To investigate the association between suicide death and serum cholesterol levels as measured at times close to suicide death.

We conducted a nested case-control study of 41 cases of suicide deaths and 205 matched controls with serum total cholesterol (TC) levels till 3 years before suicide death in a large cohort of Japanese workers.

Individuals in the lowest versus highest tertile/predefined category of TC in a Japanese working population had a three- to four-fold greater risk of suicide death. Each 10 mg/dl decrement of average TC was associated with an 18% increased chance of suicide death (95% confidence interval, 2–35%). Similar results were found for TC levels at each year.

These results suggest that a low serum TC level in recent past is associated with an increased risk of suicide death.

Static balloon atrial septostomy is a widely accepted intervention for children with CHD. Successful surgical palliation is creating increasing numbers of adult CHD patients who need subsequent left heart intervention requiring transseptal access. In these patients, the interatrial septum is usually thick and fibrotic because of a previous open heart surgery or catheter intervention, and conventional transseptal puncture may be unsuccessful. Static balloon atrial septostomy to access the left atrium may facilitate intervention via the interatrial septum in such situations. The purpose of this study was to investigate the usefulness and the safety of static balloon atrial septostomy, and the evolution of an iatrogenic atrial septal defect post procedure in adult CHD.

We retrospectively reviewed six procedures in five adults with CHD and collected demographic characteristics, details of the procedures, clinical outcome, and size changes of the iatrogenic atrial septal defect.

The mean age at the time of the procedure was 35 years. The intended primary interventions were pulmonary vein isolation, stenting for pulmonary vein obstruction, and catheter ablation for focal atrial tachycardia. All static balloon atrial septostomies were effective, and the left heart interventions were successfully achieved via transseptal sheaths. There were no major complications associated with the static balloon atrial septostomy. There were no adverse clinical outcomes related to iatrogenic atrial septal defect, and the size of the defects regressed over time in all cases.

Static balloon atrial septostomy can be a safe and useful technique in adult CHD patients needing left heart procedures. The thick interatrial septum found in postoperative patients may reduce the risk of persistent iatrogenic atrial septal defect.