Vendor differences in 2D-speckle tracking global longitudinal strain: an update on a 10-year standardization effort.

Aims: To assess the inter-vendor differences in global longitudinal strain measurements and determine a potential improvement compared with the situation 10 years ago.

Methods And Results: 372 echocardiographic exams were performed in 62 subjects (50 male, age 56 ± 17) with LV ejection fraction ranging from 30% to 68%, using ultrasound systems from six manufacturers: GE, Philips, Canon, Siemens, Fujifilm and Esaote. Each subject was scanned consecutively on all machines by the same assigned sonographer, with two image sets per subject to assess test-retest setting reproducibility.

Semi-Invasive Pressure-Flow Plots Obtained Using Exercise Echocardiography Relate to Clinical Status and Exercise Capacity in Patients With a Fontan Circulation.

Aims: Exercise echocardiography with peripheral venous pressure measurement (CPETecho-PVP) may provide superior insights into the pathophysiology of Fontan failure compared to standard cardiopulmonary exercise testing. Accordingly, we assessed (1) the clinical and hemodynamic correlates of pressure-flow plots obtained from CPETecho-PVP in Fontan patients and (2) the relationship between pressure-flow plots and exercise capacity.

Methods: Forty-one consecutive Fontan patients underwent CPETecho-PVP.

Subpulmonary ventricular function and inflammation are related to clinical heart failure in patients with a systemic right ventricle.

Background: Timely diagnosis of heart failure (HF) in patients with a systemic right ventricle (sRV) is difficult but important since clinical deterioration is fast once HF develops. We aimed to compare echocardiography and biomarker profile between sRV patients with and without HF and patients with a systemic left ventricle diagnosed with HF (sLV-HF).

Methods And Results: Eighty-seven sRV patients and 30 sLV-HF patients underwent echocardiographic evaluation and blood sampling.

Albuminuria Prevalence in Fontan Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Patients with a Fontan circulation are at risk for chronic kidney disease (CKD), which is defined as persistently reduced glomerular filtration rate (GFR) <60ml/min/1.73 or elevated marker of kidney injury such as urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) >30mg/g. We determined the prevalence of albuminuria in patients with a Fontan circulation.

Extraction of a 6-year-old leadless pacemaker (MICRA transcatheter pacing system) using commercially available removal tools: A case report.

Introduction: Leadless pacemakers are associated with a low risk of infection, so indications for their removal are rare. One can expect that the dwell time of the device correlates with a more difficult removal, but it has not been proved so far.

Methods And Results: We present a case of a patient in whom MICRA transcatheter pacing system was successfully removed with nondedicated commercially available tools, 70 months after implantation.

A Twenty-Year Follow-Up of Adults with Ebstein Anomaly with Special Focus on Supraventricular Arrhythmias, Supraventricular Arrhythmias and Effectiveness of Catheter Ablation in 20-Year Follow-Up of Adults with Ebstein Anomaly.

: Ebstein anomaly (EA) is a rare congenital heart disease characterized by the apical displacement of the tricuspid leaflets, creating an enlarged functional right atrium. Supraventricular arrhythmias (SVA) are common, and catheter ablation remains challenging. SVA is considered a risk factor for sudden cardiac death in this population.

Lower air ozone concentration is associated with clinical remission in type 1 diabetes diagnosed in adulthood: a prospective, observational study in Wielkopolska region, Poland.

Introduction: Clinical remission in type 1 diabetes (T1D) results from metabolic compensation after insulin implementation and is caused by various factors.

Objectives: Our aim was to investigate an association between air pollution defined based on ozone concentration in the month of T1D diagnosis and the early course of the disease, that is, glucose metabolism and the occurrence of remission.

Patients And Methods: This prospective, observational analysis included 96 adult patients with newly diagnosed T1D.

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: Do we have to perform coronary angiography?

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) remains a leading cause of global mortality, while survivors are burdened with long-term neurological and cardiovascular complications. OHCA management at the hospital level remains challenging, due to heterogeneity of OHCA presentation, the critical status of OHCA patients reaching the return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), and the demands of post ROSC treatment. The validity and optimal timing for coronary angiography is one important, yet not fully defined, component of OHCA management.

Pregnancy Outcomes in Women after the Fontan Procedure.

Women with single ventricle physiology after the Fontan procedure, despite numerous possible complications, can reach adulthood and give birth. Pregnancy poses a hemodynamic burden for distorted physiology of Fontan circulation, but according to the literature, it is usually well tolerated unless the patient is a "failing" Fontan. Our study aimed to assess maternal and fetal outcomes in patients after the Fontan procedure followed up in two tertiary Polish medical centers.

Fontan-associated Liver Disease in Adults: What a Cardiologist Needs to Know. A Comprehensive Review for Clinical Practitioners.

Nowadays most patients with a univentricular heart after Fontan repair survive until adulthood. One of the hallmarks of Fontan circulation is permanently elevated central venous pressure, which leads to congestive hepatopathy. Subsequently, liver fibrosis, cirrhosis, or hepatocellular carcinoma may occur, all of them constituting an entity called Fontan-associated liver disease (FALD).

Preeclampsia and Fetal Growth Restriction as Risk Factors of Future Maternal Cardiovascular Disease-A Review.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remain the leading cause of death in women worldwide. Although traditional risk factors increase later-life CVD, pregnancy-associated complications additionally influence future CVD risk in women. Adverse pregnancy outcomes, including preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction (FGR), are interrelated disorders caused by placental dysfunction, maternal cardiovascular maladaptation to pregnancy, and maternal abnormalities such as endothelial dysfunction, inflammation, hypercoagulability, and vasospasm.

Clinical factors affecting survival in patients with D-transposition of the great arteries after atrial switch repair: A meta-analysis.

Background: Atrial switch repair (AtrSR) was the initial operation method in patients with D-transposition of the great arteries (D-TGA) constituting the right ventricle as a systemic one. Currently, it has been replaced with arterial switch operation (ASO), but the cohort of adults after AtrSR is still large and requires strict cardiological management of late complications. For this reason, we aimed to evaluate potential long-term mortality risk factors in patients with D-TGA after AtrSR (either Mustard or Senning procedures) Methods: We searched the MEDLINE database for suitable trials.

Left, but not right, ventricular status determines heart failure in adults with Ebstein anomaly - A case-control study based on magnetic resonance.

Background: Ebstein anomaly (EA) is a congenital heart defect affecting the right heart. Heart failure (HF) is a significant complication in adults with EA. It may result not only from the right ventricle (RV), but also from the left ventricle (LV) abnormalities.