Materials and methods: A prevalence-based, bottom-up cost analysis study was conducted in three tertiary hospitals in Malaysia. Chronic HF patients who received treatment between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2018 were included in the study. The direct cost of HF was estimated from the patients' healthcare resource utilisation throughout a one-year follow-up period extracted from patients' medical records. The total costs consisted of outpatient, hospitalisation, medications, laboratory tests and procedure costs, categorised according to ejection fraction (EF) and the New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional classification.
Results: A total of 329 patients were included in the study. The mean ± standard deviation of total cost per HF patient per-year (PPPY) was USD 1,971 ± USD 1,255, of which inpatient cost accounted for 74.7% of the total cost. Medication costs (42.0%) and procedure cost (40.8%) contributed to the largest proportion of outpatient and inpatient costs. HF patients with preserved EF had the highest mean total cost of PPPY, at USD 2,410 ± USD 1,226. The mean cost PPPY of NYHA class II was USD 2,044 ± USD 1,528, the highest among all the functional classes. Patients with underlying coronary artery disease had the highest mean total cost, at USD 2,438 ± USD 1,456, compared to other comorbidities. HF patients receiving angiotensin-receptor neprilysin-inhibitor (ARNi) had significantly higher total cost of HF PPPY in comparison to patients without ARNi consumption (USD 2,439 vs. USD 1,933, p < 0.001). Hospitalisation, percutaneous coronary intervention, coronary angiogram, and comorbidities were the cost predictors of HF.
Conclusion: Inpatient cost was the main driver of healthcare cost for HF. Efficient strategies for preventing HF-related hospitalisation and improving HF management may potentially reduce the healthcare cost for HF treatment in Malaysia.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective analysis of 82 patients, contributing 88 vessels, who underwent successful DCB-only treatment for de novo CTO lesions. Follow-up angiography was performed in all cases, at a mean 208.5 (interquartile range [IQR]: 174.8 to 337.5) days after the index procedure.
RESULTS: CAA was identified in seven vessels, in seven patients, at the site of previous successful DCB-only treatment. Of these, six were fusiform in shape and one saccular, with a mean diameter of 4.2 ± 1.0 mm and length of 6.7 ± 2.6 mm. Six CAAs developed at the CTO inlet site, and all CAAs occurred at the lesions following dissection immediately after DCB treatment. CAAs were not associated with an increased risk of major clinical events over the median follow-up of 676.5 (IQR: 393.8 to 1,304.8) days.
CONCLUSION: The incidence of CAA after DCB-only treatment for CTO lesions was 8.0% in this study. Further research is warranted, using intravascular imaging, to clarify the mechanism of DCB-related CAA formation and prognosis.
METHODS: Patients with symptomatic AF and moderate to severe MR who underwent catheter ablation from 2011 to 2021 were retrospectively included in the study. Patients' baseline characteristics and electrophysiological features were examined. These patients were classified as group 1 with improved MR and group 2 with refractory MR after CA.
RESULTS: Fifty patients (age 60.2 ± 11.6 years, 29 males) were included in the study (32 in group 1 and 18 in group 2). Group 1 patients had a lower CHA2DS2-VASc score (1.7 ± 1.5 vs. 2.7 ± 1.5, P = 0.005) and had a lower incidence of hypertension (28.1% vs. 66.7%, P = 0.007) and diabetes mellitus (3.1% vs. 22.2%, P = 0.031) as compared to group 2 patients. Electroanatomic three-dimensional (3D) mapping showed that group 1 patients demonstrated less scars on the posterior bottom of the left atrium compared to group 2 patients (12.5% vs. 66.7%, P
METHOD: Patient baseline characteristics and electrophysiological parameters were examined to identify the predictors of atrial fibrillation recurrence following catheter ablation. The clinical outcomes of catheter ablation and medical therapy were compared using the propensity score matched method.
RESULTS: A total of 343 patients were enrolled, with 46 in the catheter ablation group and 297 in the medical therapy group. Among the catheter ablation group, 58.7% (n = 27) had persistent atrial fibrillation. The recurrence rate of atrial arrhythmia was 30.4% (n = 14) after an average follow-up duration of 7.7 years following catheter ablation. The only predictive factor for atrial fibrillation recurrence after catheter ablation was the left atrial diameter. When compared to medical therapy, catheter ablation demonstrated significantly better outcomes in terms of overall survival, freedom from heart failure hospitalization, improvement in left ventricular ejection fraction, and a greater reduction in left ventricular diameter and left atrial diameter after propensity score matching.
CONCLUSIONS: Therefore, catheter ablation proves to be effective in providing long-term control of atrial fibrillation in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy. In addition to standard heart failure care, catheter ablation significantly enhanced both morbidity and mortality outcomes and reversed structural remodeling when compared to heart failure medication alone.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The Ukrainian Multicentre Cardiogenic Shock Registry was analyzed, covering patient data from 2021 to 2022 in 6 major Ukrainian reperfusion centres from different parts of the country. Analysis was focusing on outcomes, therapeutic modalities and mortality predictors in AMI-CS patients.
RESULTS: We analyzed data from 221 consecutive patients with CS from 6 hospitals across Ukraine. The causes of CS were ST-elevated myocardial infarction (85.1%), non-ST-elevated myocardial infarction (5.9%), decompensated chronic heart failure (7.7%) and arrhythmia (1.3%), with a total in-hospital mortality rate for CS of 57.1%. The prevalence of CS was 6.3% of all AMI with reperfusion rate of 90.5% for AMI-CS. In 23.5% of cases, CS developed in the hospital after admission. Mechanical circulatory support (MCS) utilization was 19.9% using intra-aortic balloon pump alone. Left main stem occlusion, reperfusion deterioration, Charlson Comorbidity Index >4, and cardiac arrest were found to be independent predictors for hospital mortality in AMI-СS.
CONCLUSIONS: Despite the wide adoption of primary percutaneous coronary intervention as the main reperfusion strategy for AMI, СS remains a significant problem in LLMICs, associated with high in-hospital mortality. There is an unmet need for the development and implementation of a nationwide protocol for CS management and the creation of reference CS centers based on the country-wide reperfusion network, equipped with modern technologies for MCS.