Aims : Severe mitral regurgitation (MR) following acute myocardial infarction (MI) is associated with high mortality rates and has inconclusive recommendations in clinical guidelines. We aimed to report the international experience of patients with secondary MR following acute MI and compare the outcomes of those treated conservatively, surgically, and percutaneously. Methods and results : Retrospective international registry of consecutive patients with at least moderate-to-severe MR following MI treated in 21 centres in North America, Europe, and the Middle East. The registry included patients treated conservatively and those having surgical mitral valve repair or replacement (SMVR) or percutaneous mitral valve repair (PMVR) using edge-to-edge repair. The primary endpoint was in-hospital mortality. A total of 471 patients were included (43% female, age 73 ± 11 years): 205 underwent interventions, of whom 106 were SMVR and 99 PMVR. Patients who underwent mitral valve intervention were in a worse clinical state (Killip class ≥3 in 60% vs. 43%, P < 0.01), but yet had lower in-hospital and 1-year mortality compared with those treated conservatively [11% vs. 27%, P < 0.01 and 16% vs. 35%, P < 0.01; adjusted hazard ratio (HR) 0.28, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.18–0.46, P < 0.01]. Surgical mitral valve repair or replacement was performed earlier than PMVR [median of 12 days from MI date (interquartile range 5–19) vs. 19 days (10–40), P < 0.01]. The immediate procedural success did not differ between SMVR and PMVR (92% vs. 93%, P = 0.53). However, in-hospital and 1-year mortality rates were significantly higher in SMVR than in PMVR (16% vs. 6%, P = 0.03 and 31% vs. 17%, P = 0.04; adjusted HR 3.75, 95% CI 1.55–9.07, P < 0.01). Conclusions : Early intervention may mitigate the poor prognosis associated with conservative therapy in patients with post-MI MR. Percutaneous mitral valve repair can serve as an alternative for surgery in reducing MR for high-risk patients.

Myocarditis and pericarditis are potential post-acute cardiac sequelae of COVID-19 infection, arising from adaptive immune responses. We aimed to study the incidence of post-acute COVID-19 myocarditis and pericarditis. Retrospective cohort study of 196,992 adults after COVID-19 infection in Clalit Health Services members in Israel between March 2020 and January 2021. Inpatient myocarditis and pericarditis diagnoses were retrieved from day 10 after positive PCR. Follow-up was censored on 28 February 2021, with minimum observation of 18 days. The control cohort of 590,976 adults with at least one negative PCR and no positive PCR were age- and sex-matched. Since the Israeli vaccination program was initiated on 20 December 2020, the time-period matching of the control cohort was calculated backward from 15 December 2020. Nine post-COVID-19 patients developed myocarditis (0.0046%), and eleven patients were diagnosed with pericarditis (0.0056%). In the control cohort, 27 patients had myocarditis (0.0046%) and 52 had pericarditis (0.0088%). Age (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 0.96, 95% confidence interval [CI]; 0.93 to 1.00) and male sex (aHR 4.42; 95% CI, 1.64 to 11.96) were associated with myocarditis. Male sex (aHR 1.93; 95% CI 1.09 to 3.41) and peripheral vascular disease (aHR 4.20; 95% CI 1.50 to 11.72) were associated with pericarditis. Post COVID-19 infection was not associated with either myocarditis (aHR 1.08; 95% CI 0.45 to 2.56) or pericarditis (aHR 0.53; 95% CI 0.25 to 1.13). We did not observe an increased incidence of neither pericarditis nor myocarditis in adult patients recovering from COVID-19 infection.

Background: Little is known about the impact of transcatheter mitral valve edge‐to‐edge repair on changes in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and the effect of an acute reduction in LVEF on prognosis. We aimed to assess changes in LVEF after transcatheter mitral valve edge‐to‐edge repair for both primary and secondary mitral regurgitation (PMR and SMR, respectively), identify rates and predictors of LVEF reduction, and estimate its impact on prognosis. Methods and Results: In this international multicenter registry, patients with both PMR and SMR undergoing transcatheter mitral valve edge‐to‐edge repair were included. We assessed rates of acute LVEF reduction (LVEFR), defined as an acute relative decrease of >15% in LVEF, its impact on all‐cause mortality, major adverse cardiac event (composite end point of all‐cause death, mitral valve surgery, and residual mitral regurgitation grade ≥2), and LVEF at 12 months, as well as predictors for LVEFR. Of 2534 patients included (727 with PMR, and 1807 with SMR), 469 (18.5%) developed LVEFR. Patients with PMR were older (79.0±9.2 versus 71.8±8.9 years; P <0.001) and had higher mean LVEF (54.8±14.0% versus 32.7±10.4%; P <0.001) at baseline. After 6 to 12 months (median, 9.9 months; interquartile range, 7.8–11.9 months), LVEF was significantly lower in patients with PMR (53.0% versus 56.0%; P <0.001) but not in patients with SMR. The 1‐year mortality was higher in patients with PMR with LVEFR (16.9% versus 9.7%; P <0.001) but not in those with SMR ( P =0.236). LVEF at baseline (odds ratio, 1.03 [95% CI, 1.01–1.05]; P =0.002) was predictive of LVEFR for patients with PMR, but not those with SMR ( P =0.092). Conclusions: Reduction in LVEF is not uncommon after transcatheter mitral valve edge‐to‐edge repair and is correlated with worsened prognosis in patients with PMR but not patients with SMR. Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov ; Unique identifier: NCT05311163.

Aims: Acute mitral regurgitation (MR) in the setting of myocardial infarction (MI) may be the result of papillary muscle rupture (PMR). This condition is associated with high morbidity and mortality. We aim to evaluate the feasibility of transcatheter edge-to-edge mitral valve repair (TEER) in this acute setting. Methods and results: We analysed data from the International Registry of MitraClip in Acute Mitral Regurgitation following acute Myocardial Infarction (IREMMI) of 30 centres in Europe, North America, and the middle east. We included patients with post-MI PMR treated with TEER as a salvage procedure, and we evaluated immediate and 30-day outcomes. Twenty-three patients were included in this analysis (9 patients suffered complete papillary muscle rupture, 9 partial and 5 chordal rupture). The patients’ mean age was 68 ± 14 years. Patients were at high surgical risk with median EuroSCORE II 27% (IQR 16, 28) and 20 out of 23 (87% were in cardiogenic shock). All patients were treated with vasopressors, and 17 out of 23 patients required mechanical support. TEER procedure was performed on the median 6 days after the index MI date IQR (3, 11). Procedural success was achieved in 87% of patients. The grade of MR was significantly decreased after the procedure. MR reduction to 0 or 1 + was achieved in 13 patients (57%), to 2 + in 7 patients (30%), P < 0.01. V-Wave was reduced from 49 ± 8 mmHg to 26 ± 10 mmHg post-procedure, P < 0.01. Sixteen out of 23 patients (70%) were discharged from hospital and 5 of them required reintervention with surgical mitral valve replacement. No additional death at 1 year was documented. Conclusions: TEER is a feasible therapy in critically ill patients with PMR due to a recent MI. TEER may have a role as salvage treatment or bridge to surgery in this population.

Background: Coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD), which mimics symptoms of obstructive coronary artery disease, has significant prognostic implications. While epicardial adipose tissue normally has a protective role, increased epicardial adipose tissue is associated with inflammation and may contribute to CMD. However, a direct correlation remains unclear. We aimed to investigate this association. Methods and Results: The CMDR (Coronary Microvascular Disease Registry) is a prospective, 2‐center registry that is enrolling patients with angina and nonobstructive coronary artery disease who underwent invasive hemodynamic assessment of the coronary microvasculature. Patients with chest computed tomography within 1 year of CMD evaluation were included. We measured epicardial fat volume (EFV) and calculated the EFV index. Logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the association between EFV and EFV index to CMD. Our study included 130 CMDR patients with associated chest CT; 35 were diagnosed with CMD. The CMD‐negative patients were younger than the CMD‐positive patients (58.52±11.97 versus 63.37±9.56 years; P =0.033), with numerically fewer women (64.2% versus 74.3%; P =0.279). Univariate regression analysis demonstrated a statistically significant association between EFV index and CMD diagnosis (odds ratio, 1.037 [95% CI, 1.014–1.063]; P =0.003), while no significance was observed for EFV (odds ratio, 1.006 [95% CI, 0.995–1.017]; P =0.292). Conclusions: Our results suggest a strong association between EFV index (a significant risk factor) and the presence of CMD. Future studies involving larger cohorts are needed to confirm the association of epicardial adipose tissue with CMD and investigate therapeutic targets to prevent CMD. Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov ; unique identifier: NCT05960474.

Patients with severe mitral regurgitation (MR) after myocardial infarction (MI) have an increased risk of mortality. Transcatheter mitral valve repair may therefore be a suitable therapy. However, data on clinical outcomes of patients in an acute setting are scarce, especially those with reduced left ventricle (LV) dysfunction. We conducted a multinational, collaborative data analysis from 21 centers for patients who were, within 90 days of acute MI, treated with MitraClip due to severe MR. The cohort was divided according to median left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF)—35%. Included in the study were 105 patients. The mean age was 71 ± 10 years. Patients in the LVEF < 35% group were younger but with comparable Euroscore II, multivessel coronary artery disease, prior MI and coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Procedure time was comparable and acute success rate was high in both groups (94% vs. 90%, p = 0.728). MR grade was significantly reduced in both groups along with an immediate reduction in left atrial V-wave, pulmonary artery pressure and improvement in New York Heart Association (NYHA) class. In-hospital and 1-year mortality rates were not significantly different between the two groups (11% vs. 7%, p = 0.51 and 19% vs. 12%, p = 0.49) and neither was the 3-month re-hospitalization rate. In conclusion, MitraClip intervention in patients with acute severe functional mitral regurgitation (FMR) due to a recent MI in an acute setting is safe and feasible. Even patients with severe LV dysfunction may benefit from transcatheter mitral valve intervention and should not be excluded.