Whether malnutrition during the early phase of recovery from acute myocardial infarction (AMI) could be a predictor of mortality or morbidity has not been ascertained. We examined 289 AMI patients. All-cause mortality and composite endpoints (all-cause mortality, nonfatal stroke, nonfatal acute coronary syndrome, and hospitalization for acute decompensated heart failure) during the follow-up duration (median 39 months) were evaluated. There were 108 (37.8%) malnourished patients with GNRIs of less than 98 on arrival; however, malnourished patients significantly decreased to 91 (31.4%) during the convalescence period (p < 0.01). The incidence rates of mortality and primary composite endpoints were significantly higher in the malnourished group than in the well-nourished group both on arrival and during the convalescence period (All p < 0.05). Nutrition guidance significantly improved GNRI in a group of patients who were undernourished (94.7 vs. 91.0, p < 0.01). Malnourished patients on admission who received nutritional guidance showed similar all-cause mortality with well-nourished patients, whereas malnourished patients without receiving nutritional guidance demonstrated significantly worse compared to the others (p = 0.03). The assessment of GNRI during the convalescence period is a useful risk predictor for patients with AMI. Nutritional guidance may improve the prognoses of patients with poor nutritional status.

Background and aims: Successful left atrial posterior wall isolation (LAPWI) using only the cryoballoon (CB) is technically challenging for the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF). This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the cross‐over technique, wherein an overlapped ablation is performed by placing the CB from both directions in contact with the LAPW.Methods: This was a single‐center, retrospective, observational study of 194 consecutive patients with persistent atrial fibrillation (PerAF) who underwent a first‐time procedure of pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) + PWI (108 patients) or PVI‐only (86 patients) using the CB. The cross‐over technique was applied in all LAPWI.Results: For ablation of the LA roof and bottom, respectively, a mean of 8.6 ± 1.0 (right to left [R→L] 4.3 ± 1.1 and left to right [L→R] 4.3 ± 1.1) and 9.1 ± 1.2 (R→L 4.6 ± 1.6 and L→R 4.5 ± 1.2) CB applications were delivered. LAPW was successfully isolated solely using the CB in 99.1% of patients. Although the PVI + PWI group had significantly longer procedure time, no severe adverse events were observed in either group. During a median follow‐up of 19 months, freedom from recurrence of all atrial tachyarrhythmias was achieved in 93.5% of the PVI + PWI group and 72.9% of the PVI‐only group (p = .011).Conclusions: LAPWI performed solely with the CB using the cross‐over technique is feasibly, safe, and was independently associated with a significantly higher freedom from recurrence of atrial tachyarrhythmias compared with PVI alone in patients with PerAF.

A 48‐year‐old male with a history of hyperlipidemia presented to the emergency department with chest pain. Electrocardiographic abnormalities indicated an acute coronary syndrome. Urgent coronary angiography revealed nondominant right coronary artery (RCA) occlusion. During primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), a 0.014‐inch floppy guidewire could not be easily advanced into the middle RCA due to poor backup support from the guiding catheter and the patient’s breathing. The pressure was monitored several times after reinserting the guiding catheter. Nevertheless, the guidewire was inadvertently inserted into the false lumen from the ostium, leading to subsequent dissection during contrast injection. Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) imaging confirmed dissection from the ostium to the middle RCA and passage of the guidewire into the false lumen. An additional guidewire was successfully inserted into the true lumen of the RCA using real‐time IVUS‐guided wiring. We demonstrated successful bailout stenting for catheter‐induced dissection of the nondominant small RCA. Our case highlights the risk of coronary artery dissection associated with guiding catheter use, especially in a nondominant small RCA, and the importance of optimal guiding catheter selection for primary PCI. The real‐time IVUS‐guided wiring technique can be applied to a single 6‐Fr guiding catheter and is useful for quickly inserting a guidewire into the true lumen.

A 72-year-old man presented with acute left lower limb weakness and pain. Acute arterial occlusion was diagnosed, and thrombectomy pathology revealed fibrin-associated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (FA-DLBCL). No primary lesion was detected on positron emission tomography-computed tomography. However, during radiotherapy for hypopharyngeal cancer, he developed pneumonia and died. Autopsy revealed FA-DLBCL within a mural thrombus distal to an aortic stent graft. A pathological evaluation should be considered in acute limb ischemia with atypical thrombi. FA-DLBCL should be recognized as a potential cause when embolism from mural thrombus is suspected.