Haemodynamic significance of extrinsic outflow graft stenoses during HeartMate 3™ therapy.

Aims: The HeartMate 3 (HM3) implantable left ventricular assist device connects the left ventricle apex to the aorta via an outflow graft. Extrinsic obstruction of the graft (eOGO) is associated with serious morbidity and mortality and recently led to a Food and Drug Administration Class 1 device recall of HM3. This study aimed to provide a better understanding of the haemodynamic impact of extrinsic stenoses.

Diastolic function assessment with four-dimensional flow cardiovascular magnetic resonance using automatic deep learning E/A ratio analysis.

Background: Diastolic left ventricular (LV) dysfunction is a powerful contributor to the symptoms and prognosis of patients with heart failure. In patients with depressed LV systolic function, the E/A ratio, the ratio between the peak early (E) and the peak late (A) transmitral flow velocity, is the first step to defining the grade of diastolic dysfunction. Doppler echocardiography (echo) is the preferred imaging technique for diastolic function assessment, while cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is less established as a method.

Deployment of Point-of-Care Echocardiography to Improve Cardiac Diagnostic Access Among American Indians.

Background: American Indians face significant barriers to diagnosis and management of cardiovascular disease. We sought to develop a real-world implementation model for improving access to echocardiography within the Indian Health Service, the American Indian Structural Heart Disease Partnership.

Methods And Results: The American Indian Structural Heart Disease Partnership was implemented and evaluated via a 4-step process of characterizing the system where it would be instituted, building point-of-care echocardiography capacity, deploying active case finding for structural heart disease, and evaluating the approach from the perspective of the clinician and patient.

Haemodynamic effects of hypertension and type 2 diabetes: Insights from a 4D flow MRI-based personalized cardiovascular mathematical model.

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and hypertension increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases mediated by whole-body changes to metabolism, cardiovascular structure and haemodynamics. The haemodynamic changes related to hypertension and T2D are complex and subject-specific, however, and not fully understood. We aimed to investigate the haemodynamic mechanisms in T2D and hypertension by comparing the haemodynamics between healthy controls and subjects with T2D, hypertension, or both.

4D Flow cardiovascular magnetic resonance consensus statement: 2023 update.

Hemodynamic assessment is an integral part of the diagnosis and management of cardiovascular disease. Four-dimensional cardiovascular magnetic resonance flow imaging (4D Flow CMR) allows comprehensive and accurate assessment of flow in a single acquisition. This consensus paper is an update from the 2015 '4D Flow CMR Consensus Statement'.

Out-of-pocket expenditure for administration of benzathine penicillin G injections for secondary prophylaxis in patients with rheumatic heart disease: A registry-based data from a tertiary care center in Northern India.

Background: Costs can be a major barrier to medication adherence in low and middle-income countries and are an important target for policy-level interventions. The use of benzathine penicillin G (BPG) for secondary prevention of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) averts substantial morbidity and mortality, yet the total out-of-pocket costs for patients receiving this intervention are unknown.

Objective: To estimate the total out-of-pocket costs for obtaining BPG prophylaxis among RHD patients in India.

Prevention of Viridans Group Streptococcal Infective Endocarditis: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association.

Background: In 2007, the American Heart Association published updated evidence-based guidelines on the recommended use of antibiotic prophylaxis to prevent viridans group streptococcal (VGS) infective endocarditis (IE) in cardiac patients undergoing invasive procedures. The 2007 guidelines significantly scaled back the underlying conditions for which antibiotic prophylaxis was recommended, leaving only 4 categories thought to confer the highest risk of adverse outcome. The purpose of this update is to examine interval evidence of the acceptance and impact of the 2007 recommendations on VGS IE and, if needed, to make revisions based on this evidence.

Impact of prosthetic mitral valve orientation on the ventricular flow field: Comparison using patient-specific computational fluid dynamics.

Significant mitral valve regurgitation creates progressive adverse remodeling of the left ventricle (LV). Replacement of the failing valve with a prosthesis generally improves patient outcomes but leaves the patient with non-physiological intracardiac flow patterns that might contribute to their future risk of thrombus formation and embolism. It has been suggested that the angular orientation of the implanted valve might modify the postoperative distortion of the intraventricular flow field.

Improved Efficiency of Intraventricular Blood Flow Transit Under Cardiac Stress: A 4D Flow Dobutamine CMR Study.

The effects of heart rate, inotropy, and lusitropy on multidimensional flow patterns and energetics within the human heart remain undefined. Recently, reduced volume and end-diastolic kinetic energy (KE) of the portion of left ventricular (LV) inflow passing directly to outflow, Direct flow (DF), have been shown to reflect inefficient LV pumping and to be a marker of LV dysfunction in heart failure patients. In this study, we hypothesized that increasing heart rate, inotropy, and lusitropy would result in an increased efficiency of intraventricular blood flow transit.

Publisher Correction: Bridging the gap between measurements and modelling: a cardiovascular functional avatar.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Extending Cardiac Functional Assessment with Respiratory-Resolved 3D Cine MRI.

This study aimed to develop a cardiorespiratory-resolved 3D magnetic resonance imaging (5D MRI: x-y-z-cardiac-respiratory) approach based on 3D motion tracking for investigating the influence of respiration on cardiac ventricular function. A highly-accelerated 2.5-minute sparse MR protocol was developed for a continuous acquisition of cardiac images through multiple cardiac and respiratory cycles.

Post-cardioversion Improvement in LV Function Defined by 4D Flow Patterns and Energetics in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a prevalent cause of cardiovascular morbidity, including thromboembolism and heart failure. Left ventricular dysfunction (LVD) detected in AF patients may be either precursor or consequence of the arrythmia. Successful cardioversion of chronic AF is often followed by a transient period of left atrial (LA) stunning, where depressed mechanical atrial contraction persists despite reinstitution of sinus rhythm.

Contemporary Diagnosis and Management of Patients With Myocardial Infarction in the Absence of Obstructive Coronary Artery Disease: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association.

Myocardial infarction in the absence of obstructive coronary artery disease is found in ≈5% to 6% of all patients with acute infarction who are referred for coronary angiography. There are a variety of causes that can result in this clinical condition. As such, it is important that patients are appropriately diagnosed and an evaluation to uncover the correct cause is performed so that, when possible, specific therapies to treat the underlying cause can be prescribed.

Non-invasive Assessment of Systolic and Diastolic Cardiac Function During Rest and Stress Conditions Using an Integrated Image-Modeling Approach.

The possibility of non-invasively assessing load-independent parameters characterizing cardiac function is of high clinical value. Typically, these parameters are assessed during resting conditions. However, for diagnostic purposes, the parameter behavior across a physiologically relevant range of heart rate and loads is more relevant than the isolated measurements performed at rest.

Chagas Cardiomyopathy: An Update of Current Clinical Knowledge and Management: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association.

Background: Chagas disease, resulting from the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, is an important cause of heart failure, stroke, arrhythmia, and sudden death. Traditionally regarded as a tropical disease found only in Central America and South America, Chagas disease now affects at least 300 000 residents of the United States and is growing in prevalence in other traditionally nonendemic areas. Healthcare providers and health systems outside of Latin America need to be equipped to recognize, diagnose, and treat Chagas disease and to prevent further disease transmission.

Fixed volume particle trace emission for the analysis of left atrial blood flow using 4D Flow MRI.

4D Flow MRI has been used to quantify normal and deranged left ventricular blood flow characteristics on the basis of functionally distinct flow components. However, the application of this technique to the atria is challenging due to the presence of continuous inflow. This continuous inflow necessitates plane-based emission of particle traces from the inlet veins, leading to particles that represents different amounts of blood, and related quantification errors.

Mechanical dyssynchrony alters left ventricular flow energetics in failing hearts with LBBB: a 4D flow CMR pilot study.

The impact of left bundle branch block (LBBB) related mechanical dyssynchrony on left ventricular (LV) diastolic function remains unclear. 4D flow cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) has provided reliable markers of LV dysfunction: reduced volume and kinetic energy (KE) of the portion of LV inflow which passes directly to outflow (Direct Flow) has been demonstrated in failing hearts compared to normal hearts. We sought to investigate the impact of mechanical dyssynchrony on diastolic function by comparing 4D flow in myopathic LVs with and without LBBB.

Bridging the gap between measurements and modelling: a cardiovascular functional avatar.

Lumped parameter models of the cardiovascular system have the potential to assist researchers and clinicians to better understand cardiovascular function. The value of such models increases when they are subject specific. However, most approaches to personalize lumped parameter models have thus far required invasive measurements or fall short of being subject specific due to a lack of the necessary clinical data.

Left ventricular hemodynamic forces as a marker of mechanical dyssynchrony in heart failure patients with left bundle branch block.

Left bundle branch block (LBBB) causes left ventricular (LV) dyssynchrony which is often associated with heart failure. A significant proportion of heart failure patients do not demonstrate clinical improvement despite cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). How LBBB-related effects on LV diastolic function may contribute to those therapeutic failures has not been clarified.