15-Year outcome after normal exercise 99mTcsestamibi myocardial perfusion imaging: What is the duration of low risk after a normal scan?

Objective. The goal of this study was to evaluate the very long-term outcome after normal exercise 99mTc-sestamibi myocardial perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). Exercise 99mTc-sestamibi SPECT is widely used for risk stratification, but data on very long-term outcome after a normal test are scarce. Methods. A consecutive group of 233 patients (122 men, mean age 54 ± 12 years) with known or suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) underwent exercise 99mTc-sestamibi SPECT and had normal myocardial perfusion at exercise and at rest. Follow-up endpoints were allcause mortality, cardiac mortality, nonfatal myocardial infarction, and coronary revascularization. Predictors of outcome were identified by Cox proportional hazard regression models using clinical and exercise testing variables. Results. During amean follow-up of 15.5 ± 4.9 years, 41 (18%) patients died, of which 13were cardiac deaths. A total of 18 (8%) p

Initial experience with everolimus-eluting bioresorbable vascular scaffolds for treatment of patients presenting with acute myocardial infarction

Aims: Limited data are currently available on midterm outcomes after implantation of everolimus-eluting bioresorbable vascular scaffolds (BVS) for treatment of acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Methods and results: Patients presenting with STEMI and undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention in the initial experience with BVS were evaluated and compared with patients treated with everolimus-eluting metal stents (EES) by applying propensity matching. Quantitative coronary angiography analysis, and 18-month clinical follow-up were reported. A total of 302 patients were analysed, 151 with BVS and 151 with EES. Baseline clinical characteristics were similar between groups. Final TIMI 3 flow was 87.4% vs. 86.1%, p=0.296. At 18-month follow-up, all-cause mortality was 2.8% vs. 3.0% in the BVS and EES groups respectively, p=0.99; the MACE rate was higher in the BVS group (9.8% vs. 3.6%, p=0.02); target lesion revascularisation was 5.7% vs. 1.3%, p=0.05. The 30-day MACE rate in BVS patients without post-dilatation was 6.8%, while in patients with post-dilatation it was 3.6%. Scaffold thrombosis (ST) occurred primarily in the acute phase (acute ST 2.1% vs. 0.7%, p=0.29; subacute 0.7% vs. 0.7%, p=0.99; late 0.0% vs. 0.0%; very late 1.5% vs. 0.0%, p=0.18). All three BVS cases with acute ST had no post-dilatation at the index procedure. Conclusions: STEMI patients treated during the early experience with BVS had similar acute angiographic results as compared with the EES group. Clinical midterm follow-up data showed a higher clinical events rate compared with metal stents. The majority of clinical events occurred in the early phase after implantation and mainly in cases without post-dilatation. Optimisation of the implantation technique in the acute clinical setting is of paramount importance for optimal short and mid-term outcomes

Optical coherence tomography imaging in acute myocardial infarction

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a high-resolution intravascular imaging modality able to visualize the micro-environment of the atheromatic plaque and assess intracoronary stents in great detail. As a result, OCT is a valuable research tool for examining the role of morphological characteristics of atheromatic plaque in the progression of coronary artery disease and plaque destabilization, which lead to the clinical manifestation of acute coronary syndromes. Several OCT studies have focused on expanding the current understanding of the pathomechanisms of acute myocardial infarction. Moreover, as OCT is being increasingly used in clinical practice, potential clinical applications of OCT in myocardial infarction are emerging. Despite the lack of established indications for OCT imaging in myocardial infarction thus far, OCT could be potentially of assistance in interventional guidance in several clinical scenarios such as culprit lesion identification, assessment of the underlying mechanisms of stent thrombosis, and guidance of local and systematic antithrombotic therapy. The current chapter summarizes the pathophysiological insights obtained by OCT imaging in acute myocardial infarction, and critically reviews potential areas of clinical application of this imaging modality in myocardial infarction