著者

Junji Mochizuki Takeshi Nakaura Mitsuru Matsukura Yoshiki Hata Toshinori Hirai

出版者

The Japanese Circulation Society

雑誌

Circulation Reports (ISSN:24340790)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.3, no.3, pp.184-185, 2021-03-10 (Released:2021-03-10)

参考文献数

1

被引用文献数

1

著者

Atsushi Mizuno Chisa Matsumoto Daisuke Yoneoka Takuya Kishi Mari Ishida Shoji Sanada Memori Fukuda Yoshihiko Saito Keiko Yamauchi-Takihara Hiroyuki Tsutsui Keiichi Fukuda Issei Komuro Koichi Node

出版者

The Japanese Circulation Society

雑誌

Circulation Reports (ISSN:24340790)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.3, no.3, pp.137-141, 2021-03-10 (Released:2021-03-10)

参考文献数

21

被引用文献数

6

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Background:From the early phase of the Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, cardiologists have paid attention not only to COVID-19-associated cardiovascular sequelae, but also to treatment strategies for rescheduling non-urgent procedures. The chief objective of this study was to explore confirmed COVID-19 cardiology case experiences and departmental policies, and their regional heterogeneity in Japan.Methods and Results:We performed a retrospective analysis of a nationwide survey performed by the Japanese Circulation Society on April 13, 2020. The questionnaire included cardiology department experience with confirmed COVID-19 cases and restriction policies, and was sent to 1,360 certified cardiology training hospitals. Descriptive analysis and spatial autocorrelation analysis of each response were performed to reveal the heterogeneity of departmental policies. The response rate was 56.8% (773 replies). Only 16% of all responding hospitals experienced a COVID-19 cardiology case. High-risk procedures were restricted in more than one-fifth of hospitals, including transesophageal echocardiography (34.9%) and scheduled catheterization (39.5%). The presence of a cardiologist in the COVID-19 team, the number of board-certified cardiologists, any medical resource shortage and a state of emergency were positively correlated with any type of restriction.Conclusions:We found both low clinical case experiences with COVID-19 and restrictions of cardiovascular procedures during the first COVID-19 wave in Japan. Restrictions arising as a result of COVID-19 were affected by hospital- and country-level variables, such as a state of emergency.

著者

Kensuke Toyama Michiya Igase Joshua M. Spin Yasunori Abe Amarsanaa Javkhlant Yoko Okada Markus U. Wagenhäuser Hubert Schelzig Philip S. Tsao Masaki Mogi

出版者

The Japanese Circulation Society

雑誌

Circulation Reports (ISSN:24340790)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.3, no.3, pp.170-177, 2021-03-10 (Released:2021-03-10)

参考文献数

23

被引用文献数

4

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Background:Tight junction (TJ) disruption and dysfunction are involved in the progression of arteriosclerosis. miR-501-3p regulates endothelial TJ protein-1, resulting in TJ disruption. Because exosomal microRNAs can travel to distant tissues and influence cell behavior, patients with elevated miR-501-3p may experience accelerated vascular disease progression secondary to miR-501-3p-induced reductions in TJ. This study investigated whether plasma exosome miR-501-3p levels are associated with vascular stiffness, an indicator for arteriosclerotic changes.Methods and Results:Fifty-one subjects (mean [±SD] age 70±8 years, 37% male) enrolled in a medical checkup program were recruited to the study. Brachial-ankle arterial pulse wave velocity (baPWV) and plasma exosome miR-501-3p expression were measured. Patients were divided into 2 groups depending on whether their miR-501-3p ∆Ctvalues were above (“High”; n=24) or below (“Low”; n=27) the cut-off levels determined by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Median (interquartile range) baPWV levels were significantly higher in the miR-501-3p High than Low group (1,664 [1,496–1,859] vs. 1,450 [1,353–1,686] cm/s, respectively; P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed a significant association between increased baPWV and High miR-501-3p expression (odds ratio 4.66). At follow-up visits (mean 62 months later), baPWV remained significantly higher in the miR-501-3p High than Low group (1,830 [1,624–2,056] vs. 1,620 [1,377–1,816] cm/s, respectively; P<0.05).Conclusions:High expression levels of exosome miR-501-3p contribute to arteriosclerotic changes.

著者

Hitoshi Goto Michihisa Umetsu Daijirou Akamatsu Hirofumi Sugawara Ken Tsuchida Yoshitaro Yoshida Shunya Suzuki Takashi Kamei

出版者

The Japanese Circulation Society

雑誌

Circulation Journal (ISSN:13469843)

巻号頁・発行日

pp.CJ-20-0713, (Released:2021-03-09)

参考文献数

28

被引用文献数

1

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Background:Because anticoagulant drugs for ambulatory patients with cancer-associated venous thromboembolism (CAT) are limited to warfarin and direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) in Japan, it is important to assess the outcomes of both drugs.Methods and Results:We retrospectively assessed the outcomes of CAT patients who were treated with warfarin or edoxaban between 2011 and 2017. The assessment was limited to the duration of anticoagulant administration. CAT patients who did not receive anticoagulation therapy were also compared with the warfarin and edoxaban groups. We enrolled 111 CAT patients treated with warfarin (n=58, mean age 62.6 years, mean time in therapeutic range [TTR] % 61.1) or edoxaban (n=53, mean age 64.6 years). Although venous thromboembolism (VTE) recurred in 2 warfarin-treated patients, the 2 treatment groups were not significantly different (P=0.18). Bleeding during anticoagulation therapy occurred in 6 warfarin-treated patients (2 with major bleeding) and in 5 edoxaban-treated patients (no major bleeding) (P=1.0). The non-anticoagulation group (n=37) showed a high recurrence rate (P<0.01) compared with the anticoagulant group.Conclusions:This study showed that warfarin and edoxaban are equally effective in preventing VTE recurrence and bleeding. However, warfarin control in CAT patients presented some difficulties. This study also demonstrated the efficacy of anticoagulant drugs, compared with no anticoagulation, for CAT patients to prevent VTE recurrence.

著者

JCS Joint Working Group

出版者

The Japanese Circulation Society

雑誌

Circulation Journal (ISSN:13469843)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.78, no.11, pp.2779-2801, 2014-10-24 (Released:2014-10-24)

参考文献数

292

被引用文献数

211 363

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(Circ J 2014; 78: 2779–2801)

著者

Sei Komatsu Satoru Takahashi Mitsuhiko Takewa Chikao Yutani Kazuhisa Kodama

出版者

The Japanese Circulation Society

雑誌

Circulation Reports (ISSN:24340790)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.3, no.2, pp.112-113, 2021-02-10 (Released:2021-02-10)

被引用文献数

1

著者

Reiko Fukuda Tetsuya Ishikawa Yuki Kondo Masatoshi Shimura Yukiko Mizutani Shiro Nakahara Isao Taguchi

出版者

The Japanese Circulation Society

雑誌

Circulation Reports (ISSN:24340790)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.3, no.1, pp.66-67, 2021-01-08 (Released:2021-01-08)

参考文献数

2

著者

Nobunaga Okada Tasuku Matsuyama Sachiko Morita Naoki Ehara Nobuhiro Miyamae Yohei Okada Takaaki Jo Yasuyuki Sumida Makoto Watanabe Masahiro Nozawa Ayumu Tsuruoka Yoshihiro Fujimoto Yoshiki Okumura Kunio Hamanaka Tetsuhisa Kitamura Kei Nishiyama Bon Ohta

出版者

The Japanese Circulation Society

雑誌

Circulation Journal (ISSN:13469843)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.84, no.3, pp.445-455, 2020-02-25 (Released:2020-02-25)

参考文献数

21

被引用文献数

3

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Background: The Osborn wave (OW) is often observed in hypothermic patients; however, whether OW in hypothermic patients is related to the development of fatal ventricular arrhythmia, including ventricular fibrillation (VF) and pulseless ventricular tachycardia (VT), remains undetermined. This study aimed to estimate the association between OW and the incidence of fatal ventricular arrhythmias.Methods and Results: This retrospective study used the Japanese Accidental Hypothermia Network registry database and included 572 hypothermic patients. Patients were divided into the OW group (those with OW) and non-OW group (those without OW). The relationship between the development of fatal arrhythmias and presence of OW was assessed using the chi-squared test. All patients who developed VF/VT (n=10) had OW on electrocardiogram upon hospital arrival. The presence of OW had a sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 47.8%, positive predictive value of 4.0%, and negative predictive value of 100% for VF/VT development. The in-hospital mortality rate was 22.3% in the OW group and 21.2% in the non-OW group (P=0.781).Conclusions: OW was observed in all hypothermic patients with VF/VT. The occurrence of ventricular arrhythmias is highly unlikely in the absence of OW on the electrocardiogram. Although the presence of OW might be used to predict these fatal arrhythmias in hypothermic patients, there was no association between the presence of OW and in-hospital mortality.

著者

Toshihisa Anzai

出版者

The Japanese Circulation Society

雑誌

Circulation Journal (ISSN:13469843)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.85, no.1, pp.1, 2020-12-25 (Released:2020-12-25)

著者

Kenichi Kurosaki Masataka Kitano Heima Sakaguchi Isao Shiraishi Naoko Iwanaga Jun Yoshimatsu Takaya Hoashi Hajime Ichikawa Satoshi Yasuda

出版者

The Japanese Circulation Society

雑誌

Circulation Journal (ISSN:13469843)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.84, no.12, pp.2275-2285, 2020-11-25 (Released:2020-11-25)

参考文献数

30

被引用文献数

3

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Background:Congenital heart disease (CHD) is often diagnosed prenatally using fetal echocardiography, but few studies have evaluated the accuracy of these fetal cardiac diagnoses in detail. We investigated the discrepancy between pre- and postnatal diagnoses of CHD and the impact of discrepant diagnoses.Methods and Results:This retrospective study at a tertiary institution included data from the medical records of 207 neonates with prenatally diagnosed CHD admitted to the cardiac neonatal intensive care unit between January 2011 and December 2016. Pre- and postnatal diagnoses of CHD differed in 12% of neonates. Coarctation of the aorta and ventricular septal defects were the most frequent causes of discrepant diagnosis. Unexpected treatments were added to 38% of discrepant diagnostic cases. However, discrepant diagnoses did not adversely affect the clinical course. The 9% of the 207 neonates who required invasive intervention within 24 h of delivery were accurately diagnosed prenatally.Conclusions:Pre- and postnatal diagnoses differed in only a few neonates, with differences not adversely affecting the clinical course. Neonates who required invasive intervention immediately after delivery were accurately diagnosed prenatally. Prenatal diagnosis thus seems to contribute to improved prognosis in neonates with CHD.

著者

Hiroshi Kadowaki Hiroshi Akazawa Junichi Ishida Issei Komuro

出版者

The Japanese Circulation Society

雑誌

Circulation Journal (ISSN:13469843)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.84, no.9, pp.1446-1453, 2020-08-25 (Released:2020-08-25)

参考文献数

58

被引用文献数

10

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Improvements in the long-term survival of cancer patients have led to growing awareness of the clinical importance of cancer therapeutics-related cardiac dysfunction (CTRCD), which can have a considerable effect on the prognosis and quality of life of cancer patients and survivors. Under such circumstances, onco-cardiology/cardio-oncology has emerged as a new discipline, with the aim of best managing cardiovascular complications, including CTRCD. Despite the recent accumulation of epidemiological and clinical information regarding CTRCD, the molecular mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of CTRCD by individual drugs remain to be determined. To achieve the goal of preventing cardiovascular complications in cancer patients and survivors, it is important to elucidate the pathogenic mechanisms and to establish diagnostic strategies with risk prediction and mechanism- and evidence-based therapies against CTRCD.

著者

Makoto Sugihara Kaori Mine Makito Futami Yuta Kato Tadaaki Arimura Masaya Yano Yosuke Takamiya Takashi Kuwano Shin-ichiro Miura

出版者

The Japanese Circulation Society

雑誌

Circulation Reports (ISSN:24340790)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.2, no.11, pp.682-690, 2020-11-10 (Released:2020-11-10)

参考文献数

21

被引用文献数

4

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Background:Drug-coated balloon strategies in endovascular therapy often result in severe dissection, so lesion preparation must be improved. We evaluated the efficacy of a gradual inflation method, termed “super slow inflation” (SSI), in preparing lesions to avoid severe dissections.Methods and Results:The association between balloon pressure and the dilatation of a model constricted vessel, as well as the load applied to the balloon surface, were determined using a burst leak detector for a quick inflation (QI; 1 atm/s) protocol and SSI (1 atm/20 s). A retrospective, single-center, non-randomized study evaluated differences in vessel dissection patterns after balloon angioplasty depending on inflation method in 81 consecutive patients (mean [±SD] age 74.6±9.2 years; 54 males) who underwent balloon angioplasty for de novo femoropopliteal lesions between January 2017 and March 2019. In the constricted vessel model, vessel dilatation increased gradually using SSI, with the maximum dilatation load being approximately 100 g lower for the SSI than QI protocol. In patients, the rate of severe vessel dissection was significantly lower in the SSI than non-SSI group (17.6% vs. 55.2%, respectively; P<0.001). Multivariate regression analysis revealed that SSI was an independent factor preventing severe dissection (odds ratio 0.18; 95% confidence interval 0.06–0.53; P=0.002).Conclusions:SSI is a gentle and effective method for the preparation of femoropopliteal lesions to reduce the incidence of severe angiographic dissection when using drug-coated balloons.

著者

Yuji Nishimoto Yugo Yamashita Kitae Kim Takeshi Morimoto Syunsuke Saga Hidewo Amano Toru Takase Seiichi Hiramori Maki Oi Masaharu Akao Yohei Kobayashi Mamoru Toyofuku Toshiaki Izumi Tomohisa Tada Po-Min Chen Koichiro Murata Yoshiaki Tsuyuki Tomoki Sasa Jiro Sakamoto Minako Kinoshita Kiyonori Togi Hiroshi Mabuchi Kensuke Takabayashi Yusuke Yoshikawa Hiroki Shiomi Takao Kato Takeru Makiyama Koh Ono Yukihito Sato Takeshi Kimura on behalf of the COMMAND VTE Registry Investigators

出版者

The Japanese Circulation Society

雑誌

Circulation Journal (ISSN:13469843)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.84, no.11, pp.2006-2014, 2020-10-23 (Released:2020-10-23)

参考文献数

33

被引用文献数

21

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Background:Patients with cancer-associated venous thromboembolism (VTE) are at high risk for recurrent VTE and are recommended to receive prolonged anticoagulation therapy if they are at a low risk for bleeding. However, there are no established risk factors for bleeding during anticoagulation therapy.Methods and Results:The COMMAND VTE Registry is a multicenter retrospective registry enrolling 3,027 consecutive patients with acute symptomatic VTE among 29 Japanese centers. The present study population consisted of 592 cancer-associated VTE patients with anticoagulation therapy. We constructed a multivariable Cox proportional hazard model to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of the potential risk factors for major bleeding. During a median follow-up period of 199 days, major bleeding occurred in 72 patients. The cumulative incidence of major bleeding was 5.8% at 3 months, 13.8% at 1 year, 17.5% at 2 years, and 28.1% at 5 years. The most frequent major bleeding site was gastrointestinal tract (47%). Terminal cancer (adjusted HR, 4.17; 95% CI, 2.22–7.85, P<0.001), chronic kidney disease (adjusted HR, 1.89; 95% CI 1.06–3.37, P=0.031), and gastrointestinal cancer (adjusted HR, 1.78; 95% CI, 1.04–3.04, P=0.037) were independently associated with an increased risk of major bleeding.Conclusions:Major bleeding events were common during anticoagulation therapy in real-world cancer-associated VTE patients. Terminal cancer, chronic kidney disease, and gastrointestinal cancer were the independent risk factors for major bleeding.

著者

Shintaro Yamada Eriko Hasumi Katsuhito Fujiu Haruo Yamauchi Issei Komuro

出版者

The Japanese Circulation Society

雑誌

Circulation Reports (ISSN:24340790)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.2, no.9, pp.542-543, 2020-09-10 (Released:2020-09-10)

被引用文献数

1

著者

Sylwia Sławek-Szmyt Aleksander Araszkiewicz Marek Grygier Krzysztof Szmyt Lidia Chmielewska-Michalak Wojciech Seniuk Michał Waśniewski Tomasz Smukowski Maciej Lesiak Przemysław Mitkowski

出版者

The Japanese Circulation Society

雑誌

Circulation Journal (ISSN:13469843)

巻号頁・発行日

pp.CJ-20-0305, (Released:2020-09-05)

参考文献数

30

被引用文献数

7

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Background:Cardiac implantable electronic device-related infections (CDI) are of increasing importance and involve substantial healthcare resources. This study aimed to evaluate potential CDI risk factors and the utility of the novel PADIT and PACE DRAP scores to predict CDI.Methods and Results:The study group included 1,000 consecutive patients undergoing implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) or cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) surgery. Patients’ and procedural characteristics were collected. CDI occurrence was assessed during 1-year follow-up. Moreover, if periprocedural significant pocket hematoma (SPH) occurred, the maximal volume was calculated based on ultrasonographic measurements and ABC/2 formula. The overall incidence of CDI was 1.8%. In the multivariable regression analysis independent CDI risk factors were: age >75 years (odds ratio [OR]: 5.93; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.77–19.84), system upgrade procedure (OR: 6.46; CI: 1.94–21.44), procedure duration >1 h (OR: 13.96; CI: 4.40–44.25), presence of SPH (OR: 4.95; CI: 1.62–15.13) and reintervention within 1 month (OR: 16.29; CI: 3.14–84.50). The PACE DRAP score had higher discrimination of CDI incidence (area under curve [AUC] 0.72) as compared with the PADIT score (AUC 0.63).Conclusions:We identified 5 independent risk factors of CDI development. Our study also showed that the PACE DRAP score was better able to identify patients at high risk of CDI than the PADIT score.

著者

Masataka Sugahara Toshiaki Mano Akiko Goda Kumiko Masai Yuko Soyama Aika Daimon Masanori Asakura Tohru Masuyama

出版者

The Japanese Circulation Society

雑誌

Circulation Journal (ISSN:13469843)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.83, no.2, pp.401-409, 2019-01-25 (Released:2019-01-25)

参考文献数

27

被引用文献数

2 9

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Background: We used dual Doppler echocardiography to measure the time interval between the mitral and tricuspid valve opening (MO-TO time), which we expected would reflect the balance between left and right ventricular hemodynamics. Methods and Results: We prospectively enrolled 60 patients with heart failure (HF) and sinus rhythm. The MO-TO time was measured in addition to routine echocardiography parameters, invasive hemodynamic parameters and plasma B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) level in all patients. Patients were divided into 2 groups based on the MO-TO time: MOP (mitral opening preceding tricuspid opening), and TOP (tricuspid opening preceding mitral opening) groups. We followed up the predefined adverse outcomes (cardiovascular [CV] death and hospitalization due to worsening HF) for 1 year. Pulmonary artery wedge pressure (PAWP) and mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) were higher in the MOP than in the TOP group (P<0.001; P<0.001, respectively). The probability of an adverse CV outcome was higher in the MOP than in the TOP group (log-rank test; P=0.002). Addition of MOP improved the predictive power of univariate predictors (mitral E/A ratio and BNP) in the bivariate Cox analysis (P=0.017, P=0.024, respectively). Conclusions: MOP reflects pulmonary hypertension caused by left heart disease and has prognostic value in predicting adverse CV events in patients with HF.

著者

Kazuo Kimura Takeshi Kimura Masaharu Ishihara Yoshihisa Nakagawa Koichi Nakao Katsumi Miyauchi Tomohiro Sakamoto Kenichi Tsujita Nobuhisa Hagiwara Shunichi Miyazaki Junya Ako Hirokuni Arai Hideki Ishii Hideki Origuchi Wataru Shimizu Hirofumi Takemura Yoshio Tahara Yoshihiro Morino Kenji Iino Tomonori Itoh Yoshitaka Iwanaga Keiji Uchida Hirohisa Endo Ken Kongoji Kenji Sakamoto Hiroki Shiomi Takao Shimohama Atsushi Suzuki Jun Takahashi Ichiro Takeuchi Akihito Tanaka Toshihiro Tamura Takahiro Nakashima Teruo Noguchi Daisuke Fukamachi Tomohiro Mizuno Junichi Yamaguchi Kenji Yodogawa Masami Kosuge Shun Kohsaka Hideaki Yoshino Satoshi Yasuda Hiroaki Shimokawa Atsushi Hirayama Takashi Akasaka Kazuo Haze Hisao Ogawa Hiroyuki Tsutsui Tsutomu Yamazaki on behalf of the Japanese Circulation Society Joint Working Group

出版者

The Japanese Circulation Society

雑誌

Circulation Journal (ISSN:13469843)

巻号頁・発行日

pp.CJ-19-0133, (Released:2019-03-29)

参考文献数

1064

被引用文献数

31 316

著者

Takenobu Shimada Seiji Habara Hiroyuki Tanaka Kazushige Kadota

出版者

The Japanese Circulation Society

雑誌

Circulation Journal (ISSN:13469843)

巻号頁・発行日

pp.CJ-20-0359, (Released:2020-07-23)

参考文献数

1

著者

Aki Tsuji Masaharu Masuda Mitsutoshi Asai Osamu Iida Shin Okamoto Takayuki Ishihara Kiyonori Nanto Takashi Kanda Takuya Tsujimura Yasuhiro Matsuda Shota Okuno Yosuke Hata Toshiaki Mano

出版者

The Japanese Circulation Society

雑誌

Circulation Journal (ISSN:13469843)

巻号頁・発行日

pp.CJ-20-0191, (Released:2020-07-17)

参考文献数

18

被引用文献数

8

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Background:The purpose of this study was to elucidate the effect of the temporal relationship between atrial fibrillation (AF) and heart failure (HF) on clinical outcomes after catheter ablation.Methods and Results:We included 129 consecutive patients with AF and HF who underwent catheter ablation in hospital from December 2014 to September 2017. The patients were divided into 2 groups based on the temporal relationship between AF and HF. Group 1 consisted of 42 patients with AF following HF while Group 2 consisted of 87 patients with AF preceding HF or those who developed both of them simultaneously at the timing of first visit to a doctor. The primary endpoint was a composite of death and hospitalization due to HF during a 2-year follow-up. AF recurrence was more common in Group 1 (45% vs. 23%; hazard ratio [HR], 2.49; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.25–4.94; P=0.009). Death and HF hospitalization were more frequent in Group 1 (19 [45%], 6 [7%] patients, respectively, P<0.0001). After adjustment for several covariates, patients in Group 1 were independently associated with poorer outcomes after AF ablation (HR, 8.66; 95% CI, 2.942–5.5; P<0.0001).Conclusions:Adverse clinical outcomes of death, HF hospitalization and AF recurrence were more frequent in patients with AF following HF than in those with AF preceding HF.

著者

Hiromi Nakai Masaaki Takeuchi Tomoko Nishikage Toshiki Nagakura Shinichiro Otani

出版者

The Japanese Circulation Society

雑誌

Circulation Journal (ISSN:13469843)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.71, no.8, pp.1244-1249, 2007 (Released:2007-07-25)

参考文献数

25

被引用文献数

8 21

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Background The prominent mid-diastolic filling wave (mitral L wave) indicates advanced diastolic dysfunction in patients in sinus rhythm. The aim of the present study was to determine the clinical implications of the mitral L wave in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Methods and Results Ninety-nine consecutive non-valvular chronic persistent AF patients were enrolled. The mitral L wave was defined as a distinct mid-diastolic flow velocity following the E wave with a peak velocity >20 cm/s. The prevalence of the L wave in AF patients (34/99, 34%) was significantly higher than that observed in patients in sinus rhythm during the same study period (23/946, 2.4%, p<0.001). Patients with AF and L wave were older, more frequently female and had a slower heart rate, shorter isovolumic relaxation times, larger E wave velocities and lower early diastolic mitral annulus velocity (E') resulting in the higher E/E' compared to those without L waves. The left atrial volume index was significantly larger in patients with an L wave. The Valsalva maneuver decreased, and leg elevation increased, the amplitude of the L wave in the subset of patients who received these procedures. Conclusions The appearance of the mitral L wave in AF is relatively common, and its presence indicates advanced diastolic dysfunction, including elevated filling pressures and distended noncompliant LA. (Circ J 2007; 71: 1244 - 1249)