Short-term effects of low-dose tolvaptan in acute decompensated heart failure patients with severe aortic stenosis: The LOHAS registry

Background: Tolvaptan exerts potent diuretic effects in heart failure patients without hemodynamic instability. Nonetheless, its clinical efficacy for acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) due to severe aortic stenosis (AS) remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the short-term effects of tolvaptan in ADHF patients with severe AS. Methods: The LOw-Dose Tolvaptan (7.5 mg) in Decompensated Heart Failure Patients with Severe Aortic Stenosis (LOHAS) registry is a multicenter (7 centers) prospective registry that assessed the short-term effects of tolvaptan in subjects hospitalized for ADHF with severe AS. A total of 59 subjects were enrolled between September 2014 and December 2017. The primary endpoints were changes in body weight and fluid balance measured daily from baseline up to 4 days. Results: The median [interquartile range] patient age and aortic valve area were 85.0 [81.0–89.0] years and 0.58 [0.42–0.74] cm2, respectively. Body weight continuously decreased, and fluid balance was maintained from baseline to day 4 (p 150 mEq/L) and worsening renal function occurred in 2 (3.4%) and 4 (6.8%) patients, respectively. Conclusions: Short-term treatment with low-dose tolvaptan is safe and effective, providing stable hemodynamic parameters in patients with ADHF and severe AS

Direct Oral Anticoagulants Versus Vitamin K Antagonists in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation After TAVR

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare long-term all-cause mortality between direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) and vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Background: The optimal anticoagulant agent for patients with AF after TAVR has not been clarified. Methods: OCEAN (Optimized Transcatheter Valvular Intervention) is a prospective, multicenter, observational cohort registry comprising 2,588 patients who underwent TAVR between October 2013 and May 2017. Of these, 403 patients (15.6%) with AF on anticoagulant therapy were identified, of whom 227 (56.3%) were prescribed DOACs and 176 (43.7%) were prescribed VKAs. Patients who successfully discharged after TAVR were stratified into DOAC and VKA groups on the basis of the prescription of anticoagulant agents, and the analyses started from discharge. Results: In total, 33.3% of patients were men. The mean age was 84.4 ± 4.7 years, and the average CHA2DS2-VASc score was 5.1 ± 1.1. The median follow-up duration was 568 days. A multivariate Cox regression model and inverse probability of treatment weighting based on the propensity score demonstrated that the DOAC group was significantly associated with a lower incidence of all-cause mortality compared with the VKA group (10.3% vs. 23.3%; Cox-adjusted hazard ratio: 0.391; 95% confidence interval: 0.204 to 0.749; p = 0.005; and 10.2% vs. 20.6%; inverse probability of treatment weighting-adjusted hazard ratio: 0.531; 95% confidence interval: 0.294 to 0.961; p = 0.036, respectively). Conclusions: Compared with VKAs, DOACs might be associated with lower long-term all-cause mortality in patients with concomitant AF who are successfully discharged after TAVR. This finding warrants investigation in ongoing prospective randomized trials