Background:Amyloid transthyretin (ATTR) cardiac amyloidosis has now been recognized as one of the major causes of heart failure, especially in elderly patients. The purpose of the present study was to validate the usefulness of technetium-99 m (^{99 m}Tc)-pyrophosphate (^{99 m}Tc-PYP) scintigraphy in the screening diagnosis for ATTR amyloidosis in daily clinical practice.

Methods and Results:Ninety-eight patients underwent ^{99 m}Tc-PYP scintigraphy in the previous 3 years (PYP positive/negative, 18/80), of whom 29 underwent concomitant endomyocardial biopsy (ATTR positive/negative, 9/20). The sensitivity and specificity of ^{99 m}Tc-PYP scintigraphy for the diagnosis of biopsy-proven ATTR amyloidosis were 0.889 and 0.950, respectively. Age, gender, N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) level, or electrocardiogram findings did not differ significantly between PYP-positive and PYP-negative patients. Left ventricular (LV) wall thickness was significantly greater in PYP-positive than in PYP-negative patients, but LV ejection fraction or prevalence of atrial fibrillation was similar between groups. In the PYP-positive patients, higher uptake of PYP correlated with younger age and lower NT-proBNP.

Conclusions: ^{99 m}Tc-PYP scintigraphy was useful, with high sensitivity and specificity in the screening diagnosis for ATTR cardiac amyloidosis, which is difficult to diagnose on clinical characteristics alone. ^{99 m}Tc-PYP scintigraphy should be considered to elucidate the underlying causes of heart failure, especially in elderly patients based on the higher prevalence of ATTR cardiac amyloidosis in this population.

Background:Pathogenesis of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) may involve endothelial dysfunction and abnormal vascular structure. Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors have beneficial cardiovascular effects and may improve vascular function in patients with HFpEF.

Methods and Results:We recruited 184 patients with type 2 diabetes and HFpEF (mean age, 66.0±14.4 years) who were scheduled for treatment with SGLT2 inhibitors, had transthoracic echocardiogram to identify diastolic function, and flow-mediated dilation (FMD) to evaluate endothelial function, and assessed cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) and carotid intima-media thickness as indices of vascular function and vascular structure, respectively. Body weight, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, triglycerides, remnant lipoprotein cholesterol, fasting plasma glucose, hemoglobin A1c, urinary albumin/creatinine ratio, and insulin resistance (IR) decreased, hematocrit and FMD increased significantly, and CAVI decreased significantly, after 12-week treatment (P<0.05). Short-term SGLT2 inhibitors improved diastolic function, significantly reducing the mitral ratios of septal E/early septal annular tissue Doppler velocity (P=0.003) and lateral E/early lateral e' (P=0.044). On multiple regression statistically significant associations were seen between ∆mean E/e' and ∆FMD, ∆CAVI, and ∆IR.

Conclusions:SGLT2 inhibitors can improve diastolic function in patients with type 2 diabetes, suggesting that current treatment policies for diabetes should be re-examined. Further prospective studies with larger sample sizes could provide mechanistic insights into the benefits of SGLT2 inhibitors.

Background:Previous randomized clinical studies have raised concerns about whether inferior vena cava filter (IVCF) can benefit patients with venous thromboembolism (VTE). The present study therefore investigated whether IVCF are associated with in-hospital mortality in Japan.

Methods and Results:This study was based on the Diagnosis Procedure Combination database in the Japanese Registry of All Cardiac and Vascular Datasets (JROAD-DPC). Of 2,368,165 patients included in JROAD-DPC, we identified 28,238 who were hospitalized with VTE between 2012 and 2014. We compared in-hospital mortality rates between patients with or without IVCF using propensity score (PS) matching. PS were estimated using logistic regression models in which IVCF was the dependent variable. The other variables consisted of age, sex, Charlson comorbidity index, anti-thrombotic agents and clinical disease status. Patients were aged 68±16 years, and 59.7% were female. Of 28,238 patients, 6,937 (24.5%) were treated with an IVCF. The overall in-hospital mortality was 4.3%. On PS-matched analysis in-hospital mortality was significantly lower with, than without, IVCF (3.1% vs. 4.4%, P<0.001; OR, 0.65; 95% CI: 0.54–0.79).

Conclusions:Having an IVCF was independently associated with lower in-hospital mortality in Japanese patients with VTE. This is in sharp contrast to the benefits of IVCF in other countries. The reasons for this difference require further investigation.

Background:Many treatment options are available for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), but specific recommendations for long-term treatment are unavailable. We compared prognosis in PAH patients receiving goal-oriented, sequential combination therapy evaluated using cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPX) parameters or conventional empiric therapy.

Methods and Results:The Goal-Oriented Therapy Evaluated by Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (GOOD EYE) study was a multicenter, retrospective/prospective study in which a total of 129 patients with newly diagnosed PAH were enrolled (goal-oriented sequential combination therapy, n=42; conventional empiric therapy, n=87). Patients in the goal-oriented therapy group received sequential combination therapy, the efficacy of which was regularly evaluated using CPX parameters. Patients in the conventional empiric therapy group received conventional empiric therapy. The primary endpoint was cardiovascular death. In the goal-oriented therapy group, plasma brain natriuretic peptide, mean pulmonary arterial pressure, pulmonary vascular resistance, and 6-min walk test were significantly improved at 12 months compared with baseline. Survival in the goal-oriented therapy group at 1, 2, and 3 years (97.6%, 95.2%, and 86.0%, respectively) tended to be higher than that in the conventional empiric therapy group (P=0.082).

Conclusions:Goal-oriented sequential combination therapy evaluated using CPX parameters may be associated with a favorable prognosis compared with conventional empiric therapy in patients with newly diagnosed PAH.