Tag Archives: outcomes

Introduction Delays in treatment following ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) influence patient outcomes. During the first wave of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) pandemic, delays in treatment may have altered outcomes of STEMI patients, even in those not infected by COVID-19. On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organisation declared COVID-19 a global pandemic.1 The UK government mandated social distancing on 16 March 2020, and imposed a nationwide lockdown on 23 March 2020.2 Primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) remained our centre’s treatment of choice for STEMI, with thrombolys

Introduction Aortic stenosis (AS) is the most common primary valve disease requiring intervention in Europe and North America. The prevalence of AS increases with age, and degenerative AS is the most common type followed by AS secondary to a congenital bicuspid aortic valve.1,2 Prognosis of severe symptomatic AS is poor, with a reported 30–50% mortality at one year for patients who do not undergo any intervention.3,4 The optimal management of severe symptomatic AS in patients, often with multiple comorbidities, requires a multi-disciplinary team approach. The conservative approach with medical treatment of symptoms is associated with extre

Introduction The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), emerged in Wuhan China and has since spread to over 180 countries.1 It was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020. In addition to the common respiratory clinical presentation, COVID-19 is associated with cardiovascular complications, which may contribute to patients’ demise.2 The most common is myocardial injury, indicated by a serum troponin rise, which has also been found to be a reliable indicator of disease severity.3 Cardiac arrhythmia is another common cardiovascular manifestati

Choice of surgery The mainstay of cardiac surgery is CABG, which is performed for both symptomatic and prognostic reasons. In elderly asymptomatic patients, the prognostic value of the operation has to be thought through carefully and in the context of the patient’s general health and lifestyle. The overall risk following CABG in patients older than 80 years is approximately 8%.2 Recently, there has been an increase in the number of elderly patients referred for cardiac surgery. One of the reasons is the emergence of minimally invasive techniques like transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) and off-pump CABG (beating heart). It was