Journal and News Scan

The investigators published the final analysis of the MOMENTUM 3 trial comparing the fully magnetically levitated centrifugal continuous-flow HeartMate 3 pump to the mechanical-bearing axial continuous-flow HeartMate II pump. The composite primary end point was survival at two years free of disabling stroke or reoperation to replace or remove a malfunctioning device. The principal secondary end point was pump replacement at two years.

HeartMate 3 and HeartMate II were implanted in 516 and 512 patients, respectively. In the analysis of the primary end point, 397 patients (76.9%) with HeartMate 3, as compared with 332 (64.8%) with HeartMate II, remained alive and free of disabling stroke or reoperation to replace or remove a malfunctioning device at two years (relative risk, 0.84; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.78 to 0.91; P<0.001 for superiority). Pump replacement was less common in the HeartMate 3 group than in the HeartMate II group (12 patients [2.3%] versus 57 patients [11.3%]; relative risk, 0.21; 95% CI, 0.11 to 0.38; P<0.001). The number of events per patient-year for stroke of any severity, major bleeding, and gastrointestinal hemorrhage were lower in patients with HeatMate 3 comparted to patients with HeartMate II.

These data show that among patients with advanced heart failure, the fully magnetically levitated centrifugal-flow HeartMate 3 was associated with less frequent need for pump replacement and superior survival free of disabling stroke or reoperation to replace or remove a malfunctioning device.

Andreas and colleagues report their experience of aortic valve replacement with rapid-deployment surgical aortic valves prostheses in 500 patients over seven years. The authors found a 0.8% 30-day mortality, and the valves showed excellent hemodynamic performance, durability, and safety with a median follow-up time of 12 months. Minimally invasive access was achieved in 47% of patients.

Endospan announced that it has received European CE Mark approval for its Nexus stent graft system for the endovascular repair of aortic arch disease comprising both aneurysms and dissections.

Nexus is a low-profile branched stent-graft designed and engineered specifically for the aortic arch to allow ease of deployment while achieving a durable effective repair and importantly minimizing the risk of stroke and other cardiovascular complications. It represents a major milestone, being the first low-profile branched endovascular stent-graft to be available off-the-shelf in Europe for endovascular repair of the aortic arch, especially for high-risk partients with complex arch pathologies.

Yanagawa and colleagues evaluated the experience of 10 centers in Ontario, Canada, participating in the Ontario Transfusion Coordinator (ONTraC) program to determine if red blood cell transfusion rates were reduced by patient participation in the program and optimization of hemoglobin prior to coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). The authors discuss the ONTraC program, noting that the first 60 consecutive patients undergoing CABG at each center each year were referred for assessment. After this, patients were referred only upon physician request. Over the 10 years following the start of the program, overall transfusion rates fell from 40.1% to 26.2%. Patients who were assessed by an ONTraC coordinator were more likely to be older, to be women, and to be anemic, but despite this, no differences were found in overall transfusion rates between patients who were and were not assessed. When patients were stratified by World Health Organization Anemia Classification, patients with both mild and moderate-to-severe anemia who were assessed prior to CABG had lower transfusion rates than patients with anemia who were not assessed.