著者
Yuki Ikeda Junya Ako Koichi Toda Atsushi Hirayama Koichiro Kinugawa Yoshio Kobayashi Minoru Ono Takashi Nishimura Naoki Sato Takahiro Shindo Morimasa Takayama Satoshi Yasukochi Akira Shiose Yoshiki Sawa J-PVAD Investigators
出版者
The Japanese Circulation Society
雑誌
Circulation Journal (ISSN:13469843)
巻号頁・発行日
vol.87, no.5, pp.588-597, 2023-04-25 (Released:2023-04-25)
参考文献数
30
被引用文献数
16

Background: The Impella®percutaneous left ventricular assist device has been available in Japan since 2017. This is the first large-scale registry study to analyze the efficacy and safety of Impella in Japanese patients with acute myocardial infarction with cardiogenic shock (AMICS).Methods and Results: The Japanese registry for Percutaneous Ventricular Assist Device (J-PVAD) has registered all consecutive Japanese patients treated with Impella. We extracted data for 593 AMICS patients from J-PVAD and analyzed 30-day survival and safety profiles. Overall 30-day survival was 63.1%. The 30-day survival of the Impella alone and Impella plus venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECPELLA) groups was 80.9% and 45.7%, respectively. The Impella alone group was older and had a lower rate of cardiac arrest, milder consciousness disturbance, less inotrope use, lower serum lactate concentrations, higher B-type natriuretic peptide concentrations, and higher left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) than the ECPELLA group. Cox regression analysis revealed that older age and comorbid renal disturbance were common risk factors affecting 30-day mortality in both groups. Major adverse events were hemolysis (10.8%), hemorrhage/hematoma (7.6%), peripheral ischemia (4.4%), stroke (1.3%), and thrombosis (0.7%). LVEF improved in both groups during support.Conclusions: AMICS treatment with Impella showed favorable 30-day survival and safety profiles. The survival rate of patients treated with Impella alone was particularly high. Further studies are needed to improve outcomes of patients with ECPELLA support.
著者
Yuki Ikeda Junya Ako Koichi Toda Atsushi Hirayama Koichiro Kinugawa Yoshio Kobayashi Minoru Ono Takashi Nishimura Naoki Sato Takahiro Shindo Morimasa Takayama Satoshi Yasukochi Akira Shiose Yoshiki Sawa J-PVAD Investigators
出版者
The Japanese Circulation Society
雑誌
Circulation Journal (ISSN:13469843)
巻号頁・発行日
pp.CJ-22-0476, (Released:2023-01-20)
参考文献数
30
被引用文献数
16

Background: The Impella®percutaneous left ventricular assist device has been available in Japan since 2017. This is the first large-scale registry study to analyze the efficacy and safety of Impella in Japanese patients with acute myocardial infarction with cardiogenic shock (AMICS).Methods and Results: The Japanese registry for Percutaneous Ventricular Assist Device (J-PVAD) has registered all consecutive Japanese patients treated with Impella. We extracted data for 593 AMICS patients from J-PVAD and analyzed 30-day survival and safety profiles. Overall 30-day survival was 63.1%. The 30-day survival of the Impella alone and Impella plus venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECPELLA) groups was 80.9% and 45.7%, respectively. The Impella alone group was older and had a lower rate of cardiac arrest, milder consciousness disturbance, less inotrope use, lower serum lactate concentrations, higher B-type natriuretic peptide concentrations, and higher left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) than the ECPELLA group. Cox regression analysis revealed that older age and comorbid renal disturbance were common risk factors affecting 30-day mortality in both groups. Major adverse events were hemolysis (10.8%), hemorrhage/hematoma (7.6%), peripheral ischemia (4.4%), stroke (1.3%), and thrombosis (0.7%). LVEF improved in both groups during support.Conclusions: AMICS treatment with Impella showed favorable 30-day survival and safety profiles. The survival rate of patients treated with Impella alone was particularly high. Further studies are needed to improve outcomes of patients with ECPELLA support.
著者
Junya Matsuda Hitoshi Takano Masaki Morooka Yoichi Imori Jun Nakata Mitsunobu Kitamura Shuhei Tara Yukichi Tokita Takeshi Yamamoto Morimasa Takayama Wataru Shimizu
出版者
The Japanese Circulation Society
雑誌
Circulation Journal (ISSN:13469843)
巻号頁・発行日
pp.CJ-20-1191, (Released:2021-04-24)
参考文献数
28
被引用文献数
4

Background:Alcohol septal ablation (ASA) is a treatment option in patients with drug-refractory symptomatic hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM). In many patients, right bundle branch block (RBBB) develops during ASA because septal branches supply the right bundle branch. However, the clinical significance of procedural RBBB is uncertain.Methods and Results:We retrospectively reviewed 184 consecutive patients with HOCM who underwent ASA. We excluded 40 patients with pre-existing RBBB (n=10), prior pacemaker implantation (n=15), mid-ventricular obstruction type (n=10), and those lost to follow-up (n=5), leaving 144 patients for analysis. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to the development (n=95) or not (n=49) of procedural RBBB. ASA conferred significant decreases in the left ventricular pressure gradient (LVPG) in both the RBBB and no-RBBB group (from 74±48 to 27±27 mmHg [P<0.001] and from 75±45 to 31±33 mmHg [P<0.001], respectively). None of the RBBB patients developed further conduction system disturbances. The percentage reduction in LVPG at 1 year after the procedure was significantly greater in the RBBB than no-RBBB group (66±24% vs. 49±45%; P=0.035). Procedural RBBB was not associated with pacemaker implantation after ASA, but was associated with reduction in repeat ASA (odds ratio 0.34; 95% confidence interval 0.13–0.92; P=0.045).Conclusions:Although RBBB frequently occurs during the ASA procedure, it does not adversely affect clinical outcomes.
著者
Shigeru Saito Takaaki Isshiki Takeshi Kimura Hisao Ogawa Hiroyoshi Yokoi Shinsuke Nanto Morimasa Takayama Kazuo Kitagawa Masakatsu Nishikawa Shunichi Miyazaki Masato Nakamura
出版者
日本循環器学会
雑誌
Circulation Journal (ISSN:13469843)
巻号頁・発行日
vol.78, no.7, pp.1684-1692, 2014 (Released:2014-06-25)
参考文献数
14
被引用文献数
44 253

Background: Prasugrel is an antiplatelet agent that shows more prompt, potent, and consistent platelet inhibition than clopidogrel. The objective of this study was to confirm the efficacy and safety of prasugrel at loading/maintenance doses of 20/3.75mg. Methods and Results: Japanese patients (n=1,363) with acute coronary syndrome undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention were randomized to either prasugrel (20/3.75mg) or clopidogrel (300/75mg), both in combination with aspirin (81–330mg for the first dose and 81–100mg/day thereafter), for 24–48 weeks. The primary efficacy endpoint was the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) at 24 weeks, defined as a composite of cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, and nonfatal ischemic stroke. We compared the incidence of MACE between the 2 groups using point estimates. Safety outcomes included the incidence of bleeding events until 2 weeks after the last dose. The incidence of MACE at 24 weeks was 9.4% in the prasugrel group and 11.8% in the clopidogrel group (risk reduction 23%, hazard ratio 0.77, 95% confidence interval 0.56–1.07). The incidence of non-coronary artery bypass graft-related major bleeding was similar in both groups (1.9% vs. 2.2%). Conclusions: Prasugrel 20/3.75mg was associated with a low incidence of ischemic events, similar to the results of TRITON-TIMI 38, and with a low risk of clinically serious bleeding in Japanese ACS patients.  (Circ J 2014; 78: 1684–1692)
著者
Riku Arai Yasuo Okumura Nobuhiro Murata Daisuke Fukamachi Satoshi Honda Kensaku Nishihira Sunao Kojima Misa Takegami Yasuhide Asaumi Jun Yamashita Mike Saji Kiyoshi Hibi Jun Takahashi Yasuhiko Sakata Morimasa Takayama Tetsuya Sumiyoshi Hisao Ogawa Kazuo Kimura Satoshi Yasuda on behalf of the JAMIR Investigators
出版者
The Japanese Circulation Society
雑誌
Circulation Journal (ISSN:13469843)
巻号頁・発行日
pp.CJ-23-0477, (Released:2023-11-23)
参考文献数
28
被引用文献数
1

Background: This post hoc subanalysis aimed to investigate the impact of polyvascular disease (PolyVD) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in the contemporary era of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).Methods and Results: The Japan Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry (JAMIR), a multicenter prospective registry, enrolled 3,411 patients with AMI between December 2015 and May 2017. Patients were classified according to complications of a prior stroke and/or peripheral artery disease into an AMI-only group (involvement of 1 vascular bed [1-bed group]; n=2,980), PolyVD with one of the complications (2-bed group; n=383), and PolyVD with both complications (3-bed group; n=48). The primary endpoint was all-cause death. Secondary endpoints were major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), including cardiovascular death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, non-fatal stroke, and major bleeding. In the 1-, 2-, and 3-bed groups, the cumulative incidence of all-cause death was 6.8%, 17.5%, and 23.7%, respectively (P<0.001); that of MACE was 7.4%, 16.4%, and 33.8% (P<0.001), respectively; and that of major bleeding was 4.8%, 10.0%, and 13.9% (P<0.001), respectively. PolyVD was independently associated with all-cause death (hazard ratio [HR] 2.21; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.48–3.29), MACE (HR 2.07; 95% CI 1.40–3.07), and major bleeding (HR 1.68; 95% CI 1.04–2.71).Conclusions: PolyVD was significantly associated with worse outcomes, including thrombotic and bleeding events, in the contemporary era of PCI in AMI patients.
著者
Ryosuke Higuchi Mamoru Nanasato Yuko Furuichi Yumiko Hosoya Go Haraguchi Morimasa Takayama Mitsuaki Isobe
出版者
The Japanese Circulation Society
雑誌
Circulation Reports (ISSN:24340790)
巻号頁・発行日
pp.CR-23-0078, (Released:2023-10-18)
参考文献数
24

Background: The number of octo- and nonagenarians admitted to cardiac care units (CCUs) has been increasing in the context of an aging society; however, clinical details and outcomes for these patients are scarce.Methods and Results: Data from 2,242 consecutive patients admitted to the CCU between 2019 and 2021 (age <80 years, 1,390 [62%]; octogenarians, 655 [29%]; nonagenarians, 197 [8.7%]) were reviewed using the in-hospital database for the Tokyo CCU Network. The primary cause of admission was acute coronary syndrome in younger patients and octogenarians (58% and 49%, respectively) and acute heart failure (AHF) in nonagenarians (42%). The proportions of females, underweight, hypertension, atrial fibrillation, myocardial infarction, stroke, previous heart failure, anemia, and malnutrition were higher among octo- and nonagenarians than among younger patients. In-hospital and 1-year mortality rates were greater in octo- and nonagenarians (younger vs. octogenarian vs. nonagenarian, 2.0% vs. 3.8% vs. 5.6% and 4.1% vs. 11.9% vs. 19.0%, respectively). Multivariate analysis revealed that 1-year mortality was associated with octo-/nonagenarian status (odds ratio [OR] 2.24 and 2.64), AHF (OR 2.88), body mass index (OR per 1-kg/m20.91), and albumin concentration (OR per 1-g/dL 0.27).Conclusions: Approximately 40% of patients admitted to the CCU were octo- or nonagenarians, and being an octo- or nonagenarian, having AHF, a lower body mass index, and lower albumin concentrations were associated with 1-year mortality after CCU admission.
著者
Kazutaka Aonuma Hiro Yamasaki Masato Nakamura Takashi Matsumoto Morimasa Takayama Kenji Ando Kenzo Hirao Masahiko Goya Yoshihiro Morino Kentaro Hayashida Kengo Kusano Yutaka Gomi Michael L. Main Takahiro Uchida Shigeru Saito
出版者
The Japanese Circulation Society
雑誌
Circulation Journal (ISSN:13469843)
巻号頁・発行日
pp.CJ-20-0196, (Released:2020-06-26)
参考文献数
16
被引用文献数
15

Background:The SALUTE trial was a prospective, multicenter, single-arm trial to confirm the safety and efficacy of the WATCHMAN left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) device for stroke prevention in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) in Japan.Methods and Results:A total of 54 subjects (including 12 roll-in subjects) with a WATCHMAN implant procedure were followed in 10 investigational centers. Follow-up visits were performed up to 2 years post-implant. The baseline CHA2DS2-VASc score was 3.6±1.6 and the baseline HAS-BLED score was 3.0±1.1. All 42 subjects in the intention to treat (ITT) cohort underwent successful implantation of the LAAC device without any serious complications, achieving the prespecified performance goal. The effective LAAC rate was maintained at 100% from 45 days to 12 months post-implant, achieving the prespecified performance goal. During follow-up, 1 subject died of heart failure, and 3 had ischemic strokes, but there were no cases of hemorrhagic stroke or systemic embolism. All events were adjudicated as unrelated to the WATCHMAN device/procedure by the independent Clinical Events Committee. All 3 ischemic strokes were classified as nondisabling based on no change in the modified Rankin scale score.Conclusions:Final results of the SALUTE trial demonstrated that the WATCHMAN LAAC device is an effective and safe alternative nonpharmacological therapy for stroke risk reduction in Japanese NVAF patients who are not optimal candidates for lifelong anticoagulation. (Trial Registration: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier NCT 03033134)
著者
Kazutaka Aonuma Hiro Yamasaki Masato Nakamura Tatsushi Ootomo Morimasa Takayama Kenji Ando Kenzo Hirao Yoshihiro Morino Kentaro Hayashida Kengo Kusano Michael L. Main Shigeru Saito
出版者
The Japanese Circulation Society
雑誌
Circulation Journal (ISSN:13469843)
巻号頁・発行日
vol.82, no.12, pp.2946-2953, 2018-11-24 (Released:2018-11-24)
参考文献数
22
被引用文献数
34

Background: The PROTECT AF and PREVAIL trials demonstrated that the WATCHMAN left atrial appendage (LAA) closure device is a reasonable alternative to warfarin therapy for stroke prevention in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) in the USA and Europe. We conducted the SALUTE trial to confirm the safety and efficacy of the LAA closure therapy for patients with NVAF in Japan. Methods and Results: A total of 54 subjects (including 12 Roll-in) with NVAF who had a CHA2DS2-VASc score ≥2 were enrolled. All subjects were successfully implanted with the LAA closure device. No serious adverse events related to the primary procedure-safety endpoint occurred. The 2nd co-primary endpoint was a composite of all stroke, systemic embolism and cardiovascular/unexplained death. One ischemic stroke (1/42) occurred during the 6-month follow-up. The effective LAA closure rate defined as the 3rd co-primary endpoint was 100% (42/42) at both 45-day and 6-month follow-up. Conclusions: The procedural safety and 6-month results from the SALUTE trial demonstrated that the LAA closure device was safe and effective, similar to the results of large-scale randomized clinical trials, and provides a novel perspective of LAA closure for Japanese patients with NVAF in need of an alternative to long-term oral-anticoagulation. (Trial Registration: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier NCT 03033134)
著者
Manabu Nitta Makoto Kaneko Sayuri Shimizu Hideaki Kanazawa Yuji Itabashi Kotaro Miura Mike Saji Itaru Takamisawa Morimasa Takayama Shintaro Nakano Saki Hasegawa-Tamba Shinichiro Ueda
出版者
International Heart Journal Association
雑誌
International Heart Journal (ISSN:13492365)
巻号頁・発行日
vol.63, no.5, pp.864-873, 2022-09-30 (Released:2022-09-30)
参考文献数
26
被引用文献数
1

In patients with atrial septal defect (ASD), atrial left-to-right shunting causes left atrial (LA) remodeling and dysfunction, leading to atrial fibrillation (AF). In adults with ASD and concomitant AF, LA function should be evaluated after ASD closure plus AF radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA).This multicenter retrospective cohort study included patients who underwent transcatheter ASD closure at one of the four leading hospitals. Patients with a history of AF also underwent preceding RFCA. The association between AF history and LA ejection fraction (EF) (indicating LA global function) at 6-12 months following ASD closure was evaluated. To account for differences in baseline characteristics between patients with and without a history of AF, we conducted the following statistical methods: (1) multivariate regression analysis in the prepropensity score (PS)-matched cohort and (2) univariate comparisons in the PS-matched cohort.Overall, this study included 231 patients (30 with AF history, 201 without). Multiple regression analysis showed that AF history was independently associated with impaired LAEF (β = −10.425, P < 0.001, model created prior to propensity matching). A one-to-one PS matching (25 pairs) showed that the LAEF at 6-12 months following ASD closure was significantly impaired in patients with ASD and AF history compared to that in patients without history of AF (median LAEF, 37.5% (interquartile range [IQR] 29.4%-48.5%) versus 52.3 [IQR 50.0%-56.6%]; P < 0.001).LA function was impaired in patients with ASD and a history of AF at 6-12 months after successful transcatheter ASD closure and on maintenance of sinus rhythm by RFCA.
著者
Hiroaki Yokoyama Hirofumi Tomita Satoshi Honda Kensaku Nishihira Sunao Kojima Misa Takegami Yasuhide Asaumi Jun Yamashita Mike Saji Masami Kosuge Jun Takahashi Yasuhiko Sakata Morimasa Takayama Tetsuya Sumiyoshi Hisao Ogawa Kazuo Kimura Satoshi Yasuda on behalf of the JAMIR Investigators
出版者
The Japanese Circulation Society
雑誌
Circulation Journal (ISSN:13469843)
巻号頁・発行日
pp.CJ-21-0705, (Released:2021-11-20)
参考文献数
33
被引用文献数
7

Background:Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients with low body mass index (BMI) exhibit worse clinical outcomes than obese patients; however, to our knowledge, no prospective, nationwide study has assessed the effect of BMI on the clinical outcomes of AMI patients.Methods and Results:In this multi-center, prospective, nationwide Japanese trial, 2,373 AMI patients who underwent emergent percutaneous coronary intervention within 12 h of onset from the Japanese AMI Registry (JAMIR) were identified. Patients were divided into the following 4 groups based on their BMI at admission: Q1 group (BMI <18.5 kg/m2, n=133), Q2 group (18.5≤BMI<25.0 kg/m2, n=1,424), Q3 group (25.0≤BMI<30.0 kg/m2, n=672), and Q4 group (30.0 kg/m2≤BMI, n=144). The primary endpoint was all-cause death, and the secondary endpoint was a composite of cardiovascular death, non-fatal myocardial infarction (MI), and non-fatal stroke. The median follow-up period was 358 days. Q1 patients were older and had lower prevalence of coronary risk factors. Q1 patients also had higher all-cause mortality and higher incidence of secondary endpoints than normal-weight or obese AMI patients. Multivariate analysis showed that low BMI (Q1 group) was an independent predictor for primary endpoint.Conclusions:AMI patients with low BMI had fewer coronary risk factors but worse clinical outcomes than normal-weight or obese patients.
著者
Mizuki Miura Masao Yamasaki Yukari Uemura Masatomo Yoshikawa Katsumi Miyauchi Hiroyuki Tanaka Hideki Miyachi Jun Yamashita Makoto Suzuki Takeshi Yamamoto Ken Nagao Issei Komuro Morimasa Takayama
出版者
The Japanese Circulation Society
雑誌
Circulation Journal (ISSN:13469843)
巻号頁・発行日
vol.80, no.2, pp.461-468, 2016-01-25 (Released:2016-01-25)
参考文献数
22
被引用文献数
14 18

Background:Previous trials have found that low low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) on admission was associated with increased mortality in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). There are few reports, however, on the effect of low LDL-C with or without in-hospital statin treatment on short-term prognosis in AMI patients.Methods and Results:A total of 9,032 AMI patients underwent primary PCI in 68 centers in the Tokyo CCU Network Registry during 2009–2012, in whom LDL-C was measured in 6,486. We divided them into 4 groups: statin-treated/LDL-C <100 mg/dl (n=1,236), statin-treated/LDL-C ≥100 mg/dl (n=3,671), statin-naïve/LDL-C <100 mg/dl (n=662), and statin-naïve/LDL-C ≥100 mg/dl (n=917). We assessed hospital mortality within 30 days. In-hospital all-cause mortality was significantly lower in the statin-treated/LDL-C ≥100-mg/dl group (3.2%, P<0.001). On multivariate Cox regression analysis, adjusted for age, gender, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia and other clinical factors, the combination of statin treatment and LDL-C ≥100 mg/dl was an independent predictor of lower in-hospital mortality (adjusted HR, 0.211; 95% CI: 0.096–0.462; P<0.001). In the LDL-C <100-mg/dl patients, statin treatment also independently reduced in-hospital mortality (adjusted HR, 0.467; 95% CI: 0.223–0.976; P=0.043). Spontaneously low LDL-C was associated with increased short-term mortality.Conclusions:Statin treatment was associated with better short-term outcome in patients with AMI, even in patients with low LDL-C. (Circ J 2016; 80: 461–468)
著者
Satoshi Yasuda Satoshi Honda Misa Takegami Kensaku Nishihira Sunao Kojima Yasuhide Asaumi Makoto Suzuki Masami Kosuge Jun Takahashi Yasuhiko Sakata Morimasa Takayama Tetsuya Sumiyoshi Hisao Ogawa Kazuo Kimura on behalf of the JAMIR Investigators
出版者
The Japanese Circulation Society
雑誌
Circulation Journal (ISSN:13469843)
巻号頁・発行日
pp.CJ-19-0145, (Released:2019-06-14)
参考文献数
32
被引用文献数
17

Background:Antiplatelet therapy is the corner stone of treatment following acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Prasugrel, a new and potent antiplatelet agent, was recently introduced to clinical practice. We compared the clinical outcomes of patients with AMI treated with prasugrel with those treated with clopidogrel in real-world clinical practice in Japan.Methods and Results:The Japan AMI Registry (JAMIR) is a multicenter, nationwide, prospective registry enrolling patients with AMI from 50 institutes. Between December 2015 and May 2017, a total of 3,411 patients were enrolled. Among them, 3,069 patients were treated with either prasugrel (n=2,607) or clopidogrel (n=462) during hospitalization. Median follow-up period was 12 months. Prasugrel-treated patients were predominantly male, younger, more often showed ST-elevation AMI, and had fewer comorbidities. After adjustment using inverse probability of treatment weighting, the primary endpoint, defined as a composite of cardiovascular death, non-fatal MI and non-fatal stroke, was comparable between the prasugrel and clopidogrel groups (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 1.07, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.67–1.72), whereas the risk of major bleeding (BARC type 3 or 5 bleeding) was significantly lower in the prasugrel group (adjusted HR 0.62, 95% CI 0.39–0.99).Conclusions:The present real-world database of the JAMIR demonstrated that the potent P2Y12-inhibitor prasugrel showed comparable rates of 1-year ischemic events to clopidogrel, but the risk of bleeding was lower with prasugrel than with clopidogrel.
著者
Atsushi Mizuno Takeshi Yamamoto Yasuhiro Tanabe Toru Obayashi Morimasa Takayama Ken Nagao Tokyo CCU Network Scientific Committee
出版者
日本循環器学会
雑誌
Circulation Journal (ISSN:13469843)
巻号頁・発行日
vol.79, no.4, pp.889-891, 2015-03-25 (Released:2015-03-25)
参考文献数
11
被引用文献数
4 8

Background:The Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index (PESI) and simplified PESI (sPESI) have not been fully evaluated in Japan, so the present study aimed to evaluate these risk stratification models in the prediction of mortality of affected patients in Japan.Methods and Results:We retrospectively analysed 302 PE patients (63.9±17.2 years of age; 42.4% male) from January 2011 to December 2012 using data from the Tokyo CCU Network. The areas under the receiver-operating characteristic curves were 0.92 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.88–0.97) for the PESI and 0.88 (95% CI: 0.77–0.98) for the sPESI.Conclusions:Both scores can be used to predict PE mortality in Japan. (Circ J 2015; 79: 889–891)