The Influence of Carbohydrate Metabolism Disorders on the Course of Perioperative Period in Cardiac Surgery Patients with Post-Infarction Left Ventricular Aneurysms

The aim. To study the impact of carbohydrate metabolism disorders on perioperative period in cardiac surgery pa-tients with post-infarction left ventricular (LV) aneurysms. Materials and methods. Retrospective analysis of perioperative period in random 132 patients with post-infarction LV aneurysms of various locations, who were operated on and discharged from the department of surgical treatment of ischemic heart disease of the National Amosov Institute of Cardiovascular Surgery of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine. Disorders of carbohydrate metabolism (DCM) were detected in 98 (74.2%) patients, among whom type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) was diagnosed in 34 (25.7%) patients, impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) in 64 (48.5%). All the patients underwent general clinical examination, electrocardiography, echocardiography, coronary angiography and surgical treatment. Results. When analyzing the clinical picture in patients with post-infarction LV aneurysms, painless myocardial isch-emia was diagnosed in 41 (31.06%) patients, among whom type 2 DM in 11 (26.8%) cases and IGT in 18 (43.9%). No statistically significant difference was found in patients with and without DCM in the LV contractile function, presence of LV thrombosis, atrial fibrillation, chronic kidney disease, stenosis of brachiocephalic arteries and arteries of the lower extremities, gouty arthritis, and body weight. Intraoperatively, diameter of the coronary arteries in patients with type 2 DM was slightly smaller compared to patients without DCM. Its increase in cases of calcification of coronary arteries and aorta among patients of the study group with DCM was statistically insignificant. A careful analysis of the postoperative period in patients with and without DCM showed a statistically significant occurrence of paroxysms of atrial fibrillation in 30 (90.9%) and 3 (9.1%) cases, respectively (p=0.0115). The patients with DCM had longer stay in the intensive care unit: 4.03 ± 2.3 vs. 3.2 ± 1.3 days (p=0.0483). Acute kidney injury in the early postoperative period occurred in 8 (6.06%) patients, including 5 (62.5%) with type 2 DM (p=0.0142). Sternal wound infection occurred in 2 (1.5%) patients with type 2 DM (p=0.0156). Conclusions. Among cardiac surgical patients with postinfarction LV aneurysms, the major part is formed by patients with DCM (74.2%), the presence of which complicates the course of the postoperative period with the development of paroxysms of atrial fibrillation (p=0.0115), acute kidney injury (p=0.0142), sternal wound infection (p=0.0156), a long stay in the intensive care unit (p=0.0483)

Capabilities of the Treadmill Test in Modern Cardiological Practice

Many publications in recent years have been dedicated to the search for the best preliminary method of diagnosing coronary artery disease (CAD), where the availability of technology and staff experience are the determining factors. According to the National Cardiovascular Data Registry of the American College of Cardiology, 58.4% of patients referred for coronary angiography after functional testing do not have significant coronary artery stenoses. European guidelines for the diagnosis and management of patients with chronic coronary syndrome recommend the use of imaging diagnostic tests instead of exercise electrocardiography for the diagnosis of obstructive CAD. The aim. To analyze the capabilities of the exercise electrocardiography test for patients in modern cardiological practice. Materials and methods. A treadmill test was performed on 406 patients, among whom 317 (78.07%) were men, 89 (21.9%) were women, the mean age was 44.7±17.3 years. The test was carried out according to the Bruce protocol on the Valiant Ergometric Treadmill. Results. The patients were divided into groups depending on the area of diagnostic search: verification of CAD in cardiac pain (n=184); evaluation of the long-term results of cardiac surgery (n=74); visualization of myocardial ischemia in borderline stenoses of coronary arteries (n=4); screening in the presence of additional CAD risk factors (n=49); in the case of heart rhythm disorders in order to decide on further treatment tactics and evaluation of the effectiveness of the antiarrhythmic treatment (n=34); evaluation of the coronary artery in patients with congenital heart defects (n=7); determination of tolerance to physical exertion (n=54). Among the examined patients, there were 48 (11.8%) with positive, 246 (60.5%) with negative, and 112 (27.5%) with doubtful treadmill test. Among 48 patients with a positive treadmill test, myocardial revascularization was performed in 41 (85.4%) cases. Conclusions. Exercise electrocardiography is an affordable tool for diagnostic research which, with its high-quality performance and interpretation, can be an alternative to modern imaging techniques

Postoperative cerebrovascular complications in high-risk patients with coronary artery disease in cardiac surgery

Aim: to analyze the frequency and specificity of cerebrovascular complications in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) after cardiac surgery. Materials and methods: a retrospective analysis of data of 354 randomly selected patients with CAD who were operated on and discharged from the Amosov National Institute of Cardiovascular Surgery, Ukraine from 2009 to 2019. The average age of the patients was 61.9±9.6 years old. In preoperative risk stratification according to the EuroSCORE II scale, patients were classified as high cardiac risk, the predictive risk of death was on average 8.8%. All patients underwent general clinical examinations, ECG, ECHO, coronary angiography and surgical treatment of CAD. Duplex scanningf the brachiocephalic arteries (BCA) was performed in 280 (79.09%) patients. Results: 43 (12.1%) patients had a history of stroke. Among 280 patients who underwent ultrasound examination of BCA, stenosis more than 50% of the internal carotid arteries was diagnosed in 95 (33.9%) cases. For hemodynamically significant (> 70%) BCA stenoses, hemodynamic stability and coronary artery lesions that didn’t require emergency surgery, a neurosurgeon’s consultation is required. The predictive risk of postoperative stroke on the STS scale in average was 1.48±0.98% [range 0.2–6.8%]. In the postoperative period, in 10 (2.8%) patients non-fatal cerebrovascular accidents were developed, among which 5 (1.4%) had an ischemic stroke, and 5 (1.4%) had a transient ischemic attack. The risk of neurological complications in the perioperative period increases in patients with a history of stroke (р = 0,0002), preoperative atrial fibrillation (р = 0,013), aortic calcification (р = 0,003) and more significant decrease of blood pressure on the 1st postoperative day (systolic pressure p = 0.005, diastolic pressure p = 0.0008). Conclusions: strict monitoring of blood pressure and prevention of hypotension are required at all stages of patients management. The cardiac surgeon, whenever possible, limits manipulations on the atheromatous aorta, using the no-touch aorta technique, by performing total arterial revascularization. The work of a multidisciplinary team helps to avoid life-threatening events