International Journal of Cardiology

BACKGROUND: Worsening mitral regurgitation (MR) is a complication of intervention for atrial septal defect (ASD). Little is known about mitral valve (MV) characteristics associated with worsening MR. We aimed to elucidate MR outcomes and predictors of worsening MR after transcatheter ASD closure. METHODS: We analyzed changes in MR from prior to transcatheter ASD closure to 6 months after the procedure and predictors of worsening MR via baseline transthoracic echocardiography in 238 patients (64...

BACKGROUND: This study aims at investigating left atrial (LA) deformation by left atrial reservoir (LARS) and pump strain (LAPS) and its implications for long-term survival in patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). METHODS: Speckle tracking echocardiography was performed in 198 patients with severe AS undergoing TAVI. Association of strain parameters with cardiovascular mortality was determined. RESULTS: Over a follow-up time of 5 years, 49 patients (24...

BACKGROUND: RASopathies account for nearly 20% of cases of childhood hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Sudden cardiac death (SCD) occurs in patients with RASopathy-associated HCM, but the risk factors for SCD have not been systematically evaluated. AIM: To validate the HCM Risk-Kids SCD risk prediction model in children with RASopathy-associated HCM and investigate potential specific SCD predictors in this population. METHODS: Validation of HCM Risk-Kids was performed in a retrospective cohort of 169 patients with a RASopathy-associated HCM from 15 international paediatric cardiology centres...

BACKGROUND: Previous literature suggests that both SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 mRNA vaccine are associated with myocarditis, in which the incidence is higher in the infection group. COVID-19 mRNA vaccine-related myocarditis is noted to have a more benign course. Despite these findings, there is a need for a larger population systematic review that compares the outcomes to pre-pandemic acute myocarditis to better understand the extent of the current post-COVID state. METHODS: We performed a literature search with PubMed and EMBASE and identified studies investigating COVID-19 and its vaccinated population, and the population prior to the pandemic (control group) who had myocarditis...

BACKGROUND: A recent study showed that inferior vena cava collapsibility index (IVCCI) <60% had better prognostic performance as compared to the American Society of Echocardiogram (ASE) criteria for estimating right atrial pressure (RAP). However, this study was based on a selected cohort of adults with congenital heart disease (CHD) that underwent right heart catheterization and limiting the generalizability of the results. The purpose of this study was, therefore, to validate the prognostic performance of IVCCI in a more representative sample of adults with CHD, which would in turn, improve generalizability of the results...

BACKGROUND: Clinical guidelines recommend a complete revascularization (CR) in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) and multivessel disease (MVD). However, its optimal timing is unclear. The aim of this meta-analysis was to compare the clinical outcomes following immediate versus staged CR in ACS. METHODS: PubMed and Scopus were searched until March 2023 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing immediate versus staged CR. The primary endpoint was major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE) at the longest follow-up...

BACKGROUND: The impacts of high sensitivity cardiac troponin (hs-cTn) reporting on downstream interventions amongst suspected acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in the emergency department (ED), especially amongst those with newly identified hs-cTn elevations and in consideration of well-established sex-related disparities, has not been critically evaluated to date. This investigation explores the impact of hs-cTnT reporting on care and outcomes, particularly by participant sex. METHODS: Two similarly ED-based randomized controlled trials conducted between July 2011 to March 2013 (n = 1988) and August 2015 to April 2019 (n = 3378) were comparatively evaluated...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) with mechanical heart valve (MHV) replacement is common in Africa. However, MHV requires lifelong anticoagulation that could have a particular impact in women in reproductive age. METHODS: We report data of a prospective observational cohort study conducted between August 2018 and September 2019 in MHV patients in the Salam Centre for Cardiac Surgery built in Khartoum by Emergency, an Italian Non-Governmental Organization, to evaluate bleeding risk, its associated determinants, and the impact of lifelong anticoagulation in fertile women...

BACKGROUND: Heart failure (HF) is a disease closely associated with inflammation, and the systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) is a novel inflammatory marker. Therefore, this study aims to explore the relationship between SII and HF. METHODS: We used National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data from 1998 to 2018 to include adults who reported a diagnosis of HF and complete information on the calculation of SII. SII was calculated as platelet count × neutrophil count/lymphocyte count...

BACKGROUND: The decline of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality has slowed in many countries, including Germany. We examined the implications of this trend for future coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke mortality in Germany considering persistent mortality inequalities between former East and West Germany. METHODS: We retrieved demographic and mortality data from 1991 to 2019 from the German Federal Statistical Office. Using a Bayesian age-period-cohort framework, we projected CHD and stroke mortality from 2019 to 2035, stratified by sex and German region...

BACKGROUND: Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) measurement in echocardiography (Echo) using the recommended modified biplane Simpson (MBS) method is operator-dependent and exhibits variability. We aimed to assess the accuracy of a novel fully automated (Auto) artificial intelligence (AI) in view selection and biplane LVEF calculation compared to MBS-Echo, with cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) as reference. METHODS: Each of the 301 consecutive patients underwent CMR and Echo on the same day...

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the early remodeling of the proximal aorta in patients with acute type B aortic dissection (ATBAD) after zone 2 thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR). METHODS: From January 2016 to May 2022, 53 ATBAD patients underwent zone 2 TEVAR were divided into two groups, the Castor single-branched stent-graft (CSS) group (n = 26) and the common stent-graft group (n = 27). Three-dimensional imaging created by computed tomography angiography was used to measure different parameters of the aorta, such as angulation, cross-sectional area (CSA), length and tortuosity...

BACKGROUND: Sleep-related breathing disorders (SRBD) are related to cardiovascular outcomes in patients with chronic coronary syndrome (CCS). Whether SRBD-related symptoms are associated with prognostic biomarkers in patients with CCS is not established. METHODS: Associations between frequency (never/rarely, sometimes, often, always) of self-reported SRBD-related symptoms (excessive daytime sleepiness [EDS]; morning tiredness [MT]; loud snoring; multiple awakenings/night; gasping, choking, or apnea when asleep) and levels of biomarkers related to cardiovascular prognosis (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein [hs-CRP], interleukin 6 [IL-6], high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T [hs-cTnT], N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide [NT-proBNP], cystatin C, growth differentiation factor 15 [GDF-15] and lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 activity) were assessed at baseline in 15,640 patients with CCS on optimal secondary preventive therapy in the STABILITY trial...

BACKGROUND: Myocardial injury is associated with adverse outcomes. No data are reported about sex differences in incidence and factors associated with myocardial injury in an emergency department (ED) setting from a real-world perspective. We aimed to assess whether sex plays a major role in the diagnosis of myocardial injury in the ED. METHODS: In this subanalysis of a retrospective study, patients presenting at the ED with at least one high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) value and without acute coronary syndromes diagnosis were compared...

BACKGROUND: Ischemia with no obstructive coronary arteries (INOCA), a chronic disorder with a poor prognosis, remains challenging to diagnose. 13 N-ammonia positron emission tomography (13NH3 PET), which can quantify microcirculation, is its most reliable detection method. We aimed to investigate the differences in 13NH3 PET findings between INOCA and coronary artery disease (CAD). METHODS: Overall, consecutive 433 patients with known or suspected CAD underwent adenosine-stress 13NH3 PET...

AIMS: Angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitor (ARNi) and sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitor (SGLT2i) improve outcomes in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) patients, however their effects in cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) recipients have been scarcely explored. This study investigated whether ARNi and SGLT2i 1) improve the rate of clinical and echocardiographic CRT response and 2) have different impact based on the ischemic or non-ischemic etiology...

The benefits of exercise are irrefutable with a well-established dose-dependent relationship between exercise intensity and reduction in cardiovascular disease. Differentiating the physiological adaptation to exercise, termed the "athlete's heart" from cardiomyopathies, has been advanced by the advent of more sophisticated imaging modalities such as cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR). Myocardial fibrosis on CMR is a mutual finding amongst seemingly healthy endurance athletes and individuals with cardiomyopathy...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Doxorubicin (DOX) leads to cardiovascular toxicity through direct cardiomyocyte injury and inflammation. We aimed to study the role of Galectin-3 (Gal-3), a β-galactosidase binding lectin associated with inflammation and fibrosis in DOX-induced acute cardiotoxicity in mice. METHODS: Male C57 and Gal-3 knockout (KO) mice were given a single dose of DOX (15 mg/kg, i.p) or placebo. Serum creatine phosphokinase (CPK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and cardiac thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance (TBARS) were measured at 3 days to assess cardiac injury and oxidative stress...