Coronary Artery Disease in Patients Presenting With Acute Ischemic Stroke or Transient Ischemic Attack and Elevated Troponin Levels

Background: There is little information concerning the invasive coronary angiography (ICA) findings of patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) or transient ischemic attack (TIA) with elevated troponin levels and suspected myocardial infarction (MI). This study analyzed patient characteristics associated with ICA outcomes.Methods: A total of 8,322 patients with AIS or TIA, treated between March 2010 and May 2020, were retrospectively screened for elevated serum troponin I at hospital admission. Patients in whom ICA was performed, due to suspected type 1 MI based on symptoms, echocardiography, and ECG, were categorized according to ICA results (non-obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD): ≥1 stenosis ≥50% but no stenosis ≥80%; obstructive CAD: any stenosis ≥80% or hemodynamically relevant stenosis assessed by FFR/iwFR).Results: Elevated troponin levels were detected in 2,205 (22.5%) patients, of whom 123 (5.6%) underwent ICA (mean age 71 ± 12 years; 67% male). CAD was present in 98 (80%) patients, of whom 51 (41%) were diagnosed with obstructive CAD. Thus, ICA findings of obstructive CAD accounted for 2.3% of patients with troponin elevation and 0.6% of all stroke patients. The clinical hallmarks of myocardial ischemia, including angina pectoris (31 vs. 15%, p < 0.05) and regional wall motion abnormalities (49 vs. 32%, p = 0.07), and increased cardiovascular risk indicated obstructive CAD. While there was no association between lesion site or stroke severity and ICA findings, causal large-artery atherosclerosis was significantly more common in patients with obstructive coronary disease (p < 0.05).Conclusion: The rate of obstructive CAD in patients with stroke or TIA and elevated troponin levels with suspected concomitant type I MI is low. The cumulation of several cardiovascular risk factors and clinical signs of MI were predictive. AIS patients with large-artery atherosclerosis and elevated troponin may represent an especially vulnerable subgroup of stroke patients with risk for obstructive CAD.

554 Machine learning for prediction of in-hospital mortality in COVID-19 patients: results from an Italian multicentre study

Aims Several risk factors have been identified to predict worse outcomes in patients affected by SARS-CoV-2 infection. Prediction models are needed to optimize clinical management and to early stratify patients at a higher mortality risk. Machine learning (ML) algorithms represent a novel approach to identify a prediction model with a good discriminatory capacity to be easily used in clinical practice. Methods and results The Cardio-COVID is a multicentre observational study that involved a cohort of consecutive adult Caucasian patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 [by real time reverse transcriptase—polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)] who were hospitalized in 13 Italian cardiology units from 1 March to 9 April 2020. Patients were followed-up after the COVID-19 diagnosis and all causes in-hospital mortality or discharge were ascertained until 23 April 2020. Variables with more than 20% of missing values were excluded. The Lasso procedure was used with a λ = 0.07 for reducing the covariates number. Mortality was estimated by means of a Random Forest (RF). The dataset was randomly divided in two subsamples with the same percentage of death/alive people of the entire sample: training set contained 80% of the data and test set the remaining 20%. The training set was used in the calibration procedure where a RF models in-hospital mortality with the covariates selected by Lasso. Its accuracy was measured by means of the ROC curve, obtaining AUC, sensitivity, specificity, and related 95% confidence interval (CI) computed with 10 000 stratified bootstrap replicates. From the RF the relative Variable Importance Measure (relVIM) was extracted to understand which of the selected variables had the greatest impact on outcome, providing a ranking from the most (relVIM = 100) to the less important variable. The model obtained was compared with the Gradient Boosting Machine (GBM) and with the logistic regression, where the predictions were cross validated. Finally, to understand if each model has the same performance in sample (training) and out of sample (test), the two AUCs were compared by means of the DeLong’s test. Among 701 patients enrolled (mean age 67.2 ± 13.2 years, 69.5% males), 165 (23.5%) died during a median hospitalization of 15 (IQR, 9–24) days. Variables selected by the Lasso were: age, Oxygen saturation, PaO2/FiO2, Creatinine Clearance and elevated Troponin. Compared with those who survived, deceased patients were older, had a lower blood oxygenation, a lower creatinine clearance levels and higher prevalence of elevated Troponin (all P < 0.001). Training set included 561 patients and test set 140 patients. The best performance out of sample was provided by the RF with an AUC of 0.78 (95% CI: 0.68–0.88) and a sensitivity of 0.88 (95% CI: 0.58–1.00). Moreover, RF is the unique methodology that provided similar performance in sample and out of sample (DeLong test P = 0.78). On the contrary, prediction model was less accurate by using GBM and logistic regression. The relVIM ranked the variables from the most to the less important in predicting the outcome as follows: clearance creatinine, PaO2/FiO2, age, oxygen saturation, and elevated Troponin. Conclusions In a large COVID-19 population, we showed that a customizable ML-based score derived from clinical variables, is feasible and effective for the prediction of in-hospital mortality.

Cumulative prognostic effect of diabetes and myocardial injury in patients attended in the emergency room

Background Diabetes and myocardial injury are clinical conditions associated with cardiovascular events and increased mortality during follow-up. It is not known to what extent both conditions enhance their prognostic effect in patients seen in the emergency room with cardiac troponin determination. Purpose This study aims to evaluate the prognostic implication of diabetes and myocardial injury in patients attended in the emergency room with cardiac troponin determination. Methods Retrospective observational cohorts study, in which all the patients attended the emergency room from January 2012 and December 2013 with a troponin determination. The sample was categorized according to the diabetes mellitus condition and myocardial injury (troponin below 99 th), studying four groups: non-diabetic without myocardial injury (G1), diabetic without myocardial injury (G2), non-diabetic with myocardial injury (G3), and diabetic with myocardial injury (G4). Baseline clinic characteristics and prognostic data were studied with a four years follow-up. Results A total of 3622 patients were studied; 924 (25'55%) diabetics. Three hundred seventy-one diabetic patients (40% of all diabetic patients) had an elevated troponin determination, while six hundred seventy-eights non-diabetic patients had elevated troponin (25'13% from all non-diabetics). Diabetic patients were significantly older (mean age 74 vs. 67 years). They had more frequently history of hypertension (81'9% vs 53'2%), acute myocardial infarction (31'6% vs 15'8%), heart failure (11'1% vs 5'7%), peripheral vascular disease (11'1% vs 5'2%), cerebrovascular disease (11'4% vs 6'6%), chronic pulmonary disease (23'3% vs 16'2%) and renal impairment (16'8% vs 5'2%). At four years of follow-up, G2, G3 and G4 had higher mortality than G1 (HR (95IC): 1,352 (1,080–1,693), 2,896 (2,896–3,477), and 3,441 (2,809–4,216), respectively). A multivariate competing risk model was used to obtain the HRs for readmission for myocardial infarction and heart failure between G2, G3 and G4 in relation to G1 (HR (IC 95%) 2,511 (1,592–3,96), 2,682 (1,739–4,138) and 5,036 (3,221–7,876), respectively for myocardial infarction, and 2,663 (1,825–3,886), 2,562 (1,753–3,744) and 4,292 (2,936–6,274) respectively for heart failure). Conclusions Both conditions, myocardial injury, and diabetes have a prognostic impact at a long-term follow-up with a cumulative effect, being the troponin elevation, a better prognostic marker of death risk, and similar to diabetes history for the risk of myocardial infarction and heart failure. FUNDunding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: None. ICC hospitalization cumulativeincidence IAM cumulative incidence

Soluble MICA versus Troponin as Early snd Specific Predictor for Acute Myocardial Infarction in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease

Background Accurate early detection & early management of MI as a life threatening condition in patients with CKD , who are more likely than those without it to have elevated troponin levels still challenging. Recently, MICA could be activated in the normal tissues by a variety of stimuli, such as ischemia/reperfusion-induced tissue injury. Aim of the Work To compare sensitivity and specificity of serum sMICA to that of Troponin for early and accurate diagnosis of AMI in patients with CKD. Patients and Methods Total 30 patients was enrolled in the study and divided into 2 groups A & B (15 for each one) in NHI , cTnI and sMICA was assayed in both groups; in the group A,cTnI & sMICA was assayed serially according to time from arrival of the patient to ED (0 hour , 3 hours, 6 hours, 12 hours, and 24 hours ) and recording the pattern of rising, peaking & falling of both biomarkers.. ‘ Results At zero hour both markers were positive serum level in both groups but lower in sMICA then pattern of rising and peaking of sMICA was early than TnI in AMI group which peaks later. Conclusion sMICA could be considered as a novel predictor that more sensitive and specific than cTnI.

Extremely high troponin levels induced by septic shock: a case report

Background Troponin levels can be elevated in various diseases other than acute myocardial infarction, including sepsis. In diseases without myocardial necrosis, the elevated troponin levels are relatively low and normalize quickly. Case presentation A 61-year-old Japanese man with impaired consciousness was transported to our hospital. He was diagnosed as having pneumonia and septic shock. His condition was severe, but his clinical course was good. However, his troponin level remained extremely high during admission; on the second day, it was higher than the measurable range. We consulted a cardiologist and performed echocardiography and myocardial perfusion scintigraphy but found no new ischemic changes. Conclusion In septic shock, troponin levels can be extremely high, which can persist even after recovery, as in very large myocardial infarctions.

Post-mRNA COVID-19 Vaccination Myocarditis

A new trend of myocarditis among young adults who received mRNA vaccines for COVID-19 is emerging. We present the case of a young adult who presented with chest pain 3 days after the second dose of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. He had elevated troponin I and C-reactive protein levels at the time of admission. Electrocardiogram (ECG) and echocardiogram findings were unremarkable. The patient improved with conservative management and was discharged home the next day.

Myocarditis and Pericarditis Following mRNA COVID-19 Vaccination: What Do We Know So Far?

This is a cross-sectional study of 29 published cases of acute myopericarditis following COVID-19 mRNA vaccination. The most common presentation was chest pain within 1–5 days after the second dose of mRNA COVID-19 vaccination. All patients had an elevated troponin. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging revealed late gadolinium enhancement consistent with myocarditis in 69% of cases. All patients recovered clinically rapidly within 1–3 weeks. Most patients were treated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for symptomatic relief, and 4 received intravenous immune globulin and corticosteroids. We speculate a possible causal relationship between vaccine administration and myocarditis. The data from our analysis confirms that all myocarditis and pericarditis cases are mild and resolve within a few days to few weeks. The bottom line is that the risk of cardiac complications among children and adults due to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection far exceeds the minimal and rare risks of vaccination-related transient myocardial or pericardial inflammation.

Self-limited myocarditis presenting with chest pain and ST segment elevation in adolescents after vaccination with the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine

Two adolescent males presented within 3 days after the first and second dose of the BNT162b2 vaccine with chest pain. Elevated troponin levels, ST segment elevation, and enhancement of the myocardium in cardiac MRI suggested myocarditis. Left ventricular function remained normal, symptoms resolved, and patients were discharged in 4 days. BNT162b2 vaccine may be associated with self-limited myocarditis in youth.