P77 SIEMENS ARTIS VD11 ANGIOGRAPH‘S POTENTIAL WITH THE CLEARSTENT PROTOCOL IN PERFORMING PERCUTANEOUS CORONARY ANGIOPLASTY: FIRST EXPERIENCES

Objectives

The use of the CLEARstent image functions allows you to highlight fine structures, for example the expansion of a stent. Composite images are created by averaging several frames of a scene and considering the alignment of the markers of a stent. If an ECG signal is available, the cardiac phase is also considered. Using the CLEARstent function allows you to create special reference images from any scene or natively acquired fluoroscopic scene. The goal of CLEARstent images is to optimize the procedural result of mechanical cardiac revascularization and to improve the outcomes of treated patients.

Methods

The use of the Siemens Artis VD11 angiograph requires specific technical and medical knowledge and skills regarding, at least, radiation protection, safety procedures and patient safety. The people who work with the system, who use it and who move it must have acquired this knowledge and skills in their working life The application training was provided to the medical–technical–nursing staff of the Hemodynamics Unit of the “San Luca” PO of Vallo della Lucania “by qualified Siemens personnel. The application training offered by Siemens is binding before any use of the system

Results

701 coronary angiography procedures and 118 urgent revascularizations were performed at our Hemodynamics Unit in the period from 11/27–2020 to 12/21–2021, period of use of the aforementioned angiograph, 701 coronary angiography procedures and 118 revascularizations in an emergency pattern ( STEMI–NSTEMI at high risk). In all mechanical myocardial revascularization procedures, the opening and optimal positioning of the coronary stents were verified with the CLEARstent system. There was no periprocedural complication.

Conclusions

The CLEARstent system allows to highlight fine structures, for example hypo–expanded stents, creating special reference images from any negatively acquired fluoroscopic scene, consequently allowing optimal positioning and opening of a coronary stent. Therefore, it is inserted together with intracoronary imaging techniques (IVUS, OCT) as a further aid to guide percutaneous interventions in order to optimize the acute procedural outcome of PCI and to improve the clinical outcomes of treated patients.

P60 COVID–19 (YEAR 2021) AND ACUTE MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION‘ TIME–DEPENDENT NETWORK: HUB–HEMODYNAMIC UNIT‘S EXPERIENCES

Objectives

The sudden SARS–CoV–2 emergency, has so far led to over 283 million infections and more than 5 million deaths globally, has put a strain on countries around the world. The result was a difficulty in accessing care both on an outpatient basis which resulted, in regione Campania, in a reduction in hospitalizations for ACS in the period Mar–Jun 2020 (1183) compared to the same period in 2019 (1862) (Agenas data ). The trend was inevitably reversed in the year 2021, with the new availability of access to treatment, due to both the reduction of restrictions and the vaccination coverage of the population, with a marked increase in hospitalizations for ACS as well as in the Hospital “ San Luca ”of Vallo della Lucania (Sa).

Methods

Cardiovascular diseases in 2021 are the leading cause of death in the world with 18.5 million lives lost a year and the leading cause also in Italy for both men (31.7%) and women (37.7%) ) with 230 thousand deaths certified by Istat, after 18 months of pandemic denounce a real war bulletin … The provincial cardiology network plays a fundamental role in the timeliness of the transfer to Hub centers such as the PO San Luca in the management of acute coronary syndromes.

Results

704 coronary angiography procedures and 118 emergency revascularizations (STEMI–NSTEMI at high risk Grace risk score> 140). Periprocedural complications were recorded around 0.5% (35) in line with the literature‘s data, all manageable and related to the femoral or radial puncture access.

Conclusions

In the year 2021, due to the reduction of restrictions and the marked increase in vaccination coverage, there was an increase in the number of hospitalizations for ACS and consequently in the mechanical myocardial revascularizations performed in Emergency (Stemi and Nstemi at high risk with Grace Risk Score> 140) probably linked to the lack of clinical–instrumental follow–up on an outpatient basis and day–hospital admissions in the year 2020 due to Covid–19 restrictions. At the Hemodynamics of the “San Luca” hospital (medium–volume center about 700 procedures / year), 118 emergency revascularisations were performed at 30.12.2021, compared to 82 in the same period of the year 2020.

[Therapy with nitro derivatives and the development of tolerance: a comparative study with stress ECG and dipyridamole ECG]

The ECG stress test represents the most commonly-used technique to evaluate the occurrence of nitroglycerin tolerance. It acts by increasing cardiac O2 demand with resulting insufficient blood flow through a stenotic coronary artery and development of cardiac ischemia. However, other tests are also potentially suitable, such as the ECG-dipyridamole test. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the acute response of ECG-dipyridamole and ECG-stress tests to nitroglycerin. In particular, the development of nitroglycerin tolerance during chronic therapy was evaluated with both tests in patients with stable angina. Eleven patients (8 men and 3 women) with CAD proven by a previous coronarography, a known history of stable angina within at least six months and a positive response to both the tests were studied. At the end of a seven-day wash-out period, all patients were positive to initial ECG-stress and ECG-dipyridamole tests; after 3 days a new evaluation was carried out (Effort 0 and Dip 0) and this confirmed the previous results. We performed a randomized trial in two phases: acute and chronic therapy. In the acute phase, all patients underwent ECG-stress and ECG-dipyridamole tests (Effort 1 and Dip 1) in a randomized fashion one day apart, four hours after administration of a 10 mg/24 h nitroglycerin patch. The chronic phase consisted of 25 days of continuous treatment with a nitroglycerin patch. The two tests (Effort 2 and Dip 2) were always repeated after four hours of the morning therapy. Nitroglycerin does not modify the hemodynamic response to dipirydamole in either acute or chronic treatment. Lastly, our data confirm the efficacy of nitroglycerin on stress and dipyridamole tests after acute administration. Nitroglycerin tolerance is confirmed by both tests although with different patterns. ECG stress test showed nitroglycerin tolerance because time to ischemia and max ST deteriorated during chronic therapy. Moreover, the ECG-dipyridamole test showed nitroglycerin tolerance because five patients with a negative acute test (Dip 1) became positive during chronic therapy (Dip 2).

[Early detection of heart involvement using serial cardiologic controls in the follow-up of patients with AIDS]

New effective therapies have been producing longer survival times for HIV-patients. Thus non-infectious complications of late stage of HIV infection (such as the development of left ventricular dysfunction) have emerged; in fact cardiac involvement has been identified frequently at autopsy and is described in 80% of patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) as an evidence of the virus cardiotrophism, while clinical findings of left ventricular dysfunction were only detected in about 15% of the patients. It is possible that the development of heart failure had been underestimated in those years; in fact signs and symptoms of cardiac involvement had been often misinterpreted as the results of non cardiac causes (pulmonary failure or infections) also determining a delay in the beginning of cardiac therapy. The aim of this study was to follow 16 human immunodeficiency-virus positive patients during a 3-year period to evaluate the usefulness of early detection of heart failure in order to start a specific therapy as soon as possible. The follow-up consisted of a clinical and electrocardiographic control every 4 months. Echocardiography was carried out when involvement of the cardiac muscle was suspected. During the follow-up we could reveal an early involvement in 5/16 patients (31.2%) and in 2 of them (40%) early therapy caused clinical and echocardiographic regression of left ventricular dysfunction. The present study demonstrates that periodical clinical and echocardiographic controls are useful in patients with HIV infection.

[Cardiac performance during insulin clamp: its evaluation by bioimpedance measurement]

Ten patients with dilated cardiomyopathy, 7 ischemic heart disease and 3 idiopathic (7 males and 3 females, mean age 54.8 +/- 11 years), were studied. An insulin euglycemic clamp was performed to evaluate the influence of insulin infusion on cardiac performance. All the subjects were in NYHA functional class II-III and had an ejection fraction < 60% at a previous echocardiographic examination. They were submitted to a noninvasive continuous cardiac output monitoring by variations of thoracic impedance at three stops: a basal evaluation (T0); 1.2 mU/kg/min insulin infusion (T1); 5 mU/kg/min insulin infusion (T2). Moreover at the same times Na+, K+, hematocrit (Hct) and catecholamines were measured in the plasma. The total time required for the study was about 4 hours. Cardiac performance improved as shown by a significant increase in T1 and T2 with respect to the basal condition (T0), of ejection fraction: 57.87 +/- 11.3% (T1) vs 52.25 +/- 14.1% (T0; p < 0.01); 59.5 +/- 10.7% (T2) vs 52.25 +/- 14.1% (T0; p < 0.005); stroke volume: 2.61 +/- 0.5 l/min/m2 (T1) vs 2.01 +/- 0.75 l/min/m2 (T0; p < 0.001); 3.35 +/- 0.66 l/min/m2 (T2) vs 2.01 +/- 0.75 l/min/m2 (T0; p < 0.001) and cardiac output: 41.14 +/- 9.1 ml/m2 (T1) vs 38.83 +/- 7.1 ml/m2 (T0; p < 0.01); 46.45 +/- 8.56 ml/m2 (T2) vs 38.83 +/- 7.1 ml/m2 (T0; p < 0.001). This improvement in cardiac function was not due to an increase in preload because end diastolic volume, Hct, Na+ did not differ through the study. Similarly, afterload measured as mean blood pressure did not decrease. Cardiac function improvement was obtained in the presence of increased catecholamines. In conclusion, exogenous insulin infusion was able, in the presence of euglycemic condition, to improve cardiac performance. This improvement could be due to a direct inotropic effect of insulin perhaps mediated by its metabolic properties on cardiac muscular cells and/or by increasing the cellular intake of Ca+2.