Aneurysmal dilation of coronary arteries is observed in up to 5% of patients undergoing coronary angiography. Due to their poorly elucidated underlying mechanisms, their variable presentations, and the lack of largescale outcome data on their various treatment modalities, coronary artery aneurysms and coronary ectasia pose a challenge to the managing clinician. This paper aims to provide a succinct review of aneurysmal coronary disease, with a special emphasis on the challenges associated with its interventional treatment.

Thrombosis of the inferior vena cava (IVC) is an under-recognized entity that is associated with significant short- and long-term morbidity and mortality. In absence of a congenital anomaly, the most common cause of IVC thrombosis is the presence of an unretrieved IVC filter. Due to the substantial increase in the number of IVC filters placed in the United States and the very low filter retrieval rates, clinicians are faced with a very large population of patients at risk for developing IVC thrombosis. Nevertheless, there is a paucity of data and societal guidelines with regards to the diagnosis and management of IVC thrombosis. This paper aims to enhance the awareness of this uncommon, but morbid, condition by providing a concise, yet comprehensive, review of the etiology, diagnostic approaches, and treatment strategies in patients with IVC thrombosis.

BackgroundStudies assessing the differential impact of sex on outcomes of aortic valve replacement (AVR) yielded conflicting results. We sought to investigate sex‐related differences in AVR utilization, patient risk profile, and in‐hospital outcomes using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample.Methods and ResultsIn total, 166 809 patients (63% male and 37% female) who underwent AVR between 2003 and 2014 were identified, and 48.5% had a concomitant cardiac surgery procedure. Compared with men, women were older and had more nonatherosclerotic comorbid conditions including hypertension, diabetes mellitus, obstructive pulmonary disease, atrial fibrillation/flutter, and anemia but fewer incidences of coronary and peripheral arterial disease and prior sternotomies. In‐hospital mortality was significantly higher in women (5.6% versus 4%, P<0.001). Propensity matching was performed to assess the impact of sex on the outcomes of isolated AVR and yielded 28 237 matched pairs of male and female participants. In the propensity‐matched groups, in‐hospital mortality was higher in women (3.3% versus 2.9%, P<0.001). Along with vascular complications and blood transfusion (6% versus 5.6%, P=0.027 and 40.4% versus 33.9%, P<0.001, respectively). Rates of stroke, permanent pacemaker implantation, and acute kidney injury requiring dialysis were similar (2.4% versus 2.4%, P=0.99; 6% versus 6.3%, P=0.15; and 1.4% versus 1.3%, P=0.14, respectively). Length of stay median and interquartile range were both similar between groups (7±6 days). Rates of nonhome discharge were higher among women (27.9% versus 19.6%, P<0.001).ConclusionsWomen have worse in‐hospital mortality following AVR compared with men. Coupled with the accumulating evidence suggesting higher magnitude of benefit of transcatheter AVR over AVR in women, women should perhaps be offered transcatheter AVR over AVR at a lower threshold than men.

Objectives: To confirm whether a relationship exists between male sex and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mortality and whether this relationship is age dependent. Patients and Methods: We queried the COVID-19 Research Network, a multinational database using the TriNetX network, to identify patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection. The main end point of the study was all-cause mortality. Results: A total of 14,712 patients were included, of whom 6387 (43%) were men. Men were older (mean age, 55.0AE17.7 years vs 51.1AE17.9 years; P<.001) and had a higher prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, coronary disease, obstructive pulmonary disease, nicotine dependence, and heart failure but a lower prevalence of obesity. Before propensity score matching (PSM), all-cause mortality rate was 8.8% in men and 4.3% in women (odds ratio, 2.15; 95% CI, 1.87 to 2.46; P<.001) at a median follow-up duration of 34 and 32 days, respectively. In the Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, the cumulative probability of survival was significantly lower in men than in women (73% vs 86%; log-rank, P<.001). After PSM, all-cause mortality remained significantly higher in men than in women (8.13% vs 4.60%; odds ratio, 1.81; 95% CI, 1.55 to 2.11; P<.001). In the Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, the cumulative probability of survival remained significantly lower in men than in women (74% vs 86%; log-rank, P<.001). The cumulative probability of survival remained significantly lower in propensity scoreematched men than in women after excluding patients younger than 50 years and those who were taking angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker medications on admission. Conclusion: Among patients with COVID-19 infection, men had a significantly higher mortality than did women, and this difference was not completely explained by the higher prevalence of comorbidities in men.