Clinical articles

The 2010 UK National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines for assessing patients with ‘chest pain of recent onset’ recommend coronary artery calcium scoring (CACS) to assess patients with a low risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) according to defined criteria. This study aims to evaluate the implementation of these guidelines in an area with a prevalence of CAD higher than the national average. 

Consecutive patients with recent onset stable chest pain were assessed by cardiologists in outpatient clinics at University Hospital Aintree, Liverpool, between January and December 2011. A total of 186 patients with a low risk of CAD underwent CACS and follow-on computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA) if CACS <400. 

A CACS of zero was found in 94 patients and three of these were excluded due to motion artefacts. Of the remaining 91 patients, 75 (82.4%) had no visible atheroma, 10 (11%) had minor plaque, five (5.5%) had moderate disease and one (1.1%) had apparent severe disease, which was shown to be a false-positive result on subsequent invasive coronary angiography.

This study shows a negative predictive value for severe disease of 99% for a CACS of 0 in stable patients with a low pre-test probability of CAD. This supports the NICE guidelines, with CACS being the investigation of choice in the UK to rule out significant CAD in selected patient populations. The fact that almost half of all the patients referred for CTCA had a CACS of zero makes this a good quick rule-out tool and, hence, avoids the need for follow-on CTCA.

A 56-year-old male with no previous significant medical history initially presented to his general practitioner for a routine health check prior to starting a new occupation. An electrocardiogram (ECG) was taken that was found to be unusual and, hence, a referral to cardiology outpatients was made. Initial recommendation was made for ablation therapy based on the finding of Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome. After a successful procedure, the patient developed significant palpitations with haemodynamic compromise that required emergency direct current (DC) cardioversion. Subsequent re-investigation found a previously unmasked uncommon form of accessory tachyarrhythmia. This case report highlights the finding of Mahaim pathway in a patient initially treated for WPW syndrome.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained arrhythmia faced by clinicians in primary and secondary care. Patients with AF face a significant risk of stroke and thromboembolic complications with associated morbidity and mortality. The role of antiplatelet agents is diminishing, while the use of oral anticoagulants is being actively encouraged. Warfarin has provided the mainstay of oral anticoagulation for more than half a century. New oral direct inhibitors (ODIs) of thrombin and activated factor X – commonly referred to as the new oral anticoagulants (NOACs) – are being prescribed with increasing frequency. These ODIs have a number of advantages over warfarin, including predictable response, no need for monitoring or dose changes and fewer drug and food interactions. Although the risk of intracranial bleeding is reduced, there is still a risk of major haemorrhage as patients are fully anticoagulated. An understanding of the ODIs’ metabolism and excretion, as well as their effects on coagulation tests, is paramount to the management of patients, particularly in emergency situations.

The possible overuse of coronary angiography in the investigation of suspected coronary artery disease has been raised as a concern in the literature. We examined our own coronary angiography database to assess the diagnostic yield from angiography in the investigation of patients with suspected coronary artery disease and also the subsequent rate of referral for revascularisation. Some coronary artery disease was found in 66% of patients. However, in spite of an overall diagnostic yield in keeping with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines, only 28% of patients were referred for any form of revascularisation. The optimal use of coronary angiography has important resource implications and the rate of revascularisation may be a useful quality metric.

Heart failure (HF) accounts for 5% of all emergency hospital admissions in the UK. To ensure cost-effectiveness, the potential for any intervention to reduce admissions must be balanced against its required investment. This economic analysis compared cost-effectiveness of home- versus hospital-based exercise training as delivered within a randomised-controlled trial (RCT) for HF.

In conclusion, both training programmes incurred similar costs, which were offset by a reduction in emergency admission costs, compared with controls. Although hospital-training offered greater potential for reducing admission costs, with larger patient numbers, the cost of home-training per patient would decrease, increasing its likelihood of being the more cost-effective option.

We present a rare case of cardiac arrest caused by torsades de pointes in relation to severe hypothyroidism, which highlights the importance of thyroid replacement therapy compliance.

Cardiac disease remains the commonest cause of maternal death in the UK. While some deaths are unavoidable, pre-pregnancy counselling for women with acquired or congenital heart disease is important and counselling should be viewed as the mainstay of clinical practice. It provides women with information about the risk a pregnancy may pose to their health and to that of a foetus and provides an opportunity for an up-to-date assessment of the cardiac condition and a medication review. All cardiologists should recognise the need to raise the issue of pregnancy whenever a diagnosis of acquired heart disease is made in a woman of childbearing age. Although women with heart disease are at increased risk during pregnancy, the majority of women will have a good outcome with careful management.

Troponin levels are used in the diagnosis of acute coronary syndromes (ACS), however, levels may be elevated in many other conditions. A significant proportion of patients with stable heart failure (HF) have detectable levels of troponin using standard assays, however, the incidence of detectable levels of high-sensitivity troponin T (hsTnT) in HF patients is not extensively studied.

The majority of patients with stable HF will have detectable levels of troponin T using new high-sensitivity assays. A significant proportion of these will be above the cut-off point used for diagnosis of ACS. If these patients present to hospital, modest elevations in hsTnT do not necessarily indicate recent ACS, and serial measurements should be undertaken if clinically indicated. 

Effective communication is known to increase patient satisfaction and correlates with improved health outcomes. Efforts have been made in recent years to improve communication skills through the use of less complex terminology. This study tests the hypothesis that patient understanding of more simplified terms can be limited and overestimated by doctors. 

In conclusion, the cardiology terms chosen were poorly understood by the surveyed patient population, and understanding was frequently overestimated. Caution should be used when using these terms without further clarification. 

W e continue our series looking at pacing in patients with congenital heart disease. In this final article, we discuss the challenge of device implantation in patients with more complex congenital structural cardiac defects.