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2014 ESC Guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of aortic diseases: Document covering acute and chronic aortic diseases of the thoracic and abdominal aorta of the adult * The Task Force for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Aortic Diseases of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC)

DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehu281
Authors:
Raimund Erbel at University Hospital Essen
Raimund Erbel
Victor Aboyans at Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Limoges
Victor Aboyans
Catherine Boileau at Paris Diderot University
Catherine Boileau
Eduardo Bossone at Cardarelli Hospital
Eduardo Bossone
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ESC guidelines on aortic disease 2014
Data
January 2016
R. Erbel · Victor Aboyans · Catherine Boileau · Eduardo Bossone · I. Kravchenko
... To standardize clinical assessment and selection of patients necessitating CTA for suspected AAS, guidelines recommend a diagnostic pipeline integrating pre-test probability assessment (PPA) and D-dimer assay [9,10]. PPA stratifies the clinical probability of AAS in a given patient. ...
... Clinical data, including variables used for PPA, were acquired and recorded by the treating physician or a researcher during the index visit. During data analysis, PPA was performed by applying the ADD risk score and the AORTAs score, per guidelines [9,10]. ...
... In previous ED studies from our group performed on unselected patients with similar symptoms, the prevalence of AASs was 13% to 22% [12,24,25]. In these cohorts, the prevalence of AASs was 2.7-5.9% in patients with ADD score = 0 (low risk), [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27].3% in patients with ADD score = 1 (intermediate risk), and 39% in patients with ADD score ≥ 2 (high risk). In the current study focusing on patients with pAAS, the prevalence of nAAS was 17.6% in individuals with an ADD score = 0. ...
Pre-Test Probability Assessment and d-Dimer Based Evaluation in Patients with Previous Acute Aortic Syndrome
Article
Full-text available
Background and Objectives. Acute aortic syndromes (AASs) are emergencies burdened by high morbidity and mortality. Guideline-recommended diagnostic workup is based on pre-test probability assessment (PPA) and d-dimer testing. However, the performance of PPA and d-dimer has never been studied in individuals with previous AAS (pAAS), which represent a challenging population. Materials and Methods. We analyzed a registry of patients with pAAS evaluated in two Emergency Departments (EDs) for suspected novel AAS (nAAS). Enrolment criteria were history of pAAS and the presence of truncal pain, syncope or perfusion deficit. All patients underwent advanced imaging. Clinical data were registered prospectively and PPA was performed by applying the aortic dissection detection (ADD) and an aorta simplified (AORTAs) score. Results. A total of 128 patients were enrolled, including 77 patients with previous Stanford type A aortic dissection and 45 patients with previous Stanford type B aortic dissection. The final diagnosis was nAAS in 40 (31%) patients. Clinical variables associated with nAAS were: aortic valve disease, thoracic aortic aneurysm, severe pain, sudden pain, ripping/tearing pain and hypotension/shock. ADD score ≥ 2 had a sensitivity of 65% and a specificity of 83% for nAAS; AORTAs score ≥ 2 had a sensitivity of 48% and a specificity of 88%. d-dimer (cutoff ≥ 500 ng/mL or age-adjusted cutoff) had a sensitivity of 97% and a specificity of 13%/14.7%, for diagnosis of nAAS. Patients that were candidates for guideline-compliant PPA/d-dimer integrated rule-out were: 5 (4.9%) with ADD ≤ 1/d-dimer and 8 (7.8%) with AORTAs ≤ 1/d-dimer < age-adjusted cutoff. None of them had a nAAS. Conclusions. Patients with pAAS evaluated in the ED for red-flag symptoms showed intermediate-to-high pre-test probability of nAAS. The ADD score had lower sensitivity and specificity than in unselected patients. d-dimer, alone and integrated with PPA, was highly sensitive for nAAS, but very unspecific. PPA/d-dimer integrated strategies are unlikely to significantly reduce the number of patients with pAAS undergoing advanced imaging.
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Deep Learning Prediction for Distal Aortic Remodeling After Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair in Stanford Type B Aortic Dissection
Article
Purpose: This study aimed to develop a deep learning model for predicting distal aortic remodeling after proximal thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) in patients with Stanford type B aortic dissection (TBAD) using computed tomography angiography (CTA). Methods: A total of 147 patients with acute or subacute TBAD who underwent proximal TEVAR at a single center were retrospectively reviewed. The boundary of aorta was manually segmented, and the point clouds of each aorta were obtained. Prediction of negative aortic remodeling or reintervention was accomplished by a convolutional neural network (CNN) and a point cloud neural network (PC-NN), respectively. The discriminatory value of the established models was mainly evaluated by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) in the test set. Results: The mean follow-up time was 34.0 months (range: 12-108 months). During follow-up, a total of 25 (17.0%) patients were identified as having negative aortic remodeling, and 16 (10.9%) patients received reintervention. The AUC (0.876) by PC-NN for predicting negative aortic remodeling was superior to that obtained by CNN (0.612, p=0.034) and similar to the AUC by PC-NN combined with clinical features (0.884, p=0.92). As to reintervention, the AUC by PC-NN was significantly higher than that by CNN (0.805 vs 0.579; p=0.042), and AUCs by PC-NN combined with clinical features and PC-NN alone were comparable (0.836 vs 0.805; p=0.81). Conclusion: The CTA-based deep learning algorithms may assist clinicians in automated prediction of distal aortic remodeling after TEVAR for acute or subacute TBAD. Clinical impact: Negative aortic remodeling is the leading cause of late reintervention after proximal thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) for Stanford type B aortic dissection (TBAD), and possesses great challenge to endovascular repair. Early recognizing high-risk patients is of supreme importance for optimizing the follow-up interval and therapy strategy. Currently, clinicians predict the prognosis of these patients based on several imaging signs, which is subjective. The computed tomography angiography-based deep learning algorithms may incorporate abundant morphological information of aorta, provide with a definite and objective output value, and finally assist clinicians in automated prediction of distal aortic remodeling after TEVAR for acute or subacute TBAD.
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Age, sex and angiographic type-related phenotypic differences in inpatients with Takayasu arteritis: A 13-year retrospective study at a national referral center in China
Article
Full-text available
  • Mar 2023
Backgrounds We aimed to investigate the demographic characteristics, vascular involvement, angiographic patterns, complications, and associations of these variables in a large sample of TAK patients at a national referral center in China. Methods The medical records of TAK patients discharged from 2008 to 2020 were retrieved from the hospital discharge database using ICD-10 codes. Demographic data, vascular lesions, Numano classifications and complications were collected and analyzed. Results The median age at onset was 25 years in 852 TAK patients (670 female, 182 male). Compared with the females, the male patients were more likely to have type IV and were more likely to have iliac (24.7% vs. 10.0%) and renal artery (62.7% vs. 53.9%) involvement. They also had a higher prevalence of systemic hypertension (62.1% vs. 42.4%), renal dysfunction (12.6% vs. 7.8%) and aortic aneurysm (AA) (8.2% vs. 3.6%). The childhood-onset group was more likely to have involvement of the abdominal aorta (68.4% vs. 52.1%), renal artery (69.0% vs. 51.8%) and superior mesenteric artery (41.5% vs. 28.5%), and they were more likely to have type IV, V and hypertension than the adult-onset group. After adjusting for sex and age at onset, the patients with type II were associated with an increased risk of cardiac dysfunction (II vs. I: OR = 5.42; II vs. IV: OR = 2.63) and pulmonary hypertension (II vs. I: OR = 4.78; II vs. IV: OR = 3.95) compared with those with types I and IV. Valvular abnormalities (61.0%) were observed to be most prevalent in patients with type IIa. The patients with Type III were associated with a higher risk of aortic aneurysm (23.3%) than the patients with types IV (OR = 11.00) and V (OR = 5.98). The patients with types III and IV were more commonly complicated with systemic hypertension than the patients with types I, II and V. P < 0.05 in all of the above comparisons. Conclusion Sex, adult/childhood presentation and Numano angiographic type were significantly associated with differences in phenotypic manifestations, especially cardiopulmonary abnormalities, systemic hypertension, renal dysfunction and aortic aneurysm.
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Elective ascending aortic aneurysm repair outcomes in a nationwide US cohort
Article
  • Mar 2023
Objective To quantify contemporary outcomes following elective ascending aortic aneurysm repair, to determine risk factors for adverse events and to evaluate difference by institutional surgical volume. Methods We included all elective hospitalisations of adult patients with an ascending aortic aneurysm who underwent aneurysm repair in the Nationwide Readmissions Database between 2016 and 2019. The primary outcome was a composite of in-hospital mortality, stroke (ischaemic and non-ischaemic) and myocardial infarction (MI). We identified independent predictor of adverse events and investigated outcomes by institutional volume. Results Among 12 043 patients (mean 62.8 years of age, 28.0% female), MI, stroke or in-hospital death occurred in 598 (4.9%) patients during the index admission (acute stroke: 2.7%, MI: 0.7%, in-hospital death: 2.0%). The strongest predictors of in-hospital death, stroke or MI were chronic weight loss, pulmonary circulation disorder and concomitant descending aortic surgery. Higher procedural volume was associated with a lower incidence of in-hospital death, stroke or MI (OR comparing the highest with the lowest tertile 0.71, 95% CI 0.57 to 0.87; p=0.001) and in-hospital death (OR 0.51, 95% CI 0.37 to 0.72; p<0.001), but no difference in 30-day readmissions. Conclusions The overall rate of in-hospital death, stroke and MI is nearly 5% in patients undergoing elective ascending aortic aneurysm repair. Among several predictors, chronic weight loss is associated with the largest increase in the risk of poor outcomes. Higher hospital volume is associated with a lower in-hospital mortality, highlighting the importance to refer patients to high-volume centres while discussing the risks and benefits of proceeding with repair.
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Tissue and plasma proteomic profiling indicates AHSG as a potential biomarker for ascending thoracic aortic aneurysms
Article
Full-text available
Background: Thoracic Aortic Aneurysms (TAAs) develop asymptomatically and are characterized by dilatation of the aorta. This is considered a life-threatening vascular disorder due to the risk of aortic dissection and rupture. There is an urgent need to identify blood-borne biomarkers for the early detection of TAA. The goal of the present study was to identify potential protein biomarkers associated with TAAs, using proteomic analysis of aortic tissue and plasma samples. Methods: Extracted proteins from 14 aneurysmal and 12 non-aneurysmal thoracic aortic tissue specimens as well as plasma samples from six TAA patients collected pre-and postoperatively and six healthy controls (HC), were analyzed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Proteomic data were further processed and following filtering criteria, one protein was selected for verification and validation in a larger cohort of patients and controls using a targeted quantitative proteomic approach and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. Results: A total of 1593 and 363 differentially expressed proteins were identified in tissue and plasma samples, respectively. Pathway enrichment analysis on the differentially expressed proteins revealed a number of dysregulated molecular pathways that might be implicated in aneurysm pathology including complement and coagulation cascades, focal adhesion, and extracellular matrix receptor interaction pathways. Alpha-2-HS glycoprotein (AHSG) was selected for further verification in 36 TAA and 21 HC plasma samples using targeted quantitative proteomic approach. The results showed a significantly decreased concentration of AHSG (p = 0.0002) in the preoperative plasma samples compared with HC samples. Further analyses using a larger validation dataset revealed that AHSG protein levels were significantly lower (p = 0.03) compared with HC. Logistic regression analysis on the validation dataset revealed males, advanced age, hypertension and hyperlipidaemia as significant risk factors for TAA. Conclusion: AHSG concentrations distinguish plasma samples derived from TAA patients and controls. The findings of this study suggest that AHSG may be a potential biomarker for TAA that could lead to better diagnostic capabilities.
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Safety and efficacy of thoracic endovascular aortic repair for acute Stanford type B aortic dissection with retrograde type A intramural hematoma
Article
Objective: To evaluate safety and efficacy of thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) for acute Stanford type B aortic dissection (TBAD) with retrograde type A intramural hematoma (TAIMH). Methods: Patients with acute TBAD with retrograde TAIMH treated with TEVAR between 1 January 2014 to 31 March 2022 were retrospectively reviewed. Aortic diameter and distance were measured using the 3D Slicer image computing platform. Patients' characteristics, procedural, in-hospital and follow-up data, and aortic remodeling were analyzed. Results: 52 patients (average age 52.6 years; 42 males [80.8%]) were included. The median (interquartile range) interval from symptom onset to TEVAR was 11 (7.0-16.8) days. The maximal diameter of the ascending aorta (AA) was <50 mm and the hematoma thickness in the AA was ≤10 mm in all patients. Both the in-hospital and 30-day mortality rates were 0%. The 30-day complication rate was 11.5%. The overall cumulative survival rates were 100% at 1-year, 97.1% at 3-years, and 92.6% at 5-years. 4 of 52 (7.7%) patients developed retrograde type A aortic dissection at 10 days to 4 months postoperatively, and 1 of 52 (1.9%) patients developed an isolated AA dissection 4 months postoperatively; these 5 patients were treated and alive at late follow-up in March 2022. The rates of cumulative freedom from thoracic aortic re-intervention were 93.7% at 1-year and 90.7% at 5-years. Positive AA remodeling was observed in 92.3% (48/52) of patients during follow-up. The maximal diameter of AA (mean ± standard error of mean) at admission was 42.7 ± 0.8 mm, which decreased to 39.5 ± 0.9 mm at last follow-up. The maximal AA hematoma thickness at admission was 7.6 ± 0.3 mm, which reduced to 2.2 ± 0.9 mm at last follow-up. Conclusions: For selected patients of acute Stanford TBAD with retrograde TAIMH, endovascular repair may be a safe, effective, and durable alternative treatment, if the maximum diameter of the AA is <50 mm and the IMH thickness in the AA is ≤10 mm.
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Impact of turbulence modeling on the simulation of blood flow in aortic coarctation
Article
  • Mar 2023
Numerical simulations of pulsatile blood flow in an aortic coarctation require the use of turbulence modeling. This paper considers three models from the class of large eddy simulation (LES) models (Smagorinsky, Vreman, σ$$ \sigma $$‐model) and one model from the class of variational multiscale models (residual‐based) within a finite element framework. The influence of these models on the estimation of clinically relevant biomarkers used to assess the degree of severity of the pathological condition (pressure difference, secondary flow degree, normalized flow displacement, wall shear stress) is investigated in detail. The simulations show that most methods are consistent in terms of severity indicators such as pressure difference and stenotic velocity. Moreover, using second‐order velocity finite elements, different turbulence models might lead to considerably different results concerning other clinically relevant quantities such as wall shear stresses. These differences may be attributed to differences in numerical dissipation introduced by the turbulence models. We compare pulsatile flow simulations in the human aorta using several different turbulence models. Our results demonstrate a considerable impact of the choice of turbulence model on spatially and temporally averaged clinical quantities of interest such as pressure differences, wall shear stresses and measures of flow eccentricity.
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Ex Vivo Analysis of an Association of Mechanical Strength of Dilated Ascending Aorta with Tissue Matrix Metalloproteinases and Cytokines
Article
We analyzed the associations of the mechanical strength of dilated ascending aorta wall (intraoperative samples from 30 patients with non-syndromic aneurysms) with tissue MMPs and the cytokine system. Some samples were stretched to break on an Instron 3343 testing machine and the tensile strength was calculated; others were homogenized and the concentrations of MMP-1, MMP-2, MMP-7, their inhibitors (TIMP-1 and TIMP-2), and pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines were determined by ELISA. Direct correlations between aortic tensile strength and concentrations of IL-10 (r=0.46), TNFα (r=0.60), and vessel diameter (r=0.67) and an inverse correlation with patient's age (r=-0.59) were revealed. Compensatory mechanisms supporting the strength of the ascending aortic aneurysm are possible. No associations of MMP-1, MMP-7, TIMP-1, and TIMP-2 with tensile strength and aortic diameter were found.
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Ultrasound screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm in high-risk women
Article
Full-text available
  • Aug 2021
Background Population-wide ultrasound screening programmes for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) for men have already been established in some countries. Women account for one third of aneurysm-related mortality and are four times more likely to experience an AAA rupture than men. Whole-population screening for AAA in women is unlikely to be clinically or economically effective. The aim of this study was to determine the outcomes of a targeted AAA screening programme for women at high risk of AAA. Method Women aged 65–74 years deemed at high risk of having an AAA (current smokers, ex-smokers, or with a history of coronary artery disease) were invited to attend ultrasound screening (July 2016 to March 2019) for AAA in the Female Aneurysm screening STudy (FAST). Primary outcomes were attendance for screening and prevalence of AAA. Biometric data, medical history, quality of life (QoL) and aortic diameter on ultrasound imaging were recorded prospectively. Results Some 6037 women were invited and 5200 attended screening (86.7 per cent). Fifteen AAAs larger than 29 mm were detected (prevalence 0.29 (95 per cent c.i. 0.18 to 0.48) per cent). Current smokers had the highest prevalence (0.83 (95 per cent c.i. 0.34 to 1.89) per cent) but lowest attendance (75.2 per cent). Three AAAs greater than 5.5 cm were identified and referred for consideration of surgical repair; one woman underwent repair. There was a significant reduction in patient-reported QoL scores following screening. Conclusion A low prevalence of AAA was detected in high-risk women, with lowest screening uptake in those at highest risk. Screening for AAA in high-risk women may not be beneficial.
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Transesophageal echocardiographic correlates of thromboembolism in high- risk patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation
Article
  • Apr 1998
Background: Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) visualizes potential sources of embolism in patients with atrial fibrillation, but the clinical significance of TEE findings has not been prospectively established. Objective: To define TEE predictors of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation and to examine response to antithrombotic therapy. Design: Prospective correlation of TEE findings at study entry with subsequent ischemic stroke during 1.1-year mean follow-up of participants in a randomized trial. Setting: 18 echocardiography laboratories. Patients: 382 patients with atrial fibrillation at high risk for thromboembolism. Intervention: Adjusted-dose warfarin (international normalized ratio, 2 to 3) or low-intensity warfarin (international normalized ratio, 1.2 to 1.5) plus aspirin (325 mg/d). Measurements: Size of left atrium and left atrial appendage, flow velocity, spontaneous echocardiographic contrast, thrombus, and plaque on the aortic arch. Results: 23 ischemic strokes occurred. In patients with dense spontaneous echocardiographic contrast (20%), the rate of stroke was 18.2% per year with combination therapy (2.9 times the rate in patients without this finding; P = 0.06) and 4.5% per year with adjusted-dose warfarin (P = 0.09 for rate reduction). Appendage thrombus, detected in 10% of patients, was associated with dense spontaneous echocardiographic contrast (P < 0.001), was seen more frequently after 2 weeks of combination therapy (15%) than after 2 weeks of adjusted-dose warfarin (4%) (P = 0.004), and tripled the overall rate of stroke (P = 0.04). Patients with complex aortic plaque (35%) had a fourfold increased rate of stroke compared with plaque-free patients (P = 0.005); adjusted-dose warfarin decreased risk by 75% (P = 0.02). Dense spontaneous echocardiographic contrast and complex aortic plaque were independent of each other as predictors of thromboembolism. Conclusions: In high-risk patients with atrial fibrillation, subsequent rates of thromboembolism are correlated with dense spontaneous echocardiographic contrast, thrombus of the atrial appendage, and aortic plaque. Adjusted-dose warfarin reduces the rate of stroke among patients with dense contrast and complex plaque. In patients with atrial fibrillation, the pathogenesis of stroke is multifactorial, and warfarin seems effective for the diverse mechanisms.
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