The question of when and how to treat truly asymptomatic patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) and normal left ventricular (LV) systolic function is still subject to debate and ongoing research. Here, the results of extended follow-up of the AVATAR trial are reported (NCT02436655, ClinicalTrials.gov). The AVATAR trial randomly assigned patients with severe, asymptomatic AS and LV ejection fraction ≥ 50% to undergo either early surgical aortic valve replacement (AVR) or conservative treatment with watchful waiting strategy. All patients had negative exercise stress testing. The primary hypothesis was that early AVR will reduce a primary composite endpoint comprising all-cause death, acute myocardial infarction, stroke, or unplanned hospitalization for heart failure (HF), as compared with conservative treatment strategy. A total of 157 low-risk patients (mean age 67 years, 57% men, mean Society of Thoracic Surgeons score 1.7%) were randomly allocated to either the early AVR group (n = 78) or the conservative treatment group (n = 79). In an intention-to-treat analysis, after a median follow-up of 63 months, the primary composite endpoint outcome event occurred in 18/78 patients (23.1%) in the early surgery group and in 37/79 patients (46.8%) in the conservative treatment group [hazard ratio (HR) early surgery vs. conservative treatment 0.42; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.24–0.73, P = .002]. The Kaplan–Meier estimates for individual endpoints of all-cause death and HF hospitalization were significantly lower in the early surgery compared with the conservative group (HR 0.44; 95% CI 0.23–0.85, P = .012, for all-cause death and HR 0.21; 95% CI 0.06–0.73, P = .007, for HF hospitalizations). The extended follow-up of the AVATAR trial demonstrates better clinical outcomes with early surgical AVR in truly asymptomatic patients with severe AS and normal LV ejection fraction compared with patients treated with conservative management on watchful waiting. The design and main result of the AVATAR randomized trial (intention-to-treat population). AMI, acute myocardial infarction; CI, confidence interval; HF, heart failure; HR, hazard ratio; LV, left ventricular.

Among patients with heart disease, depression and anxiety disorders are highly prevalent and persistent. Both depression and anxiety play a significant role in cardiovascular disease progression and are acknowledged to be independent risk factors. However, there is very little gender-related analysis concerning cardiovascular diseases and emotional disorders. We aimed to evaluate depression and anxiety levels in patients suffering from myocardial infarction [MI] within the first month after the MI and to assess the association between cardiovascular disease risk factors, demographic indicators and emotional disorders, as well as to determine whether there are gender-based differences or similarities. This survey included demographic questions, clinical characteristics, questions about cardiovascular disease risk factors and the use of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale [HADS]. All statistical tests were two-sided, and p values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. It was determined that 71.4% of female and 60.4% of male patients had concomitant anxiety and/or depression symptomatology (p = 0.006). Using men as the reference point, women had an elevated risk of having some type of psychiatric disorder (odds ratio, 2.86, p = 0.007). The HADS-D score was notably higher in women (8.66 ± 3.717) than men (6.87 ± 4.531, p = 0.004). It was determined that male patients who developed depression were on average younger than those without depression (p = 0.005). Women demonstrated an elevated risk of having anxiety and/or depression disorder compared to men. Furthermore, depression severity increased with age in men, while anxiety severity decreased. In contrast, depression and anxiety severity was similar for women of all ages after the MI. A higher depression score was associated with diabetes and physical inactivity, whereas a higher anxiety score was associated with smoking in men. Hypercholesterolemia was associated with both higher anxiety and depression scores, and a higher depression score was associated with physical inactivity in women.

The natural history, management, and outcome of Takotsubo (stress) cardiomyopathy (TTC) is not clear. The aim of this study was to investigate clinical features, define prognostic predictors, and assess the clinical course and outcomes of patients with TTC. We analyzed 64 patients (52 women) meeting the proposed Mayo Clinic diagnostic criteria for TTC. All patients were treated at Vilnius University Hospital Santariskiu Klinikos from 2001-01-01 to 2014-11-27. Data were collected on the basis of medical records and follow-up data was collected by phone. The mean age of analyzed patients was 63.4 ± 14.6 years; the mean follow-up was 2.9 years. More than half of the patients (52%) did not have any clear stressful triggers. During admission, symptoms such as chest pain (64%) and general weakness (45%) were reported more often than other symptoms. Almost all patients (94%) had the classical TTC form; the remaining 6% of patients had "inverted" TTC. The mean left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) on admission was 37.7% (± 8.2%). A pseudonormal or restrictive pattern of LV filling, moderate to severe mitral regurgitation (MR), and right ventricular involvement were uncommon in the patients. The in-hospital course showed cardiogenic shock in 23% of the cases, resulting in the death of 5 (8%) patients. We discovered that only peak concentration of troponin I was a significant predictor of in-hospital mortality (HR 1.067, 95%CI 1.022-1.113, p=0.003). At the end of the follow-up period, 45 (87%) women and 8 (67%) men were alive. This makes the overall observed mortality at 3 years approximately 17.2%. Using multivariate analysis, elevation of BNP (HR for increase by 10 ng/l 1.002, 95%CI 1-1.003, p=0.022) and cardiogenic shock on admission (HR 8.696, 95%CI 1.198-63.124, p=0.032) were significant predictors of overall mortality. Other prognostic factors assessed on admission were nonsignificant predictors of overall mortality. Our analysis shows that in-hospital mortality is influenced by the peak concentration of troponin I, and overall mortality is affected by cardiogenic shock and the elevation of BNP during admission. The assessment of troponin I and BNP can help with the prognostication of TTC patients in our daily clinical practice.

This study sought to prospectively and directly compare three cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) viability parameters: inotropic reserve (IR) during low-dose dobutamine (LDD) administration, late gadolinium enhancement transmurality (LGE) and thickness of the non-contrast-enhanced myocardial rim surrounding the scar (RIM). These parameters were examined to evaluate their value as predictors of segmental left ventricular (LV) functional recovery in patients with LV systolic dysfunction undergoing surgical or percutaneous revascularisation. The second goal of the study was to determine the optimal LDD-CMR- and LGE-CMR-based predictor of significant (≥ 5%) LVEF improvement 6 months after revascularisation.

This study sought to evaluate the relation between long-term segmental and global functional outcome after revascularisation in patients with chronic ischaemic left ventricular dysfunction (LVD) and baseline markers of viability: late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) transmurality and contractile reserve (CR). Forty-two patients with chronic ischaemic LVD underwent low-dose dobutamine- (LDD) and late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) before surgical or percutaneous revascularisation. Regional and global left ventricular (LV) functions and LGE were repeatedly assessed 6 ± 1 and 35 ± 6 months after revascularisation. In total, 319 at baseline dysfunctional and successfully revascularised segments were available for statistical analysis. The likelihood of long-term functional improvement was directly related to the presence of CR and inversely related to both the LGE and the degree of contractile dysfunction at baseline. The time course of functional improvement was protracted, with significantly more delay in segments with more extensive LGE (p = 0.005) and more severe contractile dysfunction at baseline (p = 0.002). The presence of CR was the predictor of earlier functional improvement (p < 0.0001). Using a definition of viable segment as a segment without any LGE or with any LGE and producing CR during LDD stimulation, ≥55% of viable segments from all dysfunctional and revascularised segments in a patient was the only independent predictor of significant improvement (≥5%) in the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) after revascularisation, with a 72% sensitivity and an 80% specificity (AUC 0.76, p = 0.014). Reverse LV remodelling was observed in patients who had a significant amount of viable myocardium successfully revascularised. In patients with chronic ischaemic LVD, improvement of dysfunctional but viable myocardium can be considerably delayed. Both the likelihood and the time course of functional improvement are related to the LGE, CR and the degree of contractile dysfunction at baseline. At 35 ± 6 months after revascularisation, patients with ≥55% of viable segments from all dysfunctional and revascularised segments significantly improve LVEF and experience reverse LV remodelling. A combination of LDD-CMR and LGE-CMR is a simple and powerful tool for identifying which patients with impaired LV function will benefit from revascularisation.

Background: The overall evidence base regarding delirium has been growing steadily over the past few decades. There has been considerable analysis of delirium concerning, for example, mechanically ventilated patients, patients in the general intensive care unit (ICU) setting, and patients with exclusively postoperative delirium. Nevertheless, there are few studies regarding delirium in a cardiovascular ICU (ICCU) setting and especially scarce literature about the particular features of delirium relating to patient age and gender. Aim: We aimed to determine particular features of non-alcohol and other psychoactive substances induced delirium relating to patient age and gender in an ICCU setting. Methods: An observational cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate patients with delirium in a Lithuanian ICCU. From a sample of 19,007 ICCU admissions, 337 (1.8%) had documented delirium diagnosed through liaison and consultation with a psychiatrist and were included in the final analysis. The obtained data was then evaluated and analysed according to patients’ gender and four categorized age groups: <65 years, 65–74 years, 75–84 years, and ≥85 years. Results: Female patients who experienced delirium demonstrated a higher prevalence of hypertension, hyponatraemia, heart failure, cardiac rhythm and conduction disorders, myocardial infarction (MI), and dementia. Men, who were on average seven years younger than women, significantly more often had hypokalaemia, double or triple-vessel coronary artery disease, as well as sepsis. Furthermore, MI, ST-segment elevated MI, and Killip class 4 were most frequent amongst patients less than 65 years of age. Moreover, the youngest patient group demonstrated the highest mortality. Conclusions: Our investigation presented a number of associated peculiarities related to gender and age. It was shown that delirium is a severe complication that more often affects men amongst patients <65 years, while more frequently affects women in the age group of ≥85 years. Male patients <65 years who develop delirium should be treated with more caution, as they tend to have more serious forms of disorder and a poorer prognosis. Background: The overall evidence base regarding delirium has been growing steadily over the past few decades. There has been considerable analysis of delirium concerning, for example, mechanically ventilated patients, patients in the general intensive care unit (ICU) setting, and patients with exclusively postoperative delirium. Nevertheless, there are few studies regarding delirium in a cardiovascular ICU (ICCU) setting and especially scarce literature about the particular features of delirium relating to patient age and gender. Aim: We aimed to determine particular features of non-alcohol and other psychoactive substances induced delirium relating to patient age and gender in an ICCU setting. Methods: An observational cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate patients with delirium in a Lithuanian ICCU. From a sample of 19,007 ICCU admissions, 337 (1.8%) had documented delirium diagnosed through liaison and consultation with a psychiatrist and were included in the final analysis. The obtained data was then evaluated and analysed according to patients’ gender and four categorized age groups: <65 years, 65–74 years, 75–84 years, and ≥85 years. Results: Female patients who experienced delirium demonstrated a higher prevalence of hypertension, hyponatraemia, heart failure, cardiac rhythm and conduction disorders, myocardial infarction (MI), and dementia. Men, who were on average seven years younger than women, significantly more often had hypokalaemia, double or triple-vessel coronary artery disease, as well as sepsis. Furthermore, MI, ST-segment elevated MI, and Killip class 4 were most frequent amongst patients less than 65 years of age. Moreover, the youngest patient group demonstrated the highest mortality. Conclusions: Our investigation presented a number of associated peculiarities related to gender and age. It was shown that delirium is a severe complication that more often affects men amongst patients <65 years, while more frequently affects women in the age group of ≥85 years. Male patients <65 years who develop delirium should be treated with more caution, as they tend to have more serious forms of disorder and a poorer prognosis.