Schaff, Hartzell V.

Introduction: Aortic valve replacement approaches have shifted towards catheter-based therapies in older patients. While this strategy is appropriate in extreme risk cases, concerns regarding aortic insufficiency(AI)/paravalvular leak and stroke with catheter valves may favor use of surgical aortic valve replacement in intermediate and low risk patients. We present outcomes of intermediate risk octogenarian patients undergoing surgical aortic valve replacement enrolled in a prospective trial with robust endpoint assessment and follow-up. Methods: The St. Jude Trifecta IDE trial was a prospective approval study for a new aortic valve prosthesis. The Trifecta bioprosthesis was implanted in 210 pts over 80 years of age between 2007 and 2009 at 28 centers in the US, Canada, and Europe. Mean age was 83.5 ± 2.7 years(range 80-95) of which 103[49.0%] were female. 62[29.5%] subjects had undergone previous cardiac surgery. Concomitant CABG was performed in 103 [49.0%] patients. Results: The mean STS predicted mortality score was 4.02 +/- 2.16. Follow-up was 399.4 late patient-years. Early (≤ 30 day) mortality occurred in 3 [1.4%] patients and there were 17 late (≥ 31 days) deaths yielding a survival of 91.7% at 2 years and 87.1% at 3 years. There was no paravalvular leak, valve thrombosis, early endocarditis or hemolysis. There were 7 early neurologic events including 2 [1.0%] strokes, and 5 [2.4%] reversible neurologic events. There were 9 late thromboembolic events, including 3 strokes and 6 reversible neurologic events or transient ischemic attacks (linearized rate 2.25%/year of follow-up). Freedom from valve explant was 99.4% at 3 years. Mean gradient and effective orifice area at 3 year follow-up was 10.2 mmHg +/- 5.0 and 1.43 cm2 +/- 0.26, respectively. 88.9% of patients demonstrated none or trivial AI, 2.2% and 0% demonstrated moderate and severe AI, respectively. Conclusions: In conclusion, surgical valve replacement in elderly intermediate risk patients demonstrates superb clinical outcomes and results. Extremely low rates of stroke and aortic insufficiency in combination with excellent 3-4 year survival show a favorable profile for intermediate risk patients to undergo surgical aortic valve replacement.

Background: Treatment of progressive heart failure, due to left ventricular (LV) outflow tract obstruction has been a major component of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) disease management for 50 years. Septal myectomy has been the primary treatment option to abolish gradients and relieve heart failure symptoms. The role of myectomy in HCM management has depended on effectiveness in relieving heart failure symptoms, but also an acceptable operative risk. Methods: Over the most recent 15-year period, we reviewed 3,700 consecutive isolated myectomy operations performed at major North American HCM institutions. Composite operative mortality (first 30 days) was only 0.4%. Seventeen operative deaths were at ages 24 to 82 (≥70 years), and only 6 occurred after 2010. Notably, 2 of the 4 Mayo Clinic deaths were in patients with prior alcohol septal ablation. Septal myectomy, when performed in experienced HCM centers, was much safer when compared to operative mortality with coronary artery bypass grafting (2.3%); valve replacement (3.5%); mitral valve replacement specifically (5.7%) (STS Database), similar to atrial or ventricular septal defect closure and 15-fold less than myectomy in community hospital or low volume surgical settings. Conclusions: Surgical myectomy performed in dedicated HCM centers with experienced surgeons and staff is one of the safest open-heart procedures currently practiced, with a mortality rate as low as 0.4%. The large mortality discrepancy for myectomy between community hospitals and dedicated HCM centers underscores that this operation should be considered a specialized procedure best performed in high volume HCM institutions.

Objectives: CABG and PCI are used for revascularization of multivessel coronary artery disease (MVCAD). However, limited information is available comparing the rates of in-hospital and 30-day major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular event (early MACCE), including early death, stroke, myocardial infarction (MI), and repeat revascularization, among patients with multiple arterial CABG (MultArt) vs PCI. Methods: We reviewed 12,615 MVCAD patients with isolated primary CABG or PCI from 1993 through 2009. CABG patients (n=6,667) were grouped by number of arterial grafts into left internal mammary artery/saphenous vein (LIMA/SV) (n=5,712) or MultArt (n=955); PCI patients (n=5,948) into balloon angioplasty (BA) (n=1,020), bare metal stent (BMS) (n=3,242), and drug-eluting stent (DES) (n=1,686). Results: Early MACCE rate was significantly greater for PCI than CABG (8.5% vs 4.1% [P<.001]) and lower for MultArt than LIMA/SV or PCI (1.5% vs 4.5% and 8.5%, respectively [P<.001]). Stroke and early death rates were higher in CABG vs PCI (2.2% vs 0.4% [P<.001], and 1.5% vs 1.0% [P=0.01], respectively), whereas MI and repeat revascularization were lower (0.5% vs 6.0% and 0.3% vs 2.2%, respectively [P<.001]). Stroke and early death were similar in MultArt and PCI and lower vs LIMA/SV (0.6% and 0.4% vs 2.6%, and 0.5% and 1.0% vs 1.7%, respectively [P<.001]); MI and repeat revascularization rates were similar in MultArt and LIMA/SV and lower vs PCI (0.4% and 0.6% vs 6.0%, and 0.3% and 0.3% vs 2.3%, respectively [P<.001]). In propensity score-matched analysis, CABG had significantly improved early MACCE rate compared with BA (4.7% vs 13.2% [P<.001]), BMS (4.3% vs 8.3% [P<.001]), and DES (2.9% vs 5.5% [P=.008]), and MultArt compared with PCI (1.8% vs 7.8% [P<.001]) fig. Conclusions: In MVCAD patients undergoing isolated primary revascularization, CABG conferred lower early MACCE rate vs PCI. Early MACCE rate was markedly decreased after MultArt compared with LIMA/SV, BA, BMS, and DES.

Introduction: We compared outcome of repeat CABG (RCABG) and PCI in patients with previous CABG. Hypothesis: RCABG may improve survival versus PCI. Methods: From 1993 through 2009, 3,058 patients underwent revascularization after previous CABG. RCABG patients (n=530) were grouped by the use of arterial grafts (n=396), or saphenous vein grafts (SVG; n=134). At previous CABG, 37% of RCABG patients received IMA graft. PCI patients (n=2,528) were grouped into balloon angioplasty (BA; n=491), bare metal stent (BMS; n=1,267), and drug-eluting stent (DES; n=769). PCI patients were further stratified by the treated target into native coronary artery (n=1,637), bypass grafts (n=674), or both (n=216). Propensity score analysis matched 287 patients. Results: RCABG had increased 30-day mortality compared with PCI (HR=3.92; 95% CI, 2.25-6.84; P <.001) in multivariable analysis, while in propensity matched analysis it did not ( P =.09). Overall survival, however, was greater for RCABG compared with PCI in multivariable analysis (HR=0.70; 95% CI, 0.59-0.83; P <.001), as well as in propensity matched analysis (10-year survival rates were 52% vs 37%, respectively [ P =.005]). Compared with RCABG, PCI involving bypass grafts had increased mortality (HR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.09-1.78; P =.008), whereas PCI targeting only the native coronaries did not (HR, 1.12; 95% CI, 0.85-1.47; P =.43); BMS patients had increased mortality (HR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.06-1.68; P =.013), but DES did not (HR, 1.28; 95% CI, 0.77-2.12; P =.35). At RCABG, 318 patients (60%) received an IMA graft and late survival was similar to those receiving SVG; The use of IMA in previous CABG was associated with improved survival (HR=0.82; 95% CI, 0.72-0.92; P <.001]. Conclusions: Long-term survival after previous CABG is improved with RCABG compared to PCI, especially when PCI involves bypass grafts. There is no difference in long-term survival between RCABG using arterial grafts vs SVG only if IMA is used in either previous or RCABG.

Background: The primary cardiac manifestations of the Marfan syndrome (MFS) include aortic root dilation and mitral valve prolapse (MVP). There are only scant data describing MV disease in MFS patients who undergo aortic root replacement. Methods: We retrospectively studied 239 patients (90 female; mean age 34 y) with MFS enrolled in a prospective multicenter registry. All patients were referred for repair of aortic root aneurysms with either composite graft aortic valve replacement (AVR, n=59) or an aortic valve-sparing procedure (AVS, n=180). MVP and mitral regurgitation (MR) severity was evaluated by echocardiography preoperatively and during follow-up (postoperatively, 6 months, and 1, 2, and 3 years after surgery). The severity of MR was graded as none, trivial (0), mild (1), moderate (2), moderate to severe (3), or severe (4). Preoperative echocardiography identified MVP in 166 (69%) patients without previous MV intervention. Results: Forty-one (25%) of 166 patients with MVP received AVR, and 125 (75%) received AVS, with similar proportions of patients with preoperative MR grade >2 in the two groups ( p =0.7). Thirty-three patients (20%) underwent concomitant MV intervention: 29 repairs and 4 replacements (15 patients (45%) had MR >2, 11 (33%) had MR=2, and 7 had MR ≤1). All patients with MR >2 underwent a MV procedure. One patient following MV repair required MV replacement on postoperative day 16 after developing grade 4 MR. No other patient required MV reintervention during follow-up (mean clinical follow-up, 30±9 months). Echocardiography performed 21±13 (±1 SD) months postoperatively revealed MR >2 in only 1 of 158 patients. There were 1 early death (bleeding) and 2 late deaths (multi-organ failure and unknown cause); all deaths occurred in patients with concomitant MV surgery. Conclusions: MVP is present in 69% of patients with MFS undergoing aortic root replacement; 20% of patients with MVP underwent a concomitant MV procedure. Short-term results suggest that a simultaneous MV procedure in patients with MR >2 is reasonable because operative risk was not increased and subsequent MV procedures were rare. More follow-up is needed to learn if prophylactic MV intervention at the time of aortic surgery might benefit patients with MR ≤2.

Early after correction of mitral valve (MV) regurgitation, systolic function of the left ventricle (LV) declines, but the underlying mechanisms of this phenomenon are unknown. Most studies in this area have analyzed LV function at one week postoperatively or later. In a retrospective study from our Clinic, Enriquez-Sarano et al. reported a decline in LV ejection fraction (EF) from 62% to 52% ( P <0.001) in 217 patients with organic mitral regurgitation who were studied within the first year after MV replacement or repair. This decline was due to decreased left ventricular end-diastolic dimension (LVEDD) and minimal change in left ventricular end-systolic dimension (LVESD). Surgical investigators have compared the outcomes for different techniques of MV replacement and studies indicate that decline in EF may be mitigated by chordal preservation. It has been suggested that early postoperative measurements of cardiac geometry and function are confounded by the effects of global ischemia, reperfusion, and myocardial protection. Indeed, some clinicians have suggested that reduced EF early after MV repair results from myocardial dysfunction that, in turn, is related to poor myocardial protection. In addition, cardiac loading conditions change dramatically early after operation. We speculated that a postoperative decline in LV systolic indexes (eg, EF, FAC, and FS) may be interpreted as a volumetric adjustment of the heart to the correction of mitral regurgitation rather than as postoperative LV dysfunction due to impaired myocardial contractility, and clinical studies support this hypothesis. Soon after MV repair, the LV remodels gradually. Very early after correction of mitral regurgitation, the LVESD increases, preventing an acute increase in forward stroke volume. Within the next few postoperative days, the LVEDD begins to decrease and the LVESD changes accordingly to maintain a normal forward stroke volume; the remodeling occurs when neurohumoral mechanisms of the body adapt to the new hemodynamic milieu. This progression of remodeling may explain why some investigators have observed unchanged LV systolic and decreased diastolic size on the first postoperative echocardiogram about a week after MV repair.

Objectives. The use of the left internal mammary artery (IMA) in revascularization of multivessel coronary artery disease has been shown to improve survival following coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG), however the incremental survival benefit of multiple arterial grafts is still debated. Methods. We reviewed outcome of 8,622 pt that had isolated primary CABG for multivessel disease from 1993 to 2009.Pt were stratified according to the number of arterial grafts; (1) single IMA plus saphenous vein (SV) IMA/SV group (n=7,435; 83% 3VD) and (2) multiple arterial (MultArt) group (n=1,187; 74% 3VD) Results. Early mortality rate was 0.8% (n=10) in the MultArt group and 2.1% (n=154) in the IMA/SV group (P=0.004). However, the difference was not statistically significant (P=0.996) after adjusting for age, gender, chronic lung disease, renal failure, PVD, MI, EF, and number of diseased vessels. Late survival was significantly greater for the MultArt group compared to IMA/SV group (5-, 10- and 15-year survival rates were 95%, 84% and 71% versus 85%, 61% and 35% p<0.001). MultArt subgroups with the use of bilateral internal mammary artery (BIMA)/SV (n=589) and BIMA only (n=271), had significantly improved 15-years survival (97%, 86%, 76% and 94%, 82%, 75% at 5-, 10- and 15-years, p<0.001), and BIMA/RA (n=147) and LIMA/RA (n=169), had significantly greater 10-years survival (95%, 84% and 93%, 78% at 5- and 10-years, p<0.001) compared to IMA/SV group. In multivariate analysis, use of multiple arterial grafts remained a strong independent predictor of survival (HR=0.78, 95% CI 0.66 - 0.93, p=0.006). Conclusion. Use of the right IMA or radial artery in addition to the left IMA is associated with significantly better overall and late survival compared with single IMA and saphenous vein in patients with two and three-vessel disease undergoing isolated CABG.

Abstract OBJECTIVES Acute type A aortic dissection (ATAAD) remains a highly life-threatening condition. This study investigates factors associated with fatal ATAAD prior to surgical treatment. METHODS We reviewed autopsy reports of ATAAD decedents who died before surgical intervention and underwent postmortem examination at our clinic from 1994 to 2022. RESULTS Among 94 eligible cases, 50 (53.2%) decedents had DeBakey type I dissection, and 44 (46.8%) had DeBakey type II dissection. Most were males, 63 (67%), and 72 (77%) had a history of hypertension. The median age was 70.5 years, and the type II group was a decade older than the type I group (P &lt; 0.001). Decedents in the type II group predominantly died during the first hour after symptoms onset 16 (52%), while in the type I group, fatalities occurred between 1 h and 1 day, 27 (66%). The most common site of the intimal tear was the midportion of the ascending aorta, 45 (48%). The median ascending aorta size was 5 cm for the entire cohort, 5.2 cm for type I and 4.6 cm for type II (P &lt; 0.045). CONCLUSIONS In this autopsy study of fatal acute aortic dissection, the median aortic size was below the current guideline threshold for elective repair. Type II acute aortic dissections were found more frequently than expected and were characterized by older age, advanced aortic atherosclerosis, smaller aortic size, a shorter interval from symptom onset to death and a higher frequency of syncope compared to type I dissection.

Introduction: The performance of automated left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) assessment in patients with altered cardiac chamber geometry, such as those with obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), is not well described. Aims: Accurate assessment of LVEF is required for dose titration and continuation of myosin inhibitors in obstructive HCM. From the VALOR-HCM trial (NCT04349072), the agreement of two commercially available software packages was compared with blinded core lab assessment of LVEF. Methods: From baseline and week 16, among 112 patients randomized to either mavacamten or placebo, 178 echocardiograms were analyzed. Representative clips were manually selected, and automated LVEFs were calculated. Comparisons of LVEFs were made using Pearson’s correlation coefficients and Bland-Altman analysis. Results: With core lab assessment, the overall median LVEF was 68% (Q1 66%, Q3 70%). The correlation with vendor 1 was moderate (r = 0.47, 95% CI 0.35-0.58, p <0.001) and weak with vendor 2 (r =0.21, 95% CI 0.07-0.35, p =0.004). Correlation was also weak between vendor 1 and 2 (r = 0.14, 95% CI 0.00-0.28, p = 0.06). Vendors 1 and 2 had an underestimation bias of LVEF of 8% (95% CI 6-9%) and 8% (95% CI 7-9%), respectively, compared to core lab LVEF (Figure 1). Conclusions: In VALOR-HCM, the concordance of LVEF between different commercially available software packages with each other and with a core lab assessment was limited. Further study is needed to evaluate and improve the performance of automated LVEF tools in obstructive HCM patients who have altered cardiac chamber geometry.