Management and outcome of patients with established coronary artery disease: the Euro Heart Survey on coronary revascularization

Aims The purpose of the Euro Heart Survey Programme of the European Society of Cardiology is to evaluate to which extent clinical practice endorses existing guidelines as well as to identify differences in population profiles, patient management, and outcome across Europe. The current survey focuses on the invasive diagnosis and treatment of patients with established coronary artery disease (CAD). Methods and results Between November 2001 and March 2002, 7769 consecutive patients undergoing invasive evaluation at 130 hospitals (31 countries) were screened for the presence of one or more coronary stenosis >50% in diameter. Patient demographics and comorbidity, clinical presentation, invasive parameters, treatment options, and procedural techniques were prospectively entered in an electronic database (550 variables+29 per diseased coronary segment). Major adverse cardiac events (MACE) were evaluated at 30 days and 1 year. Out of 5619 patients with angiographically proven coronary stenosis (72% of screened population), 53% presented with stable angina while ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) was the indication for coronary angiography in 16% and non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction or unstable angina in 30%. Only medical therapy was continued in 21%, whereas mechanical revascularization was performed in the remainder [percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in 58% and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in 21%]. Patients referred for PCI were younger, were more active, had a lower risk profile, and had less comorbid conditions. CABG was performed mostly in patients with left main lesions (21%), two- (25%), or three-vessel disease (67%) with 4.1 diseased segments, on average. Single-vessel PCI was performed in 82% of patients with either single- (45%), two- (33%), or three-vessel disease (21%). Stents were used in 75% of attempted lesions, with a large variation between sites. Direct PCI for STEMI was performed in 410 cases, representing 7% of the entire workload in the participating catheterization laboratories. Time delay was within 90 min in 76% of direct PCI cases. In keeping with the recommendations of practice guidelines, the survey identified under-use of adjunctive medication (GP IIb/IIIa receptor blockers, statins, and angiotensin-converting enzyme-inhibitors). Mortality rates at 30 days and 1 year were low in all subgroups. MACE primarily consisted of repeat PCI (12%). Conclusion The current Euro Heart Survey on coronary revascularization was performed in the era of bare metal stenting and provides a global European picture of the invasive approach to patients with CAD. These data will serve as a benchmark for the future evaluation of the impact of drug-eluting stents on the practice of interventional cardiology and bypass surger

The performance of the Dutch Safety Management System frailty tool to predict the risk of readmission or mortality in older hospitalised cardiac patients

Background: Early identification of older cardiac patients at high risk of readmission or mortality facilitates targeted deployment of preventive interventions. In the Netherlands, the frailty tool of the Dutch Safety Management System (DSMS-tool) consists of (the risk of) delirium, falling, functional impairment, and malnutrition and is currently used in all older hospitalised patients. However, its predictive performance in older cardiac patients is unknown. Aim: To estimate the performance of the DSMS-tool alone and combined with other predictors in predicting hospital readmission or mortality within 6 months in acutely hospitalised older cardiac patients. Methods: An individual patient data meta-analysis was performed on 529 acutely hospitalised cardiac patients ≥70 years from four prospective cohorts. Missing values for predictor and outcome variables were multiply imputed. We explored discrimination and calibration of: (1) the DSMS-tool alone; (2) the four components of the DSMS-tool and adding easily obtainable clinical predictors; (3) the four components of the DSMS-tool and more difficult to obtain predictors. Predictors in model 2 and 3 were selected using backward selection using a threshold of p = 0.157. We used shrunk c-statistics, calibration plots, regression slopes and Hosmer-Lemeshow p-values (PHL) to describe predictive performance in terms of discrimination and calibration. Results: The population mean age was 82 years, 52% were males and 51% were admitted for heart failure. DSMS-tool was positive in 45% for delirium, 41% for falling, 37% for functional impairments and 29% for malnutrition. The incidence of hospital readmission or mortality gradually increased from 37 to 60% with increasing DSMS scores. Overall, the DSMS-tool discriminated limited (c-statistic 0.61, 95% 0.56-0.66). The final model included the DSMS-tool, diagnosis at admission and Charlson Comorbidity Index and had a c-statistic of 0.69 (95% 0.63-0.73; PHL was 0.658). Discussion: The DSMS-tool alone has limited capacity to accurately estimate the risk of readmission or mortality in hospitalised older cardiac patients. Adding disease-specific risk factor information to the DSMS-tool resulted in a moderately performing model. To optimise the early identification of older hospitalised cardiac patients at high risk, the combination of geriatric and disease-specific predictors should be further explored. Keywords: Aged; Cardiovascular diseases; Frailty; Mortality; Patient readmission; Predictive value of tests; Risk assessment

Effect of a nurse-coordinated prevention programme on cardiovascular risk after an acute coronary syndrome: main results of the RESPONSE randomised trial

Objective To quantify the impact of a practical, hospital-based nurse-coordinated prevention programme on cardiovascular risk, integrated into the routine clinical care of patients discharged after an acute coronary syndrome, as compared with usual care only. Design RESPONSE (Randomised Evaluation of Secondary Prevention by Outpatient Nurse SpEcialists) was a randomised clinical trial. Setting Multicentre trial in secondary and tertiary healthcare settings. Participants 754 patients admitted for acute coronary syndrome. Intervention A nurse-coordinated prevention programme, consisting of four outpatient nurse clinic visits, focusing on healthy lifestyles, biometric risk factors and medication adherence, in addition to usual care. Main outcome measures The main outcome was 10-year cardiovascular mortality risk as estimated by Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation at 12 months follow-up. Secondary outcomes included Framingham Coronary Risk Score at 12 months, in addition to changes in individual risk factors. Risk factor control was classified as ‘poor’ if 0 to 3 factors were on target, ‘fair’ if 4 to 6 factors were on target, and ‘good’ if 7 to 9 were on target. Results The mean Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation at 12 months was 4.4 per cent (SD 4.5) in the intervention group and 5.4 per cent (SD 6.2) in the control group (p=0.021), representing a 17.4% relative risk reduction. At 12 months, risk factor control classified as ‘good’ was achieved in 35% of patients in the intervention group compared with 25% in the control group (p=0.003). Attendance to the nurse-coordinated prevention programme was 92%. In the intervention group, 86 rehospitalisations were observed against 132 in the control group (relative risk reduction 34.8%, p=0.023). Conclusions The nurse-coordinated hospital-based prevention programme in addition to usual care is a practical, yet effective method for reduction of cardiovascular risk in patients with coronary disease. Our data suggest that the counselling component of the programme may lead to a reduction in hospital readmissions

Patients Enrolled in Large Randomized Clinical Trials of Antiplatelet Treatment for Prevention After Transient Ischemic Attack or Ischemic Stroke Are Not Representative of Patients in Clinical Practice: the Netherlands Stroke Survey

Background and Purpose—Many randomized clinical trials have evaluated the benefit of long-term use of antiplatelet drugs in reducing the risk of new vascular events in patients with a recent transient ischemic attack or ischemic stroke. Evidence from these trials forms the basis for national and international guidelines for the management of nearly all such patients in clinical practice. However, abundant and strict enrollment criteria may limit the validity and the applicability of results of randomized clinical trials to clinical practice. We estimated the eligibility for participation in landmark trials of antiplatelet drugs of an unselected group of patients with stroke or transient ischemic attack from a national stroke survey. Methods—Nine hundred seventy-two patients with transient ischemic at

Recomendações Europeias para a prevenção da doença cardiovascular na prática clínica (versão de 2012)

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Alpha-Linolenic Acid Intake and 10-Year Incidence of Coronary Heart Disease and Stroke in 20,000 Middle-Aged Men and Women in The Netherlands

Background - Whether intake of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), the plant-derived n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), could prevent cardiovascular diseases is not yet clear. We examined the associations of ALA intake with 10-year incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke in the Netherlands. Methods - Data were collected from a general population of 20,069 generally healthy men and women, aged 20 to 65 years. Habitual diet was assessed at baseline (1993–1997) with a validated 178-item food frequency questionnaire. Incidences of CHD and stroke were assessed through linkage with mortality and morbidity registers. Hazard ratios (HR) were calculated with multivariable Cox proportional hazards models, adjusted for age, gender, lifestyle, and dietary factors. Results - During 8–13 years of follow-up, we observed 280 incident CHD events (19% fatal) and 221 strokes (4% fatal). Intakes of energy-adjusted ALA in quintiles ranged from less than 1.0 g/d in the bottom quintile (Q1) to more than 1.9 g/d in the top quintile (Q5). ALA intake was not associated with incident CHD, with HRs varying between 0.89 and 1.01 (all p>0.05) in Q2–Q5 compared with the bottom quintile of ALA intake. For incident stroke, however, participants in Q2–Q5 had a 35–50% lower risk compared with the reference group. HRs were 0.65 (0.43–0.97), 0.49 (0.31–0.76), 0.53 (0.34–0.83), and 0.65 (0.41–1.04) for Q2–Q5 respectively. Conclusion - In this general Dutch population, ALA intake was not associated with incident CHD. The data suggested that a low intake of ALA may be a risk factor for incident stroke. These results warrant confirmation in other population-based studies and in trial

A new test of the construct validity of the CarerQol instrument: measuring the impact of informal care giving

Purpose: Most economic evaluations of health care programmes do not consider the effects of informal care, while this could lead to suboptimal policy decisions. This study investigates the construct validity of the CarerQol instrument, which measures and values carer effects, in a new population of informal caregivers. Methods: A questionnaire was distributed by mail (n = 1,100, net response rate = 21%) to regional informal care support centers throughout the Netherlands. Two types of construct validity, i.e., convergent and clinical validity, have been analyzed. Convergent validity was assessed with Spearman's correlation coefficients and multivariate correlation between the burden dimensions (CarerQol-7D) and the valuation component (CarerQol-VAS) of the CarerQol. Additionally, convergent validity was analyzed with Spearman's correlation coefficients between the CarerQol and other measures of subjective caregiver burden (SRB, PU). Clinical validity was evaluated with multivariate correlation between CarerQol-VAS and CarerQol-7D, characteristics of caregivers, care recipients and care situation among the whole sample of caregivers and subgroups. Results: The positive (negative) dimensions of CarerQol-7D were positively (negatively) related to CarerQol-VAS, and almost all had moderate strength of convergent validity. CarerQol-VAS was positively associated with PU and negatively with SRB. The CarerQol-VAS reflects differences in important background characteristics of informal care: type of relationship, age of the care recipient and duration of care giving were associated with higher CarerQol-VAS scores. These results confirmed earlier tests of the construct validity of the CarerQol. Furthermore, the dimensions of CarerQol-7D significantly explained differences in CarerQol-VAS scores among subgroups of carers. Conclusion: Notwithstanding the limitations of our study, such as the low response rate, this study shows that the CarerQol provides a valid means to measure carer effects for use in economic evaluations. Future research should derive a valuation set for the CarerQol and further address the instrument's content validity, sensitivity and reliability

The additional value of patient-reported health status in predicting 1-year mortality after invasive coronary procedures: A report from the Euro Heart Survey on Coronary Revascularisation

Objective: Self-perceived health status may be helpful in identifying patients at high risk for adverse outcomes. The Euro Heart Survey on Coronary Revascularization (EHS-CR) provided an opportunity to explore whether impaired health status was a predictor of 1-year mortality in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) undergoing angiographic procedures. Methods: Data from the EHS-CR that included 5619 patients from 31 member countries of the European Society of Cardiology were used. Inclusion criteria for the current study were completion of a self-report measure of health status, the EuroQol Questionnaire (EQ-5D) at discharge and information on 1-year follow-up, resulting in a study population of 3786 patients. Results: The 1-year mortality was 3.2% (n = 120). Survivors reported fewer problems on the five dimensions of the EQ-5D as compared with non-survivors. A broad range of potential confounders were adjusted for, which reached a p<0.10 in the unadjusted analyses. In the adjusted analyses, problems with self-care (OR 3.45; 95% CI 2.14 to 5.59) and a low rating (≤ 60) on health status (OR 2.41; 95% CI 1.47 to 3.94) were the most powerful independent predictors of mortality, among the 22 clinical variables included in the analysis. Furthermore, patients who reported no problems on all five dimensions had significantly lower 1-year mortality rates (OR 0.47; 95% CI 0.28 to 0.81). Conclusions: This analysis shows that impaired health status is associated with a 2-3-fold increased risk of all-cause mortality in patients with CAD, independent of other conventional risk factors. These results highlight the importance of including patients' subjective experience of their own health status in the evaluation strategy to optimise risk stratification and management in clinical practice

Antibiotic-based catheter lock solutions for prevention of catheter-related bloodstream infection: a systematic review of randomised controlled trials

Catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBSI) is associated with high rates of morbidity. This systematic review assesses the efficacy of antibiotic-based lock solutions to prevent CRBSI. A secondary goal of our review is to determine which antibiotic-based lock solution is most effective in reducing CRBSI. We searched Medline and the Cochrane Library for relevant trials up to April 2009. Data from the original publications were used to calculate the overall relative risk of CRBSI. Data for similar outcomes were combined in the analysis where appropriate, using a random-effects model. Sixteen trials were included in the review, nine conducted in haemodialysis patients, six in oncology patients (mainly children) and one study concerned critically ill neonates. Three haemodialysis patients needed to be treated with antibiotics to prevent one CRBSI, given a mean insertion time of 146 days (range: 37-365) and an average baseline risk of 3.0 events per 1000 catheter-days. In the oncology patients a number needed to treat (NNT) was calculated of eight patients to prevent one BSI, given a mean insertion time of 227 days (range: 154-295) and average baseline risk of 1.7 events per 1000 catheter-days. There are indications that antibiotic-based lock solutions as compared to heparin lock solutions are effective in the prevention of CRBSI in haemodialysis patients. In trials studying oncology patients the estimated effect showed only a marginal significant benefit in favour of antibiotic-based lock solutions. Our review supports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in not recommending routine use of antibiotic-based catheter lock solution