Trial participants
APT, heart failure, HFpEF
ATRIAL FIBRILLATION, HEART FAILURE, VALVULAR HEART DISEASE, SUDDEN CARDIAC DEATH
From the 320 patients eligible for the trial during the study period (July 2020–July 2022), 200 were finally included. Explanations for this inclusion rate mostly relied to the COVID-19 pandemic leading to shortage of clinical research staff and to an unexpected high rate of refusal (exacerbated by mistrust in health authorities during the pandemic) (see Study flowchart. CVC, cephalic vein cutdown; IPUS-AVP, intra-pocket ultrasound-guided axillary vein puncture; PLSVC, persistent left superior vena cava.Patient characteristics at baseline are shown in Baseline characteristics of the patientsData are mean ± standard deviation, median (inter-quartile range) or number (%). Data were missing on the following characteristics: LVEF for 11, valvular heart disease for 3 and PT for 4 patients.ACT, activated clotting time; AF, atrial fibrillation; APT, antiplatelet therapy; AV, atrioventricular; CVC, cephalic vein cutdown; HFmrEF, heart failure with mid-range ejection fraction; HFpEF, heart failure with preserved ejection fraction; HFrEF, heart failure with reduced ejection fraction; IPUS-AVP, intra-pocket ultrasound-guided axillary vein puncture; LVEF, left ventricular ejection fraction; PT, prothrombin time; SCD, sudden cardiac death.