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In a registry study involving 1750 patients with takotsubo cardiomyopathy, physical triggers were present in 36% and emotional triggers in 28%. In-hospital rates of death were similar to those among patients with an acute coronary syndrome. Since its first description in Japan in 1990, 1 takotsubo (stress) cardiomyopathy has gained worldwide recognition. However, after nearly 25 years of extensive efforts toward a better understanding of this disorder, current knowledge remains limited. The disease is characterized by transient systolic and diastolic left ventricular dysfunction with a variety of wall-motion abnormalities. 2 , 3 It predominantly affects elderly women and is often preceded by an emotional or physical trigger, 4 but the condition has also been reported with no evident trigger. In the acute phase, the clinical presentation, electrocardiographic findings, and biomarker profiles are often similar to those of an acute coronary . . .

Percutaneous active mechanical circulatory support (MCS) devices are being increasingly used in the treatment of acute myocardial infarction-related cardiogenic shock (AMICS) despite conflicting evidence regarding their effect on mortality. We aimed to ascertain the effect of early routine active percutaneous MCS versus control treatment on 6-month all-cause mortality in patients with AMICS. In this individual patient data meta-analysis, randomised controlled trials of potential interest were identified, without language restriction, by querying the electronic databases MEDLINE via PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Embase, as well as ClinicalTrials.gov, up to Jan 26, 2024. All randomised trials with 6-month mortality data comparing early routine active MCS (directly in the catheterisation laboratory after randomisation) versus control in patients with AMICS were included. The primary outcome was 6-month all-cause mortality in patients with AMICS treated with early routine active percutaneous MCS versus control, with a focus on device type (loading, such as venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation [VA-ECMO] vs unloading) and patient selection. Hazard ratios (HRs) of the primary outcome measure were calculated using Cox regression models. This study is registered with PROSPERO, CRD42024504295. Nine reports of randomised controlled trials (n=1114 patients) were evaluated in detail. Overall, four randomised controlled trials (n=611 patients) compared VA-ECMO with a control treatment and five randomised controlled trials (n=503 patients) compared left ventricular unloading devices with a control treatment. Two randomised controlled trials also included patients who did not have AMICS, who were excluded (55 patients [44 who were treated with VA-ECMO and 11 who were treated with a left ventricular unloading device]). The median patient age was 65 years (IQR 57–73); 845 (79·9%) of 1058 patients with data were male and 213 (20·1%) were female. No significant benefit of early unselected MCS use on 6-month mortality was noted (HR 0·87 [95% CI 0·74–1·03]; p=0·10). No significant differences were observed for left ventricular unloading devices versus control (0·80 [0·62–1·02]; p=0·075), and loading devices also had no effect on mortality (0·93 [0·75–1·17]; p=0·55). Patients with ST-elevation cardiogenic shock without risk of hypoxic brain injury had a reduction in mortality with MCS use (0·77 [0·61–0·97]; p=0·024). Major bleeding (odds ratio 2·64 [95% CI 1·91–3·65]) and vascular complications (4·43 [2·37–8·26]) were more frequent with MCS use than with control. The use of active MCS devices in patients with AMICS did not reduce 6-month mortality (regardless of the device used) and increased major bleeding and vascular complications. However, patients with ST-elevation cardiogenic shock without risk of hypoxic brain injury had a reduction in mortality after MCS use. Therefore, the use of MCS should be restricted to certain patients only. The Heart Center Leipzig at Leipzig University and the Foundation Institut für Herzinfarktforschung.

In a randomized trial, 706 patients with acute myocardial infarction and cardiogenic shock were assigned to either culprit-lesion-only PCI or immediate multivessel PCI. At 1 year, mortality did not differ significantly between the two groups.

In this randomized trial involving patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest without ST-segment elevation on postresuscitation electrocardiography, no benefit was found for immediate cardiac catherization as compared with delayed or selective catherization.

The prevention of stroke and restenosis of coronary arteries in patients with atrial fibrillation who have an acute coronary syndrome or undergo percutaneous coronary intervention relies on antithrombotic therapy. In a two-by-two factorial, randomized trial, apixaban plus clopidogrel was more effective than a vitamin K antagonist, with or without aspirin.

A randomized trial that enrolled patients with severe aortic stenosis at low or intermediate surgical risk showed that transcatheter aortic-valve implantation was noninferior to surgical aortic-valve replacement at 1 year.

In a randomized trial, 1006 patients with intermediate-risk pulmonary embolism were assigned to tenecteplase or placebo in addition to standard heparin therapy. The tenecteplase group had a lower rate of hemodynamic decompensation but more frequent major hemorrhage and stroke. Acute pulmonary embolism occurs frequently and may cause death or serious disability. 1 Case fatality rates vary widely, 2 , 3 but approximately 10% of all patients with acute pulmonary embolism die within 3 months after the diagnosis. 4 , 5 Acute right ventricular pressure overload at diagnosis is an important determinant of the severity and early clinical outcome of pulmonary embolism. 6 High-risk pulmonary embolism 7 is characterized by overt hemodynamic instability and warrants immediate advanced therapy, including consideration of fibrinolysis. In contrast, for patients presenting without systemic hypotension or hemodynamic compromise, standard anticoagulation is generally considered adequate treatment. 8 However, patients who have acute right ventricular . . .

The DanGer Shock trial test the hypothesis that left ventricular (LV) mechanical circulatory support with Impella CP transvalvular microaxial flow pump improves survival in patients with ST segment elevation acute myocardial infarction complicated by cardiogenic shock (AMICS) compared to conventional guideline-driven treatment. This paper describes the rationale and design of the randomized trial, in addition to the baseline characteristics of the population screened and enrolled so far. The DanGer Shock study is a prospective, multicenter, open-label trial in patients with AMICS randomized 1:1 to Impella CP or current guideline-driven therapy with planned enrollment of 360 patients. Patients comatose after out of hospital cardiac arrest are excluded. Eligible patients are randomized immediately following shock diagnosis. Among patients randomized to receive Impella CP, the device is placed prior to angioplasty. The primary endpoint is all-cause mortality at 180 days. Baseline characteristics of patients screened and randomized in the DanGer Shock as of June 2018 are compared with 2 contemporary AMICS studies. As of end of June 2018, 314 patients were screened and 100 patients were randomized. Patients had median arterial lactate of 5.5 mmol/L (interquartile range 3.7-8.8 mmol/L), median systolic blood pressure of 76 mmHg (interquartile range 70-88 mmHg), and median LV ejection fraction of 20% (interquartile range 10%-30%). The DanGer Shock trial will be the first adequately powered randomized trial to address whether mechanical circulatory LV support with Impella CP can improve survival in AMICS. Baseline characteristics of the first 100 randomized patients indicate a population in profound cardiogenic shock.

In this trial, patients with acute MI and cardiogenic shock who were expected to undergo coronary revascularization were randomly assigned to receive or not to receive intraaortic balloon support. Balloon support had no effect on 30-day mortality. The rate of death among patients with cardiogenic shock complicating acute myocardial infarction is high even when the patients undergo early revascularization with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). 1 – 4 Intraaortic balloon counterpulsation is the most widely used form of mechanical hemodynamic support in this clinical setting. 5 In U.S. and European guidelines, the use of an intraaortic balloon in the treatment of cardiogenic shock is given a class IB and class IC recommendation, respectively. 6 – 8 However, evidence is based mainly on registry data, and there is a lack of adequately powered randomized trials. A meta-analysis that . . .