Introduction and objectives The COVID-19 outbreak has had an unclear impact on the treatment and outcomes of patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). The aim of this study was to assess changes in STEMI management during the COVID-19 outbreak. Methods Using a multicenter, nationwide, retrospective, observational registry of consecutive patients who were managed in 75 specific STEMI care centers in Spain, we compared patient and procedural characteristics and in-hospital outcomes in 2 different cohorts with 30-day follow-up according to whether the patients had been treated before or after COVID-19. Results Suspected STEMI patients treated in STEMI networks decreased by 27.6% and patients with confirmed STEMI fell from 1305 to 1009 (22.7%). There were no differences in reperfusion strategy (> 94% treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention in both cohorts). Patients treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention during the COVID-19 outbreak had a longer ischemic time (233 [150-375] vs 200 [140-332] minutes, P < .001) but showed no differences in the time from first medical contact to reperfusion. In-hospital mortality was higher during COVID-19 (7.5% vs 5.1%; unadjusted OR, 1.50; 95%CI, 1.07-2.11; P < .001); this association remained after adjustment for confounders (risk-adjusted OR, 1.88; 95%CI, 1.12-3.14; P = .017). In the 2020 cohort, there was a 6.3% incidence of confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection during hospitalization. Conclusions The number of STEMI patients treated during the current COVID-19 outbreak fell vs the previous year and there was an increase in the median time from symptom onset to reperfusion and a significant 2-fold increase in the rate of in-hospital mortality. No changes in reperfusion strategy were detected, with primary percutaneous coronary intervention performed for the vast majority of patients. The co-existence of STEMI and SARS-CoV-2 infection was relatively infrequent.

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Objectives. This work aims to evaluate the association between antigen carbohydrate 125 (CA125) and the risk of 1-year clinical outcomes in patients with worsening heart failure (HF). Background. CA125 is a widely available biomarker that is up-regulated in patients with acute HF and has been postulated as a useful marker of congestion and risk stratification. Methods. In a large multicenter cohort of patients with worsening HF, either in-hospital or in the outpatient setting, the independent associations between CA125 and 1-year death and the composite of death/HF-readmission (adjusted for BIOSTAT risk score) were determined with the Royston-Parmar method (n=2356). In a sensitivity analysis, the prognostic implications of CA125 were also adjusted for a clinical congestion score (CCS). Data were validated in the BIOSTAT-CHF validation cohort (n=1630). Results. Surrogates of congestion, such as NT-proBNP and a CCS, emerged as independent predictors of CA125. In multivariable survival analyses, higher CA125 was associated with an increased risk of mortality and the composite of death/HF-readmission (p<0.001 for both comparisons), even after adjustment for the CCS (p<0.010 for both comparisons). The addition of CA125 to the BIOSTAT score led to a significant risk reclassification for both outcomes (category-free net reclassification improvement=0.137, p<0.001 and 0.104, p=0.003, respectively). All outcomes were confirmed in an independent validation cohort. Conclusions. In patients with worsening HF, higher levels of CA125 were positively associated with parameters of congestion. Furthermore, CA125 remained independently associated with a higher risk of clinical outcomes, even beyond a predefined risk model and clinical surrogates of congestion.

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