Background Fibrinolytic therapy is an important reperfusion strategy, especially when primary percutaneous coronary interventions cannot be offered to ST-elevation myocardial infarction patients. Given that failed reperfusion after fibrinolytic therapy is common, it is pragmatic that the predictors, outcomes, and angiographic profiles of patients with failed thrombolysis are carefully scrutinized. Methods We prospectively studied clinical variables and outcomes over 30 months in 243 ST-elevation myocardial infarction patients who received fibrinolytics as primary treatment. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors of failed thrombolysis. Results Failed thrombolysis occurred in 38.68% of patients with a mean window period of 6.58 ± 1.42 h, and 55.32% of patients with failed thrombolysis had Killip class >I on presentation. Risk factors such as diabetes mellitus (55.32%), dyslipidemia (60.64%) and obesity (77.66%) were frequently associated with failed thrombolysis; 73.40% of patients with failed thrombolysis had Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction flow grade 0/1 in the infarct-related artery, and 58.51% of such patients needed a rescue percutaneous coronary intervention. The mean Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction risk score was 5.46 ± 2.77 in failed thrombolysis patients, with mortality of 4.25% at the 6-month follow-up. Conclusion Non-resolution of presenting symptoms and ST changes on electrocardiography at 90 min served as the earliest indicators of failed thrombolysis, with a significant angiographic correlation. Clinical variables such as delayed presentation (>6 h), dyspnea, Killip class >I, cardiogenic shock, Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction score, and conventional risk factors including diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, and obesity represented cluster of predictors of failed thrombolysis.

Background: CHA2DS2-VASc score is a scientifically proven risk assessment score for patients with atrial fibrillation. It may be a good predictor of in-hospital death in COVID-19 patients. The present study aimed to evaluate the association between CHA2DS2-VASc score and in-hospital mortality in the prognosis of intensive care unit (ICU) patients with COVID-19. Methods: Eighty-four COVID-19 patients who were hospitalized in the ICU were retrospectively analyzed in a tertiary health care center, and the CHA2DS2-VASc score was determined. All analyses were performed using SPSS statistical software (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA, 20.0). A p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The median age of patients was 60.0 years, and most were males (75.0%). Findings of the study showed that the CHA2DS2-VASc score was considerably higher among the hospitalized patients than discharged patients (3.08 ± 1.72 vs. 1.38 ± 1.16; p<0.001), and patients who required mechanical ventilation compared to those who did not require mechanical ventilation (3.03 ± 1.68 vs. 1.15 ± 0.97; P <0.001), respectively. Patients with CHA2DS2-VASc score of ≥3 had substantially higher age [67(45-87) vs. 58(19-75); P ˂0.001], computed tomography involvement score [67.5(20-90) vs. 35(15-90); P ˂0.001] and need for mechanical ventilation [29(90.6%) vs. 22(42.3%); P ˂0.001]. A significant difference was found in oxygen saturation on admission (P =0.001) between the two groups. In-hospital death was significantly higher among patients with a CHA2DS2-VASc score of ≥3 (P <0.001). The CHA2DS2-VASc score was positively correlated with white blood cells count (r=0.257, P =0.018) and negatively correlated with the number of days spent in the hospital (r=-0.184, P=0.130) due to higher in-hospital death in ICU patients with COVID-19. Conclusion: CHA2DS2-VASc score may be an effective tool to estimate in-hospital death in COVID-19 patients who were hospitalized in the ICU.

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Context: In patients with rheumatic heart disease (RHD), left atrial appendage (LAA) dilation and thrombus formation is widely known. LAA thrombus formation is a risk factor for stroke even in patients with sinus rhythm. The aim of this study was to determine an association between LAA structure and function with respect to thrombus formation and differences in LAA size and velocity between patients with sinus rhythm and those with atrial fibrillation (AF). Materials and Methods: We prospectively studied LAA structure and function in 120 patients with RHD by transthoracic echocardiography and/or transesophageal echocardiography by measuring left atrial (LA) dimension, LA area, LAAmax/min, LAA ejection fraction (EF), and LAA emptying velocity. Results: Four out of 48 patients with sinus rhythm had LAA thrombus. In 72 patients with AF, 32 had LAA thrombus. Patients with LAA thrombus had lower mean LAA EF and emptying velocity both variables P-value is same (P<0.0001 and P<0.0001) Patients with LAA thrombus had increased mean LAA max and LAA min as compared to LAA max and LAA min in patients without LAA thrombus (P 0.008 for mean LAA max and P<0.0001 for LAA min respectively). Patients with AF with LAA thrombus had greater LAAmax compared to that in patients with AF without LAA thrombus (P < 0.0001). Doppler demonstrated a recognizable sawtooth LAA outflow velocity pattern in 32 of 36 (88.9%) patients with LAA thrombus versus 32 of 84 (38.1%) patients without LAA thrombus. Conclusions: We conclude that LAA contractility is reduced in RHD with LAA thrombus, and loss of both contractility and LAA dilation is associated with increased risk of thrombus formation and hence the risk of stroke.