The Official Journal of EuroPCR and the European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions (EAPCI)

Recent studies have reported that patients with end-stage heart disease can have cognitive deficits ranging from mild to severe. Little is known, however, about the relationship between cognitive performance, neurophysiological characteristics and relevant clinical and instrumental indexes for an extensive evaluation of patients with heart failure, such as: left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and other haemodynamic measures, maximum oxygen uptake during cardiopulmonary exercise testing, comorbidities, major cardiovascular risk factors and disease duration. Our purpose was to outline the cognitive profiles of end-stage heart disease patients in order to identify the cognitive deficits that could compromise the quality of life and the therapeutic adherence in end-stage heart disease patients, and to identify the variables associated with an increased risk of cognitive deficits in these patients. 207 patients with end-stage cardiac disease, candidates for heart transplant, were assessed by complete neuropsychological evaluation and by electroencephalographic recording with EEG spectral analysis. Pathological scores in one or more of the cognitive tests were obtained by 86% of the patients, while 36% performed within the impaired range on five or more tests, indicating poor performance across a broad range of cognitive domains. The executive functions were the cognitive domain most impaired (70%). Poor performances were not related to the aetiology of heart disease, but rather to cerebral dysfunction secondary to haemodynamic impairment and to comorbidities. Severe heart failure induces significant neurophysiological and neuropsychological alterations, which may produce an impairment of cognitive functioning and possibly compromise the quality of life of patients and the therapeutic adherence.

Objective To evaluate the role of the microaxial percutaneous mechanical circulatory support device (Impella® pump) implantation pre‐percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) versus during/after PCI in cardiogenic shock (CS) and high‐risk PCI populations. Background A better understanding of the safety and effectiveness of the Impella and the role of timing of this support initiation in specific clinical settings is of utmost clinical relevance. Methods A total of 365 patients treated with Impella 2.5/CP in the 17 centers of the IMP‐IT Registry were included. Through propensity‐score weighting (PSW) analysis, 1‐year clinical outcomes were assessed separately in CS and HR‐PCI patients, stratified by timing of Impella support. Results Pre‐procedural insertion was associated with an improvement in 1‐year survival in patients with CS due to acute myocardial infarction (AMI) treated with PCI (p = .04 before PSW, p = .009 after PSW) and HR‐PCI (p < .01 both before and after PSW). Among patients undergoing HR‐PCI, early Impella support was also associated with a lower rate of the composite of mortality, re‐hospitalization for heart failure, and need for left‐ventricular assist device/heart transplantation at 1‐year (p = .04 before PSW, p = .01 after PSW). Furthermore, Impella use during/after PCI was associated with an increased in‐hospital life‐threatening and severe bleeding among patients with AMI‐CS receiving PCI (7 vs. 16%, p = .1) and HR‐PCI (1 vs. 9%, p = .02). Conclusions Our findings suggested a survival benefit and reduced rates of major bleeding when a pre‐PCI Impella implantation instead of during‐after procedure was used in the setting of HR‐PCI and AMI‐CS.

Radionuclide bone scintigraphy is the cornerstone of an imaging-based algorithm for accurate non-invasive diagnosis of transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis (ATTR-CA). In patients with heart failure and suggestive echocardiographic and/or cardiac magnetic resonance imaging findings, the positive predictive value of Perugini grade 2 or 3 myocardial uptake on a radionuclide bone scan approaches 100% for the diagnosis of ATTR-CA as long as there is no biochemical evidence of a clonal dyscrasia. The technetium-labelled tracers that are currently validated for non-invasive diagnosis of ATTR-CA include pyrophosphate (^99mTc-PYP); hydroxymethylene diphosphonate (^99mTc-HMDP); and 3,3-diphosphono-1,2-propanodicarboxylate (^99mTc-DPD). Although nuclear scintigraphy has transformed the contemporary diagnostic approach to ATTR-CA, a number of grey areas remains, including the mechanism for binding tracers to the infiltrated heart, differences in the kinetics and distribution of these radiotracers, differences in protocols of image acquisition worldwide, the clinical significance of extra-cardiac uptake, and the use of this technique for prognostic stratification, monitoring disease progression and assessing the response to disease-modifying treatments. This review will deal with the most relevant unmet needs and clinical questions concerning scintigraphy with bone tracers in ATTR-CA, providing expert opinions on possible future developments in the clinical application of these radiotracers in order to offer practical information for the interpretation of nuclear images by physicians involved in the care of patients with this ATTR-CA.