15^th World Cardiac Surgery & Angiology Conference December 08-09, 2016 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Biography:

Louis Samuels graduated Medical School from Hahnemann University (Philadelphia, PA) in 1987 and completed his Cardiothoracic Surgical training in 1995. He joined the faculty of Drexel University as the Surgical Director of Cardiac Transplantation. In 2001, Dr. Samuels and his team implanted the world’s 5th totally implantable electric artificial heart (AbioCor™). In 2003, he joined the Main Line Health System as the Surgical Director of Heart Failure. In addition to cardiac transplantation and LVAD implantation, Dr. Samuels performs CABG and Valvular surgery. In 2012, Dr. Samuels became Professor of Surgery at Thomas Jefferson University School of Medicine. Dr. Samuels has authored over 100 peer reviewed manuscripts and serves as a reviewer for the Annals of Thoracic Surgery. In addition to participating in several clinical trials related to mechanical circulatory support, he continues to serve as a consultant and medical advisor to new technologies currently in trial

Abstract:

Surgeons in general, and heart surgeons in particular, are perfectionists who constantly attempt to improve their skills and outcomes.  Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG), the most common procedure performed by adult cardiac surgeons, has undergone significant changes and equally significant scrutiny in the five decades since its inception.  The techniques used today are similar to those originally described, but important modifications have been made to make it one of the most successful operations ever conceived.  The traditional CABG involves establishment of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) with aortic and right atrial cannulation, aortic cross-clamping, and instillation of a cardioplegic solution to achieve electromechanical arrest.  In recent decades, Beating Heart Coronary Artery Bypass (BH-CAB) has been performed by some cardiac surgeons with or without the aid of the heart-lung machine—the purpose being to reduce or eliminate the effects of blood in contact with foreign surfaces as well as the non-pulsatile nature of CPB flow.

Hospital mortality for CABG surgery varies depending upon several factors, some of which involve preoperative patient selection, intraoperative technique, and postoperative management.  In an attempt to address the intraoperative technical aspects, various maneuvers have been done and certain devices have been introduced to reduce or eliminate elements of the operation that have been associated with complications.  The purpose of this presentation is to describe a single surgeon’s experience with BH-CABG, including totally OFF-PUMP (OP-CAB) as well as PUMP-ASSIST (PAD-CAB)—the ‘PUMP’ referring to the use of the Cardio-Pulmonary Bypass (CPB) machine.

From May 2003 through October 2013, over 1000 BH-CABG surgeries were performed by the author.   Approximately two-thirds were performed without the aid of CPB (i.e. OP-CAB) and one-third was performed with PUMP-ASSIST (PAD-CAB).  The demographics of the patients included an average age of 75 years with three quarters of the male gender.  Approximately 12% were emergency cases, the remainder being equally divided between elective and urgent.  The hospital/30-day mortality was 1.02% overall; OP-CAB mortality was 1.08% and PAD-CAB mortality was 0.65% respectively. There were no deep sternal wound infections, the incidence of stroke was 0.98%, and the incidence of post-operative bleeding requiring re-exploration was 1.63%.  The average number of bypass grafts was 3.2. 

Specific enabling devices allowed for safe, complete, and accurate bypass grafting, with no need to convert to a traditional CABG approach.  Specific technologies included: 1) suction-supported stabilizers, 2) intra-coronary shunts, 3) blow-mister, and 4) flow probe.  Determination of OP-CAB vs PAD-CAB was made in accordance with the territory of diseased vessels to be bypassed, the configuration of the heart itself (e.g. enlarged, dilated, hypertrophic, etc), the right and left sided function (i.e. RVEF, LVEF), the presence or absence of arrhythmia, and so forth.

In summary, BH-CABG procedures are safe and effective and should be considered as an alternative to the traditional CABG in which the aorta is cross-clamped and the heart arrested with cardioplegic solution. The mortality rates and major adverse complication events (MACE) are extremely low

Biography:

Wenger is Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology at the Emory University School of Medicine and a consultant to the Emory Heart and Vascular Center.Coronary heart disease in women is one of Dr. Wenger’s major clinical and research interests. She chaired the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Conference on Cardiovascular Health and Disease in Women. Dr. Wenger has expertise in cardiac rehabilitation. She chaired the World Health Organization Expert Committee on Rehabilitation after Cardiovascular Disease, and co-chaired the Guideline Panel on Cardiac Rehabilitation for the U.S. Agency for Health Care Policy and Research. Dr. Wenger has had a longstanding interest in geriatric cardiology, is a Past President of the Society of Geriatric Cardiology and was Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Geriatric Cardiology for more than 15 years

Abstract:

Gender-specific atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk assessment for women is requisite owing to a number of non-traditional ASCVD risk factors that are unique to or predominant in women and because many traditional ASCVD risk factors impart differential risk for women and for men. Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality for women in the US and 2 of 3 US women have at least one major traditional coronary risk factor.

Non-traditional ASCVD risk factors requiring assessment for all women include a history of complications of pregnancy, use of oral contraceptive therapy,  therapy hormonal fertility, and menopausal hormone therapy. Systemic autoimmune disorders are highly prevalent in women and impart increased ASCVD risk.

Hypertension increases the population-adjusted CVD mortality more for women than for men, and cigeratte smoking imparts a greater CVD risk for women than men, as does diabetes mellitus. Hypercholesterolemia imparts the highest population-adjusted CVD risk for women, 47%. Two of three US women are obese or overweight, and obesity is double in women compared with men in low and middle0income nations. Physical inactivity is the most prevalent risk factor of US women. Psychosocial issues, particularly depression, preferentially disadvantage women.

Gender-specific risk assessment and intervention have the potential to improve CVD outcomes in women.