study was to monitor heart rate variability (HRV) parameters after myocardial infarction (MI), addressing the ongoing controversy regarding their prognostic value. HRV was measured via Holter monitoring during the acute phase around the time of discharge and again two weeks later during recovery. Our findings show that HRV parameters remained stable during the initial weeks post-MI, indicating that the timing of Holter monitoring in this period is not critical. Several HRV parameters were significantly correlated with MI type, Killip class, and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), with reduced HRV observed in STEMI patients and those with decompensated heart failure. However, after adjusting for GRACE score and LVEF, the prognostic value of most HRV measures for predicting future cardiac events diminished. Notably, detrended fluctuation analysis DFA1 α2 yielded a significant hazard ratio (HR) of 0.79 when adjusted for the GRACE score. However, this significance diminished after adjusting for LVEF (HR = 0.84). In conclusion, HRV parameters reflect MI severity and correlate with clinical characteristics, but their independent predictive value for future cardiac events is limited when adjusted for established risk factors such as LVEF and GRACE score.

Predictive Effect of Atypical Right Bundle-Branch Block on In-Hospital Sudden Cardiac Death and Cardiac Rupture and Long-Term Prognosis in Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction Who Underwent Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

BACKGROUND

A study was conducted to explore the predictive effect of atypical right bundle-branch blocks (ARBBB) on in-hospital sudden cardiac death (SCD), cardiac rupture (CR), and long-term prognosis in patients with acute myocardial infarction undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention with a drug-eluting stent.

METHODS AND RESULTS

A total of 13 886 patients with first-episode acute myocardial infarction who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention with a drug-eluting stent at 3 centers from January 2017 to January 2022 were included in this retrospective study. Patients were categorized into 4 groups: ARBBB (n=348), typical right BBB (n=374), left BBB (n=366), and non-BBB (n=12 798). The primary end points were in-hospital SCD and CR, the secondary end points were 2-year major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events. During the in-hospital observation period, 334 patients (2.4%) experienced SCD, with 98 (0.7%) attributed to CR. The incidences of in-hospital SCD and CR in the group with ARBBB were significantly higher than those in the other 3 groups (ARBBB versus left BBB versus typical right BBB versus non-BBB: SCD, 10.6% versus 5.7% versus 4.3% versus 2.0%, P=0.001; CR, 5.7% versus 2.7% versus 1.3% versus 0.5%, P<0.001). ARBBB was a statistically significant predictor of in-hospital SCD (hazard ratio [HR], 2.45 [95% CI, 1.65-4.78], P<0.001) and CR (HR, 3.32 [95% CI, 1.77-7.74], P<0.001). ARBBB could also predicted the 2-year major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (HR, 2.99 [95% CI, 1.65-5.53], P<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

ARBBB is a predictor of in-hospital SCD, CR, and 2-year major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events in patients with first-episode acute myocardial infarction undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention with a drug-eluting stent.

Causal Effects of Sleep Traits on Angina Pectoris: Mediation by Cardiovascular Risk Factors

Purpose

Angina pectoris (AP) is a major factor in heightened risk of cardiac arrest and has been previously linked to sleep patterns. It remains unclear if sleep traits play a role in the onset of AP. Our study aims to declare the causality of sleep traits on AP by Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses.

Methods

Genome-wide association study (GWAS) data of sleep traits (sleep duration, insomnia, nap during day, chronotype, getting up in morning, narcolepsy, snoring) were obtained from the UK Biobank. The AP datasets came from an analysis containing samples from the UK biobank, FinnGen, and BioBank Japan. The GWAS data of cardiovascular risk factors (hypertension, smoking, hyperlipidemia, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM)) came from the FinnGen. Two-sample MR analyses were carried out to gain a general map of sleep traits, risk factors and AP, then a multivariable MR was performed and the effect of each factor was calculated.

Results

We discovered a positive association between nap, narcolepsy, insomnia and stable angina pectoris (SAP), while getting up in morning associated with SAP negatively. Adequate sleep duration related to a reduced risk of SAP and unstable angina pectoris (UAP). Hypertension and T2DM acted as complete mediators in the relationship of nap and SAP, with an effect value of 1.267 (95% CI = 1.178-1.363, P < 0.01) and 1.059 (95% CI = 1.000-1.120, P < 0.05), and the mediating proportion was 27.7% (P < 0.05) and 7.70% (P = 0.102).

Conclusion

Our study found that nap, narcolepsy, and insomnia increased the risk of SAP, with hypertension and T2DM mediating the causal relationship between nap and SAP. Getting up in the morning reduced the risk of SAP, while longer sleep duration lowered the risk of SAP and UAP. More evidences are required to clarify the roles of sleep traits and risk factors in AP.

Smoking and sudden cardiac death in patients with previous coronary artery disease

BACKGROUND

Smoking is a known risk for sudden cardiac death (SCD) in the general population. However, its significance in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), a condition that also elevates the risk of SCD, is disputable.

METHODS

A total of 9704 consecutive ACS patients with available smoking data were included in the analysis. Comprehensive patient data were obtained from the Mass Data in Detection and Prevention of Serious Adverse Events in Cardiovascular Disease research database. A composite endpoint of SCD, SCD aborted by successful resuscitation and accurate implantable cardioverter defibrillator therapy to otherwise potentially fatal ventricular fibrillation/ventricular tachycardia was used. Univariate, age- and sex-adjusted, and a multivariate fine-gray competing risk regression with adjustment to traditional risk factors was conducted.

RESULTS

Median follow-up time was 6.8 years (IQR, 4.1-10.2), and 454 (4.7%) SCD cases were identified. At the baseline, 23.7% ( N  = 2444) were active smokers, and 20.8% ( N  = 2146) were ex-smokers. In the multivariate model, active smokers had an elevated risk of 1.79 (95% CI, 1.41-2.27; P  < 0.001) for future SCD. Ex-smokers had no elevated risk for SCD in fine-gray subdistribution hazard. Also, active smokers were notably younger (mean age 58.7 years) than non- or ex-smokers (71.1 years and 68.9 years, respectively, P  < 0.001 for both comparisons).

CONCLUSION

Active smokers had a 79% higher risk of SCD when compared with nonsmokers. Smoking cessation should be heavily encouraged after ACS. Also, a person's smoking status should be considered in further studies developing SCD and implantable cardioverter defibrillator-benefit risk scores.

Ventricular arrhythmias and haemodynamic collapse during acute coronary syndrome: increased risk for sudden cardiac death?

AIMS

In the acute phase of acute coronary syndrome (ACS), ventricular tachycardia (VT) and/or ventricular fibrillation (VF) leading to resuscitation are not considered to be associated with increased long-term sudden cardiac death (SCD) because the cause-acute ischaemia-is believed to be reversible. The aim of this study is to investigate whether ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) leading to sudden cardiac arrest during ACS are associated with the risk of incident SCD in patients with a normal or mildly impaired left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF).

METHODS AND RESULTS

This study is based on a retrospective analysis of all 8062 consecutive ACS patients undergoing coronary angiography with the baseline LVEF ≥40% between 2007 and 2018 (follow-up until 31 December 2021). The primary outcome was SCD-equivalent life-threatening VAs (LTVAs) composed of true SCDs and SCDs aborted by successful resuscitation or appropriate implantable cardiac device (ICD) therapy. The risk of sudden LTVA was estimated with a multivariate subdistribution hazard model using other deaths as competing events. Two-hundred thirteen (n = 211, 2.6%) patients suffered acute phase VF/VT leading to resuscitation and survived to discharge, and most occurred before angiography (80.6%, n = 170) and were VF (92.9%, n = 196). During a median follow-up of 7.6 years, 3.9% (n = 316) of all the patients had LTVA (10.0% in the VF/VT group vs. 3.8% in other patients). Ventricular fibrillation/VTs during ACS are associated with an increased risk for future SCD (hazard ratio 3.07; 95% confidence interval 1.94-4.85, P < 0.001). Most LTVAs occurred in patients without ICDs.

CONCLUSION

Ventricular fibrillation/VT in ACS is associated with a remarkably high long-term risk for SCD in patients with an LVEF ≥40%.

Clinical significance of serum Helicobacter pylori antibody cytotoxin-associated gene A levels in patients with unstable angina

OBJECTIVES

We investigated the clinical significance of serum Helicobacter pylori cytotoxin-associated gene A (CagA) antibody levels in 768 patients with unstable angina (UA).

METHODS

Serum CagA levels were measured using ELISA. Demographic data, serum biomarkers, and SYNTAX scores were collected. Patients were followed up for 1 year for major adverse cardiac events (MACE).

RESULTS

CagA-positive UA patients had higher total cholesterol and hsCRP levels, and SYNTAX scores. CagA levels correlated positively with TC, hsCRP, and SYNTAX scores. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed shorter MACE-free survival in CagA-positive UA patients. CagA levels predicted MACE occurrence within 1 year, along with SYNTAX scores.

CONCLUSIONS

Serum H. pylori CagA antibody positivity is associated with worse prognosis in UA patients. CagA levels correlate with lipid metabolism and inflammatory markers.

The association between GRACE score at admission for myocardial infarction and the incidence of sudden cardiac arrests in long-term follow-up - the MADDEC study

Background. Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), often also leading to sudden cardiac death (SCD), is a common complication in coronary artery disease. Despite the effort there is a lack of applicable prediction tools to identify those at high risk. We tested the association between the validated GRACE score and the incidence of SCA after myocardial infarction. Material and methods. A retrospective analysis of 1,985 patients treated for myocardial infarction (MI) between January 1st 2015 and December 31st 2018 and followed until the 31st of December of 2021. The main exposure variable was patients' GRACE score at the point of admission and main outcome variable was incident SCA after hospitalization. Their association was analyzed by subdistribution hazard (SDH) model analysis. The secondary endpoints included SCA in patients with no indication to implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) device and incident SCD. Results. A total of 1985 patients were treated for MI. Mean GRACE score at baseline was 118.7 (SD 32.0). During a median follow-up time of 5.3 years (IQR 3.8-6.1 years) 78 SCA events and 52 SCDs occurred. In unadjusted analyses one SD increase in GRACE score associated with over 50% higher risk of SCA (SDH 1.55, 95% CI 1.29-1.85, p < 0.0001) and over 40% higher risk for SCD (1.42, 1.12-1.79, p = 0.0033). The associations between SCA and GRACE remained statistically significant even with patients without indication for ICD device (1.57, 1.30-1.90, p < 0.0001) as well as when adjusting with patients LVEF and omitting the age from the GRACE score to better represent the severity of the cardiac event. The association of GRACE and SCD turned statistically insignificant when adjusting with LVEF. Conclusions. GRACE score measured at admission for MI associates with long-term risk for SCA.

Routine beta-blocker therapy after acute coronary syndromes: The end of an era?

BACKGROUND

Beta-blocker therapy, a treatment burdened by side effects including fatigue, erectile dysfunction and depression, was shown to reduce mortality and cardiovascular events after acute coronary syndromes (ACS) in the pre-coronary reperfusion era. Potential mechanisms include protection from ventricular arrhythmias, increased ischaemia threshold and prevention of left ventricular (LV) adverse remodelling. With the advent of early mechanical reperfusion and contemporary pharmacologic secondary prevention, the benefit of beta-blockers after ACS in the absence of LV dysfunction has been challenged.

METHODS

The present narrative review discusses the contemporary evidence based on searching the PubMed database and references in identified articles.

RESULTS

Recently, the REDUCE-AMI trial-the first adequately powered randomized trial in the reperfusion era to test beta-blocker therapy after myocardial infarction with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF)-showed no benefit on the composite of all-cause death or myocardial infarction over a median 3.5-year follow-up. While the benefit of beta-blockers in patients with reduced LVEF remains undisputed, their value in post-ACS patients with mildly reduced systolic function (LVEF 41%-49%) has not been studied in contemporary randomized trials; in this setting, observational studies have suggested a reduction in cardiovascular events with these agents. The adequate duration of beta-blocker therapy remains unknown, but observational data suggests that any mortality benefit may be lost beyond 1-12 months after ACS in patients with LVEF >40%.

CONCLUSION

We believe that there is sufficient evidence to abandon routine beta-blocker prescription in post-ACS patients with preserved LV systolic function.

Predicting long-term risk of sudden cardiac death with automatic computer-interpretations of electrocardiogram

Background

Computer-interpreted electrocardiogram (CIE) data is provided by almost all commercial software used to capture and store digital electrocardiograms. CIE is widely available, inexpensive, and accurate. We tested the potential of CIE in long-term sudden cardiac death (SCD) risk prediction.

Methods

This is a retrospective of 8,568 consecutive patients treated for acute coronary syndrome. The primary endpoint was five-year occurrence of SCDs or equivalent events (SCDs aborted by successful resuscitation or adequate ICD therapy). CIE statements were extracted from summary statements and measurements made by the GE Muse 12SL algorithm from ECGs taken during admission. Three supervised machine learning algorithms (logistic regression, extreme gradient boosting, and random forest) were then used for analysis to find risk features using a random 70/30% split for discovery and validation cohorts.

Results

Five-year SCD occurrence rate was 3.3% (n = 287). Regardless of the used ML algorithm, the most significant risk ECG risk features detected by the CIE included known risk features such as QRS duration and factors associated with QRS duration, heart rate-corrected QT time (QTc), and the presence of premature ventricular contractions (PVCs). Risk score formed by using most significant CIE features associated with the risk of SCD despite adjusting for any clinical risk factor (including left ventricular ejection fraction). Sensitivity of CIE data to correctly identify patients with high risk of SCD (over 10% 5-year risk of SCD) was usually low, but specificity and negative prediction value reached up to 96.9% and 97.3% when selecting only the most significant features identified by logistic regression modeling (p-value threshold <0.01 for accepting features in the model). Overall, CIE data showed a modest overall performance for identifying high risk individuals with area under the receiver operating characteristic curve values ranging between 0.652 and 0.693 (highest for extreme gradient boosting and lowest for logistic regression).

Conclusion

This proof-of-concept study shows that automatic interpretation of ECG identifies previously validated risk features for SCD.

Impact of cardiopulmonary resuscitation duration on functional outcome, level of independence, and survival among patients with in-hospital cardiac arrests: A pilot study

BACKGROUND

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of cardiac arrest (CA), which are presented as sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) and sudden cardiac death (SCD). To assess the impact of CPR duration on the functional outcome, level of independence, and survival among patients with in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA).

MATERIAL AND METHODS

This prospective longitudinal pilot study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital in South India. Data were collected using consecutive sampling techniques from nine patients with IHCA, and outcomes were measured using the cerebral performance category (CPC) and Katz level of independence (LOI) during the immediate post-CPR, 30th day, and 90th day. Based on the principles of pilot study design, descriptive statistics was used to analyze the results. Inferential statistics analysis was not applicable based on the sample size of the pilot study.

RESULTS

Nine patients were included in this pilot study. The mean and median age of the patients were 48.11 ± 8.66 (46, IQR, 32-67 years) and 77.8% were male patients. The primary medical diagnosis was cardiology and neurology conditions among 44.4% and 22.2% of patients. The mean and median CPR duration was 12.11 ± 4.59 minutes (IQR, 8-15.50) and 44.4% achieved a return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) with a mean ROSC time of 5.56 ± 7.418. The mean CPC score in the immediate post-CPR period and 30th day was 4 ± 1.732 and 4.56 ± 1.33, with mortality of 66.7% and 33.3% survivors in the immediate post-CPR period. While the mean LOI score among the survivors during the immediate post-CPR and 30th day was zero and four. which highlights the complete dependency of patients during the immediate post-CPR with significant improvement by the 30th day and unchanged until the 90th day.

CONCLUSIONS

The overall mortality and survival were 88.8% and 11.1%, respectively, by the 90th day. The pilot study is feasible at the end of the study. However, due to the difficulty in obtaining CA, an additional tertiary hospital was included in the larger study.

Cardiac sympathetic hyperinnervation after myocardial infarction: a systematic review and qualitative analysis

BACKGROUND

Cardiac sympathetic hyperinnervation after myocardial infarction (MI) is associated with arrhythmogenesis and sudden cardiac death. The characteristics of cardiac sympathetic hyperinnervation remain underexposed.

OBJECTIVE

To provide a systematic review on cardiac sympathetic hyperinnervation after MI, taking into account: (1) definition, experimental model and quantification method and (2) location, amount and timing, in order to obtain an overview of current knowledge and to expose gaps in literature.

METHODS

References on cardiac sympathetic hyperinnervation were screened for inclusion. The included studies received a full-text review and quality appraisal. Relevant data on hyperinnervation were collected and qualitatively analysed.

RESULTS

Our literature search identified 60 eligible studies performed between 2000 and 2022. Cardiac hyperinnervation is generally defined as an increased sympathetic nerve density or increased number of nerves compared to another control group (100%). Studies were performed in a multitude of experimental models, but most commonly in male rats with permanent left anterior descending (LAD) artery ligation (male: 63%, rat: 68%, permanent ligation: 93%, LAD: 97%). Hyperinnervation seems to occur mainly in the borderzone. Quantification after MI was performed in regions of interest in µm2/mm2 (41%) or in percentage of nerve fibres (46%) and the reported amount showed a great variation ranging from 439 to 126,718 µm2/mm2. Hyperinnervation seems to start from three days onwards to >3 months without an evident peak, although studies on structural evaluation over time and in the chronic phase were scarce.

CONCLUSIONS

Cardiac sympathetic hyperinnervation after MI occurs mainly in the borderzone from three days onwards and remains present at later timepoints, for at least 3 months. It is most commonly studied in male rats with permanent LAD ligation. The amount of hyperinnervation differs greatly between studies, possibly due to differential quantification methods. Further studies are required that evaluate cardiac sympathetic hyperinnervation over time and in the chronic phase, in transmural sections, in the female sex, and in MI with reperfusion.

Coptisine, the Characteristic Constituent from Coptis chinensis, Exhibits Significant Therapeutic Potential in Treating Cancers, Metabolic and Inflammatory Diseases

Naturally derived alkaloids belong to a class of quite significant organic compounds. Coptisine, a benzyl tetrahydroisoquinoline alkaloid, is one of the major bioactive constituents in Coptis chinensis Franch., which is a famous traditional Chinese medicine. C. chinensis possesses many kinds of functions, including the ability to eliminate heat, expel dampness, purge fire, and remove noxious substances. In Asian countries, C. chinensis is traditionally employed to treat carbuncle and furuncle, diabetes, jaundice, stomach and intestinal disorders, red eyes, toothache, and skin disorders. Up to now, there has been plenty of research of coptisine with respect to its pharmacology. Nevertheless, a comprehensive review of coptisine-associated research is urgently needed. This paper was designed to summarize in detail the progress in the research of the pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, safety, and formulation of coptisine. The related studies included in this paper were retrieved from the following academic databases: The Web of Science, PubMed, Google scholar, Elsevier, and CNKI. The cutoff date was January 2023. Coptisine manifests various pharmacological actions, including anticancer, antimetabolic disease, anti-inflammatory disease, and antigastrointestinal disease effects, among others. Based on its pharmacokinetics, the primary metabolic site of coptisine is the liver. Coptisine is poorly absorbed in the gastrointestinal system, and most of it is expelled in the form of its prototype through feces. Regarding safety, coptisine displayed potential hepatotoxicity. Some novel formulations, including the [Formula: see text]-cyclodextrin-based inclusion complex and nanocarriers, could effectively enhance the bioavailability of coptisine. The traditional use of C. chinensis is closely connected with the pharmacological actions of coptisine. Although there are some disadvantages, including poor solubility, low bioavailability, and possible hepatotoxicity, coptisine is still a prospective naturally derived drug candidate, especially in the treatment of tumors as well as metabolic and inflammatory diseases. Further investigation of coptisine is necessary to facilitate the application of coptisine-based drugs in clinical practice.

From multi-omics approaches to personalized medicine in myocardial infarction

Myocardial infarction (MI) is a prevalent cardiovascular disease characterized by myocardial necrosis resulting from coronary artery ischemia and hypoxia, which can lead to severe complications such as arrhythmia, cardiac rupture, heart failure, and sudden death. Despite being a research hotspot, the etiological mechanism of MI remains unclear. The emergence and widespread use of omics technologies, including genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and other omics, have provided new opportunities for exploring the molecular mechanism of MI and identifying a large number of disease biomarkers. However, a single-omics approach has limitations in understanding the complex biological pathways of diseases. The multi-omics approach can reveal the interaction network among molecules at various levels and overcome the limitations of the single-omics approaches. This review focuses on the omics studies of MI, including genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and other omics. The exploration extended into the domain of multi-omics integrative analysis, accompanied by a compilation of diverse online resources, databases, and tools conducive to these investigations. Additionally, we discussed the role and prospects of multi-omics approaches in personalized medicine, highlighting the potential for improving diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of MI.

Type 2 diabetes and in-hospital sudden cardiac arrest in ST-elevation myocardial infarction in the US

Aims

We aimed to assess the impact of diabetes on sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) in US patients hospitalized for ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).

Methods

We used the National Inpatient Sample (2005-2017) data to identify adult patients with STEMI. The primary outcome was in-hospital SCA. Secondary outcomes included in-hospital mortality, ventricular tachycardia (VT), ventricular fibrillation (VF), cardiogenic shock (CS), acute renal failure (ARF), and the revascularization strategy in SCA patients.

Results

SCA significantly increased from 4% in 2005 to 7.6% in 2018 in diabetes patients and from 3% in 2005 to 4.6% in 2018 in non-diabetes ones (p < 0.001 for both). Further, diabetes was associated with an increased risk of SCA [aOR = 1.432 (1.336-1.707)]. In SCA patients with diabetes, the mean age (SD) decreased from 68 (13) to 66 (11) years old, and mortality decreased from 65.7% to 49.3% during the observation period (p < 0.001). Compared to non-diabetes patients, those with T2DM had a higher adjusted risk of mortality, ARF, and CS [aOR = 1.72 (1.62-1.83), 1.52 (1.43-1.63), 1.25 (1.17-1.33); respectively] but not VF or VT. Those patients were more likely to undergo revascularization with CABG [aOR = 1.197 (1.065-1.345)] but less likely to undergo PCI [aOR = 0.708 (0.664-0.754)].

Conclusion

Diabetes is associated with an increased risk of sudden cardiac arrest in ST-elevation myocardial infarction. It is also associated with a higher mortality risk in SCA patients. However, the recent temporal mortality trend in SCA patients shows a steady decline, irrespective of diabetes.